Hulu is a streaming service owned by Disney. This article explains whether you should subscribe to Hulu, or if you're better off sticking with another of the many streaming services.
Hulu is a streaming service owned by Disney that has been around since 2007. It has an extensive content library including originals, TV shows, movies, sports, live TV and a range of premium add-ons such as Max and Paramount+.
Depending on your preference, you can choose a cheaper, ad-supported plan, a more expensive, ad-free plan, or a premium live TV plan that comes with or without ads. Hulu is also often bundled with Disney+ and ESPN+. The most expensive option also includes live TV.
In short, if you're looking for more content to watch, Hulu could be a good choice, especially if you're interested in any of the following:
- Large library of mainstream shows and popular movies
- Keep up with what's currently airing
- Featured animated shows and movies
- Stream live shows, movies, news and sports
- Add-ons include Paramount+, Max, Starz, and more
- Exclusive original content like The Handmaid’s Tale
While Hulu may be suitable for some, it's not for everyone, especially if you:
- Find as much original content as Netflix has to offer
- Not interested in extra content like sports and news
- Only watch lively programs, not any programs currently on air
- Prefer standalone subscriptions over add-ons
- Don’t care about watching live content
Of course, whether you should sign up for a specific streaming service often depends on whether you personally want to watch something on that service. As with all other options, it depends on your interests.
Of course, if you want to watch more and aren't satisfied with your current subscription, Hulu may be worth your time. However, the reasons why you should sign up for Hulu go beyond just not getting as much as you want from your Netflix subscription.
Oftentimes, a streaming service succeeds or fails based on its original content, on the actual content the streaming service is responsible for creating. While Hulu may not have as strong a library as Netflix when it comes to original content, it certainly has options.
Whether it's the 2024 smash hit "Shogun" ; Hulu's first major show in development, "The Handmaid's Tale " ; The backend of a fan-favorite; the result of collaborations with directors like Reservation Dogs ' Taika Waititi; instant classic coming-of-age comedies like Pen15 ; or something else, Hulu has plenty of original content.
If you're looking for some original content to watch, Hulu at least has enough content to make it worth subscribing for a while, assuming you're just looking for popular, critically acclaimed content.
Streaming services tend to release shows by seasons, or if pre-existing shows are added to the service's library, there may be a bunch of seasons available at once.
It's rare that people can watch the latest episodes of shows currently airing on streaming services, but Hulu offers that. If you want to watch the latest episodes of your favorite shows from major networks like ABC or FOX, Hulu has you covered.
If you're tired of waiting for a season to end and then (perhaps a few years later) appear on Netflix, Hulu might be a great way to stay up to date on your favorite shows.
In today's world, it's normal to have multiple active subscriptions to different streaming services, but it can be a pain. It's annoying having to check if the show you want to watch is available on Netflix or if you have to switch to Amazon Prime.
However, Hulu has add-ons. Add-ons are basically subscriptions within a subscription, where you can add content like Max, Starz, or Paramount+ to your Hulu subscription and watch that content directly on Hulu, similar to what you can do on Amazon Prime.
Yes, this doesn't completely stop you from paying for multiple subscriptions, but it certainly makes your experience smoother when all your content is in one place.
Anime content is often an afterthought when it comes to major streaming services, so if you're an anime fan, you probably already have a subscription to something like Crunchyroll. However, if you're a casual fan who likes to watch occasionally, Hulu has you covered.
Hulu’s roster includes popular shows such as “Attack on Titan,” “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba,” “Jujutsu Flash ,” “ Naruto, ” “ Bleach, ” and “Dragon Ball.” Interestingly, some anime (or certain seasons of some anime) will appear on Hulu, but not on dedicated anime streaming services, such as Season 1 of Food Fight or One Punch Man Two seasons.
If you're looking for a reliable way to watch anime without having to subscribe to another streaming service, Hulu can serve your needs well.
Streaming services like Netflix make deals with studios to add content to their libraries: a far cry from the 2000s setup of watching live TV on cable. However, you can watch live TV on Hulu thanks to Hulu’s live TV subscription tiers.
If you are interested in watching sporting events, ongoing TV shows, daytime soap operas, news, weather reports or award shows, you can watch them on Hulu. Think of it like an old-school cable TV package, but online and part of a more familiar streaming service.
Hulu is one of the few services that offers live TV, along with YouTube TV, Sling, and DirecTV, so if you're looking for live TV content on a traditional streaming library, Hulu is a good choice.
The biggest reason not to subscribe to Hulu is if you don't care about the extras Hulu offers over other streaming services, such as live TV packages, add-ons that include content from other streaming services directly on Hulu, and currently playing TV shows. Or its anime library.
If you're just a traditional streaming customer looking for a Sunday afternoon binge, you might be better served by another streaming service.
If you have a strong interest in a specific niche, such as specific sports, Disney content, or anime, you can build additional streaming services to serve those genres.
Finally, if you're not interested in the original content Hulu has to offer, a service like Netflix may have some content you're more interested in in its own large library of content.
