In 2021, you might want to cut your subscription fee a bit, especially for streaming services that are waging a giant content war for your money. A while ago we answered the question of whether Netflix should cancel in 2021. Now we ask Amazon Prime Video the same question. Amazon Prime Video is part of the Amazon Prime membership, which Amazon features as the default tier in the UK (£7.99 / CAD £7.99 / £7.99 / AU$6.99 AUD, with an annual option at a reduced price). Really, the question of whether you want Amazon Prime in 2021 is a bigger question of how much you use overnight delivery and perks like free Twitch Prime gaming products or free books on Prime Reading on top of the streaming part. However, since you can subscribe to Amazon Prime Video in the US and UK only, for €8.99 / €5.99 per month, we'll treat it as a separate service in this article so we can state its specific value. We'll review service originals, licensed content, the app experience, and optional extras. Let us begin.
Amazon Prime Video Originals is a solid group, but it's not Netflix
Haven't seen Subir yet? He is very funny. (Image credit: Amazon Prime Video) Historically, Amazon Prime Video Originals don't feel like they have the cultural cachet of Netflix, but there are outliers to that, and over time it just got better and better. Shows like Fleabag (an Amazon Original in the US), The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, and The Boys have definitely broken out. Over the past year, we've particularly liked the comedy Upload and the thoughtful (but underrated) sci-fi show Tales From The Loop. Amazon has continued to be the home of The Expanse, one of the most acclaimed science fiction television shows of all time. More recently, Invincible and Them shows that it has become a pretty solid hotbed for genre content. You can see why he's betting big on the future in shows like Fallout or Lord of the Rings. Amazon Prime Video acts as the exclusive distributor for various programs around the world; if you live outside of the United States, for example, shows like Picard and American Gods are Prime Originals. If you live in the United States, he acted as a co-producer of Steve McQueen's famous Small Ax film series. It's also betting big on movies, securing the worldwide rights to Coming 2 America and being the broadcast house for the Oscar-nominated Sound of Metal. UK subscribers were also able to enjoy Andy Samberg's Palm Springs and Hustlers as originals. With a rotating sequel to licensed titles, the service ends up being a pretty good all-rounder and a solid alternative to Netflix: in the UK, Prime Video offers an archive of South Park shows, as well as Fox series like 24, The The X-Files, Buffy, and Prison Break (many of which now also live on Disney Plus). To the naked eye, the United States is not far behind with licensed titles either, especially on the movie side. Really, though, your regional experience could differ significantly on this depending on which larger Amazon deal you're on. In the UK, however, we think the range of products here is worth checking out for the price. As far as content, Amazon doesn't release originals like Netflix, and overall the list of shows isn't all that exciting, but it's not hard to find something to watch. Today's best Amazon Prime deals
The Amazon Prime Video app experience still needs some work
(Image credit: Amazon) We wrote a rather difficult teardown of Amazon Prime Video's interface last year, and many of those same criticisms still apply; however, it still feels like a revamp of the Amazon store in many ways. That the `` Free for me '' tab helps to do that. easy to navigate to content you don't have to pay extra for. The fact that individual seasons of shows are always listed separately feels like a weird hangover from Amazon's primary focus as storefront. Even with ``Free to Me'' in the navigation bar, Prime Video is still too thirsty to bring you the latest movie deals, and what about other channels you have to pay extra for. With so many titles being released on VOD in the midst of a pandemic, having some visibility on a new product isn't the worst thing in the world. It may be too important. Overall, Amazon's accessibility options are pretty solid, with customizable subheading sizes and color and background options for easy reading. Sometimes, however, in the UK at least, a film will be strangely lacking in subtitles: Gangs of New York, for example, or Oliver Stone's JFK. Amazon is also very good at offering its originals in 4K, when Netflix charges more for the experience, and flagging when it supports little box icons in the app. The Netflix app experience remains best-in-class, and Amazon's isn't perfect. But that's not such a major drawback that it really affects whether or not the service is worth it.
Amazon Prime Video channels add flexibility, but sell too much
Prime video channels can be a bummer for some users, as Amazon doesn't hesitate to bring you content from these various paid extras. While the hard sell isn't necessarily the best, the way they give flexibility to the platform is pretty good. If your device of choice doesn't have the Shudder or BFI Player apps, for example, accessing that content on Amazon Prime Video is pretty handy. However, if you prefer to have an all-in-one app experience, you're more likely to see these optional extras as another way to drain extra money from your bank account each month. This is where Netflix always reigns supreme: once you're there, it doesn't try to sell you anything other than continued use of the service.
Should you cancel Amazon Prime Video in 2021?
If you can only afford one streamer per month, Netflix is the one to keep, which probably isn't all that surprising. But Amazon Prime Video definitely complements it in our streaming lives, with a variety of chunky, not always great originals, decent library content, and the ability to connect more content across channels. Granted, the user experience isn't the best, thanks to the way the app displays content, and overall, we think the service is better appreciated as part of a larger Prime membership than a self-contained submarine. But given the low price of entry, however you get it, we think Amazon Prime Video is worth keeping in 2021 if you can reasonably afford it.