With 3 major streaming services all competing for your money, it doesn’t make sense to subscribe to them all right? That’s why we’re breaking down which is the best streaming service in Singapore via 2 easily defined categories; Content and Cost. After all, if it’s not cheap and doesn’t have a ton of shows to binge, what good is it right?
For this article, I’ll be taking a look at the top 3 contenders for the best streaming service in Singapore; Disney+, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
So without further ado…let’s get right to it!
Content:
Disney+
With Disney+ not even a month old yet, it’s a bit hard to gauge how its content rollout will be in the coming months. Right now, it’s a massive treasure trove of content simply because most of it hasn’t been available in any other service. You have all the Disney stuff, the Marvel stuff, the Star Wars stuff…all that will set you back months, and that’s if you watch something daily!
It also has Fox’s immense movie and TV catalogue to pull from, but exactly how many of those will be interesting enough to watch? STAR does have some cool content but again, with the service being so new, it’s hard to gauge whether Disney+ will hold out once you’re done with all the Marvel and Disney stuff.
Quantity wise, the service does have a ton of stuff, but that stuff heavily depends on nostalgia and your love for old school shows. Classics like Disney’s animated movies never go out of style and shows like The X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Scrubs are still great decades after their original air dates…but if you’re not interested in them, you’re kind of out of luck.
Grade: B+
Tons of quality content, but might struggle in the future once Disney/Marvel/Star Wars stuff runs dry.
Netflix
Netflix might be the big boy in the race right now but it’s still unclear if that’ll be the case a few months from now. One of the service’s trump card is that it actually has a decent selection of Asian shows, anime and original content…something that Disney+ doesn’t have…yet.
Netflix’s content has been uneven though…sometimes months can go by without a decent movie being uploaded to the service. You’d get trashy K-Dramas or Bollywood crap (just take a look at the Drama and Horror section respectively) instead of quality stuff you’d want to watch.
The streaming service certainly doesn’t suffer from quantity issues. Though the local version is still lacking in the variety present in the US version, what is available is still sizeable. However, as I mentioned earlier…most of it isn’t really that good.
Rating: B-
Lots of content but quality for most is middling.
Amazon Prime Video
Simply put; laughable.
The only reason to watch Amazon Prime Video in Singapore is the original content the service offers. That are a handful truly awesome originals on Amazon, with my picks being The Man in the High Castle, The Tick and The Grand Tour.
Amazon’s library of content that doesn’t belong to them is rather paltry though. Movies are either pretty obscure, old or both. There are some gems in Amazon’s offering though they aren’t anywhere near enough to compete with the offerings from other services. Plus, where’s The Boys? It’s one of Amazon’s best original shows…but it’s missing from the local offering.
Rating: C
Needs LOTS more recent content but has some decent exclusives.
Cost:
Disney+
Disney+ has just one price, but with two payment styles. You can either pay monthly at SG$12 or go all in for a year at SG$120 (which saves you about SG$24).
That’s actually a pretty decent deal, considering that you don’t get limits to what resolution you can stream, unlike Netflix. While the price is higher than the US$7 (about SG$9.50) monthly subscription in the US, it’s actually a decent value if you pit it squarely against Netflix.
Rating: B+
Could be cheaper, but still good value.
Netflix
Netflix’s is hands-down, the most expensive option. It tries to seem reasonable with three different tiers, but honestly…offering a paltry 480p stream at SG$12 is daylight robbery. Besides…who even uses CRT TVs nowadays anyway?
So your best bet for HD streams is either SG$16 or SG$20…which is still much more than what Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video is offering.
Rating: C-
Expensive and charges more for 4K content.
Amazon Prime Video
SG$3.
How do you beat that? That’s less than the cost of a McDonald’s meal. For pure value, Amazon Prime Video wins hands down.
Not ONLY does that SG$3 get you access to Amazon Prime Video, it also gives you access to Twitch Prime (which nets you free games and goodies monthly) and also Amazon Prime, which is great if you shop at Amazon a lot.
Rating: A+
Cheap and tons of extra benefits.
The Best Streaming Service in Singapore is:
While at first brush it might look like all the services are similar, once you break them down on what they offer, you’ll actually see that that’s not really the case.
Netflix
Netflix is geared more to the casual viewer. Due to that, its content offerings run the gamut from anime, to drama to reality shows. The problem with catering to a large userbase is that the content can be middling. You get tons of shows you’d never watch either because you’re not interested or simply because they’re not that good. If you can deal with that, Netflix is your man.
Overall Grade: C+
Tremendous amount of content (including Asian fare) but most of it is just average. Expensive for 4K viewers too.
Disney+
Disney+ on the other hand is for the viewer who knows what they want. They want what Disney has; great animated content and Marvel and Star Wars branded media. The STAR and Nat Geo content are just the icing on the cake. It’s also decently priced, which might it more palatable than Netflix, especially for 4K content. If you’re on a budget and love what Disney offers, there’s no doubt that Disney+ is the service for you.
Overall Grade: B+
Lots of great Disney/Marvel/Star Wars content and a lot of decent new-ish stuff on STAR at a standard price for all. Hopefully content updates keep up the pace and quality.
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video is in a completely different league. It not only delivers streaming video content, but also a ton of other perks. In fact, it shouldn’t be thought of as a standalone streaming service like the other two. Think of it as a packaged deal. The content might be a bit sparse and old but at its SG$3 monthly price it’s a damn good deal, especially when you look at what other benefits you get!
Overall Grade: A+ (as part of the Amazon Prime package), C (as a streaming service)
If I had to honestly pick the best streaming service in Singapore (at least for now)though…I’m going for Disney+.
I love Marvel and there are a ton of other STAR offerings (like Fresh Off The Boat, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer) that I really want to watch (or in some cases, rewatch).