There are a lot of streaming services out there, and it’s hard to know which ones are really worth your time—and, more importantly, your money! Here are fifteen major streaming services ranked worst to best to help you make a decision.
ESPN+
ESPN+ is a fundamentally flawed platform for a lot of reasons. It’s extremely narrow, due to its exclusive focus on sports. Moreover, it’s hampered by the extremely bizarre broadcasting rights surrounding most major league sports. You can’t really watch what you want on this service, making it pretty useless.
Curiosity Stream
The educational streaming app Curiosity Stream has content that resembles the thought-provoking content you’d find on Discovery Channel before Naked and Afraid became such a huge hit. It is, however, a very narrow service that doesn’t include the kind of all-around content you might expect for its $6 per month asking price.
Starz
The Starz app has some interesting content, but it’s pretty shallow when you get down to it. This is a bit of a holdout from its days as a premium cable channel, and it’s made the switch over to the streaming world in a somewhat half-baked fashion.
Tubi
Tubi is free! That’s probably the best thing you can say about it. It has an awkward user interface and a pretty underwhelming selection of movies. Some of its original content is so hilariously bad that it’s entertaining in a schlocky, B-movie kind of way.
YouTube TV
YouTube TV is very, very expensive. It’s got a great user interface and lets you watch live TV, as well as YouTube Premium content, but the price makes it prohibitively expensive for all but the most dedicated of TV watchers.
Apple TV+
When you think about what streaming service you want, one of the questions you need to ask yourself is, “do I want to watch Ted Lasso?” If the answer to that question is “yes,” then you need to subscribe to Apple TV+. If the answer is “no,” then you need to figure out why you don’t want to watch Ted Lasso.
Shudder
If you’re looking for genre fare, you can’t go wrong with Shudder. This one is only ranked low on our list because it’s narrow in scope: it only covers horror content. It’s actually an offshoot of AMC, but it hosts everything from horror movies to documentaries about the making of your favorite slashers. If you’re not into horror, though, it’s very skippable.
Criterion Channel
The Criterion Channel only covers prestige movies. They’re all very high quality, but this is, technically, a niche service. If you’re looking for mainstream stuff or TV shows, you’re not going to find that here. But, if you’re a cinephile, this one is perfect for you.
Crunchyroll
Like other lower-rated apps on this list, Crunchyroll is a bit niche. It only carries anime content, including movies and TV series. However, it’s absolutely fantastic at that one job. Shows look crystal clear in gorgeous 4K resolution on the service, and it has an astonishingly large library of anime for a very low monthly price.
Amazon Prime Video
A lot of people have Amazon Prime Video just because they incidentally have subscriptions to Amazon Prime. There are some pretty good shows here, like The Boys and Fallout, and the user interface is pretty good! It’s just a shame you have to interact with the all-consuming Amazon behemoth to access them.
Peacock
Peacock’s biggest claim to fame is being the thing that stole Parks and Rec and The Office off Netflix. All of NBCUniversal’s stuff lives on this app, which is a pretty good amount of content. You might already have this service if you have Xfinity.
Paramount+
There’s really one big selling point for Paramount+, and that’s Star Trek. All of the Trek series, movies, and new shows have moved here. There’s also some CBS stuff, a bit of Viacom content, and things like Nickelodeon, MTV, and so forth.
Netflix
Netflix offers a lot of 4K and HDR streaming, but it’s hampered by a lot of factors that keep it from being the king of the heap these days. It’s recently upped its prices, cracked down on password sharing, and cancelled numerous fan-favorite shows. It’s also seen its once-vast catalog culled by every Hollywood studio opening its own streaming service. Still, its wide library of original content and great user interface remain huge wins.
Hulu
Hulu is a great streaming service. It sports a huge variety of shows and has all of FX and Fox’s catalogs, as well as a great stable of original content. If you want to watch shows like Family Guy or American Dad, you’ve got to have Hulu.
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Disney+
It’s hard to argue with the sheer volume of great stuff on Disney+. Every Star Wars entry, every Marvel movie, and, of course, the vast catalog of Disney movies all lives on this service. It’s really a one-stop streamer for those who care about any of Disney’s universes.
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Max
While it was foolish of them to ever change the name from HBO Max to just Max, this streaming service is still the best all-around platform out there. It beats out Netflix with original programming, showcasing juggernauts like The Last of Us and House of the Dragon, and also has an unparalleled selection of movies. What’s more, a lot of AT&T internet subscribers already get this service for free.
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