8 Best Streaming Services Worth Paying For (and Watching) (2024)

Does it ever feel like you spend more time scrolling through streaming options and apps than you do actually watching TV? You’re not alone. With so many streaming services available, it’s not uncommon to “watch, cancel and go,” as your entertainment priorities shift from month to month.

And these services can add up. Subscribe to the top five streaming services in the U. S.—Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Max and Paramount+—with the most inclusive plans with no ads and you’ll nearly $100 a month. Even a combination of the most basic plans from those five can run you $40 a month.

So you can enjoy the simple pleasures of lounging on the couch with a hot show or new movie, we’ve highlighted the pros and cons of each major streaming service—along with their acclaimed original shows. You may also want to consult our guide to the best streaming devices for your TV to get started.

If you prefer to stick with the classic broadcast channels like ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, or simply need a reliable way to catch the game and other over-the-air content without worrying about buffering or app crashes, consider buying an antenna, likeMohu’s Leaf Antenna—a modern twist on an old-school design—which one Buy Side editor has relied on for 10 years to watch live TV with ease.

What You'll Pay for Streaming Services

How your favorite streaming services compare on costs, free trials and more

Note: Costs as of August 2024

Source: Company websites

Netflix

When the phrase “Netflix and chill” entered the lexicon, you knew this OG service—which got its start in 1997 as a DVD-by-mail venture that launched into on-demand streaming in 2007—must be doing something right.

What’s streaming now

With a library of thousands and movies and shows, even insomniacs won’t run out of things to watch. Some Netflix originals popular with viewers and critics include:

• TV Comedies: “The Gentleman,” “Emily in Paris,” “Arrested Development,” “Shameless,” “The Roast of Tom Brady”
• TV Dramas: “Suits,” “Baby Reindeer,” “Cobra Kai,” “Bridgerton,” “The Crown”
• Reality TV: “Love is Blind,” “Perfect Match,” “The Circle,” “Love on the Spectrum” “Queer Eye"
• Movies: “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F,” “Jack Reacher: Never Go Back,” “Find Me Falling”
• Documentaries: “Simon Biles Rising,” “Receiver,” “The Greatest Night in Pop”

Plans

Netflix offers three different price plans: two standard plans that let you stream on two supported devices at a time—one with ads and one without ads—and a premium plan that offers unlimited ad-free shows and movies, includes four supported devices at a time, the ability to add two extra members outside your household and an Ultra HD option.

• Standard with ads: $7/month
• Standard: $15/month, extra member slots can be added for $8 each/month
• Premium: $20/month, extra member slots can be added for $8 each/month

Pros

• In the Whip Media 2023 Streaming Satisfaction Report, Netflix ranked highest in user experience and for its tailored recommendations for shows and movies. With more than 36,000 categories from mainstream (“Classic Comedies,” “Westerns” and “Romantic Dramas”) to uber-niche (“Small Town Scares,” “Spicy Romance” and “High Brow Horror”), Netflix is likely to dovetail with your interests.
• There is also a section for downloads, available to anyone with a Standard without ads or Premium plan, so you can prepare for a long train ride and watch your favorite shows on the go without internet connection.

Cons

• If you want to watch Netflix on more devices than your chosen plan supports, you’ll have to pay an extra $8 each month, as Netflix has cracked down on password sharing. The streamer now allows one subscription per household.
• Some titles are unavailable outside the U.S., so if you travel internationally, you might not be able to stream your current go-to TV show on a trip abroad.
• Netflix does not offer a free trial period.

Parental controls

A 2021 report from the Parents Television and Media Council named Netflix as the streaming service with the best parental controls. Subscribers can limit the content profiles can watch by maturity rating, lock a profile into the Netflix Kids view, use a PIN to prevent accessing different profiles or creating new ones, turn autoplay off and access viewing history. It’s the only major streamer that allows you to block specific titles.

Hulu

Hulu, which is expected to become a Disney subsidiary pending a sale, kicked off to the general public in 2008. (And you may recall that commercial a decade later with Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello promising that Hulu is so good we wouldn’t want to watch TV any other way.) The service gained traction after picking up orphaned network shows “The Mindy Project” and “Veronica Mars” and with original cult series “The Handmaid’s Tale” and popular “Only Murders in the Building.” Hulu began releasing original documentaries in 2017 and original feature films in 2019.

