Do you have to pick Disney Plus, Netflix or Prime Video? (Image: NETFLIX • PRIME VIDEO • WALT DISNEY • GETTY) This text comprises affiliate links, we may receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
Struggling to search out something to look at? A streaming service will be an inexpensive technique to unlock tons of of recent TV shows, documentaries, sports fixtures (in some cases) and blockbuster movies. Streaming platforms like Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+ are all available with rolling monthly contracts so, unlike a number of the best Sky TV deals around, you’ll have the option to cancel at any time – making these streamers incredibly flexible.
But with news of an incoming Amazon Prime price rise within the UK – the primary time costs have increased since 2014, which streaming service offers the last word value for money?
Netflix stays the most well-liked, with 220 million subscribers worldwide. Despite huge success with its latest season of Stranger Things, which is barely available to stream on Netflix and racked up an astonishing 5 billion viewing minutes in a single week, it’s shedding subscribers at certainly one of the fastest rates of any platform on this list. In line with figures from the Broadcast Audience Research Board (Barb), Netflix lost 210,000 subscribers right down to 17.08 million within the UK between April and June this 12 months.
Amazon Prime lost 589,000 subscribers to 12.76 million in the identical period. Interestingly, these subscribers could’ve all avoided the incoming price hike by renewing their contracts at the present rate before September. Disney+ bucked the trend and increased its subscriber count through the latest quarter, Barb data shows. It added 91,000 paying subscribers to achieve a recent total of 6.62 million within the UK.
For those who’re pondering of joining the hundreds of individuals trimming their monthly outgoings by dropping a streaming service …which one just isn’t definitely worth the monthly cost? We have pitted the most well-liked streaming platforms within the UK against each other to assist you determine.
Prime Video
Prime Video, inbuilt part due to the acquisition of DVD postage firm LoveFilm by Amazon back in 2011, is somewhat different from its two biggest streaming rivals – Netflix and Disney+. While these platforms only offer titles included as a part of your monthly subscription, Prime Video also allows subscribers to pay extra to rent and buy shows, documentaries and movies not included within the £5.99 per thirty days subscription. As such, it offers an almost limitless library inside its app …for those who’re willing to pay.
After all, there’s plenty included as a part of your monthly subscription fee too. Amazon produces an enormous variety of exclusive movies, including Being the Ricardos, Val, The Tomorrow War, Coming 2 America, Sound of Metal, The Big Sick, Manchester by the Sea, and Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm. It is also launched a lot of successful original series, including The Grand Tour, The Boys, The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel, Clarkson’s Farm, James May …Our Man In Japan, and Backstage with Katherine Ryan.
In the approaching weeks, Prime Video will launch its biggest bet yet – The Lord of the Rings: The Rings Of Power is about hundreds of years before the events of the Academy Award-winning film trilogy and is widely tipped to be the most costly television show ever produced due to the eye-watering $58 million (£48 million) budget per episode.
Prime Video is the one streaming service that also includes live sports coverage as a part of its monthly subscription, with the US Open, WTA and ATP Tours, two full match rounds of the Premier League 2022/23 season, and Autumn Nations Rugby.
Unlike Netflix, Prime Video only offers a single subscription tier, so you will not must pay extra to look at in the best picture quality (4K Ultra HD) available – you may just need a compatible set-top box, telly, phone or tablet, and an online connection that is fast enough to handle the format. Prime Video subscribers are limited to watching on three devices concurrently with same login credentials. Only two different devices can concurrently view the identical title at the identical time.
While it’s possible to subscribe to Prime Video for £5.99 per thirty days, the streaming service can also be included as a perk with an Amazon Prime membership.
This scheme also offers free next-day delivery on hundreds of things from Amazon (and even same-day delivery in some parts of the UK), thousands and thousands of tracks to stream in your phone or Amazon Echo via Prime Music, free Kindle ebooks to read with Prime Reading, free PC games to download and keep via Prime Gaming, a one-year subscription to Deliveroo Plus, early access to Lightning Deals and discounts on Amazon (including through the Black Friday sales), unlimited photo back-up to the cloud, the list goes on…
Amazon Prime costs £7.99 per thirty days or £79 per 12 months, nevertheless, from September 15, the price of this membership will jump to £8.99 per thirty days or £95 per 12 months.
Nevertheless, for those who’re completely satisfied with just getting a Prime Video subscription by itself that plan is currently just £5.99 a month, and this price won’t be increasing in September. And for those who sign-up for an annual Amazon Prime membership now, you may avoid the value rise until your membership is on account of be renewed in August 2023.
Whichever plan you select though, it’s still cheaper than a typical Netflix subscription. This plan plan, which incorporates access to High Definition (1080p) and the flexibility to stream on as much as two devices at the identical time, costs £10.99 per thirty days.
