Ky Stewart

Published 1 hour ago: April 28, 2023 at 4:51 pm

We are living in the age of streaming, where everywhere we look, there’s a new service asking us to join. The variety of choices can certainly become overwhelming, so, thankfully, the good people over at Canstar Blue have done their annual review of Pay TV and streaming services to see which one is worth your time, and money.

Canstar Blue has reviewed customer ratings and ranked Netflix, YouTube Premium, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, BritBox, BINGE, Stan, Kayo, Fetch TV, Telstra TV Box Office, HayU, Paramount+, Foxtel and Apple TV+ based on content choice, new releases, ease of sign-up, ease of use, value for money and overall satisfaction.

If you’re trying to sort out your streaming subscriptions or just want to know which one is better value for money, Canstar Blue has ranked them all. So let’s dive right in.

Best streaming services and pay TV in Australia

1. Netflix

Does it really shock anyone that Netflix was ranked the best streaming service in Australia? It was the first streaming service to give us Aussies content we’ve only previously been able to watch through VPNs.

“Netflix was rated five stars across all categories, including value for money, availability of new releases, choice of shows and movies, ease of use, ease of sign up and overall satisfaction,” Canstar Blue said.

Netflix has a range of plans you can sign up for. The Standard with ads plan costs $6.99 per month, the Basic plan costs $10.99 per month, the Standard plan costs $16.99 per month and the Premium plan costs $22.99 per month.

2. YouTube Premium streaming service

Now this one is a little interesting. When you think of streaming services and pay TV, you probably don’t immediately think of YouTube Premium, but it’s apparently considered one of the best.

A subscription to YouTube Premium offers you ad-free streaming, offline viewing, background video playback, ad-free music streaming and exclusive content.

“YouTube Premium scored a five-star rating for value for money, with four stars in all other categories, including availability of new releases, ease of use, choice of shows and movies, ease of sign up and overall satisfaction,” Canstar Blue said.

YouTube Premium will set you back $14.99 per month, with a few different plans available.

3. Disney+

Disney+ is truly one of the best streaming services available in Australia because it’s got such a wide range of content.

From Marvel to Star Wars, to incredible shows like Abbott Elementary and Bob’s Burgers, there’s a lot to love about Disney+.

“Disney+ was rated five stars for value for money, availability of new releases and choice of shows and movies, with four stars for ease of sign-up, ease of use and overall satisfaction.”

You can sign up for Disney+ here for $13.99 per month or $139.99 for a yearly subscription.

4. Amazon Prime Video

Amazon Prime Video has so much content that it’s no wonder it’s the fourth-best streaming service in Australia.

Moving away from just having a library to purchase from, Amazon has a lot of originals coming out on Prime Video that are definitely worth your time.

According to Canstar Blue’s customer ranking, Amazon Prime Video was rated five stars for value for money but also scored three stars for the availability of new releases. It was rated four stars in all other categories, including choice of shows and movies, and overall satisfaction.

You can sign up for Prime Video for $6.99 per month here.

5. BritBox streaming service

Now this, I didn’t see coming.

BritBox houses almost every British TV show and movie you could imagine, which is great because you often aren’t able to get many on other streaming services.

“BritBox was rated three stars for availability of new releases, with four stars in all other categories, including value for money, ease of use, choice of movies and shows and overall satisfaction,” according to Canstar Blue.

BritBox will set you back $8.99 a month or $89.99 a year. There’s also a seven-day free trial if you are still unsure about BritBox.

6. Binge

Binge is home to some incredible movies and some great TV shows. This is mostly because it’s owned by Foxtel, meaning all the U.S shows from distributors like HBO can be found there.

It’s also the Australian home for House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones, so even for just that alone, Binge is definitely one of the best streaming services.

“BINGE was rated four stars for choice of shows and movies, value for money and overall satisfaction, with three stars for ease of sign up, ease of use and availability of new releases,” Canstar Blue said.

You can subscribe to Binge here. The Basic Plan costs $10 per month, the Standard Plan costs $16 per month, and the Premium Plan will set you back $18 per month.

7. Stan

It’s pretty cool to see Australia’s answer to Netflix made it as the seventh-best streaming service available.

