Blockbuster vs. Netflix DVD Subscription Plans
Netflix is easily king of the online movie rental business even though Blockbuster continues to try to hang around. It’s rather poetic just of sorts that Blockbuster is clawing for life after enjoying the bountiful 90s as king of the brick and mortar rental business. I know that I’ve paid $5 (or more) far too many times for Blockbuster movie rentals.
When I discovered Netflix, I gleefully gave Blockbuster the cold shoulder and took my 3 (at a time) movies at $16.99 per month, which translated somewhere near 6-12 movies a month for the price of 3 Blockbuster movies at the old brick and morter store that was 8-10 miles from my house.
Blockbuster, came back into the game and entered the online movie rental business – quite a ways behind Netflix’s market share. Based on some of their prices and perks though, Blockbuster may be a better choice over Netflix for some people. Let’s take a closer look at what these two online DVD rental services offer.
Netflix Subscription Plans
Sign up for Netflix 2-Week Free Trial. Click here.
| Plan | Rentals/month | Price/month* | 2 week Free Trial |
Additional Perks: Hours Instantly on your PC |
| 3 DVDs at-a-time
Most Popular |
Unlimited | $16.99 | YES | Unlimited hours also included |
| 2 DVDs at-a-time | Unlimited | $13.99 | YES | Unlimited hours also included |
| 1 DVD at-a-time | Unlimited | $8.99 | YES | Unlimited hours also included |
| 1 DVD at-a-time | Limit 2 per month |
$4.99 | YES | 2 hours also included |
*Plus any applicable taxes. The same applies for Blockbuster.
Blockbuster Subscription Plans
Sign up for Blockbuster 2-Week Free Trial. Click here.
| Plan | Rentals/month | Price/month | 2 week Free Trial |
Additional Perks: In-Store Exchanges |
| 3 DVDs at-a-time
Most Popular |
Unlimited | $19.99 | YES | 5 free in-store exchanges per calendar month* |
| 3 DVDs at-a-time | Unlimited! | $34.99 | YES | Unlimited free in-store exchanges per calendar month* |
| 3 DVDs at-a-time | Unlimited! | $15.99 | YES | $1.99 in-store movie exchanges |
| 2 DVDs at-a-time | Unlimited! | $29.99 | YES | Unlimited free in-store exchanges per calendar month* |
| 2 DVDs at-a-time | Unlimited! | $16.99 | YES | 3 free in-store exchanges per calendar month* |
| 2 DVDs at-a-time | Unlimited! | $13.99 | YES | $1.99 in-store movie exchanges |
| 1 DVDs at-a-time | Unlimited! | $21.99 | YES | Unlimited free in-store exchanges per calendar month* |
| 1 DVD at-a-time | Unlimited! | $11.99 | YES | 2 free in-store exchanges per calendar month* |
| 1 DVD at-a-time | Limit 2 per month |
$9.99 | YES | 2 free in-store exchanges per calendar month* |
| 1 DVD at-a-time | Unlimited! | $8.99 | YES | $1.99 in-store movie exchanges |
| 1 DVD at-a-time | Limit 2 per month |
$3.99 | YES | $1.99 in-store movie exchanges |
*In-store exchange of online DVD rentals is good for free movie rentals and discounted game rentals only.
Comparison Considerations
As you can see, Blockbuster technically beats Netflix in price when considering DVDs coming to your house through the mail. 3 DVDs at-a-time is $16.99 at Netflix and is priced at $15.99 at Blockbuster. Both companies, however, offer some sort of additional perks, which are unique to their subscription plans.
Netflix offers online streaming of movies on your PC (now they also offer Mac). This can be a real benefit if you are comfortable watch video on your computer and have the bandwidth speed to make the feature worthwhile.
If you aren’t so inclined to watch your movies on your computer, you may like what Blockbuster offers with their in-store exchanges. By dropping off your movie at your local Blockbuster store, it allows them to check it in that much faster and ship you another movie from your Queue as soon as the next postal business day. Basically, you get access to extra rentals or “quicker” rentals by taking your DVD that you received through the mail back to a Blockbuster store. Be mindful of the fact that in-store rentals must be returned to the store where they were originally rented.
Conclusion
Blockbuster thinks it’s a better option over Netflix, while Netflix says it’s the best. I say choose what works best for you. The “perks” should make the decision easier for you depending on what you and/or your family will get the most use out of.
Pick the best bang for your own buck. If you’re not sure, sign up for both for two weeks for free and test each service to your liking and cancel the one that’s the “loser” in your opinion. Check out the free trial offers for each of the services below.
