My sister and I have owned a Switch for a long time. Almost a decade at this point, from the first Switch all the way to buying the Switch 2 at the Nintendo shop the night it released (there’s a whole story about that line later in this guide).
Somewhere along the way we started debating what the best Nintendo Switch 2 accessories actually are. The real must-haves, not the stuff a best-seller page says. This list is the result of that debate.
When I asked her which accessories she’d tell people to buy, she didn’t list products. She split the whole question in two: practical accessories that protect your console and make it easier to live with, and fun ones that just make you happy every time you look at your setup. That split is exactly how this guide is built.
Special thanks to my sister for making it hard to choose. Worth it.
if you looking for games to play, check this Article Best Cozy Games on Nintendo Switch 2026
THE PRACTICAL SIDE
definition of practical: the stuff that protects your console and makes living with it easier. The must-haves. If you only buy from one half of this guide, buy from this one.
Glass Screen Protector
If my sister and I agree on one thing in this entire guide, it’s this one. When we talked about it, the verdict was basically: must have. Must, must, must.
Here’s the math that ends the argument. Your cat walks across the screen. Your younger sibling decides mom’s keys go right on top of the console. Life happens to a handheld, and when it does, a scratch on a glass protector costs you around $15 to swap. A scratch on the actual screen is a repair bill closer to $300. Cheap insurance for the one part of the console you can’t play without.
One honest warning: applying it is the annoying part. If you can get someone to put it on for you, do that. If you’re doing it yourself, follow a YouTube video, work in a clean area, and wash your hands before you start. That’s how you avoid the bubbles and the dust that ruin it.
Who it’s for: every single Switch owner. No exceptions.
Price: $8.99 Glass Screen Protector for any Nintendo Switch
Joy-Con Charging Station
This one exists to prevent a very specific embarrassment. Friends come over, your Joy-Cons are on the console, so you grab the second pair from the drawer. Dead. Of course they’re dead. Nobody remembers to charge the pair that lives in a drawer. So now your friends are waiting like noobs for controllers to charge instead of actually playing.
The charging station ends that story. All four Joy-Cons sit on it, all four charge together, and the drawer pair is always ready. No swapping pairs mid-day, no mental notes, no dead controllers. I use mine every single day.
The one con is real, though: this is a stay-at-home accessory. It doesn’t fit in any travel case, and there’s no need to take it anywhere anyway. It lives next to the dock, plugged in, doing its one job.
Who it’s for: anyone who owns more than one pair of Joy-Cons. So, anyone who has friends over.
Price: $19.99 Switch 2 Joy Con Charging Station
A Second Full Controller (Pro Controller or Joy-Con Pair)
You can split one pair of Joy-Cons between two people. Technically. With a second full controller, you and your friend each get a complete controller with all the buttons, and the more, the merrier.
It’s also the backup plan. Controller runs out of charge mid-session? Don’t panic. Grab the second one, problem solved, game continues. I use mine every single day.
For most people the choice is a Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller or a second Joy-Con pair, and honestly the specific model matters less than just having a second full one.
No cons on this one. It’s a controller. It works.
Who it’s for: couch co-op people. Which, on this blog, is all of us.
Price: $89 Nintendo Switch™ 2 Pro Controller
Razer Barracuda X (My Wireless Switch Headphones)
If you got here searching for Bluetooth headphones for your Switch, here’s my honest answer: I don’t use Bluetooth on the Switch 2 at all. You put the HyperSpeed wireless USB transceiver into the console and use the headphones. That’s it. It works perfectly.
These are my everyday headphones, not just my gaming headphones. Battery life is great. The one con: there’s no noise cancellation. That’s the trade.
Who it’s for: anyone who wants wireless audio on the Switch 2 without thinking about it.
Price: $79.99 Razer Barracuda X Wireless
Game Card Storage Case
Mine is a Pokémon-style case, and I like it more than a small plastic box probably deserves.
Here’s why this one matters more on Switch 2 than ever before. More and more boxed Switch 2 games are Game-Key Cards: there’s a cartridge in the box, but the game itself isn’t on it. The card is just a key that triggers a download. Nintendo’s official Game-Key, The real cartridges, the ones with actual games on them, are getting rarer. Don’t lose yours.
