Netflix is a dominant player with 21% of the global streaming market share, making it a leading SVOD platform on earth. Meanwhile, Hulu is a comparatively smaller platform when it comes to market share, but underestimating Hulu can be a huge mistake, as it shows rapid growth in paid users in recent times. If you’re looking for the best streaming platforms so that you will never miss a beat when it comes to watching and finding interesting entertainment content, check out our detailed Netflix Vs Hulu comparison.
Hulu is popular because of its unique content, vast variety of entertainment, and higher quality videos. Even though Netflix has a much bigger content library than Hulu but one of the best things about Hulu is that it offers fresh content every day, and many new TV shows and episodes are often added to this app, expanding its database and content library. Netflix and Hulu both are great for streaming movies, series, and TV shows, but one of them is definitely better than the other one, which you will find out after going through the features comparison section.
Netflix Vs Hulu Comparison
Netflix launched its online streaming services in 2007, at a time when very few comparable platforms existed. Today, the landscape has changed entirely; numerous options are available, and each of them has its own uniqueness and flaws. This sector is highly competitive, with each streaming platform striving to reach the top position. Netflix was able to hold its position at the top for the last few years, but Hulu is not far behind, as it is growing rapidly by providing users with the best entertainment content.
When it comes to choosing between Netflix and Hulu, it depends on what type of content you are into, because the content available on Netflix and Hulu is quite different. Many people enjoy Hulu due to its inclusion of local channels, FX programming, and unique TV series. In contrast, Netflix offers an extensive library of shows, making it challenging to distinguish the quality content from the lesser offerings. Let’s compare their features and content libraries in detail to find out which is the best streaming app.
Features Comparison Between Netflix and Hulu
- Original Content: Netflix is famous for its high-quality Netflix series and documentaries. This original content is exclusive to Netflix, you can’t find it on Hulu or any other platform.
- More Choices: Netflix has over 20,000 titles worldwide, while Hulu’s content library only features 2,500 titles. Netflix offers much more content variety across all genres.
- Exclusive Content: To attract a global audience, Netflix never misses a beat as they often spend millions to get the most eyeballs on their platforms as they buy rights for exclusive celebrity UFC matches, WWE live shows, and other premium live events.
- International Content: The global presence of Netflix makes it a bigger streaming app than Hulu. Although Hulu provides many international series and TV shows but still can’t compete with Netflix when it comes to watching K-Drama, C-Drama, Asian TV shows, and movies.
- Binge Watching: If you like to sit down, turn on a streaming app, and watch multiple episodes of your favorite TV series at once, then Netflix is the best choice because Hulu provides one episode at a time, and the next episode is released 3-7 days later. It depends on individual preference; some like to watch multiple episodes at once, and some like to watch one episode a day.
- Live TV Shows: With Hulu, you can upgrade to the Live TV plan that gives you access to 90+ TV channels to watch reality TV shows, live sports, and local TV programs without any hassle of cable TV.
- Anime Content: There is a separate section for Anime Hub in this platform to explore thousands of anime content, including all the popular and trending anime titles.
- Next-Day Streaming for TV Shows: You can watch popular TV shows like The Handmaid’s Tale, The Bear, How I Met Your Father, and The Bachelor the next day after the official release of their latest episodes. These series are available on Netflix very late, and Hulu is far ahead in this area than Netflix.
- Interesting Content Library: Unlike Netflix, Hulu doesn’t inundate its platform with an overwhelming number of videos merely for the sake of content library size. Although Hulu features a more limited content, it offers a curated selection of valuable and popular shows that enable users to easily discover relevant options without having to search extensively.
- Add-On Flexibility: With a Netflix Premium subscription, you will only get Netflix. But Hulu offers the flexibility to bundle with Disney+, ESPN+, HBO Max, Showtime, or Starz. All of these can come together in one subscription package that is significantly discounted and more affordable.
What Type of Content to Watch on Netflix and Hulu
The content you can find on Netflix and Hulu is very different, and it seems like both of these apps caters different type of audiences. Hulu has a smaller but smarter content library, and they have heavily focused on the type of content where Netflix lacks the most.
Netflix Content Library:
International Hits
- Popular South Korean dramas, Chinese dramas, and Indian movies & series are easily accessible on Netflix.
- Explore global cultures through their movies.
Big-Budget Films & Documentaries
- Netflix want to compete with Hollywood’s films with its own big-budget original content.
- By featuring exceptional production standards, renowned actors, strong marketing efforts, and visuals on par with major blockbusters.
Family-Friendly
- This platform has great entertainment for people of all ages. Adults can watch Action, horror, and romantic content.
- Kids can watch kids’ entertainment and educational content.
Stand-Up Comedy Specials
- Kapil Sharma Shows, Amit Tandon: Family Tandoncies, Vir Das: Landing, like popular comedy shows, are available only on Netflix.
Hulu Content Library:
Live Sports:
- With the Hulu Live plan, you get access to live sports TV channels to watch sports like football, cricket, basketball, and other popular sports.
Reality Shows:
- The Kardashians, Got To Get Out, RuPaul’s Drag Race like numerous reality TV shows are available on Hulu.
- It provides a good collection of US-based TV shows.
Best Anime Collection:
- Hulu partnership with Funimation, Crunchyroll, and Aniplex to offer a huge selection of anime content.
Hulu Exclusive:
- It offers thousands of original content such as movies, series, and documentaries that are only available on Hulu.
- This exclusive content library makes it stand out.
Netflix Vs Hulu Plans & Pricing
In this section, you can evaluate the pricing and offerings of Hulu and Netflix across various plans. If you discover a plan that meets your needs, feel free to give it a try.
Netflix Plans & Pricing
- Standard with ads is only for $7.99/month
- Standard No Ads (1080p) charges $17.99 per month
- Add 1 extra member within the Standard Plan for $6.99 per month with ads or $8.99 per month without ads
- Netflix Premium plan costs $24.99 per month.
Hulu Plans & Pricing
- The ad-supported plan costs $9.99/month (or $99.99/year)
- Hulu (No Live TV) ad-free plan costs $18.99/month
- Hulu + Live TV plans that include 90+ TV channels, Disney+, and ESPN+. This will cost $76.99/month with ads or $89.99/month without ads.
- For Live TV only, it will cost $75.99/month. It will not include Hulu content library, Disney+, or ESPN+.
Conclusion
This detailed Netflix Vs Hulu Comparison shows how different both of these platforms truly are, but still comparable. The type of content available on Netflix is verty diffrent from what you can find on Hulu so you may miss out on a lot of interesting content if you don’t give a try to both of these apps because you will only find out if any of these platforms worth or not by giving it a try. Sometimes they offer a free trial, you can visit the official website for more information.