Hulu Plus vs Netflix

July 1, 2010 By Nick Mokey

Will Hulu Plus replace Netflix as the streaming TV service of choice for net-savvy couch potatoes? We compare both to see which of these titans of television deserves your dollars.

After cutting cable and abandoning monthly bills like a bunch of rotten bananas, the idea of subscribing to an Internet TV service might seem like a massive step backwards. After all, between YouTube, Hulu and independent sites like Rev3, you can find more totally free content on the Web than the hours in your day will ever support. But when strongman training videos, The Daily Show and AnimeTV get stale, you’ll still be left craving the grade-A content cable TV used to spoon feed you every day.

Unless you have a soft spot for the skull and crossbones – as well as the occasional virus – Netflix is currently the most popular way to legally stream a vast library of popular TV shows and movies directly to your computer or television. As of Tuesday, Hulu has stepped up its game with Hulu Plus, a premium subscription service that will open access to the vast back archives of popular shows that have presently disappeared from free availability due to licensing.

Which should the cash-strapped-but-savvy TV enthusiast reach for? Let’s take a point-by-point breakdown of what we know so far.

Price

Winner: Netflix

At present, a monthly Netflix subscription with included free streaming costs $8.99 a month. Hulu has announced that Hulu Plus will charge $9.99 a month. Netflix clearly has the upper hand, but put in perspective, it’s almost a wash. While an extra dollar every month might deprive you of four gumballs, an item off the McDonald’s value menu, or a fine selection from the Dollar Store, we suspect the difference still won’t make much of a real difference to consumers who can already afford a monthly Internet bill, big-screen TVs and Blu-ray players. Frankly, both look like a steal compared to real cable and satellite TV packages.

Supported Devices

Winner: Netflix

Both Netflix and Hulu Plus will let you grab a quick episode of The Office on your 12-inch laptop screen at work, but what happens when you want to tap into it on the 42-incher in your living room, or on the road? You’ll need hardware that supports your subscription service of choice. Here’s an overview of how each service breaks down.

Device	Hulu	Netflix
PC	✔	✔
Apple iPad	✔	✔
Apple iPhone	✔
Internet-enabled TVs	✔	✔
Internet-enabled Blu-ray players	✔	✔
Set-top boxes		✔
Xbox 360		✔
PlayStation 3	✔	✔
Nintendo Wii		✔

Obviously, Netflix’s head start has given it broader support across more hardware, including set-top boxes like the Roku streaming player, WD TV Live Plus HD Media Player, and TiVo HD XL. More significant are the two most popular consoles on the market missing from Hulu Plus: the Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Xbox 360. However, Hulu Plus does have an iPhone app in its favor. But Netflix’s advantage gets even more obvious if you take a more granular look at any given category. With years of streaming under its belt, Netflix has amassed huge support for its service from hardware providers in every category. Want a Netflix-enabled Blu-ray player? You can look at models from Insignia, LG, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Vizio, and Sony. Look for one that supports Hulu Plus, and you’re stuck with just Samsung, Vizo and Sony.