What’s streaming now

Hulu is known for adaptations of best-selling books, like Irish writer Sally Rooney’s “Normal People.” You can also catch up on network reality show on Hulu like “The Bachelor.” Its original content includes these:

• TV Comedies: “Abbott Elementary,” “Schitt's Creek,” “New Girl,” “Letterkenny”
• TV Dramas: “The Bear,” “Modern Family,” “Cruel Summer,” “The Girl from Plainville”
• Movies: “Bad Boys For Life,” “Poor Things,” “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
• Documentaries: “Brats,” “The Contestant,” “Billy & Molly,” “The Stones & Brian Jones”

Plans

Hulu offers four different plans, including with Live TV.

• Hulu (with ads): $8/month
• Hulu (no ads): $18/month
• Hulu (with ads) + Live TV, Disney+ (with ads) and ESPN+ (with ads): $77/month
• Hulu (no ads) + Live TV, Disney+ (no ads) and ESPN+ (with ads): $90/month

Pros

• Hulu can be a one stop shop if you want live TV, Disney+ and ESPN+, since you can bundle them all together in its most inclusive plan.
• Unlike some of its competitors, Hulu releases episodes of certain TV shows as soon as the day after they air on live television. So if you missed last night’s episode of “The Bachelorette,” “The Masked Singer” or “The Simpsons,” you can catch up.
• Hulu has a 30-day free trial, which is ample time to decide whether you want to fully commit to the service.

Cons

• Hulu is only available in the U.S. and Japan, so you won’t be able to discuss the latest Hulu original TV show with your friends in Canada or across the ocean.

Parental controls

Hulu includes the ability to set up Kids Profiles, with a PIN that can prevent viewers from switching out to a standard profile. The controls don’t allow you the nuance of setting age-range preferences; instead they automatically block TV-MA and R-rated content.

Amazon Prime Video

If you’re one of the 200 million U.S. subscribers to Amazon Prime, the mega-retailer’s fast-delivery system, then you’re also a Prime Video subscriber. Launched in 2016, it’s now the second-most subscribed to streaming service in the U.S.

What’s streaming now

• TV Comedies: “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Hot Ones”
• TV Dramas: “My Lady Jane,” “Fallout,” “The Rings of Power,” “Reacher,” “The Boys”
• Movies: “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning,” “Emma,” “Billy Madison,” “The Holdovers”
• Documentaries: “I Am Celine Dion,” “Bob Marley One Love,” “Lucy and Desi”

Plans

If you already have an Amazon Prime subscription, which costs $15 a month or $139 per year, then you automatically gain access to Prime Video. As a standalone service, Prime Video costs $9 per month. Amazon introduced ads to previously commercial-free service on Jan. 29, 2024, and started charging Prime members an extra $3 a month for ad-free streaming.

Pros

• The free trial period lasts 30 days as opposed to some other competitors’ 7-day trials.
• Prime Video offers more than 100 channels for subscribers to purchase at an additional fee, from live sports to cable networks. For example, add Starz for $10 a month or MLB TV for $30 a month (If you’re a football fan, NFL “Thursday Night Football” is included with Prime Video for free.)

Cons

• Many titles—and even certain seasons of some TV series—must be rented or purchased at an additional cost in order to stream.
• While Prime Video boasts some original content, it does not have as many original titles as top competitors Netflix and Hulu.

Parental controls

Unlike other streaming services, Prime Video parental controls setup differs from one device to another. If your child is watching on a smart TV, streaming media player or game console, you must set up parental controls directly on the device. But if your child is watching on a mobile device or laptop, you’ll need to set up parental controls through the Amazon Parent Dashboard. You can set up a PIN-locked Kids profile that only shows content with a maturity rating of 12 and under. However, downloaded shows and movies from adult profiles are available to view on Kids profiles, so keep that in mind when downloading shows for the road. You can also enable manual parental controls with which you can create a PIN and set content filters by age range or maturity rating, and you can hide specific titles (but they will still be available to search).

Max

Formerly known as HBO Max before it combined with Discovery+ in May 2023, Max is known for TV series such as “Euphoria” and “Succession,” as well as its comedies such as “The Sex Lives of College Girls” and “The Other Two.” Though Max is one of the newer streaming services—it launched in 2020 as HBO Max—it has nearly 100 million subscribers globally.

