Choosing Streaming Services – Which Is The Best?
Streaming services have come a long way in recent years. There are more options than ever. So, there’s the dilemma of choosing which ones to subscribe to. What is the best streaming service? How many are too many to subscribe to? The costs can add up. And who has time to really get their money’s worth with so many services?
Streaming Service Dilemma
I’m currently dealing with choosing whether I want to add another streaming service or not. Right now, I have Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. I did have Apple TV for a while, but wasn’t watching much, so I got rid of it. On top of that, I pay for cable service and have some streaming capabilities through that as well. But of course, there are certain shows you can only see on certain platforms.
I recently finished watching This Is Us. I’d started it a while back, and had taken a break simply because I’d gotten into other shows and also life just got busy. But the show had recently been added to Netflix, which reminded me that I hadn’t finished it. Once I cried my eyes out over that emotional ending, I posted about finishing the show on Facebook.
Many people commented about the heart-wrenching ending… But it was my mom who commented and asked if I’d watched A Million Little Things. So, I had to look it up. What I found was that it was available to buy on Amazon Prime Video or through my cable service. Why would I purchase it, if I could just add another streaming service and watch that along with some other shows I’ve heard about?
And that’s where I’m at right now. Should I add another streaming service? Should I cut the cord and just get rid of cable altogether since I rarely watch live TV? And if I add another, what is the best streaming service?
Best Streaming Service
When I looked to see where I could stream A Million Little Things, Hulu was one of the options. Honestly, that’s the one service I’ve considered subscribing to in the past because there have been quite a few things I’d like to watch on there. Someone recommended The Bear and I’d also be interested in checking out Only Murders In The Building.
I guess when it comes to the best streaming service, you have to consider what it is you’re looking for. For example, a website called Tom’s Guide has Max as the best streaming service overall. But then Hulu is considered the best when it comes to “new TV” and Peacock is the “best cheap streaming service.”
According to Nerd Wallet, you should consider your content consumption. Do you like to watch more movies? Or do you prefer to catch up on the latest TV shows? Maybe you’re more of a sports person, that’s another thing to consider.
Honestly, from what I’ve looked at, I’ve got a great variety of things to watch based on the services I already have. So if I am going to add another, it’s got to be something that has a lot of what I’d be interested in watching and it has to be affordable. I don’t want to waste money on a service I’ll rarely or never use!
For me, from the research I’ve done, it looks like Hulu is going to be what I go with. If I pull the trigger on it. I’m still trying to decide if I really need to get sucked into more shows. Because I could use my free time for more productive things…
But if I do decide to subscribe, it’s going to be Hulu’s cheapest plan, which is $7.99. It’s the version with limited ads… but I can deal with that to save a few bucks. That’s not too bad, I’ll just have to cut out a few coffee runs each month to make up for it.
I did search around, and it looks like I might be able to get a free month of Hulu… so I guess it couldn’t hurt to give it spin, right? But if I don’t enjoy it, I’ll just have to remember to cancel the subscription before it renews. That’s what happened with Apple TV… I paid for it for months before finally saying enough and cancelling it!