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Showing 39 comments

charlene Fcovington at 9:24am 29th October 2010 netflick, hands down is absolutely the best thing going on at this time..i am a new i client... very happy i made up my mind to try something new. i will be waiting and watching to see what they come up with next.charlene
@jwmccready at 11:46am 23rd October 2010 This seems dated, even though it came out yesterday. Netflix has an iPhone/iPod app, and 30 Rock is streamable. Netflix FTW
@sakularose at 9:58am 20th September 2010 My husband and I have had netflix for years and have loved it, but it didn't have enough streaming content for us to feel comfortable getting rid of cable. In the last two months we started subscribing to Hulu plus and have access to all the cable shows we could ever want! I also love the fact that you do not have to wait for a show to come on on DVD to be able to watch it. I think Netflix is great for movies, Hulu Plus is awesome for television shows. Between the two we have finally ditched the cable company.
tristan thomas at 12:45am 8th September 2010 Now I understand that the Netflix App is a great step in the right direction BUT its too bad its limited because of AT&Ts control over the already controlling iPhone. Why do I says its controlling? Because it will be controlling your pocket and how much money you spend on your limited data plans. Most iPhone users hype themselves over the app but do they even really understand how much data this app uses? I didnt either until i read this article that laid out the data usage. You can find it here: http://getyourgadgetsgoing.com/2010/09/07/netflix...
1. BIGKENT at 11:10am 9th December 2010 Doesn't really matter much for the older AT&T customers. I have the old unlimited data plan; and so do most of the iPhone users I know. The only people with limited data plans are the customers that are new(er) to AT&T.
2. Duran at 9:20am 14th December 2010 You must not forget that the iPhone has built-in wifi, so it is most likely people will be using it more at places that have wifi (home, coffee shops, & anywhere else there's wifi) versus using AT&T's 3G connection.
regina at 4:29am 22nd July 2010 I am a netflix subscriber and I use the instant watch frequently with my wii but i do use Hulu free service more. I am a sitcom junky and i find myself turning on my computer more often to watch my favorite 80's sitcoms on hulu more than I use the netflix instant watch. I think that if netflix want to stay on top they need to offer more movies and t.v. shows in the instant watch. I must say in my opinion Hulu has them beat with content.
1. lyracole at 4:54pm 9th December 2010 You are sooo right! Netflix definitely need to offer more instant watch movies. 98% of everything I want to see is DVD only.
  1. andyw at 11:32am 15th December 2010 I'm evaluating Netflix streaming movies/tv for my 30 day free trial. I'm very disappointed with the lack of streaming-only content. So much of what I want to watch requires the upgrade to DVD, and I only find out about it, quite frustratingly, after I click search results each time. They should at least allow a filter to search for streaming content only for those of us who don't want to pay $2 more a month to include DVD shipments, and don't want to keep being asked every damn search about the upgrade option. But I'm probably going to dump Netflix anyways on account of the above. On to Hulu Plus for evaluation.
Jan Studebaker at 3:25pm 11th July 2010 The author of this otherwise fine article apparently failed to realize that the quality of Netflix streamed to a TV (via a set top box) is far better than the Netflix streamed to a PC. The reason is that different streams are used for the two different platforms, as well as different types of compression. The PC version of Netflix is quite poor compared to the TV version via the Roku player.
1. ioman at 4:30pm 11th July 2010 I disagree Jan. Why would Netflix be better on one medium than another? I think Netflix over a PC looks pretty phenomenal, especially on a 30inch monitor. I do think that Netflix streamed through the PS3 looks better than through the Xbox 360 for some reason (I have both and have tried Netflix on both).
phoebe8 at 9:12am 5th July 2010 Another factor to weigh is that Hulu also has a free version. Presumably this will hook some people and encourage them to sign up for Hulu Plus, while others will decide that the free version is enough for their needs. http://www.jinni.com
@ChrissyMiddletn at 8:29pm 2nd July 2010 I like netflix, but the instant que selection kinda sucks. It is nice to be able to get the new releases mailed to me though. They are usually waiting in my mailbox for me on the day they come out.
wagedomain at 5:07pm 2nd July 2010 Just an FYI, Hulu Plus is coming to the 360 shortly, so I wouldn't claim it as "missing". They're doing a custom interface similar to what Netflix did for the 360.
IamI at 2:29pm 2nd July 2010 This is idiotic. Netflix sends you DVDs, which is potentially anything yo could want, when hulu does not AND for the same price. It's apples and oranges to compare them.
