With the rise of streaming, more services are vying for your subscription dollars. Two popular options are Peacock and Hulu, but they take different approaches. Peacock focuses on NBCUniversal content like hit shows, news and sports, while Hulu offers a wider catalog from Disney, Fox, NBC and more.
Comparing Peacock and Hulu across pricing, content, features and value can help you decide which best fits your needs and budget. This 2500+ word guide examines all aspects so you can make an informed choice.
Peacock and Hulu Pricing Plans Breakdown
First, let’s unravel and compare Peacock and Hulu’s pricing tiers and what’s included:
Peacock Plans
Free Tier
- Over 10,000 hours of NBCUniversal content like classic shows, movies, news, some sports and Peacock originals
- Ads included (5 minutes per hour)
- No credit card required to sign up
Premium – $4.99/month
- Over 80,000 hours of content – all of Free plus more Peacock originals, exclusives and blockbuster films
- Early access to NBC’s late night shows like Tonight Show and Late Night
- Adds Premier League soccer, WWE, Olympics and more live sports
- Still includes ads (5 minutes per hour)
Premium Plus – $9.99/month
- Same extensive 80,000+ hour catalog as Premium
- Downloads for offline viewing
- 4K HDR and spatial audio supported
- Ad-free experience
Hulu Plans
Basic With Ads – $7.99/month
- Full catalog of over 40,000 TV episodes from networks like NBC, ABC, Fox and popular Hulu Originals from 2017-2022
- Movies from studios including Disney, Warner Bros, Universal and more
- Includes ads (up to 10 minutes per hour)
No Ads – $14.99/month
- Identical content library and features as Basic plan
- Only a handful of shows have ads due to streaming rights
So clearly Peacock offers excellent value with its free tier and cheaper $4.99 Premium option packed with NBCU content and live sports. Hulu counters with a much wider content selection from top networks beyond just NBCUniversal. Now let‘s compare their streaming libraries and exclusives.
Peacock vs Hulu: Content Catalogs and Originals
Peacock Content
As an NBCUniversal property, Peacock unsurprisingly focuses its energy on content from NBC channels and Universal film studios:
- Iconic NBC comedies like The Office, 30 Rock, Parks & Rec, Saturday Night Live, Cheers, Frasier and more
- Beloved NBC dramas ER, Law & Order, Chicago Fire, This Is Us and many others
- NBC late night programming – new episodes stream on Peacock the next day
- News coverage from NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC, Telemundo and Sky News
- Kids shows Curious George, Where’s Waldo, Cleopatra in Space, and movies from DreamWorks and Illumination like Shrek
- Universal Films including Jurassic Park, Fast & Furious, Despicable Me, and Focus Features award-winners
- Every FIFA Men’s World Cup match through 2030
- Premier League, Sunday Night Football, Olympics, IndyCar, WWE, Ryder Cup and more live sports
- Peacock Originals like Bel-Air, The Best Man: The Final Chapters, The Resort, Joe vs Carole and more
So while not as broad as some competitors, Peacock offers incredible depth if NBCUniversal content is your jam. Fans of The Office or Chicago Fire have hundreds of episodes to binge!
Hulu Content
Rather than focus on a single media company, Hulu casts a wider net in its catalog:
- 20th Television hits Bob’s Burgers, Family Guy, This Is Us, 9-1-1, The Orville and many more
- All seasons of classic ABC sitcoms The Golden Girls, Designing Women, Scrubs and Malcolm in the Middle
- FX favorites American Horror Story, Archer, Atlanta, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Fargo
- Adult Swim offbeat comedies Robot Chicken, Venture Bros and Aqua Teen Hunger Force
- Bravo reality programming Below Deck, Real Housewives, Top Chef, Jerseylicious
- Disney content like Fresh Off the Boat, Once Upon a Time, Lost and Girl Meets World
- Popular films new and old – Nomadland, Parasite, 127 Hours, I Tonya, The Hurt Locker, Gridiron Gang
- 100+ buzzy Hulu Originals like The Handmaid‘s Tale, Little Fires Everywhere, Nine Perfect Strangers, The Dropout, High Fidelity and more spanning drama, sci-fi, comedy, true crime
- New episodes from ABC, NBC, Fox the day after airing
Hulu may lack the NBCU prestige, but makes up for it in diversity and binge-worthy reality fare from Bravo and TLC.
Supported Devices and Simultaneous Streaming
Convenience is critical – you want apps that work seamlessly on your devices. Here‘s how Peacock and Hulu compare:
Peacock Device Support
- Web browsers
- Android and iOS phones/tablets
- Android TV
- Apple TV and AirPlay
- Google Chromecast
- VIZIO and LG smart TVs
- Playstation and Xbox gaming consoles
- Comcast X1 cable boxes
Simultaneous Streams: 3
Hulu Device Support
- Web browsers
- Android and iOS
- Android TV
- Apple TV
- Amazon Fire TV
- Chromecast
- Roku
- Playstation and Xbox
- VIZIO, Samsung, LG smart TVs
Simultaneous Streams: 2 (Unlimited screens with Live TV bundle)
Both Peacock and Hulu apps run across popular mobile, computer, streaming boxes and smart TV platforms for viewing flexibility. Peacock notably allows 3 concurrent streams over Hulu‘s 2 streams for families.
