Hulu vs. Amazon Prime Video: Which streamer is right for you?

With truthful galore streaming services to take from, it tin beryllium difficult to fig retired wherever to allocate your hard-earned cash. Netflix is nan 1 astir move to, but location are different options successful nan streaming work marketplace. Two of nan astir celebrated Netflix alternatives are Hulu and Amazon Prime Video. Is Hulu a amended woody than Amazon Prime Video? Prime Video is nan 2nd astir celebrated streaming work and Hulu is fourth, but location is overmuch much to discover. We will spell complete each work and spot really they comparison successful a Hulu versus Amazon Prime Video battle.

Price

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Amazon offers 2 main value tiers: $139 annually (discounted to $69 annually erstwhile you motion up pinch a valid student email address) aliases $15 per month. Both versions see each nan Amazon Prime perks, for illustration two-day shipping, discounted prices connected prime items, unreality storage, and — astir important for our purposes — on-demand video and euphony streaming.

The champion portion is that, dissimilar Netflix, 4K Ultra HD content pinch HDR comes modular astatine nary other cost. Plus, you tin stock accounts pinch friends and family truthful that everyone tin get successful connected nan deals. You tin besides supplement Amazon’s included contented pinch optional transmission add-ons, specified arsenic CBS All Access, for an further fee. Amazon doesn’t person a live TV streaming service per se, but galore of nan contented providers it has collaborated pinch for Prime Video connection nan expertise to watch their shows “live” too.

Hulu starts astatine conscionable $10 for nan ad-based work aliases $19 for nan ad-free action (which we highly recommend). Hulu’s options don’t extremity there, arsenic it besides offers a unrecorded TV streaming package akin to Sling TV, YouTube TV, Philo, and Fubo. The Hulu With Live TV streaming work includes Disney+ and ESPN+. It is presently $83 per period and includes 90-plus livestreaming channels connected apical of its regular on-demand library. There are besides add-on features for illustration enhanced DVR and an ad-free acquisition for $96 per month.

If you watch a batch of Disney+, ESPN+, aliases unrecorded TV shows, Hulu’s Live TV whitethorn beryllium your winner, arsenic Amazon does not connection Live TV. While Hulu’s $8 tier connected its ain is technically cheaper, particularly for those who want to watercourse 4K astatine nan lowest imaginable price, Amazon offers nan astir worth erstwhile considering each of its different perks and its complete deficiency of ads. Amazon has besides stated that nan institution won’t raise prices for 4K streaming. Throw successful , and it walks distant pinch nan triumph here.

Winner: Amazon

Content library

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Amazon Prime Video has a catalog of thousands of titles to watch earlier adding immoderate premium options for illustration Starz aliases Showtime. Amazon continues to put heavy successful original content, for illustration The Wheel of Time, The Boys, and The Rings of Power. Where Amazon really shines is successful sheer quantity. It has almost much titles than Netflix and Hulu combined, with 26,000 movies and 2,700 TV shows. And, of course, if you’re leaving a cablegram supplier and deliberation you’ll miss retired connected pay-per-view options, Amazon has an extended postulation of caller releases disposable to bargain aliases rent.

Hulu, which is owned successful portion by Disney, has entree to an unparalleled postulation of over 1,300 TV shows, making it a awesome prime if what you really want is simply a replacement for cablegram TV entree to nan awesome networks. Most shows are disposable nan time aft they aerial unrecorded connected their respective broadcasters, isolated from for CBS, which is not a portion of Hulu. It has a decent postulation of  1,200 movies, but you tin show that movies are not nan main attraction.

Of course, it will dangle connected what show and movies are important to you, but we’re going to springiness this 1 to Hulu for now because while it whitethorn not lucifer Amazon’s breadth of selection, we deliberation you’ll really want to watch much of Hulu’s catalog.

Winner:

Supported devices

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Nowadays, some Amazon Prime Video and Hulu are accessible connected beautiful overmuch everything from Android and iOS devices to Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV streaming devices. The afloat database is acold excessively agelong to include, truthful caput complete to each provider’s website to spot if your instrumentality made nan cut: Hulu, Amazon Prime Video.

Winner: Draw

Interface and easiness of use

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The Amazon interface offers respective categories for illustration Continue Watching, Amazon Originals, and Recommended Movies. One constituent successful its favour is that you tin browse Prime Video straight connected nan Amazon webpage and its various apps, and it besides useful awesome pinch Amazon’s Fire TV streaming devices. However, these interfaces often disagree from 1 another, and frankly, immoderate aren’t arsenic intuitive arsenic others are. If you subscribe to a premium channel, you tin do truthful done Amazon Prime Video Channels and person nan contented look correct successful nan Prime Video interface.

Hulu has a comparatively intuitive interface, offering categories for illustration Keep Watching, TV, Movies, and Kids that make it beautiful elemental to navigate. You tin besides adhd connected premium channels for illustration HBO, and shows and movies from those channels will show up connected your Hulu interface.

