To better help you shift through all the streaming services out there, Ville Route has put together a scoring system to rank the platforms partly as a way to challenge the rankings based on subscriber numbers or market dominance. Many services vary from country to country depending on availability and offerings.
The score and rankings may not necessarily determine the best streaming platform, and while price is a factor, it has been weighted less due to promotions and fluctuations in price. However does matter if increases happen too regularly and rise above an acceptable amount. Price has also become a tool used by the streamers to drive increased subscriptions on the cheaper ad supported tier as the platforms are currently seeing higher value with the ad tier due to a strong advertising market.
Streamers at a glance
| Service | Ad free | Ad supported | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| AMC+ | $8.99 | $4.99 | 83 |
| Apple TV+ | $9.99 | — | 84 |
| Disney+ | $13.99 | $7.99 | 82 |
| Hulu | $17.99 | $7.99 | 62 |
| Max | $15.99 | $9.99 | 58 |
| Netflix | $15.49 | $6.99 | 81 |
| Paramount+ | $11.99 | $5.99 | 53 |
| Peacock | $11.99 | $5.99 | 62 |
| Prime Video | $11.98* | $8.99* | 77 |
AMC+
Score 83
AMC+ combines a good back catalogue with new original content (Interview with the Vampire is stunning and a proper telling of the book), an affordable price for the amount of content and the availability. AMC+ is doing what HBO should have done, and while it’s bundled with some more niche services (Shudder is great), it would be good to see the service bundled with something larger (which it probably does as part of the cable bundles), and more consistency with the bundling (BBC America is not bundled outside the US). With its history of premium limited-run series and an equally clear focus with streaming, AMC+ is well placed to be a strong niche streamer positioned as a nice premium add-on service but they’re unlikely to appear in the top 3 biggest streamers.
Apple TV+
Score 84
Apple TV+ is one of the best streamers for quality, taking the place HBO once held before all the various corporate owners. TV+ pricing has moved up recently, and is inconsistent internationally, though this is less a factor considering the minimal library of content. For customers starting for scratch there’s plenty of content to catchup, especially for fans of sci-fi, however regular customers will only open the app once a week. The service’s stickiness is at least helped by the weekly episode roll out, however the time between seasons has been too long (particularly For All Mankind). Thankfully there’s no ad supported version or bait-and-switch with the video quality, but a slightly cheaper version would be ideal (such as having a cheaper version without all the sports, bring it down to $7.49 or $7.99 so it’s not more than $9.99 in Canada). Better yet, bring back the full year subscription with Apple hardware purchase!
Disney+
Score 82
The Disney+ score was slightly harder to arrive at due to the confusion with Hulu content outside the US, and the better pricing outside the US. The house of mouse has a history of great storytelling, a stable of well-loved studios (Marvel, Pixar, Lucasfilm), but not all content is available (and no, not content like Sound of the South). Disney+ does edge out Netflix in pricing, and has invested heavily in quality productions that have been less prone to cancellation. Spring 2024 will see the first full Disney+ funded series of Doctor Who, but it’s not clear what the future will hold for the Disney+ service.
Hulu
Score 62
Available only in the US, Hulu was started by ABC (Disney), Fox and NBC, but is now fully owned by Disney. Much of the Hulu content appears internationally on the “Star” tab within the app, a slightly confusing branding change. Hulu does have a good stable of original programming as well as a good back catalogue of licensed content, but its fate is in question given how Disney treats the service internationally and how it may distract Disney’s focus (or be forgotten). Many point to the bundling promotions and potential in the future for Disney to sell a suite to replace cable (Disney+ and the ABC networks along with ESPN and Hulu).
Max
Score 58
Max has seen better days but it was short-lived. The recent Discovery takeover has destroyed too much content on the streamer, and at the Warner Brothers studio. Once a powerhouse of premium content, HBO has struggled to cut their own cord, but HBOMax had turned a corner just as Discovery took over. The low score reflects the outsized delusion the streamer is any better than Netflix, Paramount+ or Disney, as well as the high price, poor availability, and being dragged down by Discovery.
Netflix
Score 81
Netflix is easily the gold standard among streamers but it’s far from perfect. Unlike the competitors, Netflix has a pricing tier for higher definition streaming and charges the most for it. They may invest in a lot of really good original shows and movies but the films complete with big name stars get so little marketing attention they fly by unnoticed. A lot of frustration with Netflix is their opaque analytics and willingness to kill good shows far too quickly. Considering there is a lot to watch and Netflix is bad at discovery and promotion, word of mouth brings people to shows too late. Netflix should be a bit more experimental—put films in theatres, stop dropping entire seasons all at once, and give shows a better chance. Their standard price is competitive except for the video quality.
Paramount+
Score 53
The mountain of entertainment of Paramount+ includes most of the latest Star Trek shows (though some content has disappeared), other franchises from Nickelodeon and MTV networks, as well as the bulk of CBS procedurals that fill airtime. Now’s your chance to catch up on Blue Bloods, the FBI shows and NCIS! Unfortunately customers complain content is known to disappear without warning and at odd times (not the first of the month). This has been witnessed for shows currently being binged, and we have found there is no clear way to see what programmes will be pulled from the platform, and deleted from one’s Wishlist without warning. The interface is awkward and will jump around when viewing “My List”, and section one cannot sort or customize. Despite having good content and being the home of Star Trek, deleting your own content without warning gives a terrible customer experience. A full year was paid for until January 2025, however it’s not clear if the service will last. Binge while you can!
Peacock
Score 62
Peacock arrived early but has never been parent company NBC/Universal’s main focus and it shows. Many years were spent keeping the service small and US-only, a squandered opportunity. The name makes sense for NBC viewers but may not resonate internationally, or with the Universal Studio side of the business. NBC would have been better off staying in the Hulu relationship, and selling the remaining content to Netflix or other streamers (which it does). Priced exactly as Paramount+ has done, the concept would make sense if Paramount+ was only an extension for CBS.
Prime Video
Score 77
It’s hard to tell if Amazon is really focused on Prime Video or if the service is just another add-on to the main Prime subscription. Over the years there have been a few standout shows, and at times it’s not clear a show belongs to Netflix or Prime. They also suffer from cancelling too many shows, but also in having good content farmed out to sub-brands Freevee and IMDBtv. The MGM purchase may have brought a good library of content, but the price was high, and the payoff seems distant. Their app has been lacking as if they’re not sure they need to hire and let designers lead the experience. And the recent move to include ads by default and force customers to upgrade instead of migrating those customers to a more expensive plan over time while also having a cheap plan, appeared mean and disorganized.