With so many streaming platforms out there, it is easy to feel like you are constantly sorting through menus instead of watching something you enjoy. Every service has its own vibe, whether it is big cinematic releases, long documentary deep dives or shows you put on in the background while you unwind. Some people even swap cable for live TV streaming.
Here, we are looking at the on-demand services that deliver the most value for everyday use. Whether you are settling in for a weekend binge, watching with family or catching up on a favorite series during your commute, these are the best streaming services to keep in your rotation.
Best streaming services for 2026
Free trial: No | Monthly price: Starts at $8/month (with ads) | Annual cost: Starts at $84/year (with ads) | Live TV: Limited | Local channels: No
Compared to other on-demand streaming services, no one offers more high-quality content at a single price than Netflix. Pick any category you can think of and Netflix probably has something that will fit the bill, including original programming. Plus, new content is released every week and as a worldwide service, Netflix is consistently adding movies and TV shows from around the globe that can change the viewing experience in ways you may not have considered (Are you sure you’re not into K-Dramas, Finnish detective thrillers or British home improvement shows?).
Netflix is available in almost every country on the planet, and its app or website runs on most of the devices that connect to the internet. Those apps are also some of the most easy-to-use of any service. That doesn’t mean it’s always simple to choose something to watch, but when it comes to swapping profiles or simply picking up where you left off, it doesn’t get better than this. If you’re heading off the grid — or onto a plane — then you can easily download most (but not all) of its content to watch on your iOS or Android device. — Richard Lawler, Former Senior News Editor
Free trial: Yes | Monthly price: Starts at $10/month (with ads) | Annual cost: Starts at $100/year (with ads) | Live TV: Limited | Local channels: No
In 2020, HBO decided to take the fight to its streaming competitors with HBO Max. It supplanted the existing HBO channels, as well as streaming via HBO Go or HBO Now by refocusing on original content and rebuilding the service for the modern era. Even before the recent merger, rebranding as simply Max and then reverting back to HBO Max, it had the advantage of linking to one of the deepest (and best) content libraries available, drawing from the premium cable channel’s archives, the Warner Bros. vault, Studio Ghibli, Looney Tunes, Sesame Street and Turner Classic Movies.
Max content also includes premium stuff that Warner yanked back from Netflix and others, like full series runs of Friends and The Fresh Prince, or DC Universe-related TV series and movies. The Max library speaks for itself, with Game of Thrones, The Wire, Band of Brothers, and Flight of the Conchords or Entourage, and newer shows like The Last of Us and The White Lotus. — R.L. and Nicole Lee, Former Commerce Writer
Free trial: Yes (with free Prime trial) | Monthly price: Starts at $9/month (with ads) | Annual cost: Starts at $108/year (with ads) | Live TV: Limited | Local channels: No
If you think of Amazon’s Prime Video package as a Netflix-lite, or even if you’ve only used it once or twice, then you may be underestimating the options available to streamers. The subscription service is available as part of Amazon Prime, which you can purchase for either $15 per month, or $139 annually. While the subscription started out as a way to get free shipping on more purchases, Amazon has tacked on benefits that extend across books, music, games and even groceries. If you’d prefer to get Prime Video only, it’s available as a standalone for $9 per month.
We’ll focus on the video service, which includes a selection of original and catalog content that is a lot like what Netflix and the others offer. In recent years Amazon Prime has increased its original output with award-winning series like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, as well as highly-regarded genre content like The Boys and The Expanse.
Amazon also has a significant amount of content that’s available to watch in 4K and HDR and unlike Netflix it won’t charge you extra for the privilege. The same goes for simultaneous streams — Amazon’s rules say you can have up to two running concurrently. When it comes to downloads, Amazon allows offline viewing on its Fire devices, Android and iOS.
The only downside is that Amazon’s apps aren’t quite on par with Netflix in terms of usability. While all the features are there, simple things like reading an episode summary, enabling closed-captions or jumping out of one show and into another are frequently more frustrating on Amazon than on other platforms. The company also frequently insists on bringing its Fire TV-style interface to other platforms instead of using their native controls. That can make it harder to use, although on platforms where it hews to the built-in controls, like Roku, can be easier to use.
One other thing to think about is that Amazon’s video apps link to its on-demand store, and include access to Channels. For cord-cutters who just want a consistent experience across different devices, that means you can easily buy or rent content that isn’t part of the subscription. Amazon Channels lets you manage subscriptions to Britbox, Showtime, Paramount+ and others. — R.L.
Free trial: No | Monthly price: Starts at $11/month (with ads) | Annual cost: Starts at $120/year (with ads) | Live TV: No | Local channels: No
Disney+ came out swinging, leveraging all of the company's popular brands, like Star Wars, Pixar and Marvel. It's your one-stop-shop for everything Disney (and Hulu), making it catnip for kids, parents, animation fans and anyone looking for some classic films from the likes of 20th Century Pictures.
Given the company's focus on streaming, Disney+ has quickly become a must-have for families. And at $11 a month, it's a lot cheaper than wrangling the kids for a night out at the movies (or even buying one of the Disney's over-priced Blu-rays). You can also get it bundled with Hulu, ESPN, HBO Max or a combination of up to three of those services for less.
Disney+ supports four simultaneous streams at once, and also lets you download films and shows for offline viewing. (That's particularly helpful when you're stuck in the car with no cell service and a crying toddler. Trust me.) You can access Disney+ on every major streaming device and most TV brands. — Devindra Hardawar, Senior Reporter
Free trial: Yes | Monthly price: $13/month | Annual cost: $156/year | Live TV: Limited | Local channels: No
Apple spared no expense with its streaming platform, launching with high profile series like The Morning Show. While they weren’t all hits initially (See you later, get it?), Apple TV+ has since amassed a slew of must-watch programming like Ted Lasso, Severance, and For All Mankind. Clearly, the iPhone maker is taking a different approach than Netflix or Disney, with a focus on quality and big celebrity names, rather than bombarding us with a ton of content. But that strategy seems to have paid off.
