Basic: SD quality for $8.99 a month. Standard: HD quality for $13.99 a month. Premium: Ultra HD quality for $17.99 a month. Add-ons None How many shows can you watch at once? Basic: 1. Standard: 2. Premium: 4. Where does it work? Streaming media players, smart TVs, game consoles, set-top boxes, Blu-ray players, smartphones, tablets, and computers. Many models of each are supported, but be sure to check Netflix’s compatibility list. What’s the takeaway? Netflix is unmatched in both quantity and quality of original content online. Even better are luxury features like 4K HDR streaming and the majority of Netflix Originals are available for offline viewing. Unfortunately, all the money Netflix funnels into its original programming has come at the cost of the size and popularity of its larger library. Over the years, many shows have left Netflix to reappear on other sites. Hits like Friends or It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia have already made their way off the site, and the site’s formerly most popular show, The Office, left for Peacock in January 2021. Hulu: 30-days free then $5.99 a month. Hulu (No Ads): 30 days free then $11.99 a month. Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+ are available in a bundle from Disney for $12.99 a month. This saves you $72 a year as opposed to signing up for these three services individually. Add-ons Showtime, HBO Max, HBO, Cinemax, Starz, Entertainment (additional news and lifestyle programming), Español (access to Spanish language content), Unlimited Screens If you sign up for HBO Max through Hulu, an HBO Max tab appears on your Hulu account and HBO content is searchable on Hulu. However, you cannot stream all HBO Max content, like Friends, through Hulu, and you must instead sign in with your Hulu account on HBO Max itself. How many shows can you watch at once? Both plans support up to two screens. The Unlimited Screens add-on costs an extra $9.99 a month. Where does it work? Android phones, tablets, and TVs, Apple TV, Chromecast, Echo Show, Fire tablets, TV, and sticks, iOS devices, LG TVs, Switch, macOS, Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Roku, Roku sticks, Samsung TVs, Vizio SmartCast TVs, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xfinity Flex Streaming TV Box, and Xfinity X1 TV Boxes. Check Hulu’s official compatibility list to make sure your device is supported. What’s the takeaway? Hulu succeeds where it matters most: delivering a well-rounded library of new and old shows people actually want to watch. Many of the shows that leave Netflix, like Archer, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, or Family Guy, end up on Hulu. This is in addition to Hulu’s comprehensive selection of currently-airing shows, which is often a better way to watch than on cable because Hulu has plans without ads. Hulu also has its own lineup of original content, and all of its subscribers have access to HD and Ultra HD content (where available) as well as a limited selection of content available to download on supported devices. Basic: Free. Premium: 7-day free trial then $4.99 a month. Premium Plus ad-free: 7-day free trial then $9.99 a month. Add-ons None How many shows can you watch at once? 3 Where does it work? Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Android TVs, Apple TV, Roku devices, Chromecast, LG Smart TVs, PlayStation 4, Vizio TVs, Xbox One, Cable Provider Set Top Boxes Take a look at Peacock’s official compatibility list to make sure your specific devices are supported before signing up. What’s the takeaway? Peacock is a newcomer to the streaming service party, but NBC’s service is aggressively pursuing exclusives, making it the only place to watch a lot of beloved content, like Law & Order (and Criminal Intent), the Harry Potter movies, The Office, or even CBS’s King of Queens, which isn’t available on the CBS streaming service Paramount+ and hasn’t been available to stream before. While Peacock’s well of original content is fairly dry in the present day, the service has announced a huge slate of content in production, like Tina Fey’s comedy series Girls5Eva. Luxury features like 4K and HDR streaming also didn’t make the cut at launch, but they could be coming at a later date. Hulu + Live TV: 7-day free trial then $54.99 a month. Hulu (No Ads) + Live TV: 7-day free trial then $60.99 a month. Add-ons Showtime, HBO Max, HBO, Cinemax, Starz, Entertainment (additional news and lifestyle programming), Español (access to Spanish language content), Unlimited Screens If you sign up for HBO Max through Hulu, an HBO Max tab appears on your Hulu account and HBO content is searchable on Hulu. However, you cannot stream all HBO Max content, like Friends, through Hulu, and you must instead sign in with your Hulu account on HBO Max itself. How many shows can you watch at once? Both plans support up to two screens. The Unlimited Screens add-on runs you an extra $9.99 a month. Where does it work? Android phones, tablets, and TVs, Apple TV, Chromecast, Echo Show, Fire tablets, TV, and sticks, iOS devices, LG TVs, Switch, macOS, Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Roku, Roku sticks, Samsung TVs, Vizio SmartCast TVs, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xfinity