HBO Max vs. Netflix: How to choose when you can't afford both

I have time for another 10,000 hours of television, movies, Elmo and old episodes of friends? HBO max, the latest and greatest new streaming service Starting in the past few months is finally available. It’s a billion dollar bet on the future of television at a time when the Americans are Streaming more than ever.

Disney Plus, Hulu and peacock are all competitors of HBO Max, but its main competitor is Netflix. The streaming king has been doing pretty well lately: Subscriptions are increasing, Tiger King is one of his many viral hits and despite that Corona virus Lockdown There is no end in sight.

But financial difficulties have met millions of American families, so paying for Max and ‘Flix could go too far. How should you choose? We’ll break Max out ourselves in our full review, but if you’d like a direct comparison with Netflix itself, keep reading.

HBO Max vs. Netflix: How to choose when you can't afford both 2

HBO / screenshot by Joan E. Solsman / CNET

HBO Max is the biggest new Netflix competitor since Disney Plus. It has everything on “standard” HBO, its own exclusive products and originals such as Green Lantern and The Snyder Cut and a large catalog of favorite shows – including Friends, The Big Bang Theory, Rick and Morty, South Park and numerous Warner films like The Hobbit , The Lord of the Rings, The Matrix and Harry Potter, Lego and DC movies like Joker and even popular Anime titles from Studio Ghibli.

Disadvantage? It’s expensive, apps for Roku and Fire TV are missing, it doesn’t support 4K HDR, and unlike Netflix, new episodes are usually deleted every week instead of being suddenly available for easy viewing.

Read our HBO Max test.

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Netflix is the gold standard for streaming, the world’s leading TV and film service and the choice of our editorial staff at CNET. It contains a variety of well-known network shows, but its main draw is hundreds of original series, films, documentaries, and specials – more than any of its countless competitors. The huge library of ad-free content is still easily accessible on various devices. And it offers three different pricing options depending on what features you want.

Read our Netflix review.

Quick comparison

	Netflix	HBO max
Monthly price	Starts at $ 8.99	$ 14.99
Show	No	No
Availability	Now	Now
Top title	Tiger King, Stranger Things, The Office, Breaking Bad, 13 Reasons Why	Game of Thrones, Friends, Big Bang Theory, Rick and Morty, Sesame Street
Mobile downloads	Yes	Yes
Number of streams	1 (2 for standard, 4 for premium)	3rd
User and child profiles	Yes	Yes
4K HDR available	Yes (with a $ 15.99 plan)	No
equipment	All major platforms	Most major platforms except Roku and Amazon Fire TV

Netflix wins for new originals, but HBO has play

The first thing you should know about HBO Max is that everything is available on HBO. That doesn’t just include game of Thrones but every new HBO show, including the season finale of Westworld, Unsure and we’re here and the series premieres of I May Destroy You and Perry Mason.

Max also has exclusive originals that “normal” HBO subscribers cannot see. The biggest you can see right now is Love Life, a romantic anthology series with Anna Kendrick, while kids get the not too late show with Elmo and new Looney Tunes cartoons. Over the course of the summer, Max will release 12 more originals, including Adventure Time: Distant Lands and American Pickle, the Seth Rogen comedy that will be HBO Max’s first original film.

Continue reading: HBO Max Streaming Service: Every show, every film comes this far

HBO Max subscribers receive all HBO as well as new original series and films.

Sarah Tew / CNET

the novel corona virus pushed the Friends Reunion Special back and will likely affect more HBO Max originals that were originally planned for fall and later. A company spokesman told CNET that his early plans were “largely unaffected by COVID-19,” but “some projects that were in production have been suspended and may debut later than expected.” Max had planned to have 31 original series this year (totaling 69 series in combination with HBO content), but there is no word on exactly how many will be delayed. But at least we know that Snyder Cut“Zack’s ultimate vision for Justice League comes in 2021.

The list of new originals from Netflix continues. Mega hits Tiger King, Money robbery and Spenser Confidential counted more than 64 million households in the first four weeks. according to the company. The new comedy Space forces The Office’s Steve Carell is now streamed. Additional additions in June include the last season of Fuller House, the new seasons of Queer Eye, 13 Reasons Why, The Politician and all three seasons of Hannibal from NBC, the serial killer drama that is hailed as one of the best shows on TV. And that’s just that tip of the iceberg.

Steve Carell stars in the new Netflix comedy Space Force.

Netflix

With new seasons suddenly appearing, Netflix has already filmed every show on its 2020 release board. This includes the fourth season of the historical drama The crown and Over the Moon, a film by animation legend Glen Keane. These production delays don’t seem to have as much of an impact on other companies, and Netflix says it won’t have to adjust its own release schedule until 2021.

With regard to the back catalog, HBO Max wins for familiarity and big names: It relies heavily on shows such as Friends, South Park and Doctor Who (rejected slogan: It’s television. It’s HBO Max) as well as HBO favorites like Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, Sesame Street and the Sopranos. The film list is also deeper than Netflix, with titles like A Star is Born, Crazy Rich Asians and The Wizard of Oz in addition to HBO’s normal rotating film series.

Netflix also has many well-known TV shows and films, but its strength lies in its original programming and exclusive. A current example: The film The Lovebirds by Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani was premiered on Netflix instead of in the cinemas.

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Maximum weaknesses: No Roku or Fire TV apps, no 4K HDR support

Netflix is pretty much available everywhere, so we didn’t expect Max to reach the number of devices on Day 1, but we were still surprised when HBO Max started with no apps for Roku and Amazon Fire TV Equipment. Roku and Amazon Fire TV Streaming devices and Smart TVs are incredibly popular, with a combined share of 70% in the streaming player market. And anyone with Roku or Fire TV can’t see HBO Max with it.

We expect Roku and Fire TV apps for HBO Max to appear soon and they are ready for immediate use As soon as the companies work out their business. But who can’t be told exactly when. In the meantime, you can watch Max on a variety of TVs, mobile devices, and PC browsers.

Continue reading: HBO Max: 6 unanswered questions about the new streaming service

Fire TV and Roku devices still don’t have access to HBO Max. Netflix now has its own button.

Sarah Tew / CNET

Another big feature that Max lacks is the support of the highest quality audio and video formats, namely 4K resolution and high dynamic range, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. The best video quality right now HD Dolby Digital 5.1 currently offers the standard dynamic range and the best audio quality. A HBO Max spokesman told CNET that “4K HDR, Dolby Vision, HDR10 Plus, and Dolby Atmos are on our roadmap,” but did not indicate when they would arrive. I hope it will be soon.

Netflix is the industry leader in 4K and HDR support (including Dolby Vision and Atmos) and offers up to four simultaneous streams, depending on the plan you choose.

Netflix plans

	basic	default	bonus
Monthly price	$ 8.99	$ 12.99	$ 15.99
Number of screens you can watch on at the same time	1	2nd	4th
HD available	No	Yes	Yes
Ultra HD available	No	No	Yes

HBO Max has only one plan and costs $ 14.99 a month, although HBO’s parent company AT&T has a number of other discounts for subscribers to his cellular and TV plans. However, the entry-level price of Netflix in HD is still cheaper and Netflix offers more pricing options.

Difficult to beat the king

There’s a reason why Netflix is the most popular subscription streaming service in the world. HBO Time Warner is now one of the biggest names in the media. Massive Max service comes closer to the breadth and depth of a Netflix subscription than any other Overall, it’s still too short. However, there is a possibility that you will find a lot to see on both services, and HBO Max is definitely worth the audition if you are curious.

Now is the time to try something new, especially if you did I’ve seen everything well on Netflix.