The Streaming Services Report

Which streaming service gives the most bang for your buck?

The way we watch movies is very different from how it was just 20 years ago. With so many of us investing in subscriptions to streaming services, we are able to watch some of the most exciting new releases as well as plenty of old classics.

While we used to have to take a trip to the local cinema, we can now watch new releases from the comfort of our own homes.

So, if you’re a movie buff, which streaming services should you opt for? Our experts at Giggster took a look at the most popular streaming services in the US and the UK to find out which gives you the most bang for your buck.

The US streaming services that are the best value for money

Looking at six of the most popular streaming services, we were able to compare the price of a monthly subscription to the number of new releases and Oscar winners to find out which service offers the best value for money.

WINNER: HBO Max - 17.5 cents per top movie

While HBO Max might be one of the most expensive subscriptions, movie lovers certainly get great value for money. With 32 of the most popular releases from 2020 and 2021 as well as 25 winners of the Oscar’s best picture award, the monthly cost of the service gives you a top movie for the equivalent of just 17.5 cents.

The UK streaming services that are the best value for money

We took a look at five of the most popular streaming services in the UK comparing the same top movies to discover which service offers the best value for money.

WINNER: Netflix - 12 pence per top movie

Netflix is the most widely used streaming service in the UK and the great value for money is one of the biggest reasons why. With a huge focus on creating original movies, Netflix has secured 51 of the 200 most popular new releases, with many of them being Netflix originals.

The best US streaming service for new releases

If you’re most interested in watching the hottest new releases, some streaming services offer far more than others.

WINNER: Netflix - 40 new releases

Looking at 200 of the most popular new releases from 2020 and 2021, we found that 40 of them can be streamed on Netflix in the US. From the 2020 action comedy starring Mark Wahlberg, Spenser Confidential to the star-studded Don’t Look Up, Netflix is the place to stream the most popular new releases.

The best UK streaming service for new releases

UK movie fans are just as interested in the latest releases as their US counterparts, but which streaming service offers the largest library of new releases?

WINNER: Netflix - 51 new releases

Just as in the US, the UK library on Netflix offers the largest selection of new releases. With a huge 51 new releases on offer, this is the streaming service for fans who want to watch the biggest movies soon after their release.

The best US streaming service for award-winning movies

While access to the latest releases is essential for movie fans, we also want to be able to watch plenty of the old classics. So, which streaming service offers the best access to Oscar winners through the years?

WINNER: HBO Max - 25 Oscar winners

The Oscar award for Best Picture has been awarded to the cream of the crop since 1928, and HBO Max is the service that gives you the most access to these award-winning movies. From the 1932 winner Grand Hotel to 2013’s 12 Years a Slave, you can choose from 25 of the 93 winners to watch from the comfort of your own home with this subscription.

The best UK streaming service for award-winning movies

When it comes to the UK’s streaming services, Oscar winners are a little harder to find, but which subscription offers the largest Oscar-winning library?

WINNER: Amazon Prime Video - 15 Oscar winners

With a Prime Video subscription, you get access to a huge library of movies and series to rent or buy, but you also get plenty included in the cheapest package, including 15 Oscar-winning movies, from the 1946 movie, The Best Years of Our Lives to the 2019 hit, Parasite.

US vs UK streaming

In the UK and the US, streaming services give you incredible access to some of the best movies of all time, but which country offers the largest library?

Despite the fact that we looked at six US streaming services and five UK streaming services, it’s the UK that has the most impressive selections, boasting an accumulated total of 174 top movies compared to 170 for the US.

When we look at the streaming services available in both countries, we can see that the UK has a wider offering across three of the services.

Methodology:

We looked at the most popular streaming services in both the UK and the US according to lists from Money Saving Expert, Radio Times and Tom’s Guide which is where we also sourced the prices of the cheapest plans available for each service which would give access to these movies.

The new releases were taken from IMDb lists of the 100 most popular movies released in 2020 and 2021.

The Oscar winning movies was taken from the list of winners of the Academy Award for Best Picture from Wikipedia.

We then used JustWatch to search for each movie in each location to find where you could stream the movie as part of the subscription to the streaming service, with data being correct at 3rd March 2022.