Streaming Experience and Personalization
Ease of finding stuff to watch is crucial. So too are features to personalize profiles and queues.
Peacock Interface
Peacock‘s interface is simple but effective. It surfaces personalized picks, trending and new releases upfront. You scroll down through tabs highlighting movies, current season TV, sports, news, channels, genres and more.
Helpful icons visually indicate what‘s live, new that day or available to download. My List helps you track favorites. Profiles keep things separate for households.
One advantage Peacock has as an NBC property – SNL clips and segments integrate seamlessly rather than just full episodes.
Hulu Interface
Hulu goes heavier on personalization in its interface. The My Stuff tab populates with picks catered to your tastes based on watch history and rated titles. There are hubs for networks like FX and Freeform to easily browse all their offerings on Hulu.
Keep Watching and New in Your Library auto-populate too so it‘s simple to jump back into shows you‘re partway through. Like Peacock, profiles help distinguish watch history, recommendations and My Stuff for family members co-using Hulu.
So both make streaming their giant catalogs fairly straightforward with personalization features that learn your habits over time. Hulu likely has a slight edge here.
Ads Compared – Frequency, Targeting and Ad-Free Options
Ads are perhaps an unfortunate inevitability with lower priced streaming tiers. But frequency and targeting matter greatly in preserving the viewing experience.
Peacock Ads
- 5 minutes per hour on Free and Premium ($4.99) tiers
- Ads skipped automatically for Comcast Xfinity TV customers
- Targeted ads based on age, location, device used and program genre
- Completely ad-free on Premium Plus ($9.99) tier
Hulu Ads
- 10 minutes per hour on Basic With Ads ($7.99) plan
- Around a dozen popular programs still air ads on ad-free No Ads ($14.99) plan
- Targets ads via browser cookies rather than personal data
- Some ability to limit personalized ads in account settings
If ads are a pet peeve, Peacock again provides better options. The ad load is half of Hulu‘s at just 5 minutes hourly even for free. And $9.99 a month grants you zero ads and offline viewing too.
Free Trials and Streaming Bundles
One way services reel in new subscribers is through extended free trials and discounted streaming bundles.
Peacock Free Trial
- No traditional 7-day free trial offered by Peacock
- Closest option is signing up for the Free tier with over 10,000 hours of content
Hulu Free Trial
- Offers a standard 7-day free trial for new subscribers
- Full access to 40,000+ hours of shows, movies and originals
Streaming Bundles
- Peacock does not currently offer any streaming bundles
- Hulu bundles available with Disney+ ($9.99 both with ads), ESPN+ ($12.99 all with ads)
So if you want to sample everything Hulu offers before paying, they give you 7 days free access to do so. Peacock meanwhile hopes the Free tier sample brings you back for Premium.
And bundlers looking to combine Hulu‘s huge on-demand library with Disney+ or live sports via ESPN+ can save a couple bucks monthly over standalone plans. No such Peacock bundles exist presently.
Live TV Options
While the core Peacock and Hulu services focus on on-demand libraries, live television expands the appeal for cord-cutters.
Peacock Live TV
- 75+ free channels of NBC News, NBC Sports, Sky News, news clips and select sports on Free tier
- Local NBC broadcast channels included on Premium/Plus for news and primetime
- Premier League, Sunday Night Football, Olympics, WWE and more sports airing live
Hulu Live TV
- 85+ top cable channels – sports (ESPN, TNT), news (CNN, MSNBC), entertainment (TBS, HGTV) and more
- Regional sports networks for local NBA, MLB and NHL coverage
- 50 hours cloud DVR storage to record live TV and skip commercials
- Base package starts at $69.99 monthly
So Peacock provides some complimentary news and clips channels, plus critical NBC live feeds for markets where it owns the local station. But for a full cable replacement with DVR and wide live sports/news, Hulu Live TV is the superior option albeit at a steep $70 monthly starting price.
Final Verdict: Which is the Better Value Service?
To wrap up this extensive feature comparison, I‘ll make the case for which service offers better bang for your buck depending on your needs:
Choose Peacock if you want:
- Incredible free tier with 10,000+ hours of NBCU content
- Cheapest premium ad-supported plan at just $4.99 monthly
- Ad-free viewing for only $9.99 without the typical $12-$15 price tag
- Live Premier League matches, Sunday Night Football, WWE events, Olympics and more sports
- Deep library of NBC comedies, dramas, films and news analysis
Choose Hulu if you want:
- Content diversity beyond just NBCUniversal networks and studios
- A broader spectrum of original series spanning sci-fi, comedy, drama, etc
- Excellent reality shows from Bravo, TLC and VH1
- Option for 65+ live cable channels via Hulu + Live TV
- Seamless bundles integrating Disney+ and ESPN+
There‘s also great middle ground in enjoying Peacock‘s free NBCU content while paying just $7.99 for Hulu‘s expansive 40,000+ hour catalog. Stream hit dramas on Hulu and sitcom classics on Peacock while saving money! No matter your budget or tastes, one service should appeal nicely.
