Choosing the best streaming service isn't as straightforward as you might think. Since Prime Video and Netflix launched in the mid-noughties, nearly every single major film studio now has an offering of their own (aside from Sony), and on top of that there's a wide range of more niche services focused on offering particular types of content, like arthouse films, documentaries, horror and sports, as well as free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST), making the space very crowded.
Out of all the major streaming services available in the UK, we've narrowed down this guide to the five biggest by subscription figures. These are Apple TV Plus, Disney Plus, which includes Hulu content, Netflix, Paramount Plus and Prime Video. But there's no clear winner, as these platforms are constantly adding and removing movies and shows, as well as changing up subscription plans with more ads, price hikes, and password crackdowns.
To help you choose the best streaming services to sign up to, cancel or switch to this month, we've evaluated each, taking into consideration all the new content coming and leaving each platform, as well as recent and upcoming subscription changes. Subscription hopping can be a great way to save cash, so we hope this can be your guide to getting the most value out of the major paid-for streaming services.
The best streaming service for most people
Reasons to join this month
✅ You want to catch the latest Netflix Originals: There's a long list to get through this month with Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, The Boyfriend, Vikings Valhalla, Cobra Kai, Sweet Home, Too Hot to Handle, and more.
✅ You're an animation fan: From Star Trek: Prodigy and Exploding Kittens to The Rising of the Shield Hero and Ouran High School Host Club, there's plenty of new animation that both adults and kids will enjoy.
✅ You love a true story: Documentaries are big in July. You'll be able to follow athletes in SPRINT, hospital staff in 999: Critical Condition, a sperm donor in The Man With 1000 Kids, a daring couple in Skywalkers: A Love Story and more.
Reasons to switch this month
❌ You'd rather wait for the next season of Stranger Things: If that's the case, then you'll be waiting for a while for Stranger Things season 5 as filming is only at the midpoint. We'd suggest heading over to Paramount Plus to catch Twin Peaks while you wait.
❌ You don't tend to reach for teen dramas: If the likes of Sex Education wasn't your cup of tea, then you won't be fussed about these three critically acclaimed young adult dramas streaming on the platform.
❌ You don't have a kid's profile: A lot of this month's new additions will delight families, but if you're not looking to catch Annie, Percy Jackson, Alvin and the Chipmunks, and more, then you might want to give Netflix a miss.
Do you like Eddie Murphy, vikings, karate and daredevils? Then Netflix might be the best streaming service for you to sign up to in July 2024. It's where you'll find new Netflix movies like Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, alongside the return of hit series Vikings: Valhalla and Cobra Kai season six, and the documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story – and the biographical film The Walk will also be arriving this month if you want to keep the sky-high thrills going. Nothing calling out at you yet? There are also these three new TV shows on Netflix with 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Is Netflix worth subscribing to?
Netflix is a great service to be subscribed to to stay up to it with its original content, and in July, there’s plenty of it. This month will be a delight for Bridgerton, Sweet Home, Too Hot to Handle and Star Trek: Prodigy fans. We’ve also seen Netflix's number two most-watched show in the first week of July get a flawless 100% on Rotten Tomatoes so there’s a lot of variety here. As for movies, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, alongside The imaginary and Skywalkers: A Love Story are being added. But those that follow Emily in Paris and The Umbrella Academy will have to wait until August.
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With Netflix ditching it cheapest ad-free plan at the start of 2024, subscribers have had a rocky ride, seeing subscription fees rise several times over the past 10 years, and more ads being added to the platform, and having their accounts restricted with password crackdowns. But there’s a reason why so many put up with it and continue to flock back after cancelling their subscription, and that's its award-winning library of original content. Just look through our picks of the best Netflix movies and best Netflix shows, and you’ll get a glimpse of the thousands of titles available to stream at your fingertips.
