Chances are you’re already pretty familiar with most of the names on this list, but it’s by no means comprehensive. There are plenty of other ways to stream and hundreds of other choices available. As we evaluated these particular streaming options, we kept certain things in mind.
This list is ordered based on the numerical value I assigned to each streaming service in their individual review, which I determined by design (i.e. ease of use across different TV and mobile platforms), features (like 4K HDR, mobile downloads, recommendations, watch lists and number of streams), content (frequency and number of shows and quality of originals and back catalogs) and value (price compared to these other factors). We stream using a Roku stick, smart TV, Apple TV box, mobile phone, tablet and Fire TV stick.
Each platform offers the same standard features on the home screen, and we found that HBO Max, Disney Plus and Hulu excel with dedicated hubs and collections, while Netflix’s recommendation rows for current, older and upcoming picks combined and genre-based organization are superior. Subtle features are also a plus, like the ability to share titles via text from HBO Max and Netflix, or Netflix’s ‘Moments’ functionality that lets you save scenes from your favorite titles. We also measure ad time on ad-based plans and look for glitches during playback. See each service’s reviews for full details.
