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Prime Video vs. Paramount Plus: Which Streaming Platform Should You Subscribe to in 2024?

Vaseline October 22, 2024

In the battle for the best streaming services, Prime Video is second only to Netflix in terms of market share: it is one of the most comprehensive streaming services available. But how does it compare to other paid rivals?

Paramount Plus isn’t that popular, but it has more than its fair share of great shows from genres like animation, sci-fi, and comedy. So which service deserves your money the most? Let’s find out.

Prime Video vs. Paramount Plus: Price and Plans

Image of the Paramount Plus logo on a cell phone resting on a laptop

(Image credit: Paramount Inc.)

In the US and Australia, the price of Paramount Plus is slightly cheaper than Prime Video.

In the US, there are two Paramount Plus subscriptions: Paramount Plus Essential, which costs $7.99 per month, and Paramount Plus with Showtime, which costs $12.99 per month after the service raised prices in June 2024. Paramount Plus Essential is ad-supported.

In Australia, there are four plans: the AU$6.99 Essential plan, which is ad-supported; the AU$9.99 Standard plan, which removes the ads; the AU$13.99 Premium plan, which upgrades the quality to 4K instead of HD; and the AU$12.99 Paramount Plus with Showtime.

In the UK there is only one Paramount Plus subscription for £6.99 per month. But wherever you’re based, it’s worth checking if there are Paramount Plus coupon codes available, as the service is known to offer more discounts than rivals.

On the other hand, Prime Video costs $8.99 / £5.99 / AU$9.99 per month or free with an Amazon Prime subscription of $14.99 / £8.99 ($7.49 / £4.49 for students). That’s for the ad-supported version.

Meanwhile, from January 2024, subscribers had to pay extra for ad-free viewing. This costs $11.98 / £8.98 / $12.98 per month for Prime Video or $17.98 / £11.98 per month if you upgrade to a full Amazon Prime membership.

A woman holds a tablet with Prime Video on the screen

(Image credit: Amazon)

Prime Video vs. Paramount Plus: What Can You Watch?

Paramount is one of the best-known names in Hollywood, and its online service offers access to countless classic TV series – mainly from parent company CBS, with brands including Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. Smithsonian Channel.

The selection is especially good for classic TV like the original Star Trek, Cheers And Frasierand while the film selection is much smaller than Prime Video’s, there are still plenty of classic films and children’s films. Paramount is also streaming some much more recent hits, like one of our current favorite shows, Yellowjacketsand the critically acclaimed comedy Colin from Accounts.

The Paramount Plus Showtime subscription also gives you access to your local TV channel and sports, including NFL. Paramount says it has more than 40,000 episodes of on-demand TV.

Star Trek: Picard

Paramount Plus has a great selection of classic TV shows, including several Star Trek eras. (Image credit: CBS/Amazon Prime Video)

Best movies and shows on Prime Video

In addition to its massive catalog of TV shows and movies, a catalog expanded by Amazon’s purchase of MGM Studios in 2022, Prime Video also offers live sports streaming, including Major League Baseball and Thursday Night Football.

It also offers Prime Video Originals, including gross-out yet funny superhero series The boys and its spin-off Gen Vcivil drama Reacheranimated series Invinciblehilarious Australian crime drama Deadloch and the hack-and-slash epic Vikings. Perhaps Prime Video’s biggest show at the moment The rings of powerthe dazzling prequel from Amazon The Lord of the Rings is the most popular show to date.

Annatar stands in front of Eregion's main forge with the fire lit in season 2 of The Rings of Power

Prime Video is spending big on new shows, including the Lord of the Rings prequel, Rings of Power. (Image credit: Ben Rothstein/Prime Video)

Both streamers are constantly adding new content, usually with a large collection at the beginning of the month and then more titles as the month progresses. But Prime Video is adding significantly more content every month.

How often do Prime Video and Paramount Plus refresh content?

Prime Video vs. Paramount Plus: Features

The Boys: Season 2

Prime Video originals include all kinds of soft fare. And that includes the ridiculous OTT violence of The Boys. (Image credit: Amazon)

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Paramount Subscriptions
Paramount Plus Supplies	HD only, three simultaneous streams, no downloads
Paramount Plus with Showtime	No ads, 3 simultaneous streams, 4K, Dolby Vision and HDR

Both services are widely available for mobile devices, game consoles, TV sticks and many smart TVs.

The Paramount Plus Essential subscription is ad-supported and does not include downloads, live sports, your local live CBS channel, or Showtime originals and movies. For these features you need Paramount Plus with Showtime.

The main reason to upgrade Paramount Plus is the video quality, which is HD only on the Essential plan. The Showtime subscription gives you 4K, Dolby Vision and HDR10 where shows or movies support it, along with Dolby Atmos audio.

Prime Video delivers up to 4K, but Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos are exclusive to the ad-free plan. It allows three simultaneous streams on the same Amazon account and downloads to two different devices. There are quality differences depending on which device you use: for example, the iOS app only supports HD video while the Android app and the Fire TV/Fire TV Stick app are 4K.

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Prime Video Subscriptions
Standard subscription:	4K, 2 simultaneous streams, download to 4 devices
Ad-free:	No ads, as above, but with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

There is a person standing with antlers on his head, covered with mesh

It’s worth subscribing to Paramount Plus for Yellowjackets alone. (Image credit: Showtime; Paramount Plus)

Prime Video vs. Paramount Plus: Draft

Paramount PLUS

(Image credit: future/screengrab)

While both streamers follow the same basic template and look pretty much the same as any other streamer, we find Prime Video more confusing because it’s also packed with content that doesn’t come from Prime Video: not just Amazon’s free, ad-supported Amazon Freevee channel, but also paid rent and purchases through Amazon’s digital wing and additional subscription channels such as Max and Paramount Plus.

That makes for a plethora of content, but it’s also quite annoying, as Prime rentals and purchases also have the Prime logo in their thumbnails; the little yellow shopping bag icon indicating a paid product is easy to miss.

The TV show poster for The Boys on a TV next to other devices

(Image credit: Amazon)

Prime Video vs. Paramount Plus: Verdict

Stream apps on a smartphone screen with TechRadar radar overlay

(Image credit: Future)

The two streamers’ ad-free services cost virtually the same in the US: $12.99 for Paramount Plus with Showtime and $11.98 for ad-free Prime Video if you don’t also get an Amazon Prime membership.

We think Prime Video is the better service when it comes to movies, while Paramount Plus is better for classic TV. It’s especially good for crime dramas, sci-fi, and children’s content, but the content tends to be more static than Prime Video, which adds dozens of new titles every month.

If you want to watch Star Trekthe Mission impossible movies or 14 seasons of spongebob square pants, then Paramount Plus is the streamer for you; if you are more interested The boys or Reachermusic documentaries and recent blockbusters, Prime Video is the service to subscribe to.

Ready to switch streaming services? Here’s how to sign up for Netflix, or if you’ve decided you’d rather wait until Stranger things is coming back next year, here’s how to cancel Netflix. If you want to try it out before signing up, here’s how to get a free trial of Hulu.

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Prime Video vs. Paramount Plus: Which Streaming Platform Should You Subscribe to in 2024?

Prime Video vs. Paramount Plus: Price and Plans

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Prime Video vs. Paramount Plus: Which Streaming Platform Should You Subscribe to in 2024?

Prime Video vs. Paramount Plus: Price and Plans

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