In the UK, Netflix subscribers had access to more than 7,482 titles in March 2024, according to Statista. Fan favourites include Wednesday, Stranger Things, Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Show, Bridgerton and The Queen’s Gambit, and make up the five most-watched Netflix shows as of June 2024, while critics adore House of Cards, The Crown, and Orange is the New Black. As for movies, you’ll find plenty, with Mank, My Octopus Teacher, The Power of the Dog, Roma, and All Quiet on the Western Front earning critical acclaim. Meanwhile, Red Notice, Don’t Look Up, The Adam Project, Bird Box, and Leave the World Behind are titles subscribers can’t get enough of.
Netflix is an industry titan, and has led the way in offering a simplified app experience with personalised recommendations based on what you watch. It offers a reliable service that's refreshed weekly for varied price points, giving you options to upgrade your viewing experience with higher-resolution streams, including HD, 4K Ultra HD, and (Dynamically Optimized) HDR, plus the ability to download content and share your account with more members. It's also planning to improve further, and is said to be testing major changes that’ll make finding new movies and shows so much easier.
The best streaming service for movies
Reasons to join this month
✅ You love original smash-hit series: With the hugely popular The Boys season four and period drama My Lady Jane now available, there are plenty of Prime Video Originals to enjoy this month, including the all-new Those About to Die.
✅ You love critically acclaimed Amazon movies: Prime Video is home to hit original movies that you can enjoy, including The Idea of You, Road House and Air – and it continues to expand that list with new entry Space Cadet.
✅ You love having a large content library: Prime Video is adding plenty of great movies to its catalog in July 2024, including The Shawshank Redemption, Anchorman, Knives Out, Rocky, The Wolf of Wall Street, and plenty more.
Reasons to switch this month
❌ You’re an anime fan: While there are two seasons of Invincible to enjoy (and a third on the way), Netflix is the place to go for some of the best anime.
❌ You’d rather skip B-movies: Prime Video has a wide selection of B-movies on offer such as Sharknado 5: Global Swarming and Evasive Action, but if you want more high-quality shows and movies, then check out Apple TV Plus.
❌ You're not a fan of historical dramas: Prime Video is jam-packed with historical dramas, including Those About to Die, The Northman and Rise of the Viking. If that's not your thing, then Disney Plus might be the way to go.
With season 4 of the cultural phenomenon that is The Boys season landing on the streaming service, as well as Emma Roberts’ Space Cadet, this month might be the best time to sign up. But there’s also plenty of other exciting content to look forward to this month, such as Dave Bautista’s My Spy sequel My Spy The Eternal City, and Guy Ritchie’s latest project The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare amongst many more. Alongside Amazon Originals such as The Tomorrow War, Red, White and Royal Blue and The Summer I Turned Pretty, there are new series like The Rings of Power, Fallout and Reacher that might make a standout pick this month.
Is Prime Video worth subscribing to?
Prime Video may of cancelled the sci-fi show Outer Range in early July, but Amazon Studios has plenty more projects in the works, including an animated cat comedy called Kevin, romantic comedy movie You’re Cordially Invited starring Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon, a prequel Legally Blonde series, a live-action Spider-Man Noir series, Mr and Mrs Smith season two, and more. There's also The Rings of Power season two to look forward to in August if you’d rather hold off subscribing.
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Although Amazon introduced ads to its Prime Video streaming service, unless you pay an extra £2.99 a month to get rid of them, in January 2024, it still remains one of the most popular streaming services. Why? Because of the best Prime Video movies and best Prime Video shows, which are part of a library of over 10,500 titles according to JustWatch, which is the biggest compared to rivals, surpassing the likes of Netflix and Disney Plus. While Netflix Originals are often highly rated, Amazon has also invested heavily in original content that’s proven to be a huge success for the streaming platform, with the likes of Nanny and Good Night Oppy helping the platform to win 75 awards and 246 nominations. While hugely successful Prime Video shows, including The Boys, Invincible, and Reacher set the streaming world on fire, The Rings of Power is one of the most popular Prime Video shows ever made, with the first season being seen by 100 million people worldwide after its September 2022 release.
