What are alternatives to Netflix?
Netflix is the grand dame of streaming services with over 100,000 movie titles and TV shows. However, there are worthy Netflix alternatives if you are looking for new content to delve into.
These streaming services give Netflix an honest-to-goodness-run-for its money in terms of quality, selection, and performance. Want to quench your inner filmophile? Read on.
- YouTube TV
For premium news channels, tons of popular entertainment and live sports, YouTube TV is an excellent streaming service. YouTube TV hosts a handful of top networks including CBS, ABC, CNN, AMC, FX, ESPN, and NBC. It also features content from Food Network, Discovery Network, Animal Planet, Travel Channel and HGTV.
You can access YouTube TV’s rich library of over 70 channels for $49.99 per month. And if this still does not sell you, you can add other packages like ShowTime, NBA League pass and Starz to your subscription. YouTube TV boasts 98 percent cover of American households.
It provides its users with solid streaming performance and unlimited cloud DVR storage. You get to stream your content from anywhere in the US and keep your recordings for up to 9 months. A single YouTube TV membership supports six accounts allowing you to share with your family or friends. But keep in mind you can only stream from three accounts at a go.
- Amazon Prime Video
You can access the rich video catalog of Amazon either by subscribing to Amazon Prime or Amazon Video. For only $8.99 per month, you can access Amazon’s video library. For prime video content and a ton of perks including free two-day shipping, sign up for Amazon Prime for $12.99 per month.
Amazon hosts and curates a wide range of excellent original content. Watch online TV show such as Electric Dreams, Bosch, The man in the High Castle and Homecoming. Prime Video also hosts popular shows from other networks including Showtime, HBO, CBS all access, Starz and Cinema.
Users can rent or purchase TV shows and movies as well. We love that prime video supports HDR streaming and 4K plus downloads for offline viewing.
Amazon’s video service supports Android and iOS devices, web browsers, Fire devices (TV, TV stick, TV cube, tablets, and phones), smart TVs and set-top boxes (Google TV, Apple TV 4K, Nvidia shield, and Roku).
- HBO Now
HBO Now offers an impressive catalog of on-air original content for $14.99 per month including Deadwood Girls, Westworld, Game of Thrones, Chernobyl and all-time classics such as The Sopranos, The Wire and Sex and the City.
HBO’s on-demand streaming service includes a collection of premium movies and TV shows across a wide range of genres including comedy, action, drama, Latino, suspense, family, romance and horror/sci-fi.
HBO Now’s apps are more advanced and the streaming performance across devices excellent. HBO Now works best with Chromecast, Android, iOS, Apple TV, Roku, Ps4 and Xbox One.
The only deal breaker is HBO Now does not feature HDR or 4K content and does not allow subscribers to watch content online. But based on the quality of its content, HBO Now could be a valuable addition to your streaming needs.
- Hulu
Hulu is an impressive go-to option for all-in-one cord-cutters with its diverse set of streaming capabilities.
Apart from its solid library of top movies and an impressive selection of classic shows, Hulu offers a robust TV catalog of more than 60 channels of sports, news and entertainment programming for $5.99 per month.
Compelling as it may sound, the ad-free version will cost you $11.99 per month while the Hulu + Live TV plan will run you $44.99 per month and combines Hulu’s ad-supported streaming plan and live TV service. You can also add ShowTime or HBO for $8.99 and $14.99 per month respectively.
However, Hulu trails some of the strong competitors due to its limited selection of 4K content and lackluster original content. Also, Hulu subscribers cannot download content for offline viewing at the moment.
Hulu supports an impressive range of devices and allows you to stream on up to two devices at a go. But note that you cannot stream live TV on either play station 3 or 4.
- Philo
For an affordable and impressive mix of live and on demand content, Philo is the ideal streaming service. For just $20 per month, you get access to up to 58 channels including Animal Planet, AMC, BBC America, Cooking Channel, BET, Discovery Channel, Comedy Central, SCI, Food Network, HGTV and Travel Channel.
Philo is exclusive to lifestyle and entertainment content so news enthusiasts and sports fanatics should look elsewhere. Philo allows its subscribers to save the entire available catalog of an on-demand show instead of a single episode but doesn’t allow for offline viewing.
You can keep you saved shows for up to 30 days and Philo does not impose storage limits. Philo aims to integrate social features such as synchronized streaming in the future.
Philo ensures a solid performance across the board and offers dedicated apps for iOS and Android plus it supports media streaming platforms such as Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Android TV, and Apple TV.
- Starz
If you are a fan of popular shows such as American gods, Counterpart, America to me, Boss, Outlander and liberty city, you should consider subscribing to Starz. This dedicated video streaming service is a great destination for films and hosts more than 1200 streaming ready titles.
Notable movie titles such as Spiderman: Homecoming, Independence Day, Jumanji, Juno and Surf’s Up are just a couple in stock. Keep in mind, Starz’s original shows are not as popular, numerous or prestigious as those available on amazon prime video, Netflix or HBO Now.
Starz is hell hot cheap than others costing $8.99 per month which is reasonable only if you don’t subscribe to several other video streaming services. Starz allows its users to stream on up to four devices at a go which is convenient for families.
Starz also allows its users to download movies and TV shows on mobile devices for offline viewing making it ideal for travelers or anyone who doesn’t want to rack up huge data costs while roaming. But the service does not support HDR or 4K content which its top competitors Amazon prime and Netflix do.
Bottom line
If you are looking to ditch the cable for good, there are tons of streaming services available. Cord cutters have tons of options apart from Netflix. if you want a “like Netflix but way better” kind of streaming service or to keep low on the price label, there’s something for everyone here.