What’s streaming now

• TV Dramas: “House of Dragon,” “The Outsider,” “Game of Thrones,” “Euphoria,” “Succession”
• TV Comedies: “And Just Like That,” “Veep,” “Barry,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm”
• Movies: “Barbie,” “I, Tonya,” “Parasite,” “Demolition”
• Documentaries: “Hard Knocks,” “Charlie Hustle,” “Moonage Daydream,” “Navalny”

Plans

Max has three possible plans: The most basic includes ads and two streaming devices, the ad-free plan including 30 downloads and two streaming devices and the ultimate plan including 100 downloads and four streaming devices.

• With ads: $10/month or $100/year
• Ad-free: $17/month or $170/year
• Ultimate ad-free: $21/month or $210/year

Pros

• Max ranked first in Whip Media’s 2023 report for highest overall satisfaction—88% of participants said they were either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the service—as well as highest quality and variety of original series and movies among the top nine streaming services.
• If you’re already subscribed to HBO, then you may automatically get access to Max.

Cons

• Max has limited geographic availability, as it is only available in the U.S. So if you travel out of the country, you won’t be able to continue binge watching your new favorite show.
• Like Netflix, Max does not offer a free trial period, so make sure you want to commit before subscribing.

Parental controls

With Max, you can create Kids profiles and choose what content ratings your children can watch on those profiles specifically; by default those profiles are limited to titles with TV-PG and PG ratings or lower. You can also turn on Kid-Proof Exit, which requires a PIN to exit the profile and switch to another; in the other direction, you can add a profile PIN to adult profiles so your child won’t be able to access them.

Paramount+

Paramount+ was born when CBS All Access rebranded in March 2021, making it one of the newer streaming services available today. If you’re a Trekkie, you likely already have this new service so you can stay up to date with its many Star Trek original series, including “Discovery,” “Picard” and “Prodigy.” Paramount+ is also home to many CBS classics such as “NCIS” and “Criminal Minds,” plus a wide selection of reality shows. “Survivor” fans can stay up to date with the classic reality competition show with Paramount+’s next-day streaming.

What’s streaming now

• TV Comedies: “iCarly” reboot, “Tulsa King,” “Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies”
• TV Dramas: “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” “Criminal Minds: Evolution,” “Halo,” “Parot”
• Reality TV shows: “Are You The One?,” “Ink Master,” “RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars,” “The Family Stallone”
• Movies: “Zoey 102,” “Teen Wolf: The Movie,” “Blue’s Big City Adventure,” “Snow Day,” “At Midnight”
• Documentaries: “Console Wars,” “Gucci: Sex, Money and Power,” “King Charles: The Boy Who Walked Alone”

Plans

Paramount+ has the lowest price basic plan compared to the other streaming platforms—for $6 a month, you can get access to thousands of TV episodes and movies (all with limited ads). Or upgrade to the Paramount+ with Showtime plan, which includes Showtime, your live, local CBS station and the ability to download content and watch on the go.

• Paramount+ Essential: $6/month or $60/year
• Paramount+ with Showtime: $12/month or $120/year

Pros

• Paramount+ offers live sports programming—you can stream the NFL on CBS, UEFA Champions League, CBS Sports Golazo Network and more. It also includes CBS Sports HQ, so if you miss the live game, you can always go back and watch the highlights.
• Most Paramount+ shows are available to stream without ads.
• If you’re a student, you can subscribe to Paramount+ for 25% off.

Cons

• While Paramount+ has some original content, it pales in comparison to the hundreds of Netflix and Hulu originals mentioned above. Many Paramount+ original series are reboots or spin-offs of CBS, MTV and Nickelodeon shows, such as “The Real World Homecoming: New York” and “Kamp Koral: Spongebob’s Under Years.”
• While Max boasts its same-day releases for new Warner Bros movies, you will have to wait 45 days to watch new Paramount films on Paramount+ after they premiere in theaters.

Parental controls

Paramount+ includes the option to create a PIN that will be required to access content with certain maturity ratings that you choose to block. You can also turn on “Kids Mode” for your child’s profile, limiting the content displayed based on its rating; a PIN is required to switch out of this profile.