Outside of Amazon Originals, there’s also a big range of content from other studios, both licensed and acquired. Amazon bought the legendary MGM Studios in 2022, which allowed the streaming service to gain access to an array of movies, such as Licorice Pizza, Creed, Skyfall, Casino Royale, and Hotel Rwanda.
While a selection of movies and TV shows are included with your Amazon Prime membership, you also have the option to buy or rent titles at an extra cost, which is often frustrating for users – in particular when both the free and purchased content is shown together in the library (you can avoid confusion by selecting the ‘Free to me’ section, but you have to select this option every time). Despite this, you get a lot of bang for your buck, with an extensive roster content that caters to everyone.
The best streaming service for TV shows
Reasons to join this month
✅ You're a fan of high-stress cooking shows: Season three of The Bear premiered on June 27, which means you can stream all episodes this month. This season is a big one too, with season 3 teasers showing money problems and the return of a character.
✅ You can’t wait for the next chapter of The Acolyte: Disney Plus is the place to be when it comes to Star Wars content, and hit new series The Acolyte has earned an 85% Rotten Tomatoes score, with fans raving about “the most brutal 15 minutes of Star Wars ever”.
✅ You need your Futurama fix: The latest installment of Futurama season 12 is streaming from July 29, and along with all seasons of The Simpsons, Matt Groening fans will find plenty here.
Reasons to switch this month
❌ You're not a Kardashians fan: There are weekly new episodes of The Kardashians airing on Disney Plus in July, but if that's not your thing, there are other places to get your reality fix. Check out our top 3 rated reality shows across Netflix, Hulu and Max.
❌ You’re looking for true crime: Disney Plus’ true crime selection doesn’t quite match up to that offered by Netflix, which has just dropped a new season of Worst Roommate Ever amid a huge library of gripping true stories. Here are the best true crime shows on Netflix to get you started.
❌ You want to dive into shark content: If Shark Week 2024 is something you’re passionate about, Discovery Plus is your best place to catch this year’s lineup of new documentaries and expert analysis.
Huge titles for July include The Acolyte, Abbott Elementary and The Bear, with new episodes to stream throughout this month. Matt Groening fans can also catch new episodes of Futurama, as the second half of season 12 will soon be available. Elsewhere, there are Bluey minisodes for those with children who can’t get enough of the Heeler family (or if you like them as a child-free adult, we won’t judge), as well as weekly episodes of shows like The Kardashians and Criminal Minds: Evolution. There’s also an extensive library of movies to enjoy – check out our updated list of the best Disney Plus movies to stream in July, which contains 34 recommendations to suit all tastes.
Is Disney Plus worth subscribing to?
In July, Disney Plus is a great choice for those wanting new TV shows to binge, as it’s packed with plenty of new episodes across different genres, including sci-fi, drama and animation. But if you’re waiting for new movie releases like Inside Out 2, which isn't expected to hit the service for a while yet, you might want to skip this month.
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Overall, Disney Plus is a strong streaming service with plenty going for it. One of its key selling points is its diverse library of shows and movies from Hulu to suit all ages, so it isn’t just family friendly movies under the Disney banner. In fact, there’s plenty of adults-only stuff on offer if you’re after a horror fix or a drama to put on once the kids are in bed.
It’s also a must-have for Marvel and Star Wars fans, as it features a huge number of movies and TV shows, including originals and spin-offs. The Mandalorian and WandaVision in particular have become synonymous with Disney Plus, and there’s plenty more where that came from if those are franchises you follow.
Beyond this, Disney Plus has collections that feature hand-picked recommendations based on topics such as Pride, Made in the UK, a Mystery Collection and more, if you’re in the mood for something specific and need help narrowing things down. This is an excellent way to find some hidden gems, and it’s neatly organised into categories to help you browse easily.
