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The Best Video On Demand (VOD) Streaming Services in 2024

There are now more and more options to stream TV shows and movies online. For those who don’t want to spend $100+ a month on cable, satellite, or live TV, there are great entertainment options with a subscription video streaming service.

With services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu, you can get access to thousands of hours of TV shows and movies for less than $15 a month. Newer players like Apple TV+, Disney+, Max, and Peacock have helped provide more choices than ever before.

To help you find the right subscription video service, we’ve put together a full overview of the different plans, features, content catalogs, and streaming quality of the different services.

Each service has its pros and cons. Some come with a library of beloved old TV shows and blockbuster movies. Some focus more heavily on original content. Some feature a rotating library while others are more static. We recommend trying several services to discover the mix that’s right for you.

There are options from $5 to $15 a month, which means you might want to choose more than one service to create your own little streaming bundle of content for your entire family.

What is the Best On Demand Streaming Service?

After testing and analyzing video-on-demand (VOD) streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and Max for thousands of hours, we found that each service is great for different reasons.

Most of the interfaces are well designed, they all primarily work across major streaming players, support offline mode on mobile devices, and have compelling enough content for adults, kids, and the whole family. The key decision to make when choosing a streaming service is deciding if it has the content you want to watch at an affordable price.

Depending on if you want new originals, classic TV shows, blockbuster movies, or shows for kids — we think there is a great pick for you.

Best For a Budget

At just $7.99 a month (with ads), Hulu includes thousands of hours of TV shows, including those currently airing on TV. When you add original series like The Handmaid’s Tale and The Act, you are getting a lot of high-quality content for your money.

Best For Families

At just $7.99 a month, Disney+ is a no-brainer for anyone who has kids. But don’t think it’s just for your little ones. It includes a deep library of Star Wars, Marvel, and Nat Geo content — as well as live-action Star Wars TV Series like The Mandalorian and Marvel shows like WandaVision and Ms. Marvel.

Best Value

At $15.49 for HD video, Netflix is more expensive than most others, but there is so much content, you’ll never be at a loss to find something to entertain. With hundreds of originals series like Stranger Things, Black Mirror, Queer Eye, and Tidying Up with Marie Kondo — there are options for everyone in your household.

Most Content

If you’re looking for pure quantity, Amazon Prime Video has more shows and movies than any other streaming service. If you subscribe to Amazon Prime, you get Prime Video included at no extra cost. Original hits like The Boys and Jack Reacher make this a solid overall choice.

Best Quality

At $15.99, Max is not cheap, but you will get some of the best shows on television, as well as access to blockbuster movies and cinematic classics from great directors like Kubrick, Kurosawa, and Scorsese.


Subscription Video On Demand Streaming Service Comparison

Netflix vs. Hulu vs. Amazon Prime Video vs. Disney+ vs. HBO & Other Streaming Services

When compared to your cable TV subscription, a subscription on demand streaming service is a bargain. At less than $15 a month, you can get access to a library of old TV shows, movies, and high-quality original series.

These days, most services offer a premium ad-free subscription as well as a less expensive subscription that includes commercials.

Almost all of the streaming services support Profiles, Parental Controls, and Offline Streaming. The biggest difference is in the number of profiles, functionality of parental controls, and how much content you can actually download.

All the services stream in at least HD quality with Stereo sound, with some of the video streaming services offering select titles in 4K with high-quality audio like Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby Atmos. While services like Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video include 4K with their standard subscriptions, others like Netflix require an additional fee to unlock higher resolution.

