While this post may contain offers from our partners, our opinions are our own. However, the addition of new options to the market each year is making it more and more difficult for consumers to weigh their options. Netflix offers a three-tier subscription service consisting of Standard Definition, High Definition and 4K Ultra HD, while Amazon provides the one service which is included with its Prime membership or available for individual purchase.
Additional fees and terms may apply. Pricing varies by location and availability. All prices subject to change at any time. May or may not be available based on service address. Speeds may vary. Netflix has become such a trusted source in the media industry that content that previously aired elsewhere experienced an instant boost in attention just from being on the service.
So, the question is no longer whether you need Netflix, but whether or not you need additional streaming services. Both services offer free day trials for new customers. There are numerous possibilities with your Netflix account, such as audio descriptions for the viewing impaired, subtitle options and multiple profiles.
With your Amazon Prime Video account, you have access to parental controls, customizable captions and offline viewing on the go. All Prime Video memberships let you stream up to three titles at the same time, but you only can stream the same title on two devices at a time. Netflix, as the progenitor of the streaming media space, has the most device compatibility of any service. Netflix has thousands of licensed Hollywood movies, TV shows, documentaries, and specials.
The only content creator that consistently beats Netflix in quality is HBO — fans of shows like Succession , Game of Thrones , and Veep know exactly what we mean. In fact, over the years, Netflix has been steadily reducing its catalog of movies as it increases its TV show arsenal, and its originals are a big part of that growth. Amazon Prime Video has a much larger total library of movies and TV shows, according to recent reports — more than 24, movies and 2, shows, in fact — dwarfing both Netflix and Hulu.
It varies in style and usability from one device to another, with the best experience no surprise on its own Fire TV media streamers , while the execution on some smart TVs is less intuitive. Complaints that it can be hard to find something decent to watch are not uncommon. It lets you access cast photos, bios, filmographies, soundtrack info, and trivia, without leaving your playback screen.
Wherever the content allows, soundtracks are offered in Dolby 5. Netflix, meanwhile, has one of the most consistent interfaces, with only slight changes from one device to another that are usually designed to embrace the strengths of a certain platform, like its mobile-optimized Netflix apps for Android and iOS. You can have multiple user profiles, each with its own unique recommendations, a kids-only profile to keep things perfectly PG-rated, and if you get tired of browsing the wide range of categorized content, an excellent search function is never far away.
And the streamer finally gave users the option of disabling that annoying auto preview feature. Netflix and Amazon original programming is not just making it harder to choose between them, with great shows on each - Punisher, Narcos and Titans on Netflix, Jack Ryan, The Grand Tour and The Man in the High Castle on Amazon, for example - it is also making waves in the more traditional sense. Essentially, you might make your choice of which to subscribe to through studying which shows are exclusive to which platform, although the general feeling is that Netflix has higher profile TV shows than Amazon offers.
For every Jack Ryan on Amazon, there's usually a couple of decent shows on Netflix to watch. When it comes to the applications and front ends, Netflix seems to have it more sussed than Amazon - not least because it has a more standardised approach to presentation. Nearly all of its apps, be they on tablet, smartphone, set-top-box or TV are presented in a similar fashion.
There are one or two exceptions, but the content rich user interface is generally identical across formats.
Not so Amazon, which has greater diversity in its approach. They all present the same content but often in radically different ways. The Amazon apps can also be confusing for customers in that as well as the content included in a Prime subscription, they give access to paid-for content as we mentioned above. There is now a switch in some places - the Android app for example - so you only see free content which improves the experience no end. Video on both services works the same way though, with similar quality and variable bitrates depending on internet connections.
And you can pause and pick up watching later in a similar way. Netflix has the ability to set profiles for each member of the family.
Each person can have their own profile so Netflix will learn their particular preferences and offer suggestions based on previous viewing. It will also put their current wishlists and watchlists front and centre when they log in. Kids too can have their own profiles, which can be locked to content appropriate to them.
There is a whole kids section, with a dedicated front-end and menu system that can be locked to a child's profile. Amazon has only just added profiles in Prime Video and they aren't universal yet, so not everyone has them. Amazon does offer something that Netflix doesn't though, and that's X-Ray. Netflix's own stab at superheroes, Jupiter's Legacy , didn't catch fire in the same way.
The Underground Railroad, the latest work from Barry Jenkins that's available exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, is the most acclaimed series of the year so far. So Amazon is actually having a pretty solid year, even without its own hits like The Boys and The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, which are both expected to return in Both streamers, then, are still experiencing the effects of 's pandemic shutdowns — but by the end of , both will have had their fair share of breakout hits.
You can cancel your subscription for both Netflix and Amazon Prime Video at any time, which is a blessed relief. But your opinions on each might change over the next few years as streamers enter the next phase of their content war — and this is where the bets are about to get much bigger. Clearly, the retailer's strategy is leaning towards attention-grabbing shows, rather than offbeat series like Mozart in the Jungle or Red Oaks that originally defined its output.
On the movie side, it's bought the movie studio MGM, subject to approval, which means that streaming James Bond should soon be available, and it's making a sequel to The Tomorrow War may we suggest calling it The Day After Tomorrow War?
These are massive, game-changing moves — MGM essentially gives Amazon a permanently robust movie library overnight that it can roll out across the world. Netflix, meanwhile, has so much to come — follow-up seasons to the likes of Bridgerton and The Witcher will be huge.
We wouldn't be surprised to see both become sprawling franchises over the coming years. It's also got big animated adaptations like Cowboy Bebop and The Last Airbender in the works, and more shows you'll definitely want to add to your Watch List. Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D. A Resident Evil show starring Lance Reddick is in the works. This is just scratching the surface — and on the movie side, of the many things you've got to look forward to, the Russo brothers' Bond-esque spy thriller film The Gray Man with Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans is probably the big one.
All of this should mean your subscription fees aren't wasted in the near future, whoever you back. The truth is, Amazon Prime membership is so reasonably priced for its range of benefits that you might not even think of it as a streaming service subscription.
Netflix is still where so much of the TV we love is landing — even if has been a quieter year so far. Amazon Prime Video still feels like a secondary streaming service for us, in a lot of ways, and even with its prices creeping up, Netflix always has something to pique our interest. In a year's time, though, who knows? Maybe Amazon's big investments in an entire movie studio and a series based on the works of JRR Tolkien will put it in pole position.
For now, Netflix's investment in content is paying off.
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