Netflix al­ter­na­tives: the best online streaming portals

Netflix has now become syn­ony­mous with online streaming in many languages. The company has long-since turned their hand to in-house pro­duc­tions across many genres, helping to solidify their position as the number one streaming format – strides ahead of other services in pursuit. But these al­ter­na­tives to Netflix are making efforts to close the gap through their own quality pro­gram­ming and unique payment models. And with some big players like Amazon entering the market, things have become a little confusing for the consumer. So which streaming services are viable al­ter­na­tives to Netflix? Which is the most expensive and which is the best value for money? We’ll assess all the options for you in our guide to Netflix al­ter­na­tives.

The streaming market is sometimes very confusing and the number of different services out there is really in­com­plete thanks to differing broad­cast­ing rights and a growing trend towards original pro­gram­ming. This is further com­pli­cat­ed by the fact that new platforms are con­stant­ly joining the com­pet­i­tive market, often just to disappear again a few months later. The abundance of different providers means that it’s important to look into the dif­fer­ences between them. We’ll compare the big platforms Amazon Prime, Netflix, Google Play Movies & TV, and iTunes. But we’ve decided not to include any free portals like YouTube – even though it offers a number of legally uploaded movies and series. In fact, we’ve dedicated an entire article to dis­cussing the best al­ter­na­tive video platforms to YouTube. Our com­par­i­son of Netflix al­ter­na­tives will of course look at the movies and series that each platform has to offer, but will also include other aspects like the avail­abil­i­ty of a mobile app, added features, and the terms and con­di­tions of a sub­scrip­tion package. We’ll also make the dis­tinc­tion between original content and general content.

One look at the market share demon­strates the strong position that Netflix holds. In 2014, it rep­re­sent­ed almost an 85% share of the US streaming market (although the increased com­pe­ti­tion means experts predict that this will drop to around 50% by 2018).

Although Netflix might have quite a limited movie col­lec­tion, missing many classics, cult films, and in­de­pen­dents, but the platform more than makes up for this with its many high quality series and exciting original pro­gram­ming. Some of the most notable ‘Netflix Originals’ include high-budget smash hits like ‘Stranger Things’, ‘Orange is the New Black’, ‘Narcos’, ‘House of Cards’, and when you throw the Marvel series ‘Jessica Jones’, ‘Luke Cage’, and ‘Daredevil’ into the mix, there’s hundreds of hours of top draw en­ter­tain­ment to enjoy. Such is the success of Netflix’s original content that the label ‘Netflix Original’ has almost come to be con­sid­ered as a guarantee of quality. But there’s more to Netflix than just its original pro­gram­ming. Popular series like ‘The Walking Dead’, ‘Modern Family’, ‘The Big Bang Theory’, and ‘Breaking Bad’ are also available for viewing. But the wait can often be a few months after their original airing on TV that the latest season of shows like this are available on the online streaming service. The same is true for the latest block­busters. And some big-hitting series like ‘True Detective’ or ‘Game of Thrones’ are nowhere to be found. But new content is added regularly: Netflix updates its back catalog with both classic series and Netflix Originals several times every month. Lastly, there are plenty of other types of show available, including numerous doc­u­men­taries and anime series. One of the best things about Netflix is its flexible customer sub­scrip­tion model and many extra bonus features: the initial trial month is free and an online sub­scrip­tion package can be cancelled at any time, meaning signing up is basically risk-free. And if you decide you’re not enjoying Netflix during your trial month, you can just switch to another provider once it’s over – meaning it doesn’t cost you a dime! Netflix is also popular among many commuters: along with its native apps for smart TVs, computer consoles, Apple TV, Chrome­cast, Netflix offers mobile apps for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone. And better yet, the iOS and Android versions of the app feature a practical download function that allows you to store your favorite programs for offline viewing, meaning it won’t cost you your whole data package in streaming. The volume and subtitle controls are also easy to operate. Netflix offers HD and ultra-HD content, but only at the expensive Standard and Premium sub­scrip­tion packages. This wouldn’t be such a dis­ad­van­tage but for the fact that there’s quite a large gap between price and extra features with the more expensive tariffs. The additions offered for the extra dollars are often not worth it for many users. HD is a bonus that many users get to enjoy with the Standard tariff, meaning that the extra price per month only offers the added advantage of being able to stream Netflix on two different devices at the same time. The Premium package offers ultra HD on 4 devices, but this is only worth it for families who have the ap­pro­pri­ate 4K/UHD devices and superfast internet speeds.