Prime Video Apple TV+ discovery+ Disney+ Max Hulu Netflix Paramount+ Peacock Showtime STARZ
Free Trial Free Trial Free Trial Sign Up Sign Up Free Trial Sign Up Get 30 Days Free Sign Up Get 30 Days Free Save 70%
$8.99 – $11.99 $9.99 $4.99 – $8.99 $7.99 – $24.99 $9.99 – $19.99 $7.99 – $17.99 $6.99 – $22.99 $5.99 – $11.99 $5.99 – $11.99 $11.99 $9.99
TV Shows (Approx.) 2,500 shows 6 shows 2,500 shows 500 shows 200 shows 2,000 shows 2,000 shows 200 shows 200 shows 100 shows 100 shows
Movies (Approx.) 14,000 movies 2 movies - 1,000 movies 1,000 movies 1,000 movies 5,000 movies 150 movies 500 movies 500 movies 500 movies
Profiles (Max.) 1 profile 6 profiles 5 profiles 7 profiles 5 profiles 6 profiles 5 profiles 6 profiles - 1 profile 1 profile
Parental Controls -
Simultaneous Streams 3 devices 6 devices 4 devices 4 devices 3 devices 2 devices 4 devices 3 devices 3 devices 3 devices 2 devices
Offline Downloads -
Video Quality 1080p, 4K 1080p, 4K 1080p 1080p, 4K 1080p, 4K 1080p, 4K 1080p, 4K 1080p 1080p, 4K 1080p 1080p
Audio Quality Stereo, Surround Surround Stereo Stereo, Surround Stereo, Surround Stereo, Surround Stereo, Surround Surround Stereo, Surround Stereo, Surround Stereo, Surround
International Access -

Plans & Pricing

Hulu

Starting at $7.99 a month, Hulu has a combination of in-season episodes of top TV shows from channels like ABC, NBC, Fox, and cable channels like FX. The service is also well known for its original series like The Handmaid’s Tale, Only Murders in the Building, and Shrill. If you want an ad-free experience, you can upgrade to their $17.99 ad-free plan.

Hulu
$7.99 – $17.99 hulu.com
30-Day Free Trial

Disney+

At just $7.99, Disney+ is one of the least expensive options for streaming content. But, with a low price, you still get access to incredible content like the entire Disney Vault, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and Nat Geo Films — as well as originals like the Star Wars TV series The Mandalorian and Marvel shows like WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Loki.

Disney+
$7.99 – $24.99 disneyplus.com
Sign Up Now

Amazon Prime Video

Amazon Prime Video packs a punch at $8.99 / month after a 30-Day Free Trial (or free for Prime members). It has the largest catalog of shows and movies. Additionally, you will get access to originals like The Boys, Jack Ryan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Fleabag. Prime Video is also the exclusive home for the NFL’s Thursday Night Football.

Amazon Prime Video
$8.99 – $11.99 amazon.com
30-Day Free Trial

Netflix

The most well-known and largest is Netflix, which offers plans ranging from $11.99 (for a single screen) to $22.99 (for four simultaneous screens and 4K). Most subscribers will end up with the $15.49 per month Standard Plan, which includes 2 simultaneous screens.

With Netflix spending almost $15 billion a year on content, you will get great value for your subscription. The service includes movies, classic TV shows, and originals like Stranger Things, The Queen’s Gambit, Queer Eye, Squid Game, and Russian Doll.

Netflix
$6.99 – $22.99 netflix.com
Sign Up

Max

At $15.99 a month for the ad-free tier, Max is one of the more expensive subscription plans, but the service is known for high-quality HBO content like Succession, Chernobyl, Westworld and Watchmen. For kids, Max includes the latest episodes and a recent library of Sesame Street ahead of when it comes to PBS. You can also catch the entire library of HBO shows like Game of Thrones, The Sopranos, The Wire, and Veep.

Max has added thousands of hours of additional content including a deep library of classic TV shows like Friends, The Big Bang Theory, and South Park.

Max
$9.99 – $19.99 Max.com
Sign Up

Paramount Plus

Starting at $5.99 a month with ads or $11.99 without them, Paramount+ has access to in-season episodes of CBS shows, as well as the ability to watch your local CBS affiliate live meaning you can catch live NFL, College Football, and College Basketball games. In addition, they have original series like Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard — as well as others like The Twilight Zone, 1883, and The Good Fight.

