In this technological age, there are so many ways to stream content and people are faced with the big question: Which streaming service is the best? Well, I’m here to tell you which is worth your money (in my opinion).
(Photo Courtesy of Netflix)
I’ll be judging using three criteria: interface, cost/streamers, and (of course) content. Our contestants today are what I think are the biggest services: Amazon Prime, Disney+, Hulu, and Netflix
Interface
Fourth Place: Amazon Prime. Amazon Prime’s interface is kind of clunky. The titles are a little smaller, so it’s harder to see and just a little more awkward to use.
Third Place: Hulu. Hulu’s interface is pretty similar to most streaming services, but Hulu’s one big drawback is that it has ads. More than that, it has pretty frequent ads. I feel like this gets in the way of my viewing experience.
Second Place: Disney+. Disney+ is new, but it’s already a hit. The interface is very similar to Netflix, where the things you’re watching pop up first and similar things pop up next. However, one thing that I noticed was that when I finish watching things, they don’t leave my “continue watching.” This isn’t a particularly big deal, but I don’t prefer it because I’m done watching something, so I don’t want it to be the first thing that pops up every time I open the website.
First Place: Netflix. Can we complain about Netflix? It’s easy to use, and your account is targeted to you. I think Netflix has interface down.
Cost and Number of Simultaneous Streamers
These rankings are based off of the time of writing this article (December 2019) and the cheapest plan available. It does not include tax or additional channels.
Fourth Place: Hulu. Hulu costs $6 monthly with ads, but without ads it costs $12. Only two devices are allowed to stream simultaneously.
Third Place: Netflix. It’s $9 a month for one streamer at a time.
Second Place: Amazon Prime. Amazon costs $119 with the Prime subscription but $9 dollars without. This price is the same as Netflix’s, however, Prime allows three simultaneous streamers while Netflix only allows one.
First Place: Disney+. For $7 a month, it offers room for four streamers at a time.
Content
Fourth Place: Amazon Prime. Amazon Prime has some good shows, but overall, the selection is not great. It doesn’t have the shows I want to watch. It is unique in its selection, a fact that works for some people, just not for me.
Third Place: Disney+. I love Disney+ because I love reliving all the things from my childhood, but currently, Disney+ isn’t quite as good as other services content-wise. It has holes in its catalogue as Disney+ is still waiting for contracts to expire with other streaming services over the rights to all of their movies and shows. In my opinion, it’s really one note. You can watch Disney Channel, Marvel, or Star Wars, which are great options, but eventually you notice how few genres there are.
Second Place: Hulu. Hulu has some really good media! It’s the only streaming service that has “Brooklyn 99” and has a pretty nice variety of content.
First Place: Netflix. How wouldn’t Netflix win this? It has great options, multiple genres, and literally hours of media to watch. Things come and go kind of quickly, but there is enough variety that there are always three new, great series to watch when one good movie leaves.
Final
Fourth Place: Amazon Prime. No offence to Amazon Prime, but did it ever have a chance?
Third Place: Hulu. Hulu is solid, I won’t deny it, but the ads really ruin the experience for me.
Second Place: Disney+. I think that Disney+ is one of the best things that came out of 2019. It has good stuff and it a solid platform, but I feel like there are some gaps in the content.
First Place: Netflix. Of course, Netflix is going to be first. Netflix is reliable, trusted and easy to use. It has its downfalls (don’t get me wrong) but to me, Netflix is the clear winner.
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