Hulu

Differentiation becomes increasingly important as the competition between video streaming services intensifies. Hulu leans into that idea by offering a strong on-demand streaming library and a robust live TV option. The service is excellent for watching popular TV shows, and it has broad platform support, excellent channel coverage, and DVR features that compare well with the competition. Whether viewed as a standalone service or part of the Disney+ package, Hulu's combination of on-demand and live TV streaming content makes it an Editors' Choice winner for streaming video services.

How Much Does Hulu Cost?

Hulu's ad-supported, on-demand streaming plan costs $9.99 per month. To avoid ads, you must spring for the $18.99-per-month plan. College students can get ad-free Hulu for just $1.99 per month.

You can bundle ad-supported Hulu and Disney+ with ESPN+ for $16.99 per month, or get the ad-free version of those services in the same bundle for $26.99 per month. A new bundle packages ad-supported Hulu with ad-supported Disney+ for $10.99 per month, an even better deal with the newly merged Disney+ app.

The $82.99-per-month Hulu + Live TV plan (plus Disney+ and ESPN+) bundles the service's live TV component with ad-supported access to its on-demand library. If you want Hulu's live channels and the ad-free on-demand package, it costs $95.99 per month.

The No Commercials price tier still displays ads for a few programs per streaming rights, but to Hulu's credit, it's up front about this limitation. Ads in the basic plan are no worse than regular television, but they are jarring and obnoxious for on-demand content. When we watched an episode of Killing Eve, the stream was interrupted five times for commercial breaks, some of which included several back-to-back ads. If you're getting rid of cable to avoid commercials, you'll want the No Commercials tier.

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Hulu also offers Cinemax ($9.99), Max ($16.99), Paramount+ ($12.99), and Starz ($9.99) add-ons, which let you watch shows and movies from those networks along with their live feeds. A useful add-on specifically for the Live TV plans is Unlimited Screens (no restrictions on simultaneous streams over your home network), which costs $9.99 per month. You can also opt for the Entertainment ($7.99 per month) or the Español ($4.99 per month) add-ons. All subscribers now enjoy Enhanced Cloud DVR at no extra cost, which adds 200 total hours of storage plus the ability to fast forward through ads.

Netflix now offers a basic ad-supported tier for $6.99 per month, but you need to pay more money (at least $15.49 per month for the Standard plan) to stream the full library (and simultaneously stream on more devices). Paramount+'s ad-free tier is $12.99 per month, while Max is $16.99 per month. Amazon Prime Video is $11.99 per month without ads. Apple TV+ is cheaper than all of them at $9.99 per month.

As for cable-replacement services, Hulu + Live TV costs more than YouTube TV ($72.99 per month). Philo ($28 per month) and Sling TV's Orange & Blue plans ($40 per month each or $60 together) are significantly cheaper. Fubo starts at $79.99 per month, while DirecTV Stream's entry-level tier is $101.98 per month. None of these services offers on-demand content libraries as complete as Hulu's.

Hulu is available for mobile platforms (Android and iOS), media streaming devices (Apple TV, Chromecast, Fire TV, and Roku), smart TVs, game consoles (PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox), and the web.

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TV Shows and Movies

Hulu's on-demand library has always been about TV shows, and that emphasis remains. The service offers hundreds of seasons and thousands of episodes from major networks, though network-specific platforms like Paramount+ and Peacock have cut into its content library. However, Hulu stays afloat by leveraging the vast library of former 21st Century Fox content that doesn't fit Disney+'s more family-friendly profile.

People who subscribe to Disney+ and Hulu can conveniently watch Hulu content without leaving the Disney+ app. If the mouse doesn't interest you, save money by subscribing to the standalone Hulu app. Weirdly, it doesn't go both ways—you can't watch Disney+ content on Hulu.

Hulu has many cable TV shows. For animation fans, there's Archer, Adventure Time, Bob's Burgers, and Futurama. Drama shows include Bones, Killing Eve, The Orville, and The X-Files. Comedy fans can watch 30 Rock, Broad City, Letterkenny, Malcolm in the Middle, Scrubs, and Abbott Elementary. Note that Parks and Recreation has left for NBC's Peacock, and Seinfeld jumped to Netflix.

