Netflix vs. Blockbuster: Which is Best?

Written by Nickel - 37 Comments

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We’ve been renting DVDs online for several years now, and we love it. When we first started, Netflix was the only game in town. Not long thereafter, Blockbuster started offering DVDs by mail, and we eventually switched. Most recently, we’ve switched back to Netflix. So which one is the best, and why?

Movies by mail

Both Netflix and Blockbuster offer movies by mail using a monthly subscription model. Add movies to your online queue and they’ll be mailed out to you in order of preference. There are multiple levels of service, with the most popular being the three-at-a-time plan.

Based on personal experience, both Blockbuster and Netflix have very quick turnaround. In fact, we almost always receive movies the day after they’re mailed, though this will likely vary based on your proximity to the nearest shipping center.

In terms of selection, Netflix has always gotten rave reviews, especially when it comes to indie films and foreign films. That being said, our tastes are pretty mainstream, and we’ve never noticed a difference.

Finally, while both service offer free returns by mail, Blockbuster also offers the ability to return their movies to a local store — more on this below.

In-store rentals and returns

This is where Blockbuster really shines, though they’ve recently take a major step backwards. When we first switched to Blockbuster, it was for their “Total Access” service, which allowed us to get a movie by mail and return it to the store.

Not only did returning it to the store trigger the next movie in our queue to be shipped right away, but we also got a free in-store rental. On top of that, we they also have us a printable coupon for a free in-store rental (DVD or game) every month. It was very nice while it lasted.

Unfortunately, about a year and a half ago, Blockbuster dropped the printable coupons and also capped the number of in-store exchanges at five per month. You could still return movies to the store after you hit the cap, but you couldn’t get a free rental. Instead, you had to pay a reduced rate of $2/DVD. Oh, and they also raised prices. Definitely not as good as before, but a pretty darn good deal.

Unfortunately, Blockbuster recently took another step backwards… While you can still trade a movie in for a free in-store rental, the next movie in your online queue won’t be shipped out until you return that movie to the store. This slows things down dramatically, and largely erases the main advantage of Blockbuster.

For their part, Netflix doesn’t offer an in-store exchange option. Why? Because they don’t have any retail locations!

Streaming movies online

This is where Netflix really shines. In addition to your ‘regular’ queue, you can add certain titles to an instant queue. You can then stream these titles using your computer (PC or Mac), an Xbox 360, or the Netflix Roku player (it’s a set-top box). I especially like being able to stream movies to my laptop when I’m on the road.

All in all, this is a great feature. Unfortunately, the movie selection is pretty bad. Yes, they have a fair number of titles, but there’s not much in the way of recent releases. The bright spot here is that they have a lot of TV shows (entire seasons) available for streaming.

Another minor benefit of the Roku player is that you can now use it to stream Amazon movie rentals to your TV. These are available on a per-rental basis, and they’re not cheap (most cost from $2-4/each) but it’s a nice option to have.

Blockbuster vs. Netflix: Pricing

Both Netflix and Blockbuster offer a number of pricing plans, and it’s hard to compare them all. For the sake of simplicity, let’s just look at the most popular three-at-a-time plans…

The Netflix three-at-a-time unlimited plan costs $16.99/month. This plan gives you an unlimited number of movies by mail (though you’re limited to having three out at once). You also get unlimited streaming to your Mac, PC or TV for no additional fee.

The Blockbuster Total Access three-at-a-time plan costs $19.99/month, and likewise gives you an unlimited number of movies by mail (again limited to having three out at once). You also get five free in-store exchanges, though these exchanges now count against your three movie limit. Additional in-store exchanges cost $1.99/each, but do not count against your three movie limit.

Blockbuster vs. Netflix: Which is best?

If you had asked me this question a few months ago, I would’ve said Blockbuster by a mile. Having in-store exchanges that triggered the mailing of the next movie in your queue was just too good to pass up. But now that Blockbuster has crippled their Total Access plans…

I’d have to say that Netflix comes out on top. While their online movie selection leaves a lot to be desired, the implementation is great, and we’ve discovered a number of great new TV shows. On top of that, Netflix is a few bucks cheaper.

Still undecided? That’s okay… Both Netflix and Blockbuster offer free two week trials. This should be enough to give you a pretty good taste of both services, and help you make up your mind.

Netflix Free Trial	Blockbuster Free Trial

Published on April 29th, 2009 - 37 Comments
Filed under: Online
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About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!