Apple TV+

Unlike other streaming services that compete for the rights to episodes and movies made by other companies, Apple TV+ is all about Apple Originals—its library is primarily made up of exclusive content, with some a rotating selection of catalog movies from other studios. If you are looking to watch your favorite cartoons from back in the day or the sitcom you’re trying to keep up with on cable, you won’t find what you’re looking for on Apple TV+. But the streaming service has made a name for itself with its Emmy-award winning series such as the feel-good soccer comedy “Ted Lasso” and the dystopian drama “Severance.”

What’s streaming now

• TV Comedies: “Ted Lasso,” “Schmigadoon,” “Loot,” “Shrinking”
• TV Dramas: “Severance,” “City on Fire,” “Foundation,” “Truth Be Told,” “Swagger”
• Movies: “Luck,” “Ghosted,” “Greyhound,” “Tetris,” “Cha Cha Real Smooth,” “CODA,” “Killers of the Flower Moon”
• Documentaries: “Prehistoric Planet,” “STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie,” “Make or Break,” “Stephen Curry: Underrated”

Plans

Apple TV+ is one of the lower price streaming services at only $10 per month (after a 7-day free trial).

Pros

• If you’re a baseball fan, Apple TV+’s Friday Night Baseball programming might be just what you want. Apple has exclusive broadcasting rights to two MLB games per week, which air back-to-back on Friday nights and include Apple exclusive pre- and post-game shows. It also has broadcasting rights to Major League Soccer, and you can get an MLS season pass for an additional cost.
• Apple Originals are always ad-free.

Cons

• Apple TV+ mostly shows Apple Originals, so you’re likely to want to add another streaming service for more options.
• You cannot create multiple profiles in one Apple TV+ account, but if each member of the family has a separate Apple ID, you can switch between users so that viewing progress and content recommendations are personalized for each Apple ID.
• Unlike the other platforms that have a variety of plans, Apple TV+ only has one. That said, it is one of the lowest cost streaming subscriptions.

Parental controls

Apple TV+’s parental controls vary between the web and on devices. On the web, you can set content restrictions and lock them with a four-digit passcode. It’s less precise on devices. Through the Screen Time setting, you can restrict what sort of content can be watched, but it’s not specific to Apple TV+ content. Rather, it blocks the selected content in the Apple TV app.

Peaco*ck

Peaco*ck TV takes its name from NBC’s colorful logo, as the streaming service is owned by NBCUniversal. Known for its collection of NBC classics such as “The Office,” “Parks and Rec” and “30 Rock,” it also has a large library of original children’s TV shows and movies including its many “Caillou” and “Curious George” animated films. Are you into the “Love Island” reality dating show franchise? You may need to get Peaco*ck, as it’s the only place to watch “Love Island USA.” It's also the only streamer to feature the Olympics.

What’s streaming now

• TV Comedies: “Bupkis,” “Intelligence,” “We Are Lady Parts,” “Ted”
• TV Dramas: “Based on a True Story,” “Dr. Death,” “Bel-Air,” “Poker Face,” “Irreverent”
• Reality TV: “Love Island USA,” “The Real Housewives of Miami,” “The Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip,” “Hart to Hart,” “The Traitors”
• Movies: “They/Them,” “Meet Cute,” “Praise This”
• Documentaries: “Cocaine Bear: The True Story,” “Menendez and Menudo: Boys Betrayed,” “Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss”

Plans

Peaco*ck has a lower price basic plan compared to its competitors, aside from Paramount+, at $8 per month. The Premium plan includes new and hit shows, films and originals; live sports and events; current NBC and Bravo shows; more than 50 always-on channels and the ability to watch on three devices at once. Upgrade to Premium Plus for no ads, the ability to download and watch select titles offline and your local NBC channel live.

• Premium: $8/month or $80/year
• Premium Plus: $14/month or $140/year

Pros

• Subscribers get next-day access to hits from NBC and Bravo as well as live sports events such as Premier League, WWE, Sunday Night Football and MLB Sunday Leadoff. Plus, if you’re into the “Real Housewives” franchise, you might want to get Peaco*ck, since some of the “Real Housewives” series are only available to stream there.

Cons

• Like Paramount+, Peaco*ck is one of the newer services and has a smaller collection of original content than some of its competitors.
• According to the Whip Media 2023 report, Peaco*ck was tied for the lowest rate of satisfaction (74%) compared to the other eight biggest streaming services.
• Peaco*ck does not offer a free trial.