There are some downsides though, including Disney Plus’ recent price hike, its password sharing crackdown, and the introduction of a cheaper ad-based tier on November 1, 2023; it isn’t just Netflix that's being vigilant about account sharing. Still, it is towards the cheaper end of the spectrum, and its least expensive tier matches Netflix’s at £4.99 a month. Meanwhile, Prime Video and Apple TV Plus are both priced at £8.99 a month, making Disney Plus a good option if you’re on a budget.
The best streaming service for originals
Reasons to join this month
✅ You love sci-fi: Apple TV Plus has become a sci-fi utopia thanks to its epic lineup of critically acclaimed shows such as Severance, Silo, Foundation and For All Mankind – and July is a great time to join, with the debut of Sunny.
✅ You want a thrill: The new Natalie Portman-starring, 1960s-set thriller series Lady in the Lake arrived in July, as did new episodes from the streamers’ most-watched drama show Presumed Innocent.
✅ You love book adaptations: Apple TV Plus is home to many highly-rated book-to-screen adaptations that have scored over 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, including Drops of God, Pachinko, and Lessons in Chemistry.
Reasons to switch this month
❌ You’re a horror fan: The streamer lacks when it comes to horror content, having the smallest content catalog compared to rivals. We’d suggest looking elsewhere in July – for instance, you can watch the Saw movies on Disney Plus.
❌ You love anime: While there is a selection of animation movies and TV shows to enjoy on Apple TV Plus, with the most recent addition being WondLa, Netflix is ideal for some of the best anime.
❌ You’re a hopeless romantic: Apple TV Plus isn’t a trailblazer when it comes to romance movies and series – Prime Video might be more up your street with The Idea of You and The Summer I Turned Pretty.
Apple TV Plus continues to deliver some great original content, with six new movies and shows being added in July 2024 – and there are four new shows we can’t wait to watch from that list, including Sunny, Women in Blue, Me, and Lady in the Lake. And there’s even more where that came from in the shape of our three new Apple TV Plus shows with over 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. If you want high-quality content for £8.99 then Apple TV Plus might be worth your investment this month.
Is Apple TV Plus worth subscribing to?
Plenty of new Apple Originals content is added to the platform every single month, such as the highly-anticipated thriller series Lady in the Lake and comedy Sunny, both of which are available in July. And there's more in the works, with Severance season two and Foundation season three, while Apple TV Plus’ most-watched drama, Presumed Innocent, is getting a second season. Critically acclaimed drama series Pachinko season two is arriving on the streamer in August if you'd rather subscribe then.
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Apple TV Plus remains one of the best streaming services due to its array of original and high-quality content, some of which you can check out in our best Apple TV shows and best Apple TV Plus movies. The streamer has produced some of TV’s biggest shows, such as Ted Lasso and Severance, and while it might not have a huge content library like Prime Video does, it prioritizes outstanding original material, with the likes of Lessons in Chemistry and Trying becoming huge successes for the platform.
The streamer has also become the go-to destination for sci-fi TV shows thanks to series like Dark Matter, Foundation, and Severance, and has also made a name for itself with its top-tier comedy content like Shrinking, and of course Ted Lasso. Apple TV Plus also plans to expand its comedic library with the murder-mystery comedy Bad Monkey from Ted Lasso co-creator Bill Lawrence and the buddy-cop movie Wolfs that are being released in August and September 2024, respectively. Meanwhile, we're also looking forward to Severance season 2 and Foundation season 3 landing on the streaming service.
While Apple TV Plus hiked its prices dramatically in 2023, the streamer offers a number of free trials for you to test out their stellar content, and is ad-free for the price of £8.99 a month. Although this could be about to change after we reported that Apple has recruited a number of ad execs, and had also been rumored to be testing a new AI-powered tool for optimising App Store ads.
Another positive is that you also have the option to share a single subscription with up to five people, so your friends and family can enjoy the service while watching in 4K HDR video with immersive Spatial Audio that gives you a proper cinematic experience. While Apple TV Plus might not be a replacement for other streaming services when it comes to quantity, in terms of quality it hits it out of the park.