Stan’s got a lot of great Aussie content on it as well as massive international shows, like RuPaul’s Drag Race and The Great. 

“Stan was rated three stars for availability of new releases, but four stars in all remaining categories, including ease of sign up, choice of shows and movies, and overall satisfaction,” according to Canstar Blue.

Offering three different subscription tiers, Stan also has its own Stan Sport, which is an additional $10 a month on top of your plan.

8. Kayo sport streaming

It’s actually wild to me that a sports streaming service is number eight on this list.

For those of you who don’t know, Kayo offers a huge variety of sporting events and games across the world but mostly high-profile Australian and American sports.

In Canstar Blue’s rankings, Kayo was rated four stars for the value of money, ease of sign up and overall satisfaction. It was then given three stars for the availability of new releases, ease of use and choice of shows and movies.

You can sign up for a free 14-day trial, after which you have the choice of a One, Basic or Premium subscription ranging from $25 per month to $35 per month.

9. Fetch TV

Fetch TV isn’t really a streaming service per see but rather a gateway for all the other ones.

Basically, Fetch TV is a set-top box and a streaming video-on-demand service that turns your TV into an entertainment hub.  Obviously, you’ll need subscriptions to the other services but you can have them all central with Fetch TV.

“Fetch TV was rated four stars for value for money, ease of use and ease of sign up, with three stars for availability of new releases, choice of shows and movies and overall satisfaction,” Canstar Blue.

You can get TV packs that are $6 per month or $20 combined per month. You’ll also need the Fetch TV Box which can range from $169 to $449. You can pause, record and rewind live TV with this box too.

10. Telstra TV Box Office streaming service

This is a bit of a random addition but Telstra TV Box Office is a pay-per-view subscription service.

The beauty of this service is that you can buy or rent movies close to their actual theatre releases, as well as stream TV shows. You don’t need to be a Telstra customer to use it.

“Telstra TV Box Office was rated five stars for availability of new releases, four stars for choice of shows and movies, and three stars for all remaining categories, including overall satisfaction,” Canstar Blue said.

You can sign up for Telstra TV Box Office for free, but you’ll need to pay when you rent or buy a title, obviously.

11. Hayu

Hayu is the home of some of my favourite TV shows, aka, the Real Housewives franchise.

From just that alone, I’m sure you can tell that Hayu specialises only in reality TV shows, especially those trashy ones that we all love to secretly watch.

In fact, Hayu was rated four stars on value for money, and three stars in all other categories, including choice of shows and movies, ease of use and overall satisfaction.

Hayu only costs $6.99 per month, which is one of the cheaper streaming services out there.

12. Paramount+

Paramount+ is only new to the streaming service industry, so it still needs some time to get more shows under its belt to compete with the others.

In saying that, however, it does have YellowJackets, and really that’s all you need to sign up for it.

“Rated four stars for value for money, Paramount+ was also rated three stars in all remaining categories, including ease of use, availability of new releases and overall satisfaction,” Canstar Blue said.

Paramount+ also only costs around $8.99 per month. 

13. Foxtel

We have a lot to be thankful for when it comes to Foxtel, which gave Australia access to U.S. content when no one else really did, not at the same scale, at least.

However, in recent years it’s struggled to keep up with the rise of the best streaming giants that we have today.

“Foxtel was rated three stars across the majority of categories, including value for money, availability of new releases, ease of sign up and overall satisfaction, with four stars for ease of use and choice of shows and movies,” Canstar Blue said.

Foxtel will charge you an installation fee and they have broadband plans that you can add to a bundle to give you access to content.

14. Apple TV+

Coming in last, and perhaps least, is Apple TV+, which does have some really great content, but those are few and far between.

It does have Ted Lasso, though, which might just be enough to make a subscription worth it.

“Rounding out the results, Apple TV+ was rated three stars in all categories, including choice of shows and movies, value for money and overall satisfaction,” Canstar Blue said.

Apple TV+ only costs $7.99 per month, so maybe it is worth it after all.

---

There you have it, the best streaming services available in Australia.

Hopefully, this comparison is able to help you decide which streaming service is best for you and your home.