The movies and series platform Amazon Prime Video can do every­thing that the market leader, Netflix, can: along with high-quality original pro­gram­ming like ‘The Man in the High Castle’, ‘Goliath’, ‘Trans­par­ent’, and ‘Red Oaks’, it also offers new and often exclusive third party content regularly too. In fact, Amazon Prime Video actually has a broader selection on offer: It’s diverse range includes exclusive block­busters like the ‘Hunger Games’ movies with Jennifer Lawrence, suc­cess­ful series like ‘Downton Abbey’, and beloved children’s programs like the popular ‘Bibi & Tina’ films. Amazon Prime Video also generally keeps up with Netflix when it comes to broad­cast­ing new seasons of series like ‘The Big Bang Theory’ or ‘The Walking Dead’. And it’s also possible to buy or rent content as you please with ‘Amazon Video’, a slightly different service that doesn’t require a sub­scrip­tion.

The sub­scrip­tion model for Amazon Prime Video differs slightly from Netflix: there’s still a regular trial month, but along with the monthly access through the regular monthly sub­scrip­tion, there’s the option to purchase the full Prime package for an entire year. This annual package may be a more con­sid­er­able outlay to make, but over the course of the year it means that Amazon Prime Video is a more fi­nan­cial­ly viable Netflix al­ter­na­tive: When you calculate the cost of a yearly sub­scrip­tion to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video works out as about two-thirds of the price.

There are no no­tice­able dif­fer­ences in quality and range of features between the two platforms, with both offering programs in SD, HD, and 4K, with subtitles and good sound quality. Apps are available for iOS and Android as well as for all current gaming consoles and the in-house set-top boxes Amazon Fire TV and Amazon Fire TV Stick. Another advantage is the download function for many mobile devices that enables viewing playback without a direct internet con­nec­tion. Un­for­tu­nate­ly, Amazon Prime Video is less common on Smart TVs, Blu-ray players, and home cinema systems, while parallel viewing is only available on a maximum of two devices at present. The Premium package from Netflix, by com­par­i­son, offers si­mul­ta­ne­ous playback on up to four devices – but it’s sig­nif­i­cant­ly more expensive.

The pricing model for Google Play means it doesn’t compete directly with Netflix in many ways. But one field where it can compete is for selected block­buster high­lights. While the film selection is re­mark­able, offering almost all new releases and many selected classics, the selection of TV series lags a little behind. Ad­mit­ted­ly, big-name series like ‘Game of Thrones’, ‘The Walking Dead’, ‘Sherlock’, and ‘The Big Bang Theory’ are available, but there’s nothing in the way of exciting original pro­gram­ming or exclusive content. And when you factor in the pricing structure, series junkies who regularly watch the latest shows all weekend and sit down on the couch through­out the week probably don’t want to have to pay in­di­vid­u­al­ly for every season or episode they want to watch. Series marathons are a no-go with Google Play Movies & TV.

When it comes to extras, user comfort and tech­nol­o­gy with Google Play are just as good as you’d expect from such a big name. If you have a Google en­vi­ron­ment at home, then you can take advantage of the offline mode and download your purchases or rentals to your Android and Chrome­book apps. Google Play Movies & TV does also offer an app with a download function for Apple iOS devices too.