The good news is that Hulu's FX hub is live. FX shows such as A Teacher, Devs, and Mrs. America exclusively stream on Hulu. Full seasons of past FX shows, including Archer, Atlanta, Better Things, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Justified, and Snowfall live there, too. Streaming libraries shift over time, so shows and movies are constantly moving. You can stay on top of what's available with PCMag's monthly guide to what's arriving on Hulu.

Like Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, Hulu also creates original content. Although its offerings are a mixed bag, and many shows don't get renewed, Hulu's track record is trending upward. Hulu's best original releases include Castle Rock, Harlots, Helstrom, High Fidelity, Little Fires Everywhere, Marvel's Runaways, The Handmaid's Tale, and Veronica Mars. The Act and Ramy both won Golden Globe awards. Recent new releases include Only Murders in the Building and The Kardashians. Hulu is also one of our picks for the best video streaming services for celebrating Black art.

Netflix's originals are generally more successful than Hulu's, including mega-budget productions like The Crown, animated hits like Bojack Horseman, genre pieces like Stranger Things, and adaptations like The Witcher. Other streaming services also outclass Hulu. For example, Amazon has a growing list of top-notch originals, including Bosch, Fleabag, Patriot, Hunters, The Boys, The Expanse, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Undone. Max offers a substantial catalog of quality past and current shows, including Barry, Big Little Lies, Deadwood, Silicon Valley, Six Feet Under, The Sopranos, The Wire, Westworld, and VEEP.

Hulu's film catalog contains many mainstream movies, such as Black Swan, Parasite, Rocketman, Space Jam, and Taken at the time of publishing. Hulu snagged the same-day release premieres of Nomadland and The United States vs. Billie Holiday, both of which won Golden Globe awards. That said, hard-core movie fans will likely want to subscribe to one of the available channel add-ons.

Hulu produces a few original movies, such as Happiest Season, Palm Springs (nominated for a Golden Globe), Prey, and Run. Foreign films on the platform include A Breath Away and Shoplifters.

A dedicated movie streaming service offers more for cinephiles. For instance, The Criterion Channel's and Mubi's film libraries are more substantial and heavily curated.

Documentaries

Hulu’s documentary section features many celebrity biopics. For example, there are documentaries about the lives and times of many beloved musicians, including The Beatles and B.B. King. Fashion documentaries on the service include The First Monday in May, Dior and I, Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel, and McQueen. Outdoors enthusiasts should check out Free Solo, the mountain-climbing documentary featuring fearless free solo climbers and sweeping shots of impossibly high cliffs.

The Morgan Freeman-narrated March of the Penguins is just one of the family-friendly titles on Hulu. You can also find curiosities such as Three Identical Strangers, a film about brothers separated at birth and raised under different circumstances, and Fyre Fraud, which details the story behind the failed Fyre Festival.

Anime Programming

Hulu has hundreds of anime titles, such as My Hero Academia, Himouto! Umaru-chan, and One-Punch Man. Older classics, such as Cowboy Bebop, FLCL, Ghost in the Shell, Naruto Shippuden, Ranma 1/2, Rurouni Kenshin, Slayers, and Trigun are also present.

Hulu only falls short of Editors' Choice winner Crunchyroll in this category, with the latter hosting a much larger content library. Crunchyroll also has the upper hand on Hulu and Netflix regarding simulcast shows.

Live TV and Sports

Hulu + Live TV's channel lineup should please most general audiences, with a deep lineup of content across the news, entertainment, and sports categories. News channels include ABC News, CBS News, CNBC, CNN, CNN International, Fox Business, Fox News, and MSNBC. Entertainment coverage is similarly varied with options such as Animal Planet, Cartoon Network, Discovery, Disney, Food Network, FX, HGTV, National Geographic, SYFY, TBS, Travel Channel, TLC, and TNT. You also get the movie channels, FXM and TCM. In addition to live feeds of these channels, you can watch on-demand content from each of these networks. For fans of channels from Discovery Inc. (such as Animal Planet, Food Network, and HGTV), Discovery+ is a much cheaper, albeit on-demand, streaming service.

Hulu has also added live Viacom channels such as Comedy Central, MTV, and Nickelodeon to its lineup. If you are specifically interested in those channels, the much-less-expensive Philo includes them in its lineup.

