Best Streaming Service: Disney+ vs. Netflix vs. Hulu vs. Amazon Prime vs. HBO Max vs. Apple TV+?
Watching TV shows or movies is an indispensable part of many people's lives, and the emergence of online streaming media platforms is changing the way we watch favorite movies and shows. There are a wealth of streaming platforms to choose from now, with the likes of Disney+, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, and Apple TV+ all major players in the TV space. They offer exclusive original programming, live streaming TV, or massive libraries of films and TV shows, let you come and go as you please. But which streaming service is the best? What is the best streaming service for your money? The comparisons of features and expenses among these six streaming platforms are introduced here to help you figure out which is best for you.
Disney+
Price: $7.99/month or $79.99/year
Free trial length: No
Availability: U.S., Canada, U.K., Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, India
Simultaneous Streams: 4
Live TV: No
4K HDR available: Yes
Numbers of Movies: 615
Numbers of TV Shows: 235
Notable Original Content: Creepshow, The Last Drive-in with Jo Bob Briggs, The Core, Primal Screen
Supported Devices: Shudder website via PC or laptop, iPhone, Ipad, Android phones, Android tablets, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, PlayStation, and Xbox
Disney Plus is an American subscription video-on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company which is similar to Netflix, Apple TV+, and Amazon Prime Video. When it comes to total content, it's lacking compared to most of its major rivals. But Disney Plus has more content than Apple TV Plus.
For now, the main draw of Disney+ is its vast library of Disney, Pixar, Marvel, National Geographic, and Star Wars content. This includes classic Disney animated films like The Little Mermaid and The Lion King, Pixar hits like The Incredibles 2 and Wall-E, the entire Skywalker saga, and the majority of the MCU movies--Disney+ is brimming with popular content that is fun for the whole family. Disney+ also has a collection of Fox content, including the first 30 seasons of The Simpsons and movies like Home Alone and The Sandlot.
You can watch up to four streams at once with Disney Plus, and 4K HDR is supported – though not by every movie and TV show on the service. Like Netflix, you can set up multiple profiles within your main account, which means you can keep your recommendations separate from the ones being shown for your kids. After the seven-day free trial, Disney Plus costs $7 a month. There's also an option to bundle Disney Plus with Hulu and ESPN. In my opinion, Disney+ is more specifically for families with kids, because most of its content being movies and shows that have already been out for a while and become classics.
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Netflix
Price: Basic - $8.99/month, Standard - $13.99/month, Premium - $17.99/month
Free trial length: 30-day
Availability: Worldwide
Simultaneous Streams: 1-4
Live TV: No
4K HDR available: Yes
Numbers of Movies: 3,781
Numbers of TV Shows: 1,940
Notable Original Content: Black Mirror, BoJack Horseman, The Haunting of Hill
House, Stranger Things, The Witcher, Russian Doll, The Irishman, Ozark,
Mindhunter, Aggretsuko
Supported Devices: Roku, Roku Streaming Stick, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, Fire Stick, Fire Tablet, Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, Android TV, Android phones, Android tablets, Google Chromecast, Nvidia Shield, PlayStation, Xbox, smart TVs, Blu-ray players, and web browsers.
Netflix was founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California. It is one of the world's leading entertainment services with 204 million paid memberships in over 190 countries.
Netflix carries quite the load of shows, movies, and original content. Out of its 5,000+ titles, you’ll get coveted shows like Altered Carbon, Bloodline, Derek, Dracula, Marco Polo, The Witcher, and Watership Down. And there are even more movies like Holidate, Marriage Story, The Trial of the Chicago 7, The Irishman, The Laundromat, The Social Dilemma, and Uncut Gems.
Netflix subscriptions start at $8.99 per month, which lets you watch on one screen at a time in standard definition. For $13.99 per month, two users can watch at once, and the resolution is bumped up to high definition. If you're sharing your subscription with your family and friends (everyone does it), the $17.99 premium subscription is the way to go, as it allows four users to watch simultaneously and supports 4K Ultra HD for compatible content.