Flex Streaming TV Box, and Xfinity X1 TV Boxes. Check Hulu’s official compatibility list to make sure your device is supported. What’s the takeaway? Considering Hulu + Live TV’s lower price than competitors like YouTube TV or FuboTV; its serviceable if not spectacular lineup of channels larger than the equally priced DirecTV Stream service; and the huge library of content you get from Hulu itself, there’s no better value for an all-around television fan. Essential Plan: $4.99 per month with limited commercials. Premium Plan: $9.99 per month commercial-free (with the caveat that live TV still includes network commercials). Try either plan free for seven days. Paying upfront for an annual plan gets you 15% off the subscription price. Add-ons Showtime (with a monthly subscription only) How many shows can you watch at once? 3 Where does it work? Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS, Android, Roku, Fire TV, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PS4, LG, Samsung, Vizio, Xfinity, computer with Chrome or Firefox web browsers What’s the takeaway? Paramount+ (formerly CBS All Access) is different from many of the other offerings on this list because it doesn’t have an exhaustive channel list. Rather, Paramount+ focuses on offerings from CBS and CBSN along with CBS Sports HQ and ET Live. Still, the library is bigger than you’d expect and includes Star Trek: Discovery and other popular shows. With its deep CBS ties, Paramount+ is also the home of many crime and legal dramas, with options from NCIS to Criminal Minds. One of the most popular legal dramas of all time, The Good Wife, and its original spinoff, The Good Fight, are available exclusively on Paramount+. Paramount+ builds on its previous incarnation, CBS All Access, adding exclusive streaming content from Nickelodeon, BET, Comedy Central, MTV, and the Smithsonian Channel. You also gain access to hundreds of Paramount movies as well as live sports, original content, and reboots. Monthly: $6.99. Yearly: $69.99, which is $13.89 in savings. Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+ are available in a bundle from Disney for $12.99 a month. This will save you $72 a year as opposed to signing up for these three services individually. Add-ons None How many shows can you watch at once? Four, though you can download movies and TV shows for offline viewing on up to ten mobile devices. Where does it work? Before you sign up, best to take a look at Disney+’s official compatibility list. What’s the takeaway? If you’re a fan of anything Disney, Pixar, Marvel, or Lucasfilm, Disney+ is the exclusive home for this content. R-rated films and certain original content, like Marvel’s Runaways, are still available on Hulu. Disney+ also has content from National Geographic as well as a host of original content, like the mega-popular The Mandalorian. While splitting up their streaming services may not have been the most cost-effective move for the consumer, Disney+ as a streaming service is an excellent value. It costs less than most of the competition, gives you exclusive access to some of the most popular shows and movies out there, and it’s very generous with screens, allowing up to four. It also has offline viewing, allowing unlimited downloads on up to ten mobile devices. Fan: $7.99 a month. Mega Fan: $9.99 a month. Ultimate Fan: $14.99 a month. Crunchyroll doesn’t have a “free” tier plan, but by simply accessing the service you can watch anime and Asian dramas for free with ads. You can also opt to pay every three months or every 12 months, which can bring the monthly cost down a fair bit, depending on your selected plan and billing cycle. Add-ons None How many shows can you watch at once? Fan: 1. Mega Fan: 4. Ultimate Fan: 6. Where does it work? Check out Crunchyroll’s official compatibility page to be sure your personal device is supported. What’s the takeaway? Both Netflix and Hulu continue to invest in their anime selections, which makes them more attractive with every passing year. However, Crunchyroll is still the undisputed king when it comes to streaming anime. You’re able to watch a wide selection of currently-airing anime (with episodes released four hours after they go live in Japan) as well as a back catalog of anime. Crunchyroll’s subtitles, while often not the very best in class, are always serviceable and never a let down. 7-day free trial, then $6.99 a month (or $69 annually), but if you buy an Apple device, Apple may give you a year free of Apple TV+. Apple TV+ also comes in with an Apple One subscription. Add-ons None How many shows can you watch at once? 6 Where does it work? Apple has a helpful guide to where you can watch Apple TV+, so be sure to verify you have a supported device. What’s the takeaway? On paper, AppleTV+ is an exceptional deal: For $5 a month you get regular drops of new content made by people you recognize, support for up to six screens, offline viewing on Apple devices, and even 4K HDR streams of movies and TV shows. Some of Apple’s original content has been reasonably well-received, like Ted Lasso, The Morning Show, or Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet, but the service hasn’t had its House of Cards or Handmaid’s Tale breakout hit yet.
