Best Economical Streaming Services for 2021

The year 2020 has been the most unpredictable year of most people’s lives. We have stayed home for more than six months with the restriction to be confined inside, at all times. It started as a safety regimen and then transformed into soul-cleansing with everyone baking banana bread and whipping Dalgona coffee but then it shaped into something more intense giving us a reality check that this is a survival year. The biggest achievement of 2020 has been surviving and once we understood this, we started coming back to actuality instead of just escaping it. Students started taking a serious interest in online classes, adults started learning technical skills to keep up with working from home and amidst all the hard work, the internet became the number one option to blow off steam. 

Gaming, streaming, video conferencing – the online world has kept us sane more than anything else, throughout this year. Studies have shown that an average U.S. citizen was subscribed to almost four streaming services during quarantine and the numbers are going up every day. The entertainment x Internet industry has been a huge help and the viewers have started relying fully on streaming services for their entertainment appetite. 

In this article, we will discuss the best streaming services for 2021 so you start your year with a plan to stay entertained. If you are a novice when it comes to streaming, the first thing you need is a good internet connection for an uninterrupted entertainment quotient. For that matter, you might also want to check out Spectrum discounts for extra perks.

AT A GLANCE

• Netflix
• Amazon Prime Video
• Hulu
• Disney Plus
• HBO Max
• NBC’s Peacock 
• Apple TV+
• CBS All Access

Netflix

• 30-day free trial period

• T-Mobile gives complimentary access to Netflix with its cell phone plans

• Over 13,900 titles

• Over 125 million hours of content

Starting the trend of convenient entertainment, Netflix is recognized as the pioneer of streaming in the modern world. It has a large and established customer base and makes sure to provide the best content of licensed TV and original production to its subscribers. Although Netflix has lost rights to the generation hits Friends (available on HBO Max now) and The Office (available on NBC’s Peacock in 2021), it has picked up Seinfeld from Hulu and subscribers would be able to stream it in 2021. 

Best Licensed Series: The 100, The Walking Dead, The Flash, Grey’s Anatomy, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Breaking Bad

Best Original Series: Stranger Things, Dark, The Witcher, Narcos, La Casa De Papel (Money Heist), The Umbrella Academy, Mindhunter, Orange is the new black

Packages

Amazon Prime Video

• 30-day free trial period

• Discounted memberships to students, EBT and Medicaid beneficiaries

One of the best things about Amazon Prime Video is that if you are an Amazon Prime member, you already have access to it without any additional charges. It has one of the best original content and houses tons of classic hit movies.

Best Licensed Series: The Sopranos, House, Scrubs, 30 Rock, Suits

Best Original Series: Jack Ryan, Fleabag, The Boys, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Sneaky Pete, Hunters, Modern Love

Packages

Hulu

• 30-day free trial period

• You can subscribe to a bundle package of Hulu, Disney Plus, and ESPN for a mere amount of 12.99 USD per month.

• Over 70,000 TV episodes

Hulu is brimmed with classic licensed television content. Most of the popular animated shows like Futurama, Rick and Morty, Family Guy, and King of the Hill have given streaming rights to Hulu. It currently houses the biggest hit of its time Seinfeld which is moving to Netflix in 2021, but is still equipped with shows like 30 Rock, ER, and Lost. Hulu is one of the best and economical streaming platform for those who are addicted to watching series. Although, for movie buffs, the options are a bit restricted.

One drawback of this platform is that the basic package is inclusive of commercials and you have to spend extra money for ad-free viewing.

Best Licensed Series: The Golden Girls, Living Single, I Love Lucy, Taxi, The Twilight Zone, Cheers, NYPD Blue

Best Original Series: Harlots, Ramy, The Handmaid’s Tale, Four Weddings, and a Funeral, Little Fires Everywhere, 11.22.63, The Mindy Project, Castle Rock, Pen 15

Packages

Disney Plus

• 7-day free trial period

• You can subscribe to a bundle package of Hulu, Disney Plus, and ESPN for a mere amount of 12.99 USD per month.

• Includes content from Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, Walt Disney Studios, Twentieth Century Fox, and Lucasfilm

Launched in 2019 with streaming categories, this platform is the home for almost all of Disney content. It brings back my memories of getting up early on weekends to watch House of Mouse with all my favorite characters together.

Best Programs: The Right Stuff, Once upon a Time, Agent Carter, Smart Guy, Boy Meets World, The Mandalorian, Lizzie McGuire, Marvels’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., So Weird, Muppets Now, Forky Asks a Question, X-Men, The Simpsons

Packages

HBO Max

• Houses TV hits like Friends and HBO content like Game of Thrones

HBO has provided the right amount of entertainment quotient throughout our lives and with the entry of HBO Max in streaming medium, the programming powerhouse provides us with never-ending amusement of thousands of titles.

Best Programs: Friends, The Big Bang Theory, South Park, Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, Sesame Street, Love Life, Bored to Death, Doctor Who, Euphoria, Chernobyl, Looney Tunes, Luther, The Office (UK), Pretty Little Liars, Sex and the City, The Wire

Packages

NBC’s Peacock

• 7-day free trial period

NBC has now entered the streaming race with its platform Peacock and has brought the nation’s beloved shows like The Office and Parks and Recreation on the platform. Subscribers will also be able to access live streaming of English Premier League soccer.

Best Programs: The Office (US), Parks and Recreation, Law & Order: SVU, Yellowstone, This Is Us, Superstore, Mr. Mercedes, Brave New World, Curious George, 30 Rock, Parenthood, Friday Night Lights, Saturday Night Live, Cheers, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Downton Abbey, Two and a Half Men, Suits, House

Packages

Apple TV+

• 7-day free trial period

• You can avail free one-year subscription to the service with a purchase of any Apple product like iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Mac, or Apple TV.

• Investing great amounts of money in original content

Launched in November 2019, this streaming platform provides an endless opportunity to watch original content with A-list star casts. It is focusing on quality over quantity and does not believe in filling its library with licensed content. 

Best Programs: Dickinson, For All Mankind, The Morning Show, Truth Be Told, See, Servant, Ted Lasso, Long Way up, Oprah’s Book Club, Home Before Dark, Central Park, Masters of the Air

Packages

CBS All Access

• 7-day free trial period

• 25% discount to students

• All of CBS content available

We have all watched CBS content while growing up and what’s better than this family-oriented streaming service in the most affordable price range. CBS All Access is set to grant live access awards shows that air on CBS like Tonys and Grammys to the online user base.   

Best Programs: The Good Fight, Star Trek: Picard, Why Women Kill, Star Trek: Discovery, Interrogation, The Twilight Zone, One Dollar, Tooning Out the News, No Activity, Mr. Magoo, Star Trek: Short Treks, Tell Me A Story

Packages

SUMMING UP

We have briefed all the best economical streaming services that you should look into entering 2021. Comparing all the services, you would make an informed decision and hopefully a good one too.

Keep streaming!