Ad­di­tion­al­ly, the app is rare to find in other places too: the tech­nol­o­gy is only supported by the in-house streaming stick ‘Chrome­cast’, Android TV, Roku, and a handful of selected Smart TVs from LG and Samsung (though it’s always possible to connect the browser version on your laptop to a TV screen using an HDMI cable). Users of other Smart TVs, consoles, and Blu-ray players have to settle for this option.

If your device and content is com­pat­i­ble, you can enjoy the huge 5.1 sound offered by Google Play. And when it comes to image quality, there’s both standard de­f­i­n­i­tion and high de­f­i­n­i­tion versions of many movies and series – plus the recent addition of 4K/UHD as well. To take advantage of the 4K/UHD, you’ll need a bandwidth upwards of 15Mbit/s, Chrome­cast Ultra and a cor­re­spond­ing 4K screen.

Those who have tried iTunes Video will all agree that there’s one big dif­fer­ence between the Apple service and the other Netflix al­ter­na­tives we’ve in­tro­duced: There’s currently no web player for viewing programs in your browser with iTunes Video. Instead, you’ll need to download and install the iTunes client on your device of choice. But your efforts will be im­me­di­ate­ly rewarded with a huge col­lec­tion of movies that’s second to none – from classics to block­busters, Apple has every genre fully stocked with content. iTunes Video also offers big-hitting series too: ‘Game of Thrones’, ‘House of Cards’, ‘The Big Bang Theory’, and many more popular series can be down­loaded season by season or as in­di­vid­ual episodes.

One-time viewing of course will always offer the same pros and cons: users who want the latest releases or a number of different things to watch will usually end up paying a higher price for less content than they would with a sub­scrip­tion package deal for another provider. The Apple service does offer a great selection of bonus material for movies and series though, in a similar way to DVDs or Blu-rays – perfect for anyone who’s in­ter­est­ed in in­ter­views, ‘making-of’s, and other back­ground details for programs. The image and sound quality of the movies on iTunes Video are also very re­spectable: HD is available and some films come with 5.1 sound – provided that you can meet the necessary speaker re­quire­ments for your home cinema system. Un­for­tu­nate­ly, 4K movies are not presently available.

Similarly to Google, iTunes Video makes a great Netflix al­ter­na­tive for users who already have an Apple en­vi­ron­ment at home. This is because iTunes is only available on a limited number of apps and supported platforms: At present, you can use iTunes Video on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch as well as on Mac, PC, and the in-house set-top box ‘Apple TV’. So as long as you’re not planning to watch your shows on a Smart TV, a Blu-ray player, a games console, or any other of the devices that aren’t currently supported, then you can also enjoy the benefits of offline viewing with Apple’s al­ter­na­tive to Netflix. This works in­tu­itive­ly: You can simply download your chosen movie, or wait until its fully streamed and then enjoy it offline on the iTunes media library. The user interface is also intuitive and practical, making iTunes Video easy to use. Lastly, the service offers numerous different language and subtitle options, allowing you to enjoy content from around the world.

Hulu has different sub­scrip­tion options to suit different user’s needs, as well as a range of pricing options for their different packages. The more af­ford­able option is “Hulu Streaming Library,” which offers access to Hulu’s catalogue of movies and TV shows to stream, starting at $7.99 per month. Users who opt for this model can have up to six personal profiles, but no si­mul­ta­ne­ous screens, and viewers may be subjected to in­fre­quent ad­ver­tise­ments. If the ad­ver­tise­ments are a deal breaker for you, you can choose to add a “No Com­mer­cials” extra, for an ad­di­tion­al $4 per month. Hulu’s other primary streaming option is to integrate Hulu into a live TV package. This makes it quite an at­trac­tive al­ter­na­tive to Netflix, as it provides users with access to Hulu’s regular catalogue, as well as live and on-demand TV channels, local live channels, and regional sports networks. You also have the ability to record up to 50 hours of live TV and watch Hulu on two separate screens. The Hulu with Live TV package will set users back $39.99 per month. Ad­di­tion­al add-on packages are available to increase TV recording times and add further devices and si­mul­ta­ne­ous screens. No matter what kind of streaming services you are looking for, Hulu is likely to have an option to suit your needs and your budget. Hulu can be streamed on a wide range of PCs, laptops, mobile devices, tablets, and on your tele­vi­sion by using a TV streaming stick.