Paramount Plus
$5.99 – $11.99 paramountplus.com
Get 30 Days Free

Paramount+ with SHOWTIME

For $11.99 a month, the ad-free streaming service SHOWTIME has a collection of movies and library of old Showtime shows like Weeds, but the primary reason to subscribe is to watch their original series like Billions, Shameless, Homeland, Ray Donovan, Black Monday, and On Becoming a God in Central Florida.

Paramount+ with SHOWTIME
$11.99 showtime.paramountplus.com
Get 30 Days Free

Apple TV+

Starting at $9.99 a month after a 7-Day Free Trial, Apple TV+ is the least expensive option, especially because if you buy an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple TV — you will get your first year free. Apple moves slowly to add new shows and movies, so the content is limited, compared to other services, but the quality is high. Apple TV+ is home to excellent shows like Ted Lasso, Severance, and For All Mankind. You’ll also find Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer games.

Apple TV+
$9.99 apple.com
7-Day Free Trial

Peacock

The service has two tiers, Peacock Free, which is available to all customers at no charge, and Peacock Premium which starts at $5.99 a month with ads and $11.99 a month without ads. If you are an Xfinity X1, Xfinity Flex, or Cox Contour customer — you will get a $5 discount on either plan — meaning you can get Peacock Premium at no extra charge.

While the free tier includes 7,500 hours of content, Peacock Premium will include 15,000 hours of programming including next-day access to current seasons of all NBCU series, early access to The Tonight Show and Late Night, Peacock Originals like Bel-Air, Saved By The Bell, and Rutherford Falls, and live sports like MLB, Premier League, Ryder Cup, and The Olympics. Peacock is also the exclusive home of WWE events, including WrestleMania.

Peacock
$5.99 – $11.99 peacocktv.com
Sign Up

Content Catalogs

All of the major streaming services include original series, as access to a library of movies and television shows.

Content not produced as streaming service exclusives will tend to migrate from service to service. Films and TV shows from small studios move quite frequently.

When choosing a streaming service, either pick it because it has a library of shows that you want to have access to or because they have a collection of original shows and movies to constantly keep you interested.

Just like when you used to subscribe to the premium channels HBO or Showtime for their original series, streaming services have used their own original content to keep you streaming. Every major streaming service is now creating originals, some with completely new ideas, others with spinoffs, and even some bringing back classics with reboots. The various different services are spending billions of dollars on exclusive content across categories from dramas to comedies to kids shows.

The exact movie library you will get with each service changes by the month, depending on their deals with different movie studios. Streaming services with studio ownership (like Disney+ or HBO Max) tend to have a more stable library than something like Netflix or Amazon Prime.


Disney+

Originals

Disney+ has one of the most popular original shows with The Mandalorian, the first live-action Star War series. They also have High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, based on the Disney Channel film and the docu-series The World According to Jeff Goldblum — in addition to a few others.

You will see heavy emphasis on Marvel shows with The Falcon and the Winter Solider, Loki, WandaVision, Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, and She-Hulk.

The Star Wars universe expands on Disney+ with Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Book of Boba Fett, and Andor.

For the younger crowd, they are working on a revival of Lizzie McGuire, a show based on Love, Simon, and Monsters at Work based on the Pixar movie Monsters, Inc.

TV Shows

While Disney+ has a deep film library, one of the big draws to the service is that it has every episode of The Simpsons. They also will have 90’s animated Marvel series like Spider-Man and X-Men, as well as the Star Wars animated series, Clone Wars.

Joining those will be a deep library of shows from Disney Channel like Tangled: The Series, DuckTales, Fancy Nancy, Vamparina, and Phineas and Ferb. It will also have Disney Channel classics like That’s So Raven, Hannah Montana, and Even Stevens.

Movies

If you’re a fan of Disney, Pixar, Marvel, or Star Wars — Disney+ is a must-have. The service includes the entire Disney animated library known as the Disney Vault. This means you and your family can watch movies like Frozen, Snow White, Aladdin, The Lion King anytime you want. You can also watch nearly every Pixar film ever made like Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Cars, WALL-E, and more.

