Amazon added Instant Video to their list of perks for paid Prime subscribers in February 2011. Curious to see if I could use Amazon to replace Netflix at a lower cost, I took advantage of their free trial.
Cost of Prime Membership & Perks
Amazon Prime members already enjoy free 2-day shipping and a free Kindle book you can borrow each month. The cost of membership is $79 per year, which works out to $6.58 per month. Netflix streaming subscribers pay $7.99 every month. As of April 24, 2012, Amazon Prime is offering a free one-month trial.
The Similarities Between Amazon Prime Instant Video & Netflix
Both services work pretty much the same. You pay a fee and can instantly stream movies to your laptop, television or video game console.
Their on-screen layout looks very similar. Both have their media separated into categories such as “horror” and “comedy.” You can also search for specific titles through a streaming device such as a Roku box or by going to the website.
There are several TV shows and movies that are available both on Netflix and on Amazon Instant Video.
The Differences Between Amazon Prime Instant Video & Netflix
There are some differences that potential customers should be aware of. When attempting to stream a movie, I will often get an “unavailable title” error. I do not recall ever having that issue with Netflix.
Another negative of Amazon is that they do not have an “Instant Queue” or “Recently Watched.” I really like these features of Netflix and wish that Amazon had them.
Amazon’s movie selection is tiny and you will find that most of the movies are either very old or poorly rated. I did find a few movies and television shows I liked, such as “Frontline,” “Mythbusters” and “Poltergeist” but most of the selections I was not interested in. Now, Amazon does offer newer and more popular selections but even as a Prime member you have to either rent it for $3.99 or buy it for $14.99.
While both services have a “search” function so you can find a specific title, Amazon does not limit the search to just the free movies. When searching for “The Walking Dead” I saw all the episodes for Season 1 and 2, but every single one of them required me to pay additional fees. Netflix has the entire first season and I don’t have to pay anything more. For someone that is only interested in the free selections, the search was no use to me. I ended up having to go to my computer, get on Amazon’s website and filter the results so I only saw the free movies.
With Netflix, you can add movies from the website to your Instant Queue. Amazon does not do that and while that is not a big deal, it can be an inconvenience.
Will Amazon Replace Netflix?
Netflix has nothing to worry about right now. I speculate that Amazon will be adding more movies to their free selections and will work on making the on-screen navigation more user friendly. However, right now Netflix offers more choices, the search feature works properly and customers don’t have to worry about having to pay an additional fee to “rent” or “buy” a movie. While I appreciate that some customers like being able to rent or buy a movie instantly, I prefer going to my local video store for rentals. If I want to buy a movie, I will always do comparison shopping to be sure I am getting the best price.
While it is nice that Amazon is creating competition for Netflix, they have a long way to go before customers will switch. Amazon Prime Instant Video cannot replace Netflix at this point in time, however, it does seem like a decent and economical choice if you are looking for adding a streaming movie service in addition to your Netflix subscription.
