Which streaming service should I get if I can only have one?

For most adult viewers, Netflix — it covers the broadest range of viewing categories in one subscription. For households with kids, Disney+. For prestige-TV-and-film viewers, Max.

Is it worth having all the streaming services?

Almost never. Most viewers genuinely use two or three services regularly; subscribing to all six costs more than premium cable used to and you'll watch a tiny fraction of the combined catalogue. The smarter approach is to subscribe to two or three at a time and rotate based on what's actually being watched.

Which streaming services have free trials?

Free trials are increasingly rare — most major services (Netflix, Disney+, Max) no longer offer them. Apple TV+ historically offers a longer trial when bundled with new Apple device purchases. Cancel-anytime monthly subscriptions are the modern equivalent of a free trial.

What's the cheapest way to watch all the major streaming services?

Rotate subscriptions monthly. Subscribe to one or two services at a time, watch what you want, then cancel and rotate to another. Most services have monthly billing and easy cancellation. Sharing a household account where the service allows it is the next biggest saver.

All Major Streaming Services Compared: How to Pick the Right Subscriptions

Netflix — the volume play

Netflix is the daily-driver service: the most originals per year, the broadest genre coverage, and the strongest international slate. If you can only subscribe to one streaming service, Netflix has the best odds of covering the majority of what you watch in any given week — particularly if you watch a lot of current TV and recent films across genres.

Best for: viewers who want a constant new-content stream and broad genre coverage. Weakest at: deep catalogue of older films, family-specific viewing, and prestige-TV per-title polish.

Prime Video — the catalogue play

Prime Video has a smaller originals slate than Netflix but ships consistent hits (Reacher, Fallout, The Boys, Mrs. Maisel). The bigger value is the catalogue: a much deeper library of older licensed films than Netflix carries, plus integration with channel add-ons (HBO, Paramount+, Starz, etc.).

Best for: adult viewers, anyone who already pays for Amazon Prime (the streaming side is effectively free), and viewers who watch older films often. Weakest at: interface clarity — subscription content sits next to rentals and channel add-ons.

Disney+ — the franchise play

Disney+ is the franchise service: Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, and 20th Century Studios. Originals are franchise extensions, the catalogue is permanent (no rotation), and family viewing is purpose-built into the experience.

Best for: households with kids, active Marvel/Star Wars/Pixar fans, and rewatch-heavy viewing. Weakest at: adult drama, foreign film, documentary, and anything outside the core franchise umbrellas.

Hulu — the streaming home for FX, Searchlight, and current theatrical drops

Hulu is part of the Disney portfolio and serves as the home for FX productions, Searchlight Pictures films, and a steady drip of newer theatrical releases that don't go to Disney+. The catalogue skews adult and the originals slate punches well above its budget (The Bear, Only Murders in the Building, The Handmaid's Tale).

Best for: viewers who already pay for the Disney Bundle (Hulu is included), and adult viewers who want FX-quality TV. Weakest at: a standalone-only value proposition outside the US.

Apple TV+ — the prestige-only play

Apple TV+ has no licensed back catalogue at all — every title on the service is an Apple Original. The catalogue is small (a few hundred titles) but the average per-title quality is high (Severance, Ted Lasso, For All Mankind, Slow Horses, Killers of the Flower Moon).

Best for: viewers who want prestige originals only and don't care about catalogue depth. Worst for: anyone who expects a service to have something old and recognisable on the home screen.

Max — the HBO catalogue + Warner Bros film library

Max combines HBO's prestige TV library (The Sopranos, Succession, The Wire, House of the Dragon, The Last of Us) with the entire Warner Bros film catalogue. Originals ship at a slower cadence than Netflix but at consistently higher per-title polish.

Best for: prestige-TV viewers and viewers who watch older films often (the Warner Bros library covers the studio's full history). Weakest at: new-content velocity and family viewing.

How to actually pick

Start by listing what you actually watched in the last month. Group by service if you can. The pattern usually makes the answer obvious: if 70% of what you watched was new originals across genres, Netflix is doing more for you than your second service is. If 70% was prestige TV or older films, Max is. If kids are the primary viewers in your household, Disney+ is.

Most households end up with two or three services rather than one. The combination that covers the most ground for adult-only households tends to be Netflix + Max (volume + prestige) or Netflix + Prime Video (volume + catalogue depth). For families with kids, Disney+ is the always-on third service.

If you're paying for a service you barely use, the right move is usually to cancel it and resubscribe for the month you want to binge something specific — most services offer monthly subscriptions, and the catalogue isn't usually "better" if you keep it year-round.