Hulu utilized to beryllium nan clear victor here, but Amazon Prime Video has really stepped up nan interface crippled lately. They are some beautiful adjacent now, and it would travel down to individual preference.

Winner: Draw

Audio and video quality

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As touched connected above, Amazon offers 4K Ultra HD solution and HDR streaming support and does truthful astatine nary other charge. In position of video quality, that’s huge, and those pinch high-quality, ample TVs (55 inches and up) should return superior note. Hulu’s 4K UHD contented continues to turn and is presently disposable connected a scope of devices, including Apple TV 4K set-top boxes (fifth-gen and up), Xbox One/X/S, Roku, Chromecast Ultra, Amazon Fire TV devices, Vizio’s SmartCast TVs, and LG 2017, 2018, and 2020 UHD TVs.

As for audio quality, Hulu has constricted stereo sound for nan immense mostly of its content, though nan aforesaid shows are disposable successful 5.1 situation sound elsewhere. Yes, immoderate prime shows and movies support 5.1, but it’s obscurity adjacent arsenic awesome arsenic Amazon’s 5.1, 7.1, and Dolby Atmos situation sound encoding connected prime content. Did we mention there’s nary other complaint for immoderate of this high-end A/V support? Yup, Amazon wins this 1 without breaking a sweat.

Winner: Amazon

Release day for caller content

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It’s difficult to find fresher contented than Hulu’s database of TV shows. With fewer exceptions, each section will beryllium disposable wrong 24 hours of its original airing, and if you’re connected nan much costly no-ads plan, you get to watch them uninterrupted, which is worthy nan one-day wait.

If you’re not consenting to move up to nan premium tier ($15 per month compared to nan modular $8 fee), nan commercials tin really impede Hulu’s greatness. Users who don’t move up will person to watch a watercourse of ads, nan number of which has only grown much predominant (and yet, little varied) arsenic nan work has expanded. Hulu’s movies are little existent but nary older than what you’ll find connected astir competing services.

As mentioned previously, astatine $70 per month, which includes unrecorded sports and news if you’re consenting to pay. In contrast, Amazon has “Channels,” which allows you to adhd prime premium channels pinch newer content. Of course, if you don’t salary for Channels connected Amazon (which are pricey to adhd on), you tin acquisition nan latest episodes, but you’ll extremity up paying a monolithic premium that makes it each but prohibitive ($2 to $3 per section for SD, $3 to $4 for HD, aliases $20 to $40 aliases much for a “season pass”).

For superior cord-cutters who want to watercourse nan latest series, Hulu is nan only measurement to go.

Winner:

Free 30-day trial

Original content

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Amazon and Hulu person been catching up to Netflix pinch value successful original programming. For Amazon, notable contented includes highly-reviewed shows for illustration The Wheel of Time, The Boys, Jack Ryan, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, each of which are worthy discovering. Also, Amazon spent hundreds of millions of dollars connected its caller Lord of nan Rings series. Jeff Bezos has heavy capable pockets to compete pinch virtually anyone successful streaming.

Though neither of these services tin clasp a candle to Netflix regarding original content, we’re giving this 1 to Amazon because — astatine nan moment, anyhow — we judge it’s spending much aggressively connected caller contented than Hulu, which bodes good for nan future. That said, pinch Disney taking power of Hulu, this could alteration quickly.

Winner: Amazon

Other features to consider

• Will nan kids beryllium watching? If you request parental controls, Amazon offers a broad group of filters for young viewers, some connected its Fire TV devices and wrong Amazon Prime itself. Hulu says it respects nan contented settings connected your instrumentality but doesn’t connection immoderate circumstantial controls of its own.
• Live TV? Hulu pinch Live TV is really nan only prime betwixt nan 2 services. Amazon’s Fire TV Recast is an intriguing measurement to summation free OTA broadcasts, but it’s not rather nan aforesaid thing. Sure, you’re going to beryllium paying overmuch much for nan summation of Hulu + Live TV to complement your on-demand content, but nan $70 monthly subscription is simply a fraction of what you would salary for a normal cablegram bill.

Conclusion

In nan conflict of Hulu versus Amazon Prime, if you’ve already sewage an Amazon Prime membership, past there’s hardly immoderate title — you’re already paying for Prime Video, truthful you mightiness arsenic good bask it. You mightiness adhd Hulu’s cheaper ad-supported scheme arsenic a quick, elemental measurement to spot immoderate shows and unrecorded TV you mightiness beryllium missing.

If you don’t person a Prime membership, however, a no-ads Hulu subscription is simply a coagulated choice. Despite nan deficiency of 4K and amended sound formats, Hulu has nan contented to please almost immoderate viewer, particularly if you for illustration awesome web TV shows.