NetFlix vs Blockbuster Online Comparison

Personal review contributed by Jimmy King.

The two dominant players in the online movie rentals industry are currently Blockbuster Online and Netflix. There are a few other smaller and newer players in the market, but Blockbuster Online and Netflix are clearly the leaders, boasting over a total 6 million subscribers to their online movie rental services. Although you really can’t go wrong signing up with either of these two, it pays to know what each offers before actually becoming a paying subscriber.

I have had experience with both services, first with Netflix and then with Blockbuster Online. Both of them have similar processes in renting movies. You sign up for an account, start browsing their inventory of movies, select the one(s) that you like, place them into your wishlist queue and simply wait a day or two for the movies to come to your mailbox. When you are done watching the movies, you return them in the pre-paid return envelope and wait for the next movie in your queue to come to you. It’s really as simple as that.

Netflix is generally considered good for those of you who like to watch more obscure, independent or foreign movies. They seem to carry more of those titles than Blockbuster Online. Also, Netflix users seem to prefer the website layout and usability over Blockbuster’s. They offer many pricing plans depending on what type of movie watcher you are. They range from $5.99 per month which allows you to rent 2 movies per month to $17.99 which lets you rent an unlimited number of movies per month (limited to 3 movies rented out at any given time).

Blockbuster’s advantage is that they already have actual storefronts throughout the country. They have strongly marketed this by offering their new Total Access program which allows you to return movies directly to any of their stores. Once scanned by the store clerk as returned, the next movie in your queue is sent out. This cuts out some of the lag time in returning movies by mail. Blockbuster Online is good for those of you who like to watch more of the mainstream movies, and they offer similar pricing plans to Netflix.

I enjoyed using both services, but the main reason I switched from Netflix to Blockbuster Online is that Blockbuster sends you free coupons via email every month which you can use at any of the stores. That’s actually the only reason for me, as Netflix and Blockbuster Online provide similar quality of service for about the same price. If you’re not convinced which one to use, I recommend you try out both, as they both provide a free 2-week trial period. My recommendation is to sign up for a free trial period from Blockbuster Online and Netflix and compare them on your own terms.

Read a full in-depth review of Blockbuster Online.

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