Which Streaming Service is THE Best???

I read this article earlier today about streaming services, and the author had stated that in her opinion Disney+ and HBO Max were the best ones out there currently. I read the entire article, and honestly, I disagree and here's why.

Streaming Services are great, but all are limited

I disagree with her assessment because I don't think any of the streaming services are THE best. I think that each streaming service has it's merits, but all of them leave us wanting more. Netflix was the first streaming service I got and I loved it. Movies and TV shows on demand was everyone's dream and for a price under $10 per month, it was a value no one could pass up-- then came Hulu. At first I didn't have a very high opinion of Hulu because it was just television shows and a few a movies, but a few years after it came out I had an opportunity for a free trial and I did it which ultimately lead me to keeping the subscription. 

The fact that I would watch my favorite tv shows on demand the day after they had aired was great, and it was convenient because then I didn't have to set an alarm so I don't forget to watch this week's episode; I could just pop it on when I had some down time and as long as I watched it before it expired I never missed an episode, but I still felt like it had less movie options than Netflix so I opted to keep Netflix as well. 

When Disney+ was announced, the only reason I had even considered getting it was because they were going to bundle it with ESPN+ and Hulu for less than $20/month, and at that time, I didn't have cable so I would get more sports plus I would get to watch the Marvel movies and The Mandalorian and the cost wasn't unbearable. To this very day, I don't regret the package because I have a great mix of TV and movies without having to rely on cable. Between Netflix, Hulu, ESPN+, Disney+ and all the stuff that streams for free somewhere online, I really don't miss a whole lot of anything and most of the major titles I can watch. I never had HBO, but I saw just about every season of Game of Thrones. All I did was purchase the HBO-add on for Hulu, watch the seasons that were available and cancelled it. 

While I had it , I did look at the catalog and see what the had to offer, but never once did I feel like HBO was worth adding to my budget because I had access to just about everything, so when I heard about HBO Max I wasn't too enthused about even getting a free trial for it. I mean, I already have a ton of stuff to watch and I'm already spending about $30/month on Streaming services, why add to it? Now I know some will say that movies are now being released on HBO Max and in theaters, but if there's something I really have to see, I'll go see it in theaters rather than pay HBO per month for a service I will barely use.

Essentially, my point here is that when it comes to each of the services, each one has it's benefits, but none of them are a stand-alone product. If you get Netflix just get Netflix, you miss out on WandaVision, Falcon and The Winter Soldier, and any of the other Disney+ content. This applies to just about all the streaming services, so to say one is THE best over the others based on sheer content offerings is 100% a biased opinion. 

How to choose the streaming services for you.

Like I said, I don't think that any one of the streaming services is the best for any reason. I think that anyone that says that one is better than the other only says it because it's a personal preference, so how then do you know which streaming services to choose or to get rid of? 

The first thing to consider is cost. If you're looking to save money, I would say that the Disney+ bundle gives you the best bang for your buck. You get TV shows, live sports, and Disney's catalog for about $15/month and I would say that you could even get rid of your cable with that package because Hulu has different packages for live television as well. The only real downside to the bundle is that Disney+ has a catalog that isn't very large and is limited to Disney content, the Hulu price plans increase the price dramatically, and the sports are limited as well. 

The next thing to consider is what you want to watch. If the only reason you're interested in HBO Max is because you'll finally get to watch Game of Thrones, well then, I guess it would be worth it to get the subscription until you finish watching the show, but if you don't plan on watching the show to it's entirety before the month is up, then you have to ask yourself is the price of HBO Max worth paying on the off chance that you actually watch or finish watching the show? I'm not saying don't do it, I'm just saying you could end up with a subscription to a service for a year that you only watched a total 10 times and you still haven't finished the show because you were catching up on your other shows on Netflix. 

The other thing to consider is how much you actually plan to watch tv. If you're someone who only watches TV when you have down time and you're always busy, probably best to go with only one streaming service otherwise you could end up spending $500 per year on streaming services you don't watch and there are other things you can spend that money on, right? Conversely, if you're someone who spends a lot of time watching everything, I would say that Netflix plus the Disney+ bundle will give you plenty of options. Obviously you won't have some major movies titles, but licenses are always changing hands to movies that end up on Netflix for a while end up landing somewhere else. 

Picking a streaming service or deciding which one to get rid of is tough because we all have FOMO, fear of missing out, but at the end of the day, which ones you choose to purchase or get rid is 100% your choice and I would suggest getting whatever free trials you can and seeing which ones have more stuff you'd be inclined to watch and go with that service. Even if you change your mind, it's not a big deal because each service can be paused or cancelled at anytime.