Summary
- Netflix prices vary with ads or no ads package options, but competitors have strong original content too.
- Original Netflix content is worthwhile, but many big IPs are moving to other platforms.
- Netflix is no longer essential and can be rotated with other streaming services to keep up with exclusive content.
When I first subscribed to Netflix Streaming many years ago, it was an unbelievable deal. But now with price increases and many other competitors, it’s a lot harder to say the same. So is 2025 the year you should pause that Netflix sub?
Price and Package Spread
Just to get us all on the same page, let’s quickly recap what Netflix plans and pricing entails as of February 2025:
- Standard with ads for $7.99 per month: Has adverts, not all titles are available, and you can watch 1080p streams on two devices at a time.
- Standard for $17.99 a month: You can add one extra member for $6.99 / month with ads or $8.99 / month without ads. All titles are available, and you can watch 1080p streams on two devices at a time. The extra member does not have to live with you.
- Premium for $24.99 a month: You can add up to two extra members for $6.99 each / month with ads or $8.99 each / month without ads. The extra members don’t have to live with you. All titles are available, you can watch 4K streams on up to four devices at a time. Downloads are allowed on up to six devices, and this is the only tier to offer Netflix spatial audio.
That’s quite a hefty set of prices, even with advertising brought in to defray costs at the low end, so let’s see what Netflix for the price.
A Great Original Content Library
Netflix has been spending an enormous amount of money for many years on original content. As other streaming providers started to catch on to the streaming industry’s rise, Netflix realized it could not rely on the libraries of other content publishers. By and large, this has paid off for Netflix, and it has a sizable stable of mostly-good titles.
Of course, not everything will be to everyone’s taste, and some of that content has been critically panned, although apparently still popular. Nonetheless, Netflix has lots of exclusive, original content, and it is worth paying to see. The streaming platform’s documentaries and true crime features in particular are pretty compelling, but there’s something for everyone.
That said, other streaming services have followed this model, and have their own original content. For my money, Apple TV+ currently has the best original content, and if you haven’t checked its catalog in a while, you might be surprised by just how much of it there is.
Related
5 Reasons Why Apple TV+ Is Better Than Netflix
Apple TV+ had a slow start, but it’s now an excellent streaming service.
Third Party Content Is Getting Too Fragmented
When I first subscribed to Netflix, I had no need or desire to use any other streaming service. While Netflix had few if any original shows, the library was stuffed with decades of TV shows and movies. Now, chances are that the movie or show you’re looking for is on Disney+ or Amazon Prime Video, or Hulu, or Max.
Things are so fragmented, that I now have to start ever search using the Plex app, because it can search across all services and tell me which content is streaming where.
Many Big IPs Are Not on Netflix
It’s not just the lack of classic old shows and movies that make Netflix less appealing in 2025, it’s the lack of heavy hitters too. Other streaming services have good reason to keep their biggest IPs off Netflix and on their own services. So if you want to watch anything by Marvel, Fox, Disney, or any of the other studios owned by the House of Mouse, you need to susbcribe to Disney Plus. As one example.
Star Trek is another key example. It now lives on Paramount Plus. At least, that’s the case in the United States. For now I can still stream Star Trek on Netflix in my home country, but that could change at any moment if Paramount decides to expand globally. Which would add yet another subscription to my bills.
Netflix Is No Longer Essential
Writing this at the start of 2025, I still feel that Netflix is worth the money its asking, and that if it were your only streaming service you’d always have something worthwhile to watch. However, you can say pretty much the same thing of its competitors.
So Netflix isn’t the essential streaming subscription it once was. In fact, you can now simply add it to a rotation list, and switch between them as you finish the exclusive content you’re interested in.
