Best Streaming Platforms (Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Go, Apple TV+): Who's Worth Your Money?

The eternal question: which streaming service or VOD (Video On Demand) is the most worthwhile for me? In Slovenia, we have streaming content available from foreign providers Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, HBO GO, Apple TV+ and Pickbox NOW. First, let's see how they compare to each other, what are theirs weaknesses and strengths and above all, for how many euros per month they will "pluck" us!

Netflix

The “grandfather” of streaming services, Netflix, remains at the very top of digital subscriptions for video content, series and movies. He succeeds in this with excellent original content and by buying the rights to extremely popular series, such as the series Friends. Now that it too is set to leave the platform and move to HBO Max, Netflix is likely to double down on its own production and continue to look for opportunities to license foreign reality shows like The Great British Bake Off and Terrace House. The fourth season of the popular series Stranger Things is also on the horizon, as is the fourth season of The Crown.
netflix.com

Top 5 series you can watch on Netflix: Stranger Things, BoJack Horseman, Mindhunter, The Haunting of Hill House, Black Mirror

ADVANTAGES

• excellent selection of both series and movies
• optimized user interface with a separate profile for children
• a good system for suggesting suitable content

WEAKNESSES

• more expensive than other streaming content providers (especially regarding content available in Slovenia)
• movies and series withdraw relatively quickly

Amazon Prime Video

All of you who already shop on Amazon will agree that Amazon Prime is a great thing and the only logical thing to do if you love to shop online! For 7.99 euros per month, in addition to numerous shopping benefits, you will also get unlimited access to Amazon Music and Amazon Prime Video. The latter has a really wide range of movies, series and original and award-winning series. And in all probability, you will find something that you will not find on Neflix, somewhere "hidden" right on Amazon Prime Video! This platform will only become even more relevant when they finally launch the new Lord of the Rings series on it, which will take us to the early years of King Aragorn.
amazon.de

Top 5 series you can watch on Amazon Prime Video: Flebag, Catastrophe, Good Omens, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Man in the High Castle

ADVANTAGES

• a very wide selection of series and movies
• other Amazon Prime subscription benefits are also included in the price (Amazon Music, Amazon Reading, fast shipping of products, special daily offers for subscribers, etc.)
• great award-winning original series
• many nostalgic series (Nanny, Friends, Criminal Minds, Mysterious Island, Doctor's Conscience, Prison Break, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, etc.)

WEAKNESSES

• á la carte content must be paid for, i.e. rented or purchased

Apple TV+

One of the newer streaming platforms is also the one with the smallest library. But we have to admit that Apple TV+ really focuses on quality shows with big names and only its own productions. Jennifer Aniston (The Morning Show), Aaron Paul (Truth Be Told) and Hailee Steinfeld (Dickinson) are part of the Silicon Valley giant's opening salvo, joined by visionaries such as JJ Abrams and M. Night Shyamalan. But compared to its competition, Apple is struggling to get the same amount of attention. In a crowded market of providers, it is somehow destined to get lost in the background, because its competition, hand to heart, offers more attractive content.
tv.apple.com

Top 5 series you can watch on Apple TV+: The Morning Show, Truth Be Told, Servant, Dickinson, See

ADVANTAGES

• own quality production
• with the purchase of an Apple product, we get one year of free subscription to the service

WEAKNESSES

•  currently less than 30 series and films are available for the Slovenian market

HBO GO

There's no doubt you'll find great content on HBO GO. And no, their library isn't just limited to Game of Thrones, but you'll also find series like Westworld, Curb Your Enthusiams, Veep and the phenomenal Killing Eve. All of you who like to stay up to date with world events will be entertained by Last Week: Tonight with John Oliver. However, this platform has a slightly higher sensitivity to throughput, which means that video quality suffers more quickly.
hbogo.si

Top 5 series you can watch on HBO GO: Game of Thrones, The Wire, The Sopranos, Killing Eve, The Affair

ADVANTAGES

• great award-winning series and movies
• Slovenian subtitles

WEAKNESSES

• content can change or be withdrawn quickly
• no download option for offline viewing

Pickbox NOW

Pickbox NOW offers its contents to all countries of the former Yugoslavia. You will also find thousands of hours of premieres, successful series and film classics with them. You can share your user account with multiple people and view content on multiple devices at the same time. New titles arrive on the platform every month, where they stay for a certain period of time and then they are withdrawn.
pickbox.si

Top 5 series you can watch on Pickbox NOW: Get Shorty, Back to Life, Les Omrbres Rouges, Marry Kills People, Riviera

ADVANTAGES

• all series and films are translated into Slovenian

WEAKNESSES

• contents disappear after one month

To draw the line: who do we think deserves your money? It's really hard to compete with Netflix, but if we're being honest, Netflix pulls us a bit by the nose when it comes to price. Why? On the other side of the pond, they have the same monthly subscription for 50 percent more content, which does not seem fair. It offers the most for its money Amazon Prime Video, because in addition to a huge video library with movies and series, we also receive many discounts when shopping online, receive special daily offers (Lightning Deals) and are invited to the biggest online shopping holiday in the world, Amazon Prime Day. And that's why membership or subscription to Amazon Prime Video one of the few that really pays off.