Netflix vs. Amazon Prime Video

If you’ve ended your cable subscription, it’s time to shift your focus to streaming services. There are dozens of streaming services to choose from, including Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Which streaming service should you select? That depends on your taste in entertainment, the devices in your home, and your budget. Let’s take a look at what Amazon Prime Video and Netflix are all about.

Netflix

The world’s leading on-demand video streaming service. The Netflix library contains thousands of TV shows, movies, documentaries and other video content.

Amazon Prime Video

An on-demand streaming service offered as a part of Amazon Prime.

What's the Difference Between Netflix and Amazon Prime Video?

Though these streaming video services are fairly similar, they have important differences. Amazon Prime Video is free if you are subscribed to Amazon Prime. If you do not subscribe to Amazon Prime, you have the option of subscribing to Amazon Prime Video for $8.99 per month. Netflix is something you subscribe to directly. Netflix has several plans available at different prices, each of which has unique video quality.

Both of these services have exclusive and original content. Netflix certainly has plenty of exclusive content, but sometimes offers quantity at the expense of quality. With that said, both services have made award-winning shows and movies. Netflix has more non-original exclusives, but Amazon sometimes gets movies sooner after they leave theaters.

Amazon Prime Video isn’t as all-inclusive as Netflix. Certain titles touted as available on Amazon Prime Video cannot be viewed with the basic subscription. Rather, these titles are available through Amazon Prime Video’s storefront. The masterminds behind Amazon Video Prime deserve some credit for flagging premium content that isn’t included in the basic subscription. There is no such potential for confusion with Netflix. The entirety of the Netflix content library is available to all Netflix subscribers.

The Premium version of Netflix provides content in 4K HD, but the other two Netflix streaming options do not. Amazon Prime Video subscribers can simultaneously stream three movies in 4K HD quality at no extra charge, though not all Prime Video content is available in 4K.

What Can You Watch on Netflix vs. Amazon Prime Video?

Both video streaming services provide a wide array of TV shows, movies and exclusive content. Netflix has around 11,000 total titles. Amazon Prime Video has 180,000+ movies and more than 4,500 TV shows. Amazon Prime Video provides subscribers with live Thursday Night Football streams. These Thursday Night Football streams can be viewed with X-Ray technology, meaning viewers enjoy real-time access to statistics, previous plays, information about the teams, and more.

Netflix does not have a live streaming option. Netflix has sports content, but only in the form of sports-related movies and documentaries. If you’re a football fan, you’ll appreciate Amazon Prime Video’s weekly live streams of Thursday Night Football more than the on-demand sports content available on Netflix.

Entertainment critics are slightly partial toward Amazon Prime Video as its exclusive content is of particularly high quality. Amazon Prime Video features popular series such as The Man in the High Castle, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Mr. Robot, Transparent, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. But Netflix is no slouch, either: Its exclusive original content includes 13 Reasons Why, Our Planet, Car Masters: Rust to Riches, When They See Us, Black Mirror, Narcos, Stranger Things, BoJack Horseman and plenty more. Netflix’s film Roma won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2019.

How Much Will You Spend on Netflix vs. Amazon Prime Video?

Netflix’s most popular plan is dubbed “Basic”, and it will run you $9.99 per month. If you want Netflix in full HD, opt for the Standard option (Netflix’s most popular plan) at $15.49 per month. The Premium version of Netflix runs $19.99 per month, and it provides content in 4K HDR. Each of these packages provides access to the full Netflix library. The difference between the packages is the quality of the streaming video and the number of devices you’ll be able to stream on simultaneously.

Amazon Prime Video is free for Amazon Prime subscribers. You also have the option of subscribing to Amazon Prime Video for $8.99 per month. If you want access to the full Amazon Prime Video catalog, Prime music, shopping discounts and shipping benefits through an Amazon Prime Membership, you’ll pay $12.99 per month or a $119 for a full year.

Netflix vs. Amazon Prime Video: Which Should You Choose?

If you already subscribe to Amazon Prime, this decision is easy: Amazon Prime Video is included in your Amazon Prime membership. Though Netflix’s content is certainly different from that provided on Amazon Prime Video, you may not feel the need to pay for Netflix when your existing Prime membership includes on-demand video.

If you aren’t an Amazon Prime subscriber, you have a harder decision to make. If you’re a football fan, you might lean toward Amazon Prime Video because it provides live streams of Thursday Night Football with an interactive component. Netflix’s sports content is limited to a small selection of sports movies and series.

Beyond live sports, though, Netflix’s catalog is hard to beat: It’s huge and full of exclusive and original content. And while not all of Netflix’s content is top-tier, there are plenty of critically acclaimed gems in there.

If price is your primary concern and you want to watch content with the highest quality video, Amazon Prime Video provides better value. Add in the fact that Amazon Prime also provides Prime music, shipping benefits and shopping discounts through its Prime membership and you have even more reason to opt for it over Netflix — though the calculus changes if you look at Amazon Prime Video as a standalone subscription.

Ultimately, of course, the choice is yours!