Comments (scroll down to add your own):

Two summers ago we had Blockbuster and LOVED it. I bet every month we rented 20+ movies! It was fantastic and we loved returning movies in the store. At the end of the summer they wanted to raise our fee dramatically. So we dropped the service. Since we have cable and didn’t want an extra expense we didn’t pick up another service.

Recently we have been thrilled with Redbox. Every Monday they send you a text with a coupon code for a free movie. Movies are just $1.00 plus tax a day, meaning most days we can get a first run movie for just $1.05. (Sometimes we forget to return it by the next day and are charged more(1.00/day)). We also love the feature that allows you to choose a movie online and reserve it at your redbox of choice, no more running around from store to store trying to find your favorite show!

The last bonus is being able to rent and return anywhere. Hubby and I were curious of the longest distance a movie has traveled. We often rent a movie if we are traveling and then return it at home, which is very handy!

Hoping they don’t get greedy like ol’ Blockbuster and start raising prices!!
Comment by Heather — Apr 29th 2009 @ 7:31 am
From a business model perspective Netflix is positioned to win in the long run. They don’t have the oveheard of all of those stores that receive little foot traffic. However Blockbuster’s ability to exchange instore is a huge value-add.

Were I to subscribe again I would go with Netflix for the streaming online (for the record Blockbuster has something like that in the works). This will be the future, not DVDs via mail, streaming.

Like the first commenter though, I love me some Redbox.
Comment by the weakonomist — Apr 29th 2009 @ 7:54 am
I expect that Blockbuster will go out of business in the not too distance future, truth be told.
Comment by Blaine Moore — Apr 29th 2009 @ 7:58 am
Heather: Yeah, Red Box would be great, but the nearest location is about 15 miles away. Since they charge by the day, it’s best if you can hit it on back-to-back days.

Blaine: I think you might be right. They’re already struggling, and they have a huge amount of overhead. I think they’ll ultimately have to transition to online-only if they’re to survive, but… At that point they’ll have nothing to differentiate themselves from Netflix.

Comment by Nickel — Apr 29th 2009 @ 8:05 am
We were early adopters of Blockbuster. For that, they responded by changing the price of our plan every other month and adding and deleting features at will.

I try not to do business with companies with no idea what their business model is doing. I hated the idea that I always had to watch what Blockbuster was charging me. That’s why I’m thrilled with Netflix now.
Comment by dogatemyfinances — Apr 29th 2009 @ 8:20 am
Another vote for Netflix. Using them is saving my wife & I around $50/month vs. rentals & going to the theater.

We’re on the $13.99 2 out at a time plan but probably moving to $9.99 1 out at a time.

I have an XBox 360, so being able to stream them right to my TV which kicks cheek.
Comment by Matt Jabs — Apr 29th 2009 @ 8:34 am
My husband and I were on the Netflix most basic plan (three movies a month, I believe) and were having a hard time watching even that many in a month. We don’t have cable, but there are a few shows that we watch on the internet (Lost, The Office, and the Daily Show, to be specific). About once a month we’ll feel like watching a movie, and then we go down to our local movie store. This is the most economical method for our viewing habits, with the added bonus of supporting a local (and probably struggling) business.
Comment by teaspoon — Apr 29th 2009 @ 9:25 am
I’ve done both, but stuck with Netflix throughout the years. Blockbuster’s brick and mortar stores are slowly shutting down (2 in our area have closed up shop this year already) and I would expect this trend to continue. Streaming is the wave of the future.

The only negative of Netflix, being a member for 7 years, is that movies are held up in the queue a little too long in my opinion. I have movies still with a status of ‘long wait’ since January.

Redbox is a thought, but there are no convenient locations in the area.

Stupidly Yours,

Matt
Comment by Matt @ StupidCents — Apr 29th 2009 @ 9:33 am
I’m a little off topic, but redbox at the grocery store appealed to me more than DVDs by mail when I saw it just a few days ago. $1 per movie. If you only watch movies occasionally, and you live near a place that has a redbox, then this would be the best approach.

