Paramount+ vs. Netflix: Which Is Better?

Paramount+ has joined the streaming wars, no doubt keen to take a slice of the pie dominated by Netflix. But which streaming service is better?

We’re going to compare Paramount+ against Netflix in categories like price, content, and device support to see which is the best streaming service.

Paramount+ vs. Netflix: Price

It can get expensive to shill out for multiple streaming services. Here’s what Paramount+ and Netflix cost, and the different price plans available.

Paramount+

Paramount+ offers two subscription plans: Limited Commercials and Commercial Free, with both plans offering one-week free trials for new subscribers. Here’s what each plan gives you:

Limited Commercials

• $5.99 per month or $59.99 annually.
• Stream over 30,000 episodes and movies, originals, live sports and news with limited commercial interruptions.

Commercial Free

• $9.99 per month or $99.99 annually.
• Offers the same programming that comes with the Limited Commercials plan, commercial free, and the ability to download shows and movies to watch offline.
• While this plan is “commercial free”, TV streams do contain commercials, and some shows include brief interruptions to promote Paramount+ programming.

Paramount+ will discontinue its Limited Commercials plan in 2021 and replace it with a new plan that won’t include access to your live CBS station, at $4.99 per month (plus applicable tax). There is no word on when exactly this change will take effect, and it will not affect current Limited Commercials subscribers.

Netflix

Netflix, on the other hand, offers three streaming plans: Basic, Standard, and Premium, ranging between $8.99 per month and $17.99 per month. Unlike Paramount+, Netflix no longer offers a free trial period. Here’s how much each plan will cost you:

• Basic: $8.99 per month with standard definition
• Standard: $13.99 per month with support for HD
• Premium: $17.99 per month with support for HD and 4K Ultra HD

Winner: Paramount+

Paramount+ vs. Netflix: Simultaneous Streams

Often, a single streaming account gets shared between multiple people in a household. As such, you’ll want to choose a streaming service and plan that gives you enough simultaneous streams to keep everyone happy.

Here’s how Paramount+ and Netflix fare when it comes to simultaneous streams:

Paramount+

On the Limited Commercials and Commercial Free plan, you can have up to three simultaneous streams. There’s no difference between the two in that regard.

Netflix

For Netflix, the number of simultaneous streams varies per plan.

• Basic: One stream
• Standard: Two simultaneous streams
• Premium: Four simultaneous streams

Related: Stop Sharing Passwords: Why Netflix Might Be More Secure Than Ever

Winner: Paramount+

Paramount+ vs. Netflix: Content

Of course, one of the most important points for a streaming service is the content it offers. Besides, if there’s nothing decent to watch, what’s the point of subscribing?

Paramount+

• Total library: 30,000+ episodes and movies, originals, live sports and news (to be added)
• Originals: 17% (of TV catalog only)
• Exclusives: 64% (of movie and TV catalog)
• Top titles: Star Trek, The Twilight Zone, SpongeBob SquarePants, NCIS

Paramount+ is hot behind Netflix’s heels with its content strategy, as it plans plenty of new releases to bolster its streaming services. ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish revealed a plan to debut a movie every week in 2022 for its Paramount+ streaming service.

As for Paramount+’s catalog, the streaming service will add more than 30,000 TV episodes and 2,500 movie titles to its current catalog.

As a subscriber, not only will you have access to the best of CBS, but you can enjoy TV shows and movies from ViacomCBS’ subsidiaries—including MTV, Nickelodeon, and Paramount.

This also includes select movies from Paramount Pictures, 30 to 45 days after their theatrical release, such as Paw Patrol: The Movie and Mission: Impossible 7.

Paramount+ will showcase a depth of content across key genres, including 7,000 episodes of kids’ content, 5,000 episodes of reality TV and 6,000 episodes of comedy.

Paramount+ will debut 36 original series and plans to add more than 50 original series between 2021 and 2023, including shows from the Avatar, Star Trek and SpongeBob SquarePants universes. But is that ambitious enough to compete with Netflix? Probably not, if you consider Netflix’s more than 1,500 original titles.

Netflix

• Total library: 15,000+ titles across its international libraries
• Originals: 39%
• Exclusives: 83%
• Top titles: Stranger Things, The Queen’s Gambit, Bridgerton, The Irishman

Netflix is known for its quality movies and TV shows, including some of the best original content across all streaming services.

In 2020, Netflix had nearly 6,000 movies and TV shows in its library, with licensed content accounting for the majority. And the streaming giant is still going strong.

Netflix promised to release new movies every week in 2021, featuring Hollywood’s biggest names, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Dwayne Johnson, and Idris Elba. Expect to see films from the biggest filmmakers such as Zack Snyder, Nora Fingscheidt, and Joe Wright, as well as directorial debuts from Halle Berry and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Related: Which Streaming Service Offers the Best Original Content?

It’s not just the quantity of original content that counts though, but the quality too. Netflix has earned more than 400 award nominations and more than 70 awards since introducing original content in 2012.

In 2021 alone, Netflix bagged seven Academy Awards for its original content, the most among streaming service competitors, nearly doubling its all-time Oscars tally in just one night, and bringing its total Academy Awards wins to 15.

Winner: Netflix

Paramount+ vs. Netflix: Regional Availability

Paramount+ is relatively new and doesn’t support as many countries as Netflix, which has pushed global expansion rapidly over the years.

• Paramount+: 18 countries in Latin America, as well as the US and Canada.
• Netflix: More than 190 countries. It is not yet available in China, Crimea, North Korea, or Syria.

Winner: Netflix

Paramount+ vs. Netflix: Device Availability

Paramount+

You can stream Paramount+ content on a large range of devices, including through the browser at ParamountPlus.com and on Apple iOS devices and Android devices. These include:

• Smart TVs (Apple, Android, Amazon Fire, Portal, Samsung, LG and Vizio)
• iPhones and iPads
• Android phones and tablets
• Chromecast
• PlayStation 4
• Roku
• Xbox
• Xfinity Flex

Netflix

You can stream Netflix on a wide range of devices—through the browser at Netflix.com and on phones, tablets, and more. These include:

• Streaming media players
• Smart TVs
• Game consoles
• Set-top boxes
• Blu-ray players
• Smartphones and tablets
• PCs and laptops

Winner: Netflix

Paramount+ vs. Netflix: Which Is Better?

While Paramount+ enters the streaming wars with some big titles under its belt and the promise of a large content library, it isn’t enough to render it a worthy competitor against streaming giant Netflix, which has tons award-winning content and goodwill behind its name. Netflix remains the leading streaming service until a worthy contender emerges.

Source: makeuseof.com