Parental controls

When creating a new profile on Peaco*ck, you can choose either a Kids or Adults profile, and it gets more specific—choose from “Little Kids,” “Older Kids,” “Family,” “Teen” and “Adult,” which all have their own content restrictions based on maturity ratings. Peaco*ck also offers profile PIN protection so kids cannot access Adults profiles.

Disney+

With all the other streaming services launching their own content, one of the biggest entertainment corporations in the world of course had to hop on the bandwagon—Disney. Disney+ launched in November 2019, less than two weeks after Apple TV+ launched. It is home to all original Disney-owned content, including series and films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel Entertainment, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios and National Geographic.

What’s streaming now

• TV Comedies: “It’s All Right!,” “Saturdays,” “Kiff,” “Baymax!”
• TV Dramas: “The Mandalorian,” “Andor,” “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” “Big Shot”
• Movies: “Hamilton,” “Prom Pact,” “Chang Can Dunk,” “Better Nate than Never,” “Disenchanted”
• Documentaries: “Voices Rising: The Music of Wakanda Forever,” “Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom,” “Becoming,” “A Spark Story”

Plans

There are a variety of subscription and bundle plans to choose from.

• Disney+ Basic (with ads): $8/month
• Disney+ Premium (no ads): $14/month or $110/year
• Disney Bundle Duo Basic (includes Hulu with ads): $10/month
• Disney Bundle Duo Premium (Disney+ and Hulu without ads): $20/month
• Disney Bundle Trio Basic (includes Hulu and ESPN+ with ads): $15/month
• Disney Bundle Trio Premium (includes Hulu without ads, ESPN+ with ads): $25/month
• Max Bundle Plan (Disney+, Hulu, Max (with ads)): $17
• Max Bundle Plan (Disney+, Hulu, Max (no ads)): $30

Existing subscribers may also have access to the Legacy Disney Bundle for $19 a month, which includes Disney+ without ads, Hulu with ads and ESPN+ with ads. This plan is no longer available to purchase or switch to on Disney+, although you may be able to sign up for the Legacy Disney Bundle through Verizon with an eligible Verizon plan.

Pros

• If you love the Marvel Cinematic Universe and all things “Star Wars,” Disney+ might be the perfect streaming platform for you. With Disney+, you get access to every Marvel movie and series as well as every “Star Wars” movie and series—and there are many to watch. Disney+ also includes many 20th Century Fox movies such as “Home Alone,” “Avatar” and “Ice Age.”
• Disney+ has a loyal consumer base, as 94% of subscribers kept the service after its prices rose by 38%.

Cons

• While Disney+ offers a good variety of Disney, Marvel and “Star Wars” content, it lacks the variety some of its competitors have. It also has less original content than its competitors, but it is also one of the newer platforms, so there’s time for Disney+ to catch up.
• Disney+ does not offer a free trial period.

Parental controls

Disney+ parental controls provide content ratings for each profile, a default “Junior Mode” that only includes family-friendly content, profile PINs and profile creation restrictions.

Others you should know about

YouTube TV

YouTube TV is closer to a replacement cable subscription—in its offering and its price—than the services above, as you get live TV from major broadcasters plus more than 100 channels. Subscribers get six accounts per household and unlimited recording for $73 a month. YouTube TV doesn’t have much original or exclusive content. The few YouTube originals mostly rely on YouTubers with big followings and not scripted shows. However, YouTube now has the rights to the NFL “Sunday Ticket” Franchise, which includes access to all Sunday afternoon NFL games. The service could be a good deal if you’re looking to cut the cord on a higher-price cable bill and want access to more NFL games.

Sling TV

Sling TV provides a lower cost alternative to YouTube TV, as it also focuses on live TV. This platform offers three plans—the Orange plan for $40 a month, which is geared towards sports and family programming; the Blue plan for $45 a month, which is geared towards news and entertainment programming; and the Orange and Blue plan for $60 a month, which includes all four of those categories. In May, Sling TV launched 12 original channels, including Living History, Film Shorts and Latino Cinema.

Fubo

Fubo TV is targeted towards sports fans who want a service that provides live sports and other TV channels as an alternative to cable. Since its launch in 2015, Fubo has continued to expand; it was originally a soccer streaming service but expanded to include all sports. It has plans starting at $80 a month up to $100 a month. It has exclusive rights to select sports games.

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