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August 21, 2023
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In a growing sea of choices for streaming options, one must ask whether a provider offers anything unique for its monthly price. Hulu is one of the choices out there with the most original programming, and it offers add-ons that can increase its already extensive catalog with live TV and sports coverage.
The features and pricing of basic Hulu remain competitive with competitors like Netflix, but compared to livestreaming television services like FuboTV or even traditional cable, the value proposition is very different. Before subscribing to Hulu, consider its features, pricing, and user experience, not only on their own, but also compared to everything else out there.
FYI: Hulu is one of our favorite streaming options, but other services offer better options for sports fans. To see how they compare, read our rundown of the best streaming services for seniors.
What Is Hulu?
Hulu is a streaming service that offers movies and TV shows to watch on demand as well as a host of add-ons that include Disney content and live sports coverage. The best way to use Hulu is to take advantage of its on-demand content on multiple devices so everyone can watch their own thing at the same time. If Hulu has shows you’re interested in, you can watch them whenever you want without going through the hassle of recording them. The movies in its library are also available for you to watch anytime.
In comparison to cable, Hulu is great for people who just want to watch specific movies and shows without channel surfing. It also has original content that you can watch only on Hulu. So long as you have a strong internet connection, you can stream this content to any supported device (see below) without worrying about cables or cable boxes.
What Equipment Do You Need?
Unlike a cable service, Hulu is an app that can run on most modern devices, so long as they have a “smart” component. These include:
- LG WebOS TV
- Vizio SmartCast TV
- Samsung Smart TV
- Smartphone
- iPad
- Amazon Fire (tablet or TV)
- Apple TV
- Chromecast
- Echo Show
- Nintendo Switch
- PlayStation 4 and 5
- Xbox
- Roku
- Xfinity Flex
- PC via internet browser
The streaming speeds required to use Hulu depend on the content you want to watch. If you don’t know what this means, internet connections have speeds determined by your internet provider and the signal strength at your house. These speeds increase the quality of the content you can watch.
Hulu recommends 3 Mbps for its basic content, 8 Mbps for livestreamed television, and 16 Mbps for 4K streams. If you don’t already know it, contact your internet provider to learn the speed you’re paying for. Alternatively, you can Google “test internet speed” to see the speed you’re actually getting.
Hulu Plans
Depending on your plan, Hulu can be watched with or without ads. It also offers a Live TV package with sports content and other subscriptions included. These plans vary widely in costs, so you should know exactly what you’re buying before subscribing to any of them.
Hulu (With Ads)
Hulu with ads is the basic Hulu plan. It costs $7.99 per month or $79.99 per year if you want to pay upfront, meaning you get two months for free. For this price, you get access to Hulu’s entire content library, including movies, TV shows, and Hulu originals. Note that eligible students can get this plan for $1.99 per month if you or someone in your home currently attends college.
It may seem counterintuitive that a streaming service has ad breaks, but this is one way that Hulu keeps the price of its basic plan low. When you watch a movie or show, you can expect four to six ad breaks per hour, which run around a minute each. While they’re much shorter than the ad breaks you’ll get on cable TV, it’s worth noting that Netflix and Amazon Prime stream on-demand movies and TV with no ads in any of their plans.
Hulu (No Ads)
If you pay for Hulu with no ads, which costs $14.99 per month, you don’t get any additional content. The only difference is that you won’t have those ad breaks, so your content plays from beginning to end without stopping. In some cases, ads may still play at the beginning or end of the content, but they will never interrupt it.
For both of these plans, Hulu offers too many movies and shows to list them all. However, some of the popular TV offerings include “Am I Being Unreasonable?” “Secret Chef,” “A Small Light,” “Under the Banner of Heaven,” “Up Here,” and “The Full Monty.” Movies include everything from classics like “Alien” and “Die Hard” to newer hits like “Ford v Ferrari” and “Spencer.” Hulu also has a wide selection of documentaries.
Hulu + Live TV
Hulu + Live TV is a completely different service. It includes not only Hulu’s on-demand content, but also around 85 sports, news, and entertainment channels, such as MTV, Lifetime, Hallmark, Comedy, E!, Bravo, ESPN, ACCN, Fox News, CNN, ABC News, Disney Channel, and MSNBC. You also get subscriptions to ESPN+ and Disney+ with a Live TV plan.
Hulu + Live TV could potentially replace your cable TV service. But since it costs $69.99 per month, you need to be sure that it has the content you want from both a streaming service and a cable TV plan. Note that it includes ads. To get add-free content, Live TV costs $82.99 per month. And even in that plan, ESPN+ will still have ad breaks.
Notably, Hulu offers a much stronger catalog of on-demand content than some dedicated livestreaming TV services, such as Sling and FuboTV. However, it doesn’t have every cable channel out there and may have limitations for location-based local content.
Check Hulu’s live TV availability for more information.
Hulu Senior Discount
Hulu does not offer a discount specific to seniors. Though a basic Hulu subscription (with or without ads) is much cheaper than a cable TV plan, Hulu + Live TV is priced a bit higher than major cable providers like Cox ($56 per month), Spectrum ($59.99 per month), and Xfinity ($50 per month).
Only Hulu’s specific channel offerings can determine whether it’s a good value for you. Consider that most cable plans plus a regular subscription to Hulu will still cost less per month than Hulu + Live TV. Don’t be afraid to mix and match to get the content you want.
Hulu Add-ons
Hulu also offers add-ons to any of the plans listed above that can be purchased for extra fees per month. This allows you to customize the content that you pay for more precisely than with many cable plans.
Hulu add-ons include:
- Disney+ With Ads ($2 per month)
- ESPN+ ($9.99 per month)
- Max ($15.99 per month)
- Showtime ($10.99 per month)
- Cinemax ($9.99 per month)
In addition, some add-ons can be added only to a Hulu + Live TV plan. These include:
- Entertainment Add-on ($7.99 per month)
- Sports Add-on ($9.99 per month)
- Espanol Add-on ($4.99 per month)
- Unlimited Screens ($9.99 per month)
With the unlimited screens add-on, Live TV subscribers can stream to a TV and multiple phones, computers, and iPads at the same time, so long as they’re on your home internet network. On the go, you can stream to three devices at once. By default, Hulu offers only one additional stream at a time.
Hulu vs. FuboTV
FuboTV is a livestreaming TV service that focuses on sports packages, including NFL RedZone and International Sports Plus. It also offers a DVR service that lets you record and store your favorite games, shows, and movies from the 163 to 242 channels you get per month, depending on the plan you buy and your location. Further, there are limited on-demand offerings for movies and shows.
FuboTV costs $74.99 to $94.99 per month, plus add-ons, depending on the channels you want. Note that while Hulu has a superior catalog of on-demand movies and shows, the Live TV plan may not have as much access to sports content as FuboTV.
If you’re interested in Hulu’s original content and on-demand movies and shows but prefer the sports packages and additional channels of FuboTV, remember that you could always get the cheapest plans of both and pay about the same as Hulu + Live TV.
To learn more about this provider, read our guide to FuboTV for seniors.
Our Verdict
Hulu is great for enjoying on-demand movies and shows as well as a catalog of original content that gets updated regularly. Their Live TV package includes live television channels like a cable service, including some sports coverage, so you may be able to replace your streaming services and cable network with this one plan.
However, Hulu doesn’t have as many channels as most cable networks and usually costs more per month. The convenience of streaming Hulu to smart devices and having all that content at your fingertips is tempting, but you should always check the content offerings compared to your current cable service or live TV streaming service to see if the value is worth it for you.
If streaming isn’t for you, then we’d recommend reading our guide to the best cable plans for seniors.