For me it’s also pure nostalgia. A little case full of game cards is a throwback to the good old days when we really owned our games.
One honest note: it’s just a box. That’s the entire product. So if you’re buying one anyway, buy one with some style, because it’s going to sit on your shelf. Mine’s the Pokémon one for exactly that reason.
And my sister and I agreed on who needs this most: if you upgraded from a Switch 1, you’re probably sitting on a stack of old carts right now. Give them a home.
Who it’s for: Switch 1 upgraders with a cart collection, and anyone still buying physical on purpose.
Price: $14.10 Portable Game Card Case for Nintendo Switch
THE FUN SIDE: SWITCH ACCESSORIES THAT JUST MAKE YOU HAPPY
Her other category. Nothing in this half protects anything. It exists because looking at your setup should make you smile.
Decorative Console Shell
Launch night, Nintendo shop, and I’m standing in line (VIP line, if I may). Everyone around me pulls their Switch out to play while we wait, and suddenly my black Switch with the red and blue Joy-Cons looks so boring. Everyone had decorated theirs, and without a doubt we all looked at each other and laughed. Then we talked nonstop, because it was easy: you could look at someone’s console and know exactly what they like. Pokémon, Mario, Zelda, whatever. Four or five hours flew by. I don’t even remember standing that long.
That’s what a shell actually adds. Your console stops being a black rectangle and becomes a little profile of you. My sister and I both run shells now, and we both use them every day, which is a strange thing to say about something that mostly just sits there being right.
[DANIEL: one honest con about the shell, or say “no cons” and I’ll write exactly that]
Who it’s for: anyone whose Switch 2 still looks like it did in the box.
Price: $48.99 DIY Decorative Console Shell
Joy-Con Grips (Get Plastic, Skip Silicone)
They just add pizzazz. You can’t deny it.
But here’s the one buying rule, straight from my sister: she tried silicone grips and her verdict was don’t. They make your fingers slip, which is the opposite of what a grip is for. Mine are plastic. No slipping, all the pizzazz. Get the plastic ones.
Who it’s for: anyone who wants their Joy-Cons to feel like theirs.
Price: $11.99 Grips for Nintendo Switch
ON OUR LIST NEXT (NOT TESTED YET)
These two we don’t own yet, and I’m not going to pretend otherwise. But they’re both already decided purchases, and here’s why.
Big Travel Case That Fits Everything
No matter how I try, everything is a mess. The cables, the games, all of it. The big case fixes that: the Switch and ALL of these accessories go into one case, and your house plus your spontaneous spirit comes back to life. Friends hosting a Smash tournament? No need to remember what to take. Just take the case. Everything is already in there.
This is number two on my priority list below, above things I already own. That’s how much the mess bothers me.
Who it’s for: anyone whose accessories currently live in three different drawers.
Price: $29.99 Case for Nintendo Switch 2
Piranha Plant Camera by HORI
My sister’s pick, and honestly her pitch sold me. It’s cute, it’s funny, and it’ll look great on the shelf next to the TV. Even if you’re not a Mario fan, everyone has played Mario at some point in their life, and it’s nice to remember where Nintendo started.
Neither of us has used it yet, so this isn’t a review. It’s a shelf piece we’ve already decided we want.
Who it’s for: shelf decorators and anyone who smiled at the words “Piranha Plant camera.”
Price: $29.99 Hori Piranha Plant Camera
WHAT ARE THE BEST NINTENDO SWITCH ACCESSORIES? MY TOP 5
If everything on my desk vanished tomorrow, this is the order I’d buy it all back in:
- Glass screen protector. The $15 versus $300 math wins every single time.
- Big travel case. Yes, above things I already own. The mess is that annoying.
- Decorative console shell. One launch-night line sold me on it forever.
- Joy-Con charging station. Friends waiting like noobs isn’t hospitality.
- A second full controller. The more, the merrier.
BEFORE YOU GO
That’s the whole desk. Nine products, seven we actually use, two on the way. If there’s a Switch 2 accessory you swear by that didn’t make this list, tell me in the comments. My sister and I clearly enjoy this debate, and I’m always looking for the next thing to test.
Happy Gaming.
