So this is it. I cancelled my Netflix subscription

It’s not going to be a big surprise to the “regular” readers of this blog: I just cancelled my Netflix subscription, in favor of … Amazon Prime.

I’ve toyed with the idea of keeping both services simultaneously, but it didn’t make economical sense for me to keep the two services: Amazon prime offers a very decent library of movies for the same price as Netflix, but in addition to that it gives me a free ebook every month (through the Kindle owner’s library), free 2 day shipping on a site that I use a lot (Amazon.com, duh), free music through the prime music library, and other benefits.

Whichever way you look at it, Netflix and Amazon Prime shouldn’t cost the same price, given how much more features are included with Amazon Prime. So either Netflix is priced too high, or Amazon Prime is priced too low. (As a reminder: Netflix now costs $106.56 a year, while Amazon Prime is $99)

Either way, the choice has now become obvious to me.

What I’m losing by cancelling my Netflix subscription:

• The opportunity to keep Netflix for $7.99/mo for the next 2 years
• The variety of movies and TV shows I could get by switching regions on Netflix (see “10 awesome movies & shows available on Netflix Canada, that you wish you had on Netflix US” and “How to Access Netflix’s hidden movie list. Tons of additional blockbusters available in one click“)
• Good Android integration (Amazon Instant video still has a slightly crappy interface on Android. I hear it will change soonish)
• Netflix exclusives (I was in particular a huge fan of Bojack horseman)

What I’m gaining with Amazon Prime:

• Amazon’s exclusives, which are getting better every year (can’t wait for The Man in the High Castle)
• All the services I mentioned above (2 day free shipping, Amazon music, Kindle owner’s library)
• Possibility to download the Prime movies for offline watching on any compatible device (Kindle Fire)
• I wanted Amazon prime anyway for the free shipping, so in my eyes I just cut some costs by cancelling the unnecessary Netflix subscription.

Don’t get me wrong: Netflix is a great service an I’ve loved using it for years. The Amazon offer is to my eyes significantly better today, and I am not sure how Netflix will compete in the long term.

Note: For those of you outside of the US, the unblock-us service also works for Amazon Instant video. The benefits of Amazon prime then become a bit less obvious, since you of course won’t get the free shipping unless you’re physically located in the US. But this still gives you Amazon music, for example.