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As for sports, Hulu's lineup includes BTN, CBS Sports, ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPNEWS, Golf Channel, and Olympic Channel. That's all in addition to local channels you get in your zip code, such as ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC cable affiliates. Recently, Hulu added NFL Network to its channel lineup at no additional cost and launched the $9.99-per-month Sports add-on, which includes the NFL RedZone channel (along with MAVTV, Outdoor Channel, Sportsman Channel, TVG, and TVG2). These additions cement Hulu + Live TV as one of the top options for streaming NFL games. Fubo, Sling TV, and YouTube TV include the NFL Network channel in at least one of their plans and offer NFL RedZone as part of an add-on package.

While Hulu's lineup features NBC-owned RSNs, it lacks most AT&T-owned RSNs (except for SportsNet NY) and every Sinclair-owned Bally Sports RSN (previously, these were FOX Sports RSNs). DirecTV Stream includes RSNs from AT&T, NBC, and Sinclair, although it lacks a few NBC Sports RSNs. Find out which RSN airs your local team's games before committing to any sports streaming service.

Because regional restrictions and broadcast blackouts still apply for live TV streaming services (particularly for MLB, NBA, and NHL games), it's important that whatever service you choose has both the relevant national and regional sports channels you need to watch those games. Even if a game is airing on a national channel elsewhere in the country, you may not have access to it on that channel if it involves a local team. For instance, a Yankees game that airs on ESPN for subscribers in Miami might air on YES for residents of New York.

Our dedicated sports roundups explain everything you need to know about streaming MLB, NBA, and NHL games. The right service depends on what sports you want to watch, where you live, and what teams you want to watch.

Many other live TV services, including DirecTV Stream and YouTube TV, also strive to appeal to general audiences. However, some services are better suited for one genre than others. For example, Fubo is an excellent sports streaming service (though it rivals Hulu in the other categories). ESPN+ is another sports-centric service but with a much narrower content scope.

Web Interface

When you log in to Hulu for the first time, the service walks you through some personalization options in which you choose channels, genres, and shows that appeal to you. Hulu uses this information to populate the My Stuff section of the web interface, a feature we discuss later.

Hulu's web interface for live and on-demand content looks much more modern than in years past, with big, flashy sliders and easily discoverable content. The homepage highlights noteworthy shows with horizontally scrolling lists below for categories such as Live Now, My Channels, Sports, News, and Hulu Originals.

At the top of the page, you'll find categories for Live TV and My Stuff. Search and Account options live in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. You can manage billing details and your subscription add-ons in the account section. You can also add user profiles for individual users, a feature we appreciate. While you can restrict certain profiles to kid-friendly content only, that's not as flexible as other platforms' capabilities, which let you set restrictions by content ratings.

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From the Browse menu, you can select from one of several top-level categories, such as Networks, TV Shows, Movies, Hulu Originals, and Sports, or dive deeper into one of the dozens of available genres, such as Adventure, Comedy, Cooking & Food, Documentaries, International, and Science Fiction. The latter categories return results from both Hulu's on-demand and live-streaming libraries. Detail pages for content display available episodes, upcoming broadcast schedules, recommended shows, and a brief description.

Click the Live TV button in the top menu to browse live TV streams. You can filter the channel list by Recent Channels, News, Sports, Kids, and Movies. The web interface supports a windowed picture-in-picture mode, so you can watch the current stream while browsing content.

You can store and track shows and channels in the My Stuff section. To add anything to this section, simply hit the + icon next to any programming and choose any available recording options: new episodes only, new and reruns, and do not record. You can also follow specific sports teams. So, for example, you could add the Miami Dolphins to My Stuff to record and keep track of all upcoming games.

We tested Hulu's web performance over an Ethernet connection (200Mbps download). The streaming performance was mostly solid, with a few random stutters. Hulu only requires 3Mbps speeds for on-demand shows and 8Mbps for live streams, so most connections should be sufficient.

Features and Streaming Experience

Hulu lets premium subscribers download select TV shows and movies for offline viewing, including its original programming. Eligible users can download up to 25 videos across five devices. Downloads expire after 30 days, and you get two days to finish watching a video after you begin playback. Max, Netflix, Prime Video, and Paramount+ all offer offline download capabilities, too.

