Every Streaming Service, Ranked S-Tier to F-Tier

• Also see: Bad, good, best: mechanical keyboards
• Also see: Cord-cutting is no longer cheaper
• Also see: Why franchises never end
• Also see: Bad, good, best: sci-fi novels of 2026
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Quick answer: HBO Max takes S-tier with the best library in the business. Apple TV sits just below it with the best originals per dollar. Netflix is A-tier on volume and reach but its original movies are the worst in the category. Disney+ and Hulu are solid B-tier picks for families and bundle math. Prime Video is C-tier with a great library buried under the worst interface in streaming. Paramount+ and Peacock round out the bottom at D-tier, worth having only when a specific show pulls you in.

The tier list

Service	Tier	Price	Best For	Verdict
HBO Max	S	18.49	Prestige drama and the deepest film library	The best library in streaming, period
Apple TV	S	14.99	Original quality over quantity	The best originals per dollar you can spend
Netflix	A	26.99	Volume, reach, and background TV	Huge library, worst original movies in the category
Disney+	B	18.99	Families, franchises, and bundle math	Essential for kids, skippable for everyone else
Hulu	B	14.99	Next-day cable and the bundle	The glue of the Disney bundle, fine on its own
Prime Video	C	14.99	Free with Prime, terrible interface	Great library, worst interface in streaming
Paramount+	D	13.99	Star Trek, Yellowstone, and CBS	One or two shows, then wait for the next season
Peacock	D	19.99	Premier League and the Office	Overpriced for what it actually offers

The prices

type: bar
title: Monthly ad-free price by service
x: Netflix Premium, HBO Max, Disney+, Apple TV, Paramount+, Peacock
Monthly dollars: 26.99, 18.49, 18.99, 14.99, 13.99, 19.99

Netflix Premium at 26.99 is the most expensive ticket in the building, and it buys you the largest library and the worst original movies. HBO Max at 18.49 is the value leader: prestige drama, a film library that dwarfs everything else, and an interface that mostly stays out of the way. Apple TV at 14.99 is the quiet bargain, a small catalog where almost everything is good. Peacock at 19.99 is the price outlier, charging near-HBO money for a library that does not justify it.

How the tiers were assigned

flowchart TD
    A["Start with the 2026 Tom's Guide report card"] --> B["Score library strength out of 10"]
    B --> C["Score original content quality out of 10"]
    C --> D["Score interface quality out of 10"]
    D --> E["Check live sports offering"]
    E --> F{"Library and originals both 8 or higher"}
    F -->|"yes"| G["S-tier placement"]
    F -->|"no"| H{"Strong in one dimension, weak in another"}
    H -->|"yes"| I["A-tier or B-tier placement"]
    H -->|"no"| J{"Narrow appeal or broken interface"}
    J -->|"yes"| K["C-tier or D-tier placement"]
    J -->|"no"| L["Re-score against PCMag reviews"]
    L --> G
    L --> I
    L --> K

The logic is simple. Library strength and original content quality carry the most weight because those are the reasons you keep a service month after month. Interface quality is the tiebreaker: a great library you cannot navigate is a library you do not watch. Live sports is the wildcard, the one category that can pull a service up a tier on its own.

S-tier: HBO Max and Apple TV

HBO Max has the best library in streaming, full stop. The HBO drama catalog runs from The Sopranos to The Last of Us, the film library pulls from Warner Bros., Criterion, and Studio Ghibli, and the interface stays out of your way. At 18.49 it is not cheap, but it is the one service that justifies its price every single month.

Apple TV is the quality play. The catalog is small, but the hit rate is the best in the business: Severance, Silo, Slow Horses, Ted Lasso, and Foundation are all shows that would be the flagship anywhere else. At 14.99 it is the best originals per dollar in streaming, and the interface is clean, fast, and ad-free.

A-tier: Netflix

Netflix has the most subscribers and the largest library, and it still cannot make a good original movie. The TV side is Stranger Things, The Crown, and a deep bench of international drama. The movie side is a landfill of forgettable thrillers and rom-coms that appear, trend for a weekend, and vanish. At 26.99 it is the most expensive service on this list, and the price is the problem: you are paying a premium for volume, not quality.

B-tier: Disney+ and Hulu

Disney+ is the family pick. Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and National Geographic under one roof, with an interface built for kids and a price that makes sense only as part of the bundle. On its own at 18.99 it is skippable for anyone without children.

Hulu is the utility player. Next-day cable, a solid bench of originals, and the glue that makes the Disney bundle math work. At 14.99 it is fine on its own and essential as part of a package.

C-tier: Prime Video

Prime Video has a great library and the worst interface in streaming. The catalog includes The Boys, Reacher, Fallout, and a deep bench of films, but finding any of it requires a search bar and a prayer. The home screen is a wall of rows that mix what you can watch with what you can rent, and the interface never quite tells you which is which. At 14.99 it is free with Prime, which is the only reason it is not lower.

D-tier: Paramount+ and Peacock

Paramount+ is one or two shows and a wait. Star Trek, Yellowstone, and the CBS lineup give it a reason to exist, but the interface is clunky and the library outside those franchises is thin. At 13.99 it is the cheapest ad-free tier on this list, which is the best thing you can say about it.

Peacock is the price problem. At 19.99 it charges near-HBO money for the Office, Premier League, and a library that does not justify the cost. The interface is fine, the sports are real, and the price is wrong.

Cord cutting is getting more expensive as streaming services raise pricesPlays from YouTube when you press play

The verdict

The tier list is not a subscription recommendation. It is a map of where the money goes and what it buys. HBO Max and Apple TV earn their price every month. Netflix charges the most and delivers the least consistent quality. Disney+ and Hulu make sense as a bundle. Prime Video is free with Prime, which is the only reason to tolerate it. Paramount+ and Peacock are worth having when a specific show pulls you in, and not before. The streaming market has matured into a small number of owners, a rising monthly bill, and a customer who has already done the hard work of leaving cable once and is reluctant to do it again.

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