OPINION: Netflix is raising prices, but they’re still your best bet

Mellisa Soehono

If you haven’t already heard, your Netflix subscription is about to get a little pricier.

The popular streaming service announced earlier in January they had plans to raise prices over the next three months to fund its push to original programming and allowing more content. The price of the basic plan will rise from $8 to $9 per month, the HD streaming allowed on two devices will go from $11 to $13 per month, and the price of its premium plan will go up from $14 to $16. But is this entirely bad in comparison to its competitors such as Hulu and Amazon? Let’s take a closer look.

Hulu charges $5.99 per month for their standard plan, Amazon Prime membership costs $99 annually (or about $8.25 per month), but also includes two-day free shipping on most items. With Prime, you also have access to a selection of TV shows and movies with Prime Video. Prime Video’s selection of TV shows and movies is underwhelming, my roommates and I have all three services and never use Amazon Video. As a long time Prime member, the two-day free shipping is the ultimate best deal out of the subscription which I am sure many of us college students can easily agree.

Hulu has quality content but does not top Netflix’s wide range selection. Hulu was initially mainly known for having Primetime Emmy Award-winning show “The Handmaid’s Tale.” The only perks to “Hulu” are they have shows like “Drake and Josh,” that many of us watched when we were in grade school. And maybe “The Bachelor” and “Rick and Morty,” if you’re into that. Hulu is also only available in the United States. So if you don’t live in the US, I suppose Netflix just takes this whole thing by forfeit.

Netflix has a growing selection of original shows, documentaries, comedy specials, and movies, and it seems like something is always trending on social media (Bird Box, Stranger Things, Shameless, The Office, Black Mirror, Orange is the New Black, etc.) Netflix also supports HDR video and streams in 4K and their user interface is better. You can download Netflix on your mobile device or laptop while you are traveling, or if you just don’t own a TV. Hulu offers none of these things. You get the best bang out of your buck with Netflix, what’s a couple of dollars gonna do to you?

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