Stream at a relatively low price
In this era of technology, more and more people are ditching their cable subscriptions to more convenient online streaming. With this, they can watch thousands of movies, shows, and documentaries anywhere, anytime. And perhaps one of the front-runners when it comes to video streaming is Hulu. This multimedia app remains to be one of the best for live or on-demand television in the US and Japan. Co-owned by the Walt Disney Company and Comcast, this app focuses primarily on streaming new TV shows and its original content over movies and documentaries. And like other similar apps, it offers monthly subscription tiers to customize your viewing experience.
Hulu pricing
Hulu is just one of the many streaming apps available nowadays. But the app differs from other well-known services, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, in a way that it allows users earlier access to popular series from multiple traditional networks. With this, you typically only have to wait for days—sometimes just a day, even—to watch the latest episodes of your favorite TV shows.
Another thing that sets Hulu apart from its competitors is its pricing plans. Over the years, there have been some changes to the service’s pricing. But rather than hiking up the price, the cheapest plan becomes even cheaper. Hulu’s basic plan is the cheapest among the popular services, and it even includes HD video support. However, it comes with a catch: commercials.
Netflix and Amazon’s basic plans already remove the ads. But with Hulu, you need to upgrade your subscription to get nearly commercial-free viewing. Even if you opt for the pricier service, there are still a handful of shows which will have before-and-after commercials due to rights issues.
Hulu is accessible on a wide number of platforms. Unfortunately, both the base plan and the commercial-free version are only limited to one device at a time. There is no way to add to that tally. If you want to bump the number to two simultaneous streams, you need to pay for the much pricier Hulu + Live TV.
Hulu offering
Hulu’s main draw for users is its TV offerings. The service partnered with four of the biggest networks in the US—namely ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox—to provide its users access to some of the top shows the day after they premiere on TV. With this, the app has a deep catalog of some of the popular TV shows.
In addition to major networks, Hulu’s library also includes shows from cable channels, such as FX, Bravo, Lifetime, and Comedy Central. However, they don’t typically give you the latest season of episodes. The service also offers content for younger audiences with its strong selection of kid’s programming, which includes some of Cartoon Network’s popular shows and more than 1,000 episodes of top anime series.
But the biggest draw that Hulu has for its users these days is the original TV series. The app is home to the critically-acclaimed dystopian series, The Handmaid’s Tale. It also offers comedies, like Difficult People and Casual, which have drawn praises. The selection isn’t that broad or expanding like in Netflix, but Hulu has got some really strong offerings.
Although best known for its TV service, Hulu has also gradually beefed up its movie contents. However, Netflix still has the upper hand.
Cheaper alternative
Taking everything into consideration, Hulu does not feel quite as essential and all-encompassing as Netflix. That said, the service has a lot of excellent content to offer, and you can watch it pretty much anywhere. Its monthly fee is also more reasonable than other services. Sure, the commercials are still annoying, and you still need to pay the more expensive plan to enjoy offline viewing. But if you are looking for a secondary service to supplement Netflix or Amazon Prime, then this one is worth trying.