You can watch Netflix through any internet-connected device that offers the Netflix app, including smart TVs, game consoles, streaming media players, set-top boxes, smartphones, and tablets. You can also watch Netflix on your computer using an internet browser. In a word, Netflix is the streaming champion that offered the most "high-quality" TV shows and movies of any of the streamers.
Hulu
Price: $5.99/month (with ads), $11.99/month (no ads), $64.99/month for Hulu + Live TV
Free trial length:30-day
Availability: U.S.
Simultaneous Streams: 2
4K HDR available: Yes
Live TV: Requires $65 per month Live TV package
Numbers of Movies: 1,016
Numbers of TV Shows: 1,755
Notable Original Content: Marvel's Runaways, The Handmaid's Tale, Ramy, Castle Rock, Shrill, The Path, Veronica Mars, The Mindy Project, 11.22.63, The Act
Supported Devices: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, iOS, Mac, Nintendo Switch, Roku streaming stick, Roku streaming TV models, select Samsung and LG smart TVs, Echo Show, PlayStation, Xbox, and web browsers.
Hulu is an American subscription video-on-demand service fully controlled and majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal as an equity stakeholder. Hulu's main draw is its plethora of cable TV shows, making it a different style of streaming service than Netflix.
Hulu's cable TV content is extremely varied and includes shows from ABC, Adult Swim, Fox, FX, NBC, and many other networks. Here's a snapshot of what Hulu has to offer when it comes to scripted shows: This Is Us, The Good Doctor, Family Guy, Bob's Burgers, Rick, and Morty, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Preacher, The Terror, and NOS4A2. Popular reality shows like The Bachelor and Survivor are also available. Hulu even has a nice collection of anime, including popular series like Naruto Shippuden, My Hero Academia, Attack on Titan, Cowboy Bebop, and Sailor Moon.
The big downside to Hulu is that while it starts cheaper than Netflix, it has commercials, and the non-commercial version is $11.99 a month. You're not going to be paying extra for 4K HDR or 5.1 audio, but you will be limited in what you can watch and where. But if you want to keep current with the latest TV shows but don't feel like investing in a cable subscription or an HD antenna, Hulu is the best solution. This service provides access to most major network shows (aside from CBS' programs) and a handful of cable shows the day after they air.
Amazon Prime Video
Price: $9/month (video streaming only) or $119/year for full Prime membership
Free trial length: 30-day
Availability: Worldwide
Simultaneous Streams: 3
Live TV: No
4K HDR available: Yes
Numbers of Movies: 12,828
Numbers of TV Shows: 2,220
Notable Original Content: The Expanse, The Man In The High Castle, Bosch, Jack Ryan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Good Omens, The Boys, Homecoming, The Tick, Fleabag, Psycho-Pass 3
Supported Devices: Live channel features only available on Amazon Fire TV; channel content can be accessed through your web browser and compatible smart TVs, Blu-ray players, PlayStation, Xbox, set-top-boxes, Fire tablets, and by any device that supports Prime Video Now
Amazon Prime Video, or simply Prime Video, is an American subscription video-on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon.com, Inc., offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. Amazon Prime costs $119 per year (roughly $10/month). You can skip Prime shipping perks and subscribe to Prime Video for only $9/month, but what you lose out on is far more valuable than the minuscule savings.
Amazon Prime Video is Netflix’s biggest competitor that features a growing collection of original content, including standout TV shows like The Expanse, The Boys, Fleabag, and The Man In The High Castle. It also receives movies distributed by Amazon Studios such as The Big Sick, Manchester by the Sea, and Beautiful Boy. It is also working on providing live sports and currently simulcasts NFL games with Thursday Night Football. In addition, Prime Video includes hundreds of licensed movies and TV shows, including “Luther,” “Vikings,” “Orphan Black,” “Bridget Jones’ Diary” and “Dora the Explorer.”
If you're a movie fan, Prime Video might be the right choice for you: Amazon's platform has four times as many movies as Netflix does, one study found. Not all of them are major blockbusters, but it is an extensive catalog.
HBO Max
Price: $14.99/month
Free trial length: 7-day
Availability: U.S.