You’ll see almost the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), minus a small handful of films. For Star Wars fans, you can stream every Star Wars film from A New Hope through The Rise of Skywalker.

Disney movies released in theaters are typically available on Disney+ about 45 days after they hit theaters.

Kids

There is no better streaming service for kids than Disney+. Not only does it include the entire library of Disney and Pixar animated films, but also many shows from the Disney Channel.

Since the service offer a Kids Mode, your child can have their own profile that only shows content appropriate for them. When you’re traveling, you can even download movies and shows offline to keep your kids occupied on long car rides or flights.

Disney+
$7.99 – $24.99 disneyplus.com
Sign Up Now

Hulu

Originals

Hulu’s most popular original series is the dystopian show The Handmaid’s Tale. You’ll also find Only Murders in the Building, The Act, Castle Rock, and comedies like Shrill and PEN15.

The service is majority-owned by Disney, so it is expected to add original programming at a more aggressive pace. They have ordered a new Marvel series called Helstrom to go with Marvel’s Runaways.

TV Shows

Hulu has a unique set of TV content, in that it not only has shows like Fargo, Archer, Atlanta, and What We Do in The Shadows, but also gets access to some in-season episodes of shows from networks like ABC, NBC, Fox, and major cable channels.

Movies

Hulu has films from Lionsgate and Dreamworks, and is the home of adult-themed 20th Century Fox films, now that Disney owns that studio’s catalog.

Kids

Disney is focusing on Disney+ for their kids content, so there’s not much here. You will find a few odds and ends, but it’s nothing compared to Disney+.

Hulu
$7.99 – $17.99 hulu.com
30-Day Free Trial

Amazon Prime Video

Originals

Prime Video has had a lot of critical success with their original series including The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Fleabag. They’ve also have popular originals like Jack Ryan, The Boys, Invincible, and Homecoming.

TV Shows

As more streaming services have popped up, Prime Video has lost some of its luster in this department. You will find some gems like The Americans or Bosch, but most studios have yanked their best shows for their own services.

Movies

Amazon Prime Video is pushing further into original films with “Sound of Metal,” “One Night in Miami,” “Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm,” “Coming 2 America,” and “Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse.”

Beyond those originals, you’ll find an enormous selection of movies including blockbusters and low-budget fluff. The frustrating navigation can make it hard to find something worth watching, however.

Kids

Amazon Prime Video is the home for PBS Kids series like Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and Arthur. To get more than one season, however, you will need to upgrade your subscription.

You can also add subscriptions to other kid-focused services that live within your Prime ecosystem.

Amazon Prime Video
$8.99 – $11.99 amazon.com
30-Day Free Trial

Netflix

Originals

With the service spending $15 billion on content, the sheer amount of original series on the service is astounding. They have scripted series like Stranger Things, Black Mirror, and The Crown, as well as unscripted shows like Tidying Up with Marie Kondo and Nailed It!.

TV Shows

Netflix has historically had a deep library of some favorites from the past few decades including Breaking Bad, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Seinfeld, Peaky Blinders, Downton Abbey, and Arrested Development.

Movies

The Netflix movie library churns dramatically from month to month. You’ll find classics, new favorites, documentaries, and foreign films coming and going over time. The streaming service also makes its own original films like Red Notice, Bird Box, Roma, and The Irishman. Steven Spielberg will also make original films for Netflix in the coming years.

Kids

Netflix is creating a lot of original programming for kids from animated series to live-action. They have series like Ask The Storybots, Carmen Sandiego, Beat Bugs, and Chip and Potato. They’ve also partnered with DreamWorks to create new shows like Dragons Rescue Riders (based on How to Train Your Dragon) and Go, Dog. Go!.

Netflix
$6.99 – $22.99 netflix.com
Sign Up

Paramount Plus

Originals

Paramount Plus has invested heavily in Star Trek. The service has the popular Star Trek: Discovery, as well as Star Trek: Picard, and an upcoming spin-off of Discovery with Michelle Yeoh.