Hulu also has apps for both Android and iOS that can be down­loaded for free on Google Play or the iTunes store. At the moment, Hulu does not offer a download option or an offline mode for offline viewing. Hulu can be streamed in HD and 4K/UHD, provided that you are streaming on a device that supports these formats. There is no ad­di­tion­al cost to stream in 4K/U HD, but not all shows in the catalogue have the function available. In terms of in­ter­na­tion­al avail­abil­i­ty, Hulu is only ac­ces­si­ble in the US and Japan right now, and is sub­se­quent­ly only available in English and Japanese. Hulu also only offers subtitle options in English and Japanese.

Due to its growing pop­u­lar­i­ty, Hulu has increased its new release speed quite a bit. Each month, sub­scribers can look forward to dozens of new releases available on Hulu.

The HBO GO service is only available to people who already have a paid sub­scrip­tion to the HBO cable sub­scrip­tion. There is no ad­di­tion­al cost for an existing customer to access HBO GO on their computer, or via an app. There are a variety of different prices for pur­chas­ing a HBO TV package, depending on who your provider is. Please visit the HBO price page for more in­for­ma­tion on pricing options.

As pre­vi­ous­ly mentioned, users can download apps for Android or iOS through Google Play or iTunes to stream HBO GO through their mobile, console, or tablet devices. HBO Go users can download TV show episodes to the app for offline viewing. HBO GO content can be viewed in HD if the user’s broadband con­nec­tion is strong enough to support it, but it currently does not offer UHD viewing options. HBO GO is currently only available within the US, and is only available in English (with some limited pro­gram­ming available in Spanish). Subtitles for Spanish content are available, as well as closed captions for the hard of hearing. For more in­for­ma­tion on al­ter­na­tive HBO apps that allow in­ter­na­tion­al users to access HBO content, please visit the HBO Help Center.

This Netflix al­ter­na­tive has apps available for iOS and Android that are available to download through iTunes and Google Play. These apps are supported on a wide range of mobile, tablet, PC and console devices, including a number of smart TV options. For a full range of the devices that support Crackle, please check their App FAQ page. Crackle is un­for­tu­nate­ly not available for download or offline use at this time, although this may change in the future. Another downside of this Netflix al­ter­na­tive, is that the highest res­o­lu­tion they offer is 480p – there are no HD or UHD viewing options. Un­for­tu­nate­ly, it may seem that you are getting what you pay for with certain aspects of this service. Crackle is available in Spanish and Portugese for their Latin American customers, providing dubbing and subtitles where possible. Viewers also have a closed caption option in English, Spanish and Por­tuguese.

Each of the different Netflix al­ter­na­tives that we’ve looked at have their own separate ad­van­tages. They’re aimed at different user groups and have different strengths and weak­ness­es: series junkies will be able to keep them­selves en­ter­tained all whole month long with with Amazon Prime Video, thanks to the fabulous original pro­gram­ming and well-organized sub­scrip­tion model. But if you’re more of a film buff and care most of all about seeing the latest releases in the best quality possible rather than settling for what the sub­scrip­tion platforms have to offer, then Google Play Movies & TV or iTunes Video will be perfect for your needs. And for those who are really into the extra bonus features that come with DVDs and Blu-rays, iTunes Video also offers a full range of ad­di­tion­al delights.

So while Netflix remains the undis­put­ed king of the online streaming market at present, some of these al­ter­na­tives to Netflix match or even exceed the standards set by the market leader. Which streaming service is the right one for you? This decision will ul­ti­mate­ly come down to your personal pref­er­ences and what you want out of your streaming portal, whether it’s Netflix or an al­ter­na­tive.