Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many people are following the recommended social distancing and self-isolation measures to avoid coming into contact with the virus. This has created an influx of streaming service use as more people are spending time at home and using their free time to catch up on shows and movies. With so many different streaming services on the market, it is easy to get overwhelmed by choosing a specific platform and difficult to finalize which one suits best.

Disney+

The newest streaming platform to hit the market and has acquired a big fanbase, primarily because most of Disney’s movie collection is on here, including the new Star Wars show “The Mandalorian.”

“Disney+ has been the best platform for me; it has content for my sister’s kids that I’m currently taking care of,” Kara Velasco, a junior psychology major, wrote.

She pointed out that they have a great bundle with Hulu and ESPN, bringing the total cost for all three services to $12.99. That’s three streaming platforms for just under $13 versus the $17.97 you would be paying if you subscribed to each platform individually.

If you’re only interested in Disney-produced movies, you can stream their service for $6.99 a month ad free, or you can check out their bundle for only $12.99. The only downside is that the Hulu shows in the bundle come with commercials, and there is no way to upgrade for their service without ads. To sign up for this bundle, go to Disneyplus.com and create an account. From there you can select the streaming plan that is best for you.

Netflix

Judith Carrillo, a senior history major, mentioned that she enjoys Netflix and Disney+ as her choice of streaming platforms because “they have the most content and no commercials.”

Netflix costs $8.99 monthly, and $6.99 for Disney+. Unfortunately, Netflix does not have a partnership with any other streaming service, so there is no bundle option available for this platform. If you are interested in both Netflix and Hulu, your monthly total would be $15.98 for both platforms.

Hulu

“[Hulu] has a bundle for students where you don’t have to pay much for it, and you get Spotify Premium,” Monica Villa, a junior psychology major, explained.

The bundle Villa refers to is available only for students, and it is $4.99 a month. This includes Hulu with ads, Spotify Premium for music, and Showtime.

If you are primarily interested in only Hulu related shows, you can get their service for as low as $5.99 with ads. If you don’t mind ads and you’re currently a student, you might as well sign up for their student plan, which is a dollar less each month and comes with two bonus platforms. If you would like to watch Hulu commercial-free, it will be $11.99 a month. To sign up for a Hulu account, simply go to Hulu.com. On their page you will be able to select between the plan with ads, without ads, and the bundle services. To get the special student discount service plan, you will need to first make an account at Spotify.com.

Prime Video

Another streaming platform to consider is Amazon Prime. Amazon provides a service that comes with music, movies, tv shows, books and 2-day shipping for only $11.99 a month. If you are a student, this price is brought down to $6.49 monthly. You get a number of different services for a very low price with Amazon. They recently also uploaded many new movies like “Little Women” due to theatres being shut down during this pandemic. To sign up for an Amazon Prime account, go to Amazon.com.

Alternative Platforms

There are also alternative platforms like Crunchyroll and Funimation that specialize in anime shows and movies.

Crunchyroll is available for no cost at all, although the shows you can watch are limited and come with ads. You can upgrade your account for only $7.99 a month and this gives you access to their whole library completely ad free. To subscribe to their plan, you can go to crunchyroll.com.

Funimation is another popular anime-based streaming platform. They have three tiers of streaming plans including premium, premium plus, and premium plus ultra. Premium is $5.99 a month completely ad free and has a feature that allows two people to be using the account at the same time. Premium plus is $7.99 monthly with a five simultaneous stream feature, and comes with a download feature that allows you to watch shows on the go. The premium plus ultra plan is $99.99 annually, which ends up totaling about $8.33 a month, but comes with all the perks of the lower two tiers as well as additional gifts and member exclusive events. To sign up for a Funimation account, head over to Funimation.com

Each platform has its pros and cons. Ultimately, the possibilities are endless and any platform you choose to delve into will be a good choice. Happy watching!