Since August 29, 1997, Netflix has been an impacting force in many people’s lives from parents, teens, to even young children. Netflix is a streaming service that is subscription-based. Netflix members are able to watch TV shows and movies without commercials on an internet-connected device. 

By the end of 2019, Netflix subscribers numbered at 61 million in the United States. 

Netflix, to this day, remains the world’s largest streaming service with 183 million worldwide paid subscribers as of March 2020.

Hulu, another streaming service, was released to the public on March 12, 2008. Although Hulu was hidden in the shadow of Netflix, Hulu has been grabbing attention from many of Netflix subscribers. 

The real question is Hulu? Or Netflix? 

Hulu has its own original shows including “The Handmaid’s Tale”. But, generally speaking, Netflix has been known for its “Netflix Originals.” Hulu offers more network TV programming and offers a plan with Live TV channels, while Netflix does not offer this. 

Netflix works with content providers, distributors, producers and creators. They do this so they can acquire licensing agreements to stream TV shows and movies. The problem with this is once their agreements are done, the shows getting taken off Netflix for good. Most of the time, the agreements are with other networks, the ones that originally aired the show.

“The Office”, “Gossip Girl”, “Friends” and “Pretty Little Liars” are examples of shows that Netflix has lost the rights to. 

Netflix has also been coming out with more and more Netflix originals. People believe it may start taking over the previously aired shows and that Netflix may begin streaming only their own original shows. 

Hulu and Netflix pricing should be another thing to take into consideration when choosing which has a better subscription quality. Each streaming service contains different plans you can choose that best fits your budget.

Netflix gives you a choice of three different streaming plans that come at different prices. Their different plans cost $8.99 per month for the Basic. With the basic plan, you will not get high definition viewing and its programs can only be watched on one screen at a time. Another plan, the Standard, is priced at $13.99 per month. The Standard subscription offers HD streams and lets subscribers stream on two devices. The last plan that Netflix offers is the Premium, which costs $17.99 per month. The Premium subscription offers Ultra HD (4K) streams and allows streams across four devices.

Hulu offers four levels of service. The different plans are $5.99 per month for the Basic, $11.99 per month for the Premium, $64.99 per month for the Basic plus Live TV, and $70.99 per month for the Premium plus Live TV. The basic plan does contain ads, while the premium is almost ad-free.

But, one thing many streamers have noticed is that even if you have paid for the premium which is ad-free, if the TV show or movie is not in the Hulu streaming library, it will still contain ads. This means that the show or movie is not owned by Hulu fully and it will not be ad-free. 

When deciding which streaming service is the best, it is solely based on your personal preference. Although you can cancel your subscription at any time with just a few clicks, you should always take pricing, what shows are provided, and the different plans into consideration when deciding which service you would like to subscribe to.