You’ll also see Yellowstone spin-offs like 1883 and 1923 with Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren.

Other popular shows on the service include The Twilight Zone and The Good Fight, which is a spin-off of the CBS show The Good Wife.

TV Shows

Paramount Plus is the home to the library of most shows that have aired on CBS in recent years. This includes those like NCIS, Blue Bloods, and Hawaii Five-0, as well as reality series like Survivor and The Amazon Race.

For those looking for a little nostalgia, the service is the home of Twin Peaks, Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, I Love Lucy, and Cheers.

Movies

Paramount Plus has a small library of ~150 films that change every month.

Kids

Paramount Plus is making a big push into content for kids. In the next year, they will add more than 1,000 episodes of kids programming including Danger Mouse, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Inspector Gadget, The Adventures of Paddington Bear, Madeline, and Heathcliff.

Paramount Plus
$5.99 – $11.99 paramountplus.com
Get 30 Days Free

Apple TV+

Originals

Apple TV+ currently has a handful of original shows including Ted Lasso with Jason Sudeikis, The Morning Show with Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, See with Jason Momoa, For All Mankind by Battlestar Galactica creator Ronald D. Moore. They will be adding additional shows every month.

TV Shows

Apple TV+ offers very few shows that aren’t Apple TV+ Originals. They include Fraggle Rock and the Ewan McGregor travel series Long Way Round and Long Way Down.

Movies

Apple TV+ does offer a small slate of original films including Greyhound with Tom Hanks, Cherry with Tom Holland, Palmer with Justin Timberlake, the animated Oscar nominee Wolfwalkers, and the documentary Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry.

Kids

The service is making sure that there are shows for kids too. Apple has partnered with Sesame Workshop to create Helpsters, a series designed to help kids solve problems. They also offer the animated series Snoopy in Space and a reboot of Ghostwriter.

Apple TV+
$9.99 apple.com
7-Day Free Trial

Max

Originals

HBO Max will include all originals shows that air on HBO like Westworld, Succession, Euphoria, Barry, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Wire, Game of Thrones, The Sopranos, and Watchmen.

The service will also add shows that you can only get on HBO Max including a TV series based on Dune, an Anna Kendrick comedy Love Life, and The Flight Attendant starring Kaley Cuoco from The Big Bang Theory.

TV Shows

HBO Max has a deep library of shows you know and love, including Friends, South Park, The Big Bang Theory, The West Wing, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and Pretty Little Liars.

Movies

HBO Max has an amazing lineup of films stretching back 100 years including landmarks like Gone with the Wind, Modern Times, Casablanca, Citizen Kane, and more. You’ll find all the Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman films here. The service is The Streamable’s choice for the best comedy and best action movie libraries. HBO Max is also the exclusive home to also Studio Ghibli films like Spirited Away.

Kids

HBO Max offers exclusive access to select archival episodes of Sesame Street, along with first access to the newest episodes.

The service also offers a late-night talk show called The Not Too Late Show with Elmo, as well as a spin-off of Sesame Street called Mecha Builders.

The service will also be the home of Esme & Roy, including a new season of the show.

Max
$9.99 – $19.99 Max.com
Sign Up

Paramount+ with SHOWTIME

Originals

Showtime includes originals shows like Billions, Shameless, Homeland, Ray Donovan, Black Monday, Kidding, and On Becoming a God in Central Florida.

TV Shows

In addition to new originals, you’ll also get access to their full catalog of shows that the channel has ever released. That means you can stream series like Dexter, Weeds, Nurse Jackie, House of Lies, Californication, Queer as Folk, and The L Word.

Movies

While their movie catalog isn’t as deep as Netflix, HBO, or Prime Video — the service receives new release films from CBS Films, Amblin Partners, and IFC. This joins hundreds of older movies that come to the service from major studios every month.