Hulu + Live TV's DVR functionality compares well to other services. With Hulu, you can record unlimited hours of content and keep those recordings for nine months as long as you subscribe. For comparison, YouTube TV also offers unlimited DVR storage and keeps titles for nine months. Fubo lets you record unlimited hours' worth of content by default for most plans, while Sling TV users get 50 hours' worth of storage. DirecTV Stream gives subscribers unlimited storage for up to nine months.

Many of Hulu's recent original shows stream in 4K on select media streaming devices. Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, and Netflix have fairly robust libraries of new shows and movies in 4K. Select on-demand titles on Hulu support Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround sound, but Apple TV+ offers the most consistent support for high-end audio and video standards.

In terms of live TV streams, Hulu and YouTube are among the few that support 1080p/60fps streams for select channels on select platforms. Some of Paramount+'s local CBS station streams reach that same standard, too. Fubo and YouTube TV offer 4K live streams.

Hulu's base plan supports two simultaneous streams, which is about average for on-demand services. Disney+, however, supports four concurrent streams. DirecTV Stream leads the live TV category with support for 20 simultaneous streams per account on your home network. As mentioned, you can pay for the Unlimited Screens add-on to eliminate that limit for devices on your Home Wi-Fi network, though this is only available for Hulu + Live TV subscribers. Hulu allows you to create up to six profiles per account. Hulu's Watch Party co-watching feature synchronizes on-demand film and TV playback, letting you chat with up to eight friends (18 years or older).

For more on streaming, check out five reasons why you may want to ditch your video subscription and keep cable, read how streaming has ushered in a new trash TV golden age, and learn why companies must preserve their streaming catalogs. Finally, check out our recommended streaming video guides if you don’t know what to watch.

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Accessibility and Parental Control Options

Hulu includes standard closed captioning options, but relatively few titles support audio descriptions, an accessibility feature that provides audible narrations of on-screen actions that would not be discernible through dialog alone. For any show or live broadcast, you can change the subtitle text's color, size, and style. Acorn TV offers similar customization options directly on the playback screen.

If you want to prevent your children from watching anything inappropriate, Hulu allows you to designate a profile as a Kids Profile. Doing so restricts that profile to a kid-friendly hub of content. Netflix and Prime Video offer more substantial parental control options that enable you to lock content by rating.

Mobile Apps

Hulu offers apps for Android and iOS. Its iOS variants are practically identical to its Android counterparts. The app looks elegant, with large media elements, transparent navigation elements, and attractive icons. We didn't notice any lag when moving between menus or launching content.

The app uses a text-based menu system with five persistent icons across the bottom: Home, My Stuff, Live, Browse, and Account. You can scroll horizontally between broader categories and vertically to see the associated content within each content section. The individual pages also have side-scrolling options for viewing episode lists (for TV shows) and recommendations for other content.

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We tested Hulu's mobile app by streaming from our test device that was connected to PCMag's Wi-Fi network (50Mbps download). We watched a live stream of ESPN's SportsCenter without any problems.

The My Stuff section of the app works as it does on the desktop, and you can also manage items in your DVR storage here. The account section is somewhat bare, though. The only app-related preferences are for customizing subtitles/captions and toggling Hulu's Autoplay feature. Although you can manage your plan settings from this section, the Help section redirects to the web version.

Can You Watch Hulu With a VPN?

You should use a VPN for every internet-based activity. Note, however, that some video streaming services, including Hulu, block you from streaming content if you are connected to a VPN or proxy. Section 15.1 of Hulu's terms of service states, "We are a company based in the United States and offer our Services to users in the United States. Hulu's goal is to bring you as much Content as is legally available. That said, we are limited by the rights that our content programmers grant to us." With a VPN, Hulu likely cannot pinpoint your real location.

We tried streaming Hulu content after connecting our test devices to US-based Mullvad VPN servers with no luck. Even if your VPN and video streaming service work without issues right now, that may change. You are better off choosing a VPN for its security and performance.

Verdict: Hulu Is All-in-One Entertainment

Hulu is an excellent video streaming service that now offers even more value with its Disney+ pairing. If you're getting only one streaming service, Hulu is an excellent choice for its combination of on-demand content and live TV. Netflix offers a better selection of on-demand shows, and YouTube TV features better live TV coverage, but Hulu's combination of both makes it an Editors' Choice winner alongside these services.

Ben Moore and Kim Key contributed to this review.