1. Terry at 5:13pm 31st October 2010 I think both for less than $20 covers new current shows as well as rich past content. In my market, I am paying $99 a month for uverse cable, when I end up watching network shows anyway. My setup: tivo (already paid for lifetime subscription so no extra here) for dvr'ing live tv- $199 refurbished from tivo site; $299 lifetime) GE optima tv antennas picks up about 45 stations in Houston area - $30 each for 3 tvs roku player - $99 each for 2 other tvs cables to connect computer video and audio to tv/stereo systems = less than $100 netflix recurring charges: about $10 a month hulu plus recurring charges : about $10 a month initial investment in hardware, but only $20 a month for hulu and netflix after that WHAT A DEAL. MORE CONTENT THAN CABLE. You can go to NATGEO or FOODTV on your computer and watch these shows anytime if they are not on hulu or netflix. I dont mind waiting a few days for a recent show to be on hulu plus to save about $80 a month, after break even on hardware. Long term... best deal to invest and set yourself up without cable. All the good stations on cable always end up in the higher priced tiers, but they are all online for free or on hulu or netflix. I am sold... someday all this will be in one device, but for now.... ok with me to have it all
Farikh at 12:46pm 2nd July 2010 I have both services but I find I use Hulu more. Features such as subscriptions, queue management, and (believe it or not) being able to resize the pop-out window to a few hundred pixels length X width for viewing while I work, are why Hulu is my go to content site. They've nailed usability, and on the internet that makes all the difference between the winners and loser. People forget, their were auction sites before Ebay, online book sellers before Amazon, social network sites before Facebook, and amateur video sites before Youtube. The thing that made all of these services winners vs. their competition is the WAY they delivered their services to the internet community more than what they were actually delivering.
asd at 12:16pm 2nd July 2010 Gee, maybe it's too early for a comparison.
TechDubDoob at 6:57am 2nd July 2010 Netflix over everything.
skattertech at 5:25am 2nd July 2010 Isn't Hulu Plus going to Xbox 360 as well? It says that in the press release. (But not until Early 2011.)
1. ioman at 4:10pm 2nd July 2010 Yes it is.
Spencer at 3:29am 2nd July 2010 Yeah I heard Hulu was coming to the `Box but E3 told me its gonna be ESPN so idk. Sad :(
1. ioman at 4:11pm 2nd July 2010 Hulu is coming to the Xbox 360.
Logan Lindquist at 2:11am 2nd July 2010 Ya I heard Hulu was going to be on the xbox also.
1. ioman at 3:44am 2nd July 2010 Hulu is coming to the Xbox and iPad. Probably the PS3 eventually too.
  1. Rob at 4:07pm 2nd July 2010 It's coming to the PS3 before the 360. Sometime in July I believe.
Ben at 1:42am 2nd July 2010 I don't see why it's one or the other. Hulu has the new stuff and Netflix has the old stuff. They play to their strengths and together it's less than 20 bucks a month. Cable is what? 50 a month at the cheapest, 100 something if you want to go HD? I say go both and win.
RevTom at 1:17am 2nd July 2010 FYI: Hulu is coming to xbox. Netflix is coming to iPhone
Dan Gaul at 11:01pm 1st July 2010 I just don't get who thought up the genius idea charging $10/mo for Hulu plus, then throwing in ads into the content. Why can't it just plain and simple, as in the free version is ad supported, the plus version has no ads. That alone would drive me to Netflix.
1. Bobby D at 12:47pm 23rd July 2010 The networks that own Hulu are the geniuses.
Adam Lea at 10:38pm 1st July 2010 Perhaps I am missing some features of Hulu+, but this seems to be a clear win for Netflix. What am I missing?
1. Jeff Condit at 6:02pm 24th July 2010 streaming new shows in HD to your TV...Thats about it, but if you can get rid of cable and use both services, You get new and old content in HD on demand for less than half the cost of Cable... It fills the gap of what netflix is missing. i don't really see them as competing solutions. Its not a good service if you only use it on your computer, but being able to stream it to a TV and your iphone ( or droid or whatever) makes it interesting. Its the good step away from the Traditional TV model.
Brian at 10:36pm 1st July 2010 One thing Hulu has going for it is Linux support. Netflix is not compatible.
1. ianbell330 at 11:01pm 1st July 2010 Netflix streaming should be though right?
  1. campbell1373 at 11:49pm 1st July 2010 Netflix streaming is currently unavailable in linux, or at least for my Debian based OS. I don't know if they plan on changing it in the future, but I hope they do.
    
    Jojo at 1:53am 2nd July 2010 Netflix uses Microsoft Silverlight. I think they've expressed interest in HTML5 for cross-platform permeation, and are probably testing it. Hulu is sticking with Flash.
Kyle Lackey at 10:29pm 1st July 2010 Netflix wins this without a doubt.
ianbell330 at 4:31pm 1st July 2010 Netflix by far. The only thing Hulu is useful for is watching current season shows that you may have missed on TV. But you can almost always go to the networks website (like ABC.com, USANetworks.com) and watch the most recent episodes of their shows in case you missed them. No reason to pay for Hulu IMO.
1. DarthShotFirst at 3:39am 2nd July 2010 Hulu is good but SurfTheChannel and Freetubetv are better B)