Among the online streaming options available today, Netflix and Hulu are two of the most popular but the focus of their content library is quite different. Netflix offers the widest selection of movies and thousands of older TV shows, while Hulu Plus, offers a stronger collection of current-season TV shows and a smaller selection of movies. One disadvantage with Hulu Plus is ads — Netflix offers an ad-free experience. Both services are $7.99 per month and both have apps available on a wide variety of devices, including smart TVs.
Comparison chart</> EMBED THIS CHART
www.hulu.com | www.netflix.com |
Video on demand; primarily TVshows, including current seasonshows. | Video on demand, online DVD and Blu-ray disc rental; primarily movies and older TV shows. |
apx.3 million Hulu Plus subscribers (2012); Unknown number of free content viewers. | About 30 million subscribers (Apr 2013) |
Around 1,650 shows and 2,500 movies | About 100,000 movies and TVshows |
Yes, even with Hulu Plus | No |
Hulu Plus is $7.99 per month; basic service is free but not all shows are available with the basic service and it does not work on smartphonesand tablets. | Monthly $7.99 for online streaming only; additional $7.99 for DVD-by-mail service and an additional $2/month for Blu-ray discs. |
288p, 360p, 480p and sometimes 720p HD | Tier 1: DVD Quality (1.5Mbit/s connection needed), Tier 2 (Better than DVD Quality 3Mbit/s needed) Tier 3: 720p (5Mbit/s needed). Tier 4: 1080p has been introduced. |
Stereo sound | Dolby Digital 5.1 |
Typically within a day of airing | Not until the next season of a showbegins |
U.S., Japan | North America, South America,United Kingdom & Ireland |
$695 million (2012) | US$3.6 billion (FY 2012) |
Jason Kilar (CEO) | Reed Hastings, co-founder and CEO, David Wells, CFO, Neil Hunt, CTO, Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer |
Los Angeles, California, U.S. | Los Gatos, California, US |
2007 | 1997 |
Joint venture | Public company |
Hulu is a website and subscriptionservice offering ad-supported on-demand streaming video of TVshows, movies, webisodes and other new media, trailers, clips, and behind-the-scenes footage from NBC, Fox, ABC, TBS, and many other networks. | Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) is an American provider of on-demandInternet streaming media in the United States, Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, United Kingdom and Ireland and flat rateDVD-by-mail in the United States. |
October 29, 2007 (Hulu Syndication Network), March 12, 2008 (Hulu.com destination site) | 1997 |
Yes: 4 already, 3 upcoming | Yes, including House of Cards and Arrested Development and Orange is The New Black |
Streaming | Video rental; streaming |
Many titles; mostly subbed. | Few titles; mostly dubbed. |
Current season TV shows are generally available; availability of new movies is slow. | Current season TV series episodesare generally not available. Availability of new movies is slow. |
Content Library
TV Shows vs. Movies
Hulu offers some movies but is primarily known for TV shows, including related clips, trailers and interviews. It is unique in that it has episodes available quickly, often within a day of the original airing, and features shows from networks including NBC, ABC, Fox, Current TV, ION Television, USA Network, Brave, Syfy, E!, A&E, and Oxygen. Hulu has made four original series – A Day in the Life, Battleground, Spoilers and Up to Speed – and is launching 3 more.
Netflix has many more films and TV shows, but it can often be a year after an episode airs before it appears on the service. However, it has a huge library of older shows, and a large children’s section. Netflix is also working on its own original shows, and has launched House of Cards and the revival of (or sequel to) Arrested Development.
EDITSize
Hulu has not stated the size of its library, but it is estimated that it has more than 43,000 TV episodes from 1,650shows, and over 2,500 films.
Netflix has over 100,000 titles in its library. This counts individual episodes of TV shows. Netflix does not publicize the size of its content library because, the company says, it changes as title availabilities expire or new ones become available.
EDITForeign
Hulu offers some international TV shows, typically from the UK and Canada. It also has Korean drama like Boys Before Flowers.
Netflix offers many foreign films, and some foreign TV series, including Norwegian drama Lilyhammer, and Britishshows such as Being Human and Downton Abbey.
EDITDevice Compatibility
The Hulu website is incompatible with most portable devices, such as iPads, because it uses Flash. Hulu Plus members can use it on many platforms, including Apple TV, iPad, Blu-ray players, TiVo, iOS and Android smartphones, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.
Netflix apps are also available on all these platforms and others such as Roku and Windows phone.
EDITClosed Caption Availability
82% of Netflix content has subtitles. The company aims to reach 90% availability by the end of 2013 and 100% by the end of 2014.
EDITWhere Offered
Hulu is only available in the US and in Japan.
Netflix is available in many countries, including the US, Canada, Mexico, South America, the UK, Ireland, and Nordic countries (excluding Iceland). The available content varies depending on the region.
EDITPopularity
As of April 2013, Hulu Plus has about 3 million subscribers and Netflix has over 30 million subscribers in the US.
EDITPrice
Basic use of Hulu is free, as it is supported by ads. Hulu Plus costs $7.99. This allows users to download mobileapps and access more content, but is still supported by ads.
Netflix costs $7.99 per month, for unlimited instant streaming.
EDITHow to choose between Netflix and Hulu Plus
The bottom line is that if you're into movies, Netflix is a better option and if you like to stay current on all the latest TV shows, Hulu Plus is a better option. Of course, when comparing with cable, it is cheaper to get both Hulu Plus and Netflix ($16 per month compared with cable TV, which typically runs from $30 - $120 per month).