Prime Video | Quick Review
Best Bit
Growing collection of original series and movies, like The Boys, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm, and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and live sports! Plus, for those who subscribe to Prime Video as a part of an Amazon Prime membership, you will get a truckload of other perks, including next-day delivery, free Kindle books, music streaming, and more.
Worst Bit
Prime Video lets users rent and buy titles not included as a part of the subscription, which implies you will get more alternative than another steamer …but it surely does mean you’ll be able to’t leave the handheld remote control unattended with younger viewers nearby as they could by accident buy, unlike Netflix.
Price
Prime Video standalone price is £5.99 a month, Amazon Prime price can be £8.99 a month or £95 a 12 months from September 15 (currently £7.99 a month or £79 for a 12 months)
Netflix
Netflix is definitely the largest name in streaming. The Californian company revolutionised TV viewing when it arrived within the UK back in January 2012 – dropping every episode of a whole series at the identical time so subscribers could furiously binge-watch hours of telly.
Because the arrival of House of Cards in 2013, the streamer has launched a flurry of colossal hits that are exclusive to the platform, including Bridgerton, The Crown, Stranger Things, Sex Education, Squid Game, You, Queer Eye, BoJack Horseman, Ozark, Selling Sunset, GLOW, Orange Is The Recent Black, Mindhunter, Black Mirror, The Haunting Of Hill House, Too Hot To Handle, Midnight Mass, Love Is Blind, Master of None, 13 Reasons Why, Lupin, Gilmore Girls: A 12 months within the Life, and lots of, many more.
Likelihood is, you’ve got heard friends, family or coworkers discussing one (or many) of those shows through the years. Netflix has launched a number of the most talked-about shows of the last decade …and continues to provide recent hits every few months.
And it isn’t just boxsets, either. Netflix rolls out a gentle stream of original movies too, with one recent blockbuster hitting the streamer every week of this 12 months.
Netflix has launched a number of the most talked-about shows of the last decade …and continues to provide recent hits every few months
To maintain up with the insatiable appetite of its legion of binge-watchers, Netflix heavily invests in original content. Nevertheless, this comes at a price – with the value of a subscription steadily rising through the years.
The newest price hike kicked in earlier this 12 months within the UK, with the fundamental and standard plans going up by £1 a month while the premium plan increased by £2 a month.
Netflix’s Standard plan is its hottest, unlocking access to the 1080p High Definition streaming (essential for those who’re pondering of watching on a TV) and the flexibility for 2 people to look at using the identical login credentials (handy if you must split the price with a loved one or flatmate). Nevertheless, at £10.99 per thirty days (and no discount available for those willing to plump for an annual subscription upfront …unlike each Amazon Prime and Disney+) this Netflix plan is the most costly option in this text.
That may not be the case for for much longer. Netflix is planning on launching a less expensive, ad-supported plan in the approaching months, but sadly, no pricing has been confirmed yet. Plus, this can be countered by Disney+ which is launching the same ad-supported subscription package to make streaming more cost-effective very soon too.
Netflix | Quick Review
Best Bit
Considered one of the slickest streaming apps of any of the subscription services on this list, Netflix offers a vast library and never-ending streaming of unmissable (and exclusive) boxsets. If your folks or family are excitably talking a couple of recent series or documentary they can not binge-watch fast enough, likelihood is it’s on Netflix.
Worst Bit
All of that content comes at a price and a gentle trickle of price rises have left Netflix’s Standard Plan because the costliest subscription fee on this list …and it isn’t even the priciest subscription tier that Netflix offers! Until the much talked-about ad-supported tier launches within the near future, Netflix just isn’t for those seeking to get monetary savings every month!
Price
Netflic Basic plan offers non-HD streaming from £6.99 per thirty days, Standard plan which allows you to stream in HD (and on two screens concurrently) costs £10.99 per thirty days, while 4K Ultra HD picture quality is locked away behind the priciest plan at £15.99 per thirty days. That is £191.88 for a complete 12 months of boxset bingeing in 4K, which is included as standard with Disney+ and Prime Video!
Disney+
Disney+ is certainly one of the latest kids on the streaming block, but already boasts an unlimited library with a number of the biggest blockbuster and most critically-acclaimed movies of all time.
The House of Mouse’s streaming service only launched back in March 2022, but has already gained thousands and thousands of subscribers within the UK. It leverages Disney’s unmatched arsenal of mental property, including the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Lucasfilm, Pixar Studios, National Geographic, exclusive movies and shows from US-only streaming service Hulu, and classic Walt Disney animated movies.
