In the last 20 years, technology has changed our lifestyle habits dramatically. One of those areas ripe for disruption has been our online viewing habits. In fact, so much so, the latest figures show that by 2019, online video will be responsible for four-fifths of global internet traffic.
But the streaming space, in particular, has already attracted several powerful players that offer the world content like YouTube and Hulu. However, two companies, in particular, outshine all the rest: Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Both U.S. companies remain locked in a battle for supremacy in the streaming space. To most members of the public, it would seem Netflix is doing better, but on paper, Netflix and Amazon Prime share almost equal numbers and continue to battle it out.
So, how do both companies fare when stacked against each other? Let’s break it down.
Users
Netflix has a hefty 125 million users and growing year-on-year since launching as a DVD mailout service. Amazon possesses a slightly smaller global market with 100 million members globally. But for the companies back home, it’s a different look: Netflix has nearly 48 million paid members in the U.S. That’s nearly double Amazon’s audience of 26 million.
In other markets around the world, the numbers consistently vary; for example, in the U.K., almost 8 million people subscribe to Netflix whereas 3.5 million subscribe to Amazon Prime.
Cost
Their costs are about the same for the individual, but still, Netflix turns out to be slightly cheaper than Amazon Prime, charging only £5.99 for a one-screen membership and £72 for a year. But for existing Amazon customers, membership costs £7.99 a month or £79 for the yearly service. Both offer a 30-day free trial.
Amount Spent on Yearly Original Content
For both companies, their original content remains diverse and high-quality, but Netflix has owned the space in recent years due to their risk-taking in spending. Amazon has staked $4.5 billion versus Netflix’s $6 billion in the marketplace. Original highlights for Amazon include the highly successful Transparent, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and The Man in the High Castle.
But for Netflix, it’s the critics who have helped them along, utterly outshining Amazon in original content, with shows like Orange is the New Black, Stranger Things and Grace and Frankie all earning high praise.
They also have a ton of Kevin Hart content such as What Now? and Seriously Funny, which doesn’t hurt. Aside from being one of our favorite comedic actors, recently, we learned that he partakes in other exciting activities when he isn’t filming.
Amount of Content
Amazon Prime has a staggering 18,000 films and 4,500 TV shows on offer as opposed to Netflix, which has less than 15,000. It’s worth noting that Netflix’s movie content has shrunken 21 percent between 2010 and 2018 down to 4,010 films, and TV shows have nearly tripled to 1,569.
The Most Streamed Piece of Content
Though there are no official statistics, for Netflix, the show most watched during the first 30 days of its premiere has been Daredevil. And as for the most binge-watched show for the platform, it is Breaking Bad. For Amazon, the favorite show was Grand Tour, the spin-off from Top Gear. And for movies, it was Daddy’s Home, starring Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell.
All in all, Amazon Prime and Netflix are quite similar, but what will set them apart in years to come will be their original offerings to users. You can bet they will be spending exorbitant amounts on trying to attract loyal customers with new TV shows and movies. Whichever you choose, remember one thing: binge-watch responsibly!