Simultaneous Streams: 3
Live TV: No
4K HDR available: No
Numbers of Movies: 1,735
Numbers of TV Shows: 410
Notable Original Content: Succession, Barry, Insecure, Watchmen, His Dark Materials, Big Little Lies, Westworld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Game of Thrones, True Detective, Lovecraft Country, The Flight Attendant, The Undoing, I'll Be Gone in the Dark
Supported Devices: Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV, iOS, Android, PlayStation, Xbox, Chromecast, web
HBO Max is an American subscription video-on-demand streaming service owned by AT&T through the WarnerMedia Direct subsidiary of WarnerMedia and was launched on May 27, 2020. It is a combination of HBO, WarnerMedia shows and movies, as well as new original content. Everyone in the family will have something to watch with its vast selection of kids, drama, action, and fantasy shows and movies.
HBO Max has more total movies (and more quality movies) than Hulu, Disney Plus, and Apple TV Plus. It also has some top exclusive shows including Game of Thrones, The Sopranos, Friends, The Wire, South Park, The Flight Attendant, Lovecraft Country, Westworld. And HBO Max has a solid streaming collection for children too, with the ability to control ratings on kids' profiles better than most other services. But HBO Max falls short when it comes to TV shows, only beating out Disney Plus and Apple TV Plus in the amount and quality that it offers, but it is expected to grow in time.
HBO Max costs $14.99 per month, a little more than the standard Netflix package, and much more expensive than Disney Plus and Apple TV Plus. There is a 7-day free trial. $14.99 is the same price HBO Now currently is, but with a whole lot more content to watch. If you already pay for HBO through your cable provider, or if you're an AT&T customer, there is no reason to give up new HBO Max.
Apple TV+
Price: $4.99/month, $50/year
Free trial length: 7-day
Availability: Worldwide
Simultaneous Streams: 6
Live TV: No
4K HDR available: No
Numbers of Movies: 5
Numbers of TV Shows: 22
Notable Original Content: Ted Lasso, Trying, Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet, Central Park, The Morning Show, For All Mankind, Dickinson, Servant, Snoopy in Space
Supported Devices: Amazon Fire TV Cube, Amazon TV Fire Stick, Apple TV, iPhone, Ipad, LG smart TVs, web browsers, Roku, Roku Express, and Samsung smart TVs
Apple TV+ is an ad-free subscription video-on-demand streaming television service of Apple Inc. that debuted on November 1, 2019. Unlike Disney+, Apple TV+ is entirely focused on new original content. Most of those are adult-oriented and totally melodramatic, like Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon’s over-the-top, inside-TV-baseball thriller The Morning Show and Chris Evans’s Defending Jacob, a maudlin adaptation of a popular crime novel. (There’s also Jason Momoa’s wretched See, an expensive fantasy show gunning for the title of “the next Game of Thrones” with zero success.)
Otherwise, there are a few shows for kids, like a Sesame Street spinoff focused on STEM and a reboot of Jim Henson’s Fraggle Rock series. Oprah’s Book Club is also a monthly show.
Apple TV Plus at $4.99 per month, is the cheapest major streaming service. You can have a seven-day free trial of Apple TV, or if you've recently purchased a new iPhone or other iOS devices, you get a year of Apple TV Plus for free. But the service has fewer movies and TV shows than the rivals included in Reelgood's report by a long shot and.
The Bottom Line
Disney Plus vs. Netflix vs. Hulu vs. Amazon Prime vs. HBO vs. Apple TV: Which Is The Best Streaming Service?
Disney Plus, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, HBO, and Apple TV are the most recognizable streaming services for good reason. But while they share the occasional feature, they’re actually quite different.
Disney+ is the best streaming service for kids and young adults who want to relive their childhoods.
Netflix has the most popular original series. If you can only subscribe to one streaming service, Netflix is the clear winner.
Hulu not only offers a no-ads plan but a solid cable-alternative service in Hulu + Live TV. It is best for those who want to get into current TV streaming.
Amazon Prime Video has a great library, but it's best for those who also use other Prime benefits.
HBO was already home to some of the best TV, and HBO Max adds an impressive back catalog of movies you can't watch anywhere else.
Apple TV+ has a lot of star power, but it's light on content. I don't recommend it.
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