Streaming movies has become the order of the day with the evolution of modern technology. It is no longer necessary to go to movie theatres today as you can watch your favorite movies in the comfort of your house or even when you’re travelling.
The major contenders for streaming movies are Amazon Prime TV and Netflix. Amazon has recently come into the market and challenged Netflix which was the sole movie streaming service since recently. Both of them are extremely popular among all movie buffs.
Netflix was way ahead earlier in the race as far as streaming movies is concerned, but Amazon Prime Video has given them tough competition in current times and is certainly making its presence felt in the market.
This article compares and contrasts these two streaming websites with the aim of helping you select the one that is best for you. Here, we evaluate these two websites on the basis of several parameters as. discussed below.
Cost
This is the most important criterion while we select any monthly subscription. Amazon charges $ 119 per year for its prime subscription whereas Netflix has three payment options ranging from $ 7.99 for Basic, $ 10.99 for Standard $ 13.99 for Premium per month.
In addition to this, Amazon also has a 6-month free trial period for students making it extremely popular among them. All they have to do is just sign up on the student section of the website to begin their free trial.
You get expedited delivery within a day of any goods that you buy from Amazon once you become a Prime member you can also join Prime Music and enjoy streaming music that is free from encumbering ads. You can store as many photos as you like without any restrictions with unlimited storage space. You are also intimated in advance about Lightning Deals which makes it even better.
All in all, it is absolutely clear that if you are a regular customer of Amazon, you enjoy a lot more benefits making it excellent value for money. Netflix unfortunately doesn’t offer any of these advantages to its members giving them fewer facilities.
Winner: Amazon
Smart TV Features and Supporting Platforms
As far as Smart TV is concerned, both Amazon and Netflix have apps that can support their streaming but it’s best for you to check out the apps available on your personal TV. In general, one can say that Netflix is much more ahead of Amazon on this parameter.
Amazon fire TV supports both of the streaming apps. If you want to watch the top shows which are not available in your country, this “how to” article will show you how to do that.
Chromecast supports Netflix since a long period of time even if they have not officially launched an app that allows for instant video streaming. As far as Amazon is concerned you can utilize the browser cast facility of Chromecast to project Amazon Prime Video into your TV. This makes it useful for Amazon as well.
As far as Apple (News - Alert) TV is concerned, they always had an app to support viewing Netflix but not for Amazon Prime. The latest buzz is that Amazon will launch an app to support streaming on Apple TV but no official launch date has been confirmed.
However, to suit present needs you can make use of the iOS app to watch Amazon Prime on your Apple TV. Just press the Airplay button after switching on the movie you wish to watch and it will be projected onto your Apple TV.
In a nutshell, using Amazon Prime Video on your TV can become very unwieldy and cumbersome making Netflix the clear winner here. Netflix can be used much more directly from your Internet TV without any intervening barriers making it much more popular and useful.
Winner: Netflix
Film Library
As far as the collection of the films is concerned, Netflix seems to have more Hollywood movies under its banner than Amazon Prime. They are better in terms of both quality and content as far as English movies are concerned. This is because of their varied collection that encompasses all genres of films.
Even though Amazon Prime Video has a good collection, it is not as varied as Netflix because the range of movies is not encompassing all genres. Another thing to be mentioned is that Netflix has better collection of classics and documentaries as well making for much wholesome TV viewing. This gives more satisfaction to its subscribers.
Winner: Netflix
TV Shows
When it comes to TV shows, Netflix has a better collection of US TV shows that helps millions across the globe get easy access to them. Their quality and quantity are both outstanding making them the clear winner here.
However, as far as UK TV shows are concerned, Amazon Prime Video has a much better collection of shows that don’t have as much global appeal than their American counterparts but are very much loved by those residing in the UK.
Winners: Netflix for US TV shows, Amazon for UK TV shows.
Image Quality and Sound
Netflix was certainly ahead of Amazon if you considered image quality and sound because of its high resolution and audio. However, in recent times Amazon has caught up with its rival as it now makes many 4K TV shows available to its subscribers that have better quality and resolution.
The best part about Amazon is that even though they don’t have many 4K TV shows, they don’t charge extra for them whereas Netflix has a vast repertoire of TV Shows up its sleeve but you have to pay much more for them as the charges are higher. This makes Amazon a more economical choice.
Winners: Amazon Prime for Economy and Netflix for Collection of Films.
Sports
Amazon Prime offers Sports Illustrated Service which gives it an edge over Netflix. The sports service is very economical as well at only $4.99 per month which makes it more worthwhile as well. You can watch your favorite sports shows be it baseball, football or basketball so that you can feel the excitement of the adrenalin rush to see your team win. On the other hand, Netflix does not have any sports facilities making it incomplete in this regard.
Winner: Amazon
Summary
Thus based on our article above, we can summarize the points mentioned above for a quick reference as given below:-
Winners on Various Parameters
Cost: Amazon
Easy To Use: Netflix
Film Library: Netflix
TV Shows: Netflix
Image Quality At Less Cost: Amazon
Sports: Amazon
We see that the evaluation is more balanced out with different winners on different parameters.
Conclusion
Thus, we see that both Amazon Prime Video and Netflix are both extremely useful to their users. You can make a choice depending on what you want to see based on the parameters mentioned above. This will help you make a sound and rational decision. Happy Streaming!
