Netflix, Amazon Prime & Disney+: Which streaming service offers the most value?

As the cost of living crisis gets more stressful and expensive, many of us are shedding non-essential purchases, like streaming services. The cost of popular streaming services, like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+, do add up month on month, especially if you have more than one streaming subscription in your household.

Personally, I have three streaming subscriptions: Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+. I’d say that this is pretty common for a lot of people and while I do divide the costs with the person I live with, I do think it’s important to re-evaluate what each service offers me and which one’s I should consider getting rid of.

Before I - and you - press the cancel button on your streaming subscriptions, I’ve looked into Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+ to investigate what each service has in terms of content, features and prices, and which one offers the most value.

Netflix

Rated as one of the best streaming services of all time, Netflix is exceedingly popular but 2022 has definitely not been its year. It lost 200,000 subscribers, cancelled some of its most popular TV series and one of its shareholders filed a lawsuit against them recently. However, it’s still one of the best streaming platforms out there and has thousands of films, TV shows, documentaries and more to watch on-demand.

In my opinion, Netflix has some of the best original content on its platform. Since 2013, Netflix has produced and released over 1,500 original titles. Some of these are Netflix’s most highly rated and most viewed shows like Bridgerton, Stranger Things, The Crown, The Witcher, Sex Education, Russian Doll, Emily In Paris and Orange Is The New Black. I really like the amount of Netflix Originals that get uploaded and created, although I do think they need to look at what shows their viewers actually enjoy, as they keep cancelling really popular series and leaving fans disappointed.

Another part of Netflix that I love is its range of documentaries and docuseries. As a true crime fan, I really enjoy the amount of serial killer and crime documentaries on offer, like The Confession Tapes, Making a Murderer, The Staircase and Tiger King. The sport documentaries are also incredibly binge-worthy including Formula 1: Drive To Survive, Cheer, Last Chance U and The Last Dance and I’m a huge fan of reality TV shows, like Too Hot To Handle, Queer Eye, Love Is Blind, Is It Cake? and The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On.

According to JustWatch, Netflix has over 4,220 movies and 1,980 TV shows that cover a variety of genres, interests and ages. The very basic Netflix plan is £6.99, so you’re definitely getting a huge amount of content for your money. However, there is no annual subscription cost which is a handy way to save money on streaming services and it tends to cancel a lot of its shows. I’m also not the biggest fan of how they remove big shows and films at random, although many of them can now be found on Disney+.

Overall, I’d give Netflix an 8.5/10 in terms of value, but I don’t think I’m ready to cancel it just yet and would rather find out how to save money on Netflix instead. 

Amazon Prime Video

Amazon Prime Video is included as part of your Amazon Prime subscription and has one of the largest media libraries, including over 16,000 movies and around 1,960 TV series. Similar to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video comes with Prime Originals which include Hunters, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, Jack Ryan, The Boys and Reacher. It also promises tons of new series, including the Lord of the Rings TV show that’s coming later this year.

Amazon Prime Video is a great platform for sports and documentaries. With access to live tournaments, Premier Sports and discovery+, it’s got all the latest live and on-demand sports to choose from, including football, rugby and netball. I also like the range of documentaries on offer, especially sports ones like All or Nothing, Dan Carter: A Perfect 10 and Rooney. As Top Gear stars – Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond – moved to Amazon, you can also find all their individual series and joint TV shows on Prime Video, including The Grand Tour, Clarkson’s Farm, James May: Oh Cook and Richard Hammond’s Big!

Amazon Prime Video is only available with a Prime subscription so it’s a popular service for other features and benefits, like free delivery, Prime Reading and Amazon Music, at just £8.99 / $14.99 a month or £95 / $139 a year. This makes the platform much more valuable in my opinion, although I’d prefer if Prime Video would separate its paid and free content as the joining of them together makes searching for films quite confusing. In terms of value, Prime Video gets a 9/10 from me. P.S. Here’s how to save money on Amazon Prime.

Disney+

Finally, Disney+ is nipping at the heels of the above streaming services, especially Netflix. In comparison to Netflix losing subscribers earlier this year, Disney+ has added 7.9 million new subscribers to its customer base and according to Radio Times, has over 500 films, 350 TV series and 26 Disney+ Originals. While this isn’t as much content as Netflix and Prime Video, the quality of the films and series are much better in my opinion and has access to Star and National Geographic. 

On Disney+, you can find tons of film series, including Star Wars, Marvel Avengers, Pirates of the Caribbean and more. As a Disney Channel kid, I love the nostalgia that Disney+ has to offer with its range of throwback Disney films like The Parent Trap, The Lizzie McGuire Movie and Freaky Friday. I also love the inclusion of Star and more adult content. Personally, I’ve really enjoyed the romcoms available, including Pretty Woman, The Devil Wears Prada and Father of the Bride, and my boyfriend is enjoying older action films like National Treasure, Die Hard and The Rock.

While Disney+ isn’t known for its originals compared to Netflix and Prime, it still has an amazing range of series including The Dropout, Only Murders in the Building, Pam & Tommy and The Kardashians. It’s also got many series that Netflix got rid of including How I Met Your Mother, New Girl and American Horror Story.

Overall, Disney+ gets a big 10/10 from me and it has a great value for money at just £7.99 / $7.99 a month and £79.90 / $79.99 a year. If you’re considering cancelling Disney+, here are a few ways to save money on Disney+. 

Which streaming service offers the most value?

After looking into the main three streaming services, I definitely think that Disney+ offers the most value in terms of price, range of content and added extras. Of course, it completely depends on what you’re looking for and what you like to watch but here are a few quick breakdowns.

Netflix is great for Originals but with no annual cost and getting rid of popular series, it’s not as impressive as other streaming platforms. Amazon Prime Video comes with lots of other Prime services but the interface could be better and easier to navigate. Finally, Disney+ has tons of films and series, but if you’re not hugely into Disney films or even Marvel, it’s not the platform for you. All three have amazing benefits so they’re definitely the three services I’d recommend over all others.

If you’re not ready to completely say goodbye to your streaming services, check out my guide on how to save money on streaming services and the best streaming service deals for this month.