For $13 a month, there’s a ton of great shows and movies to dive into, including a number of National Geographic shows. But if you’re a dedicated Apple user, it may be worth moving up to an Apple One plan, which bundles services like Apple Arcade, Apple Music, and iCloud storage for a discounted monthly rate. – D.H.
Free trial: Yes | Monthly price: Starts at $8/month (with ads) | Annual cost: Starts at $60/month (with ads) | Live TV: Limited | Local channels: Yes, at an additional cost
Formerly CBS All Access, Paramount+ may get the most attention for originals like Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard and The Twilight Zone, but it’s becoming a sports destination as well. The app began streaming NWSL soccer matches last summer when the league returned to the pitch. CBS also announced that All Access would be the live streaming home of the US women’s league. Unfortunately, you can’t watch every match there, but it’s a start.
Soon after, CBS added UEFA Champions League and Europa League soccer to its sports slate. The Champions League is the biggest competition in club soccer, pitting teams from various countries around the continent against each other to see who’s the best. Europa League does the same, but with less glory. Paramount+ is now the home of Series A soccer (Italy) and will broadcast CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers, which the US Men’s National Team will participate in.
At $8 a month with limited commercials, or $13 a month for the ad-free tier (with Showtime bundled in), Paramount+ isn’t a must have sports destination just yet. You can stream NFL games and more that air on your local CBS station inside the app, but the network is still filling out a well-rounded slate. — B.S.
Free trial: No | Monthly price: Starts at $8/month (with ads) | Annual cost: Starts at $80/year (with ads) | Live TV: Limited | Local channels: No
NBC made it clear before Peacock’s debut that Premier League soccer would be available on the standalone service. What we didn’t expect was that the network would put so many games there, basically forcing anyone who’s more than a casual fan to subscribe. This is partially due to PL scheduling. In the US, that means you need the $8/month service and access to NBC Sports network (through cable TV or live TV streaming) to follow comprehensively.
NBCUniversal had a similar structure in the past where one game per time slot was broadcast on NBC Sports and NBC Sports Gold was used as the overflow. Gold was also the home to cycling, Olympic sports and more. Now the Premier League is being used to push the new service Peacock, and with the current scheduling format, even more games are relegated to streaming only. Thankfully, Peacock does offer match replays, so there’s some added value there if you can’t be parked in front of your TV all day on Saturday and Sunday.
Aside from sports, Peacock also is the streaming home for all of NBC's content, including shows like The Paper, America's Got Talent, Poker Face and American Ninja Warrior. — B.S.
Free trial: Yes | Monthly price: $11/month | Annual cost: $100/year | Live TV: No | Local channels: No
While it's easy to find modern blockbuster films on Netflix and other streaming services these days, classic cinema is often tougher to find. FilmStruck tried to solve that problem, but it couldn't find a large enough audience to survive. Now there's the Criterion Channel, which delivers a rotating array of its cinephile-approved library for $11 a month or $100 a year. (Where else can you stream something like the incredible ramen noodle Western Tampopo?)
It's a service that's built for movie lovers: It's chock full of commentary tracks, conversations with writers and directors and some of the company's renowned special features. The Criterion Channel also does a far better job at curating viewing options than other services. Its double features, for instance, pair together thematically similar films, like the classic noir entries Phantom Lady and Variety. What’s more, its editors make it easy to find all of the available films from a single director, for all of you auteur theory connoisseurs.
Sure, it costs a bit more than Peacock or Paramount+, but The Criterion Channel gives you access to a library that's far more rewarding than the latest streaming TV show. You can watch on up to three devices at once, and there's also offline viewing available for iOS and Android devices. It also supports major streaming devices from Apple, Amazon and Roku, but as far as TV's go, it's only on Samsung's Tizen-powered sets. Unfortunately, The Criterion Channel is only available in the US and Canada, due to licensing restrictions. — D.H.
Free trial: Yes | Monthly price: $9/month | Annual cost: $90/year | Live TV: No | Local channels: No
Sometimes, a good horror movie is the only way to deal with the constant anxiety of a potential climate apocalypse and the seeming downfall of modern society. If that describes your personality, it's worth taking a look at Shudder, AMC Network's streaming service dedicated to everything spooky. You'll find plenty of horror classics, like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but Shudder has also gotten into the original content game with unique films like Host, which takes place entirely over a Zoom call. If you're a bit squeamish, Shudder probably won't sell you much on horror. But for fans of the genre, it's a smorgasbord of content to dive into. You can try it out free for seven days, and afterwards it's $9 per month (or $7.50 per month when billed annually, for a total of $90 for the year). — D.H.
Free trial: Yes | Monthly price: $8/month | Annual cost: $96/year | Live TV: No | Local channels: No
If you watched Squid Game and are now Kdrama-curious, Viki should be the next streaming service you sign up for. The platform has an impressive library of K-, C- and Jdramas ready to watch, both from the archives (Coffee Prince, Descendants of the Sun) and brand new (My Youth, Queen Mantis). It's especially great for Korean entertainment thanks to its partnership with Kocowa, which adds even more Korean movies and TV shows to the library you can stream. Viki Pass Standard costs $8 per month and gives you access to the full library with no ads, 720p video and one streaming device at a time. You can upgrade to Viki Pass Plus for $12 per month to gain 1080p video, four simultaneous streams and offline viewing. — Valentina Palladino, Deputy Editor