Clair
Comment by Clair Schwan of Frugal Living Freedom — Apr 29th 2009 @ 9:33 am
My parents live in KY. I once saw a Redbox in a McDonald’s drive thru there. Now that’s what I call service! Food and a movie and you don’t even have to get out of your car!
Comment by Heather — Apr 29th 2009 @ 9:46 am
I began with Netflix and was quite happy…until they shipped a movie from Pennsylvania when I live in Washington State. It was the first movie on my list but they had always bypassed to the 2nd if not readily available from my own state. I am frugal so I had made it a practice to have quick turnaround so I got the most movies for my buck. So instead of getting the movie in 1 day, it became 2-3 AND it had to be shipped back to PA before they sent the next one. One movie took a week. They did this to me 3 times. I wrote to just please send the next available and got some generic response each time. Not enough bang for my buck so I happily switched to Blockbuster!
Comment by Becca — Apr 29th 2009 @ 11:43 am
Basically, the tech-savvy movie enthusiast should seriously consider Netflix because of the access to “on-demand”-style streaming films, but those with a healthy penchant for in-store visits – or even those that specifically enjoy the in-person film browsing experience – will reap more satisfaction from Blockbuster. Both are excellent antidotes to heavy discretionary spending on trips to the movie theater.
Comment by DebtGoal — Apr 29th 2009 @ 12:04 pm
Just had to comment about Netflix. I too would get movies from shipping centers days away. One thing I did to speed up the return process was to save local return envelopes. I would always return 2 DVDs in one return envelope, so I always had some local return envelopes handy. Then when I received a movie from a faraway shipping center I returned it to my local shipping center and received my next selection that much faster.
Comment by Glenn — Apr 29th 2009 @ 12:47 pm
I’m much like poster #5, early adopter of Blockbuster. They even used to give out coupoons for free game rentals. Then when they added Total Access it was even better. Later they figured out they weren’t making enough money off people like me and jacked the rates way up, and cut the coupons way down. Switched to Netflix and never looked back. I still get emails from Blockbuster, like an old girlfriend, trying to get me to come back.
Comment by Jim — Apr 29th 2009 @ 1:44 pm
I have been a Netflix customer since 2002, so obviously I’m a fan. I’m on the 3 at a time plan, and go thru about 10-12 dvd’s a month. The selection is what seals it for me. They just have so many more titles than Blockbuster does, which has led me to watch alot of really great movies (and some stinkers too) that I probably wouldn’t have otherwise.

Oh, and the issue with shipping from centers far away has happened to me about 4 times in the 7 years I have been a member. Maybe it depends on location (I’m in Chicago and was in DC before that), but it very, very rarely happens to me. If a movie takes more than about 3 days to get to me (which happens about once a year, even with the awful Chicago postal service), I just declare it lost and have them ship another movie, knowing that the “lost” one will eventually show up any day now.
Comment by Archie — Apr 29th 2009 @ 2:43 pm
I know this is a financial blog, but I’m surprised there’s no mention of either company’s customer service reputation. That’s generally a major factor for me when I have to choose between two competing services.
Comment by jdb — Apr 29th 2009 @ 7:37 pm
Don’t forget that certain Blu-ray DVD players also do the Netflix streaming. I have the Sumsung Blu-ray player and I couldn’t be happier. It has definitely taken my Netflix membership to a whole new level! Not to mention the movie quality rocks!

I thought about switching to Blockbuster for a period of time when they were still offering the free in-store rentals when you returned online rentals (and still shipped the next in queue), but I never got around to doing it. To be honest, I’m lazy enough to not want to go into the store and fuss with all that. I like going to my mailbox and getting my movies. I like that I can turn on my TV, hit the red button and my queue from Netflix is on the TV – well, the ones I can watch from my streaming list. What I think will really put Netflix over the edge is if they set up some sort of kiosk service like RedBox, where people can go drop off rentals and then pick other releases. I think that would put Netflix in almost every home across the country. But, we’ll see.

Great post!
Comment by Kristy @ Master Your Card — Apr 29th 2009 @ 10:53 pm
Looks like the writing is on the wall for Block”bust”er
Comment by Matt Jabs — Apr 29th 2009 @ 11:12 pm
We have belonged to Netflix since 2003 and love it!
We watch lots of old movies and old series so we are very pleased. We recently bought Roku and have enjoyed it too.
We do not have cable and feel we are getting a great deal.
Comment by Pam — Apr 29th 2009 @ 11:22 pm
I feel compelled to point out that you can still get unlimited in-store exchanges with Blockbuster Total Access. It simply costs more. And yes, that sucks, but it is still an option.

I am pretty unhappy about the new method of shipping out the next movie in our queue. It’s definitely slowing us down. At this rate, we may end up switching to mail only. It simply takes us too long to get the movies back, between general forgetfulness and a few health conditions. I’m going to give it one more month before deciding.

Still, for the person who wondered about company reputation, people swear by Netflix. