Keep reading to see a detailed comparison, with prices, catalogs and plans offered and find out which services are the best between Netflix vs HBO Max.
1. Prices
The very first thing we’d like to discuss when talking about the best streaming service is the pricing. After all, when you are considering a new service, you must always keep in mind how much you are spending every month to keep it going. Let’s start talking about one of the biggest platforms out there, Netflix – you can check out our recommendations on what to binge watch there! Netflix has three different plans available in most countries: Basic, Standard and Premium. Keep in mind that the pricing might change according to where in the globe you live in. These prices down here are in US dollars. The first of them, Basic, costs just $8.99 monthly, but doesn’t allow the users to watch in more than one screen and limits the quality of the image severely, including standard resolution. The second one, the Standard, costs $13.99 monthly and allows you watch it in two different screens at the same time, guaranteeing HD quality, or 720p. The most expensive plan, Premium, costs $17.99 monthly and increases the number of screen you can have simultaneously to four, making this the ideal option for families and groups of friends. Besides that, it allows streaming in Ultra HD resolution, or 4K. Now let’s compare this to another strong contender for best streaming service, HBO Max. The service, home for huge titans of entertainment such as Game of Thrones and Westworld, started out in 2020 to replace HBO Go, and has already made its way to be one of the best alternatives to Netflix. HBO Max offers two monthly plans: $9.99 for full access with ads. This means that your watching experience will be interrupted from time to time due to short ads. If this is a deal breaker for you, the other plan is $14.99 without ads. Is five dollars worth it to have an improved viewing experience? That’s up to you.
2. Catalogue
Another very important category to consider when choosing the best streaming service for you is the catalogue of each of the platforms. Both offer a large selection of original films and series, but only one of them offers series not produced by the company itself, through contracts with other distributors. Netflix offers hundreds more titles, such as classics like The Walking Dead, Rick and Morty, Vikings, Grey’s Anatomy and Breaking Bad. Also, there are very famous movies like Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Irishman. From teen shows to spy movies, you can find them all on Netflix. In HBO Max you will find, when talking about series, only original productions (which are not available on any other platform), such as Watchmen, Game of Thrones, Westworld and True Detective. Other than that, there are exclusive Warner Media productions and reunion specials from classic series such as Friends and Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. In the movie business, HBO has bought rights to several of the most famous movies of other companies, such as The Matrix, Hereditary, The Shining, Joker and V for Vendetta.
3. Compatibility
Another very interesting area to assess when looking for the best streaming service is their compatibility, meaning what devices they work on. This category is one in which both are essentially the same. They work on almost any device you can imagine, as long as they have internet access. They work on any smartphone or tablet, whether it’s Android or iOS. Unfortunately, being relatively new in a lot of countries, HBO Max still doesn’t have an app for Smart TVs or video game consoles. At the very least, it is possible to stream the app content to the Fire TV Stick, Roku and Chromecast.
You can also download all content from both platforms on any device you want, so you can watch it offline later.
4. Image Quality
This is a very important category, as we are looking for the best streaming service, so we can’t leave it aside. It’s one category in which Netflix wins without leaving any doubts about the competitor. Netflix offers up to 4K resolution (limited by internet connection speed) on its most advanced plan, ensuring you can watch whatever you want in the best quality possible. As we mentioned before, HBO Max also offers good resolutions and even charges less for it. Of course this is only available on their multiscreen plan and is something that can be limited by the speed of your internet connection.
So, what is going to be the best streaming service for you?
Netflix and HBO Max are very close to each other in most categories. We truly believe this is going to come down to catalogue and what you would like to watch. So, what’s going to be the best streaming service for you? Comment down below, let us know!