Kids

Showtime doesn’t have specific kids shows, but they do have family-friendly movies as part of their subscription every month.

Paramount+ with SHOWTIME
$11.99 showtime.paramountplus.com
Get 30 Days Free

Peacock

Originals

The NBCU-owned service is doubling down on nostalgia for their original shows. You’ll find reboots of Saved By The Bell, Battlestar Galactica, and Punky Brewster.

Other Peacock originals include Rutherford Falls with Ed Helms, Dr. Death with Jamie Dornan, Alec Baldwin, and Christian Slater, and a behind-the-scenes docuseries about Saturday Night Live.

For late-night fans, you will be able to watch full episodes of The Tonight Show and Late Night starting at 8 p.m. ET daily.

TV Shows

NBCUniversal’s Peacock is the exclusive home of The Office and Parks and Recreation, Law & Order, and Two and a Half Men. Many shows that stream on Hulu, will also stream on Peacock like 30 Rock, Friday Night Lights, Fraiser, Cheers, House, and Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

One unique feature of the platform is that it will have linear feeds of both live and on-demand content, similar to Pluto TV.

Peacock Premium subscribers will also get access to Premier League games not available on linear TV, as well as a 24/7 feed of The Olympic Channel.

Movies

Peacock is the home of films released by Universal, Focus Features, and DreamWorks Animation. You will find Universal classics like Jurassic Park, A Beautiful Mind, and The Blues Brothers.

Kids

Peacock will have a lot of family-friendly content that airs on NBC. It’s expected to have additional shows from Dreamworks Animation. There is very little exclusively for children on this service, however.

Peacock
$5.99 – $11.99 peacocktv.com
Sign Up

Profiles

When you’re sharing your account with different family members, it’s nice to be able to have your own profile. While most services will use a single log-in, you can set-up a profile that will use your viewing history to customize what content gets recommended to you.

Some services will use it to create a recently watched list, create a custom watch list for shows you want to check out, language preference, and to set a profile specially for kids.

Depending on the service, there is a limit to the number of profiles on your account. For instance, Netflix allows up to five individual profiles within a single account, while Apple TV+ up to 6 profiles with their own unique log-in.

Hulu lets you create up to six profiles for a single account, while Disney+ will allow you up to 7 profiles and even let you choose a unique Disney avatar with each one. Paramount+ provides up to 6 profiles.

Both Peacock and Max will include user profiles, while you can create temporary joint-profiles for when you’re watching with your kids.

Unfortunately, as of now, Showtime doesn’t offer user profiles.

Parental Controls

TV-Y icon TV-Y7 icon TV-G icon TV-PG icon TV-14 icon TV-MA icon

In addition to general profiles, most streaming services have added parental controls. Some like Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Max, and Peacock have the ability to create a special kids profile. This not only locks down the account to just kid’s friendly content, but also recommends shows that are good for children.

When you create a profile on Netflix, you can customize it further to allow show content “For Little Kids” (G, TV-Y, TV-G), Older Kids (PG, TV-Y7, TV-Y7-FV, or TV-PG), or Teens (PG-13 or TV-14).

Others like Amazon Prime Video, SHOWTIME, and Apple TV+ have general parental controls where you can disallow playback of certain types of shows and movies by rating. Generally, you will set a PIN, which will allow you to unlock or change the restrictions.


Simultaneous Streams

Most services are designed to be shared with your entire family. Depending on the service, you can stream on multiple devices at the same time.

Disney+ and Apple TV+ are some of the more generous streaming services, allowing simultaneous streaming across four and six different devices at the same time respectively. SHOWTIME and Paramount+ can be used across a maximum of three simultaneous streams.

Netflix allows streaming on a single device with their “Basic” ($11.99) plan, with simultaneous access on two devices on their “Standard” ($15.49) plan, and four devices on their “Premium” ($22.99) plan. On the other hand, Hulu can be logged into as many devices as you like, but only two can be streaming at the same time.