For a flat monthly fee, subscribers will have the option to look at every film within the Star Wars saga, in addition to exclusive shows set inside the universe like The Mandalorian and Obi-Wan Kenobi, all 29 movies within the MCU in addition to shows like WandaVision and Loki that directly inform the subsequent Marvel blockbusters slated for release, every episode of The Simpsons (and recent episodes as soon as they air within the US), movies released by the twentieth Century Fox (which was acquired by Disney back in 2019), National Geographic documentary series and movies, and each film released by Walt Disney and Pixar.
If that appears like loads, it’s because it truly is.
To maintain pace with rivals like Netflix and Prime Video, Disney+ can also be investing heavily in original content, just like the critically-acclaimed Dopesick, The Rescue, The Dropout, and The Beatles: Get Back, which were all produced exclusively for the platform.
As cinemas closed their doors worldwide through the global pandemic, Disney+ quickly became the house for the newest cinematic releases. Because the world has began to open-up again, Disney+ is bringing movies to the streaming service in record time. For instance, Doctor Strange within the Multiverse of Madness, which was exclusive to multiplexes in May 2022, was recently added to the Disney+ library, while Pixar’s Lightyear – released in cinemas nationwide on June 17, blasted onto Disney+ on August 3. That is just 47 days.
Higher yet, the wealth of content available with Disney+ will be accessed for a terrific price. A Disney+ membership is £7.99 a month or £79.90 per 12 months. This works out as cheaper than the brand new Amazon Prime price and the usual price of a Netflix subscription. Nevertheless, it’s dearer than a standalone Prime Video subscription.
Disney+ | Quick Review
Best Bit
For lower than the price of a single Walt Disney film on DVD, you’ll be able to stream each animated classic, Pixar film and all 29 entries within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Not only that, but you’ll be able to watch every episode of The Simpsons, the whole Star Wars saga, National Geographic documentaries, and a gentle stream of original series exclusive to the streamer.
Worst Bit
For those who’re not heavily invested in Walt Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, or the Marvel Cinematic Universe …you will find yourself scrolling past a whole lot of the library in search of something to look at. While Disney+ is steadily adding titles to the mature-focused Star brand, it might’t match Netflix’s arsenal of adult-oriented boxsets quite yet.
Price
Disney+ costs £7.99 per thirty days, nevertheless, it also offers an annual plan for £79.90 per 12 months that equates to 12-months for the price of 10.
Netflix vs Disney+ vs Prime Video: Final Verdict
Ultimately, we are able to speak about how much each service costs per thirty days, what number of exclusives are being released this 12 months, and what number of price rises have been introduced recently …but whether a service is value for money comes right down to personal taste.
Netflix is comfortably the most costly streaming service in this text, but it surely’s also the one technique to watch the newest season of Stranger Things, The Crown, and Squid Game. Thankfully, because the streamer drops all episodes on a single day, it’s possible to dip-in and dip-out each time there’s something you realize you will need to look at. That is a terrific technique to get monetary savings and is not at all times possible with Prime Video and Disney+, which each are likely to release recent episodes of their biggest shows weekly.
For those who’re a prolific shopper on Amazon, an annual Amazon Prime membership is a superb deal, with the wealth of sensible shows and movies – definitely try Clarkson’s Farm, The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel, and The Sound Of Metal – a terrific bonus onto of the speedy delivery, free photo back-up, and music streaming bundled as a part of your subscription.
And for those who want the largest library of content for essentially the most inexpensive subscription fee, look no further than Disney+, which is essential for anyone with smaller children in the home (a month subscription costs lower than buying a single Walt Disney animated film on DVD) and, due to a recent effort to bolster its mature content under the Star banner, has a lot of adult shows that give Netflix a run for its money too.
For those who’re deeply invested within the Marvel Cinematic Universe or Star Wars, you actually cannot afford to miss out on the newest blockbuster and exclusive series set in the identical universes being released on the House of Mouse’s streamer.
Ultimately, the most effective thing you’ll be able to do is take a look at the content available on each app, what recent releases are on the horizon, and judge which app’s library appeals to you essentially the most. The entire streaming services listed in this text can be found on the most well-liked hardware, including iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, Fire TV, Chromecast with Google TV, Roku streaming set-top boxes, Sky Q, Sky Glass, Samsung Smart TVs, and the newest games consoles (other than the Nintendo Switch) …so there is not any probability that you simply won’t have the option to look at on almost every device in your private home. Disney+, Netflix and Prime Video also offer the flexibility to download titles to your phone or tablet, so you’ll be able to watch if you have not got an online connection – on the tube in your morning commute or a long-haul flight, for instance.
And remember – you’ll be able to at all times subscribe to at least one for just a few months, cancel one subscription, and move onto one other streamer to catch-up on what you’ve got missed to assist keep costs right down to a minimum.
