For quite some time, Netflix was the gold standard for streaming movies and television shows. Is it still the best? Amazon wants a piece of everyone’s pie lately as they venture into the streaming venue.
Netflix, founded in 1997, offers users the option of receiving content via streaming or DVD by snail mail. Plans start at $7.99 per month. For DVD plans, there are choices based on how many DVDs are checked out to a user. One disc at a time is $7.99 for DVD and $9.99 for Blu-ray. Plans up to $19.99 per month are offered. Users may test the waters with a free trial. Streaming is $7.99 per month for existing users (for two more years) and $8.99 for new members. This includes watching on two screens at the same time and HD versions when available. If you have more people to add to your account who may wish to stream at the same time, a 4 screen option is available for $11.99 per month.
The service offers various movies, new and old; television series in their entireties (all seasons), and high quality original programming. Netflix has also jumped in to offer cult favorites Arrested Development and The Killing opportunities to give their fans new seasons exclusively on Netflix.
Amazon’s entrance into streaming is tied to their “Prime” program which previously offered discounts, free shipping, and the option to borrow books – not bestsellers or highly desirable titles. It is now offering free access to streaming music, streaming movies and TV shows, and their continued free shipping with no minimum order size and book “lending library”. There is only one price plan: $99 per year.
I have tried both services. I have had Netflix for some time and recently participated in a free trial of Prime. I have the $7.99 per month 2 screen Netflix account ($95.88 per year if you’re counting). To ensure a fair assessment, I asked someone else to also compare the two services.
At first glance, it appears that Prime offers much more for your money. But… you can get free shipping if you order over $35 of merchandise. There is no actual “Lending Library” per se, you have to stumble upon books eligible to borrow as you browse. As previously stated, these are not current bestsellers or new releases. Both of us have iPhones, so we have streaming music already and even though there are ads, Spotify and others are free music streaming apps as well. That brings it down to the video streaming.
Amazon has horned in to grab exclusive rights to stream some shows, such as Orphan Black, but the selection is better on Netflix. Our assessment found that there were more movies and series we wanted to see on Netflix. I won’t be abandoning it for Prime.
It seems our assessment was on target. According to an article in Variety, Netflix delivers more of the top 50 movies and top 75 TV shows from the last few years. For a breakdown of the numbers, the article is here.
If you are looking for the best streaming, go for Netflix. They have the system in place and the popular content. As for the other Prime benefits… that’s for you to decide.