Amazon Prime Video allows you to stream up to three different titles at the same time using the same Amazon account, but the same title can only be streamed by two devices simultaneously. Max allows up to three viewers to watch streams simultaneously.

Offline Downloads

When you’re on a long flight, nothing is better than being able to watch your favorite streaming service without an internet connection. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Max, Apple TV+, and SHOWTIME each offer offline access.

Most services offer downloaded access to a certain number of titles (an entire series counts as a single title) for up to 30 days until you have to renew offline access. Disney+ and Apple TV+ is the most generous, which has no limit on the number of downloads, while Netflix offers up to 100 titles on a single device.

To get offline access on Hulu and Paramount+, you will need to upgrade to their ad-free plans. When you do, you can download up to 25 titles on either service.

SHOWTIME offers download access of up to 15 titles.


Supported Devices

Most streaming services are available across major streaming players like Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, gaming consoles like PS4 and Xbox One, Smart TVs from LG, VIZIO, and Samsung, mobile devices on iOS and Android, and major browsers.

Some services have already started to become available on Smart Displays like Echo Show and Nest Hub Max. A full list of compatibility across devices is listed below.

Prime Video Apple TV+ discovery+ Disney+ Max Hulu Netflix Paramount+ Peacock Showtime STARZ
Free Trial Free Trial Free Trial Sign Up Sign Up Free Trial Sign Up Get 30 Days Free Sign Up Get 30 Days Free Save 70%
$8.99 – $11.99 $9.99 $4.99 – $8.99 $7.99 – $24.99 $9.99 – $19.99 $7.99 – $17.99 $6.99 – $22.99 $5.99 – $11.99 $5.99 – $11.99 $11.99 $9.99
Amazon Fire TV
Apple TV
Google Chromecast -
Roku
Android TV -
iPhone/iPad
Android Phone/Tablet -
Mac
Windows
PlayStation - - - - - -
Xbox -
Nintendo - - - - - - - - -
LG Smart TV
Samsung Smart TV
Sony Smart TV
VIZIO Smart TV

Video Quality

Most services offer HD streaming, with some including 4K content as part of your subscription. Disney+, Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video all have HD streaming, with some content in 4K.

Apple TV+ has their entire catalog in 4K with support for Dolby Vision, which gives the highest quality video experience. Most of the content on Hulu is in HD, with some Hulu Originals and films available in 4K. Amazon Prime Video offers their entire original content library in 4K (some in HDR), as well as ~50 feature films.

Peacock will have content in 4K, but you will need to upgrade to Peacock Premium to access the higher-quality video.

The lone exception is Netflix, which only offers SD streams on their entry level tier. In order to access HD content on Netflix, you will need to upgrade to the Standard plan. If you upgrade to the Premium plan, you will get access to ~600 titles in 4K including their original series and some licensed content like Planet Earth.

Currently, Max, SHOWTIME, and Paramount Plus don’t offer any 4K content to stream on their service.

Audio Quality

Most services stream in Stereo and Dolby Digital when available. Some services like Netflix and Prime Video support Dolby Atmos — but only on certain devices.

For instance, Dolby Atmos currently only works on Netflix with Apple TV 4K and Xbox One. Prime Video has wider support with access on most major streaming devices like Roku, Fire TV, NVIDIA SHIELD, and Apple TV 4K.

Currently, Hulu, Max, SHOWTIME, and Paramount Plus don’t offer Dolby Atmos, but do support 5.1 surround sound on most of their original programming — and some films.


International Access

Most streaming services are unavailable when you travel out of the country. However, there are some exceptions. If you’ve downloaded shows offline, you will be able to continue to watch them until they expire.

Some services, like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+, are available outside the U.S. and you can stream when connected to the Internet, but you’ll only have access to the library of shows available in that country. In some cases this means you will get shows you can’t access in your home country and in others, you won’t be able to access some of the shows you can watch at home.


Jason Gurwin has has spent the last 10 years in the technology, media, entertainment industries. For The Streamable, he specializes in all things media like streaming services, devices, and cord cutting.

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