Hulu vs. Disney+: Which streaming service should you pick?

Today’s viewers have more options than ever when it comes to choosing a streaming platform. Whether you’re in the market for new exclusive shows, access to live TV, or a library that has your comfort shows available, you no longer have to compromise. Of course, with so many excellent options available, narrowing things down to just one streaming provider can be a difficult task.

If you’ve managed to narrow it down to Disney+ or Hulu, we’ve got all the details you need to make an informed choice. Both of these services are super popular and deliver a wide VOD library, along with excellent exclusive programs you can only get from them. Disney+ has access to all things Marvel, and Star Wars, along with all the movies from the Disney vault. Alternatively, Hulu has focused more on beefing up the TV programs in their VOD library and has released amazing original shows like Only Murders in the Building.

So which one is right for you — Disney+ or Hulu? We can help.

Content

A streaming service can have a gigantic library, but if it doesn’t have the shows you want to watch, then it’s not the right service for you, is it? That means the first challenge is figuring out whether Hulu or Disney+ has more content that you want to watch.

Hulu’s library puts a significant emphasis on TV, meaning you’ll be able to find tons of great shows from familiar favorites, to new exclusives. Networks and cable channels like NBC, FOX, ABC, and others put new episodes of many of their shows on Hulu the day after they air. Hulu has also been making big gains in original content, thanks to critically acclaimed projects like The Handmaid’s Tale, Shogun, and The Bear. 

Alternatively, Disney+ is the streaming home of all things Disney. This includes the likes of Star Wars, National Geographic, Pixar, and Marvel, along with the vault of movies from Disney itself. Its the best place for new Disney movies, along with exclusive shows like Agatha All Along, and Star Wars: Ahsoka. If you have kids, there is also a wealth of kid-friendly content here, including favorites from years ago.

It’s also worth remembering that Disney owns both Hulu and Disney+, which means your best option is to bundle these services together and get access to everything at once. In fact, if you do this you’ll be able to access Hulu content on Disney+, making it easy to install just one app and access twice the content. Bundling Hulu with Disney+ is also the best way to access Hulu + Live TV and ensure you never miss an episode of your favorite programs.

Plans & pricing

Disney+’s pricing structure is pretty easy if you’re only interested in one service. It costs $16 a month, or $160 a year to stream without ads. If ads don’t bug you, you can snag the service for just $10 a month.

Hulu is a little bit trickier, but only because they have more options. Their ad-supported tier is $10 a month, or $100 per year, while the ad-free tier will run you $19 each month. However, its worth remembering that there are still a few programs that will run ads before or after programs, even if you’re on the ad-free plan. There is also Hulu + Live TV. If you don’t care about streaming anything from the VOD library at all, you can snag Hulu + Live TV for $82 per month. If you want Hulu’s VOD library and live streaming, that’s where the bundles comes in.

Hulu is now fully owned by Disney, which means there are all kinds of sweet deals for bundling the two services together. A bundle is also the only way to get Hulu + Live TV and access to the VOD library.

Whether you bundle the services through Hulu or Disney+ is definitely dependent on what you actually want. If you definitely want Hulu + Live TV, then you’ll need to bundle on the Hulu side of things. You can get Hulu + Live TV, Disney+ (with ads) and ESPN+(with ads) for $83 each month. You can remove ads on just Disney+ for $88 per month, or on Disney+ and Hulu for $96 per month.

If Hulu + Live TV isn’t a priority for you, then you’ll want to bundle through Disney+. The Disney Duo Basic Bundle will run you $11 per month, and gets you access to the ad-supported tier of both Hulu and Disney. For $20 per month, you can bundle the two services without ads on the Disney Duo Premium Bundle. Disney also offers several bundles that include Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+, as well as bundle options that include the Max streaming service (formerly HBO Max). It’s all about knowing what you want, and picking the bundle that works best for you.

While picking one service or the other might be hard, we suggest bundling Disney+ and Hulu. If you opt for the ad-free tier of the Disney Duo Bundle, you’re only paying an additional $1 each month for a second streaming service. If you don’t want to deal with ads then it’s only $4 more each month to access the entire VOD libraries of both Hulu and Disney+. As far as deals go, they don’t get much better than that. It’s also worth noting that the Disney Duo Premium Bundle is the only plan from Disney+ that didn’t go up in October.

Devices

We’ve got good news when it comes to supported devices. If you have a phone, tablet, computer, streaming box, or video game console, you should be able to watch both Hulu and Disney+ without any issues. Both services are very popular, which means they’re supported by almost every video-streaming device. It’s worth checking each service’s compatibility list before signing up (Hulu’s is here, and Disney+’s is here), but unless your hardware is extremely old or significantly outdated, you should be good to go.

Interface and accessibility

Both Disney+ and Hulu look great, and are fairly intuitive to use. They both use categories, with tiles for each program, making it easy to scroll through the options when you’re looking for something to watch. You’ll find featured shows and movies at the top of the screen, and filtering by category is a breeze. Both providers also have hubs for specific content, to try and make it easier to find the shows you want to watch. However, with both streamers, you can also expect to find obscure treasures if you go scrolling through the entire library.

When it comes to accessibility, both streamers are about even. They both have limited compatibility with screen readers, audio description tracks, and access to subtitles. While Hulu hasn’t rolled out subtitles across the board, Disney+ has put an emphasis on delivering subtitles on as many programs as possible. You can find details on which accessibility features are compatible with Hulu on its website, and with Disney+ on its website.

Audio and visual quality

Disney+ and Hulu both have access to 4K Ultra HD resolution programming. The caveat here, is that you’ll need a TV or streaming box capable of displaying in 4K. On Hulu, 4K is mostly limited to their Hulu Originals, but it can be spotted by the 4K badge on shows and movies. Disney+, on the other hand, offers 4K Ultra HD with HDR on a bunch of content — including some older movies, like the original Star Wars trilogy. In both cases, you’ll be able to see the video quality of any program on its associated tile.

As for audio quality, Hulu has limited stereo sound for the vast majority of its content, although the same shows are available in 5.1 surround sound elsewhere. Disney+ takes the win again with  a growing library of content in 5.1 surround sound, Dolby Atmos, and, on certain devices, IMAX Enhanced sound with DTS:X. Once again, its dependent entirely on the program you’re looking at, and you’ll be able to see the audio quality in the program tile.

Conclusion

While choosing between the two might be difficult, its ultimately unnecessary. With a bundle you can snag access to both Disney+ and Hulu for just $20. That’s only $4 more per month than the ad-free tier of Disney+ alone, and it’s well worth the small bump in price. Whichever way you decide to go, there’s plenty here to watch.