The best streaming service for classics
Reasons to join this month
✅ You’ve been wanting to catch Paramount originals: Some of the most popular series, like Stark Trek: Discovery, Yellowstone, and South Park have been joined in July by new episodes of Mayors of Kingstown and Beacon 23.
✅ You love crime dramas: New additions in July include Truth or Dare: The Murder of Mary Gregory, Murdaugh Murders The Movie, Body in the Attic, Criminal Minds, The X Files, and the docuseries Mafia Spies.
✅ You want to dive back into bikini bottom: It’s the 25th anniversary of SpongeBob SquarePants, and as the home of the family favourite Nickelodeon cartoon, you’ll be able to celebrate the month in style.
Reasons to switch this month
❌ You don’t like Showtime: If shows like Dexter, Your Honor, Billions, Nurse Jackie, Californacation and Yellowjackets aren’t on your watchlist then you’ll be skipping over a lot of the content on the app.
❌ You’re not into music documentaries: From How Music Got Free and Melissa Etheridge: I'm not Broken to Let the Canary Sing: Cynthia Lauper and Lolla The story of Lollapalooza, there are plenty of new shows to get your feet tapping.
❌ You prefer dramatisation to true-crime series: Docuseries with talking-head interviews aren’t for every occasion, so you might want to skip Murdaugh Murders The Movie and Mafia Spies.
Paramount Plus has fewer than 10 new shows and movies being added to the platform in the UK throughout July 2024. New shows include SpongeBob Squarepants spin-off Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years to celebrate the anniversary of the Nickelodeon show, alongside a sci-fi reboot of the 1989 TV show Quantum Leap. As for movies, there’s Tiny Fey’s Mean Girls musical, the music documentary Melissa Etheridge: I'm Not Broken, and the true-crime series Murdaugh Murders: The Movie.
Is Paramount Plus worth subscribing to?
Paramount Plus doesn't tend to switch up its library from month to month as much as rival services, and in comparison to the US, its UK platform is seeing a lot less new content in July. The biggest new additions include titles like Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years, Quantum Leap, Mean Girls, Murdaugh Murders: The Movie and Melissa Etheridge: I'm Not Broken, but you can also find new episodes of Mayors of Kingstown alongside older series like Ghost Whisperer and Code Black.
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Despite being owned by one of the biggest and oldest Hollywood conglomerates, Paramount Plus only launched in the UK in 2022 – eight years after it launched in the US. It's known for having one of the smallest content libraries, with just over 550 movies and 330 shows, according to data from JustWatch. As a result, it's more geared towards the studio's blockbuster franchises like Star Trek, Transformers and Mission Impossible, which make up a lot of our best Paramount Plus movies picks.
As for TV shows, Paramount Plus has all the major hits from networks it owns like CBS, Showtime, Nickelodeon, MTV, and Comedy Central, which means that alongside Showtime Originals like Yellowjackets, Your Honor, and A Gentleman in Moscow, and Comedy Central favourites such as South Park and Futurama, there are some of the best Paramount Plus shows originals like Mayor of Kingstown, Tulsa King, Special Ops: Lioness, and Knuckles. It also has a great selection for kids, including Paw Patrol and Hey Arnold!, and for reality TV fans with Geordie Shore, Catfish, and The Challenge.
Hollywood franchises, films and series are the focus for Paramount Plus, and will remain so for the foreseeable future after a content strategy shift at the start of 2024. As part of efforts to streamline its business, the streamer removed multiple shows and US remakes from the UK platform in February, including The Burning Girls, One Night, The Killing Kind, The Serial Killer's Wife, and The Doll Factory. This could change again though, as Paramount merged with Skydance in July 2024, unlocking access to the latter's TV shows, including Grace and Frankie, Reacher, and Foundation, and its content from its animation studio, which made Luck.
