When it comes to entertainment, there hasn’t been a more practical or revolutionary invention than online streaming services. There’s no longer a need to wait for live television or pay $20 for a ticket to see a new movie in theaters. But with streaming in such high demand, over the years there have been many new streaming services that have entered the fray. With all these options, knowing which is the best bang for its buck can be hard. Between the top four most popular streaming services, I will be comparing quality, price, and selection to help you decide what to spend your money on.  

Netflix (230,740,000 subscribers)

Netflix has a wide variety of TV shows and movies, both new and old. Some include Outer Banks, Breaking Bad and All Quiet on the Western Front. Another great thing about Netflix is the language variety. For example, All Quiet on the Western Front has been voiced in over 17 different languages and has subtitles in 38. Some downsides to Netflix include the overwhelming amount of content that they put out, as well as the number of shows that they have had to remove due to licensing, such as Daredevil and The Punisher. 

Netflix seems to be focused on producing more content with hope that something gains popularity, rather than focusing on making quality content. Unfortunately, this causes the recommended page to become filled with shows and movies that just aren’t interesting. 

HBO Max (73,600,000 Subscribers)

HBO Max is a streaming service that has gained a lot of popularity recently due to the quality of HBO originals they have been producing. Some of these shows include Game of Thrones, Sopranos, Westworld and Euphoria, just to name a few. HBO Max produces high-quality content in smaller quantities, countering Netflix’s approach of quantity over quality. The most glaring downside when choosing HBO Max over other streaming platforms is the price. Compared to Netflix, which costs only $10 for a baseline monthly subscription, HBO Max costs $16 for the same subscription. Another main drawback is the region-locked content, which makes a lot of shows unavailable outside of the U.S.

Crunchyroll (120,000,000 members – 5,000,000 Subscribers)

Crunchyroll is a streaming service with a surprising number of members, mainly because Crunchyroll’s selection is exclusively limited to Japanese Anime. Though this may be the case, the amount of different anime in this genre, as well as the variety in the genre itself, makes it feel as if there is an endless amount of content for all kinds of people.

   A great thing about Crunchyroll is the fact that it is free to join. No other service on this list has a free option, so for those who don’t feel like paying money for a streaming service Crunchyroll is the platform for you. The only real negative detail regarding Crunchyroll is the fact that those who don’t enjoy Anime, won’t enjoy Crunchyroll.

Final Verdict: While all of the choices just mentioned are great options, there is one that is a cut above the rest. For those of you who prefer a wider variety of genres, Netflix is the way to go. The plethora of choices; a mix of both tv shows and movies of all genres makes Netflix the best choice for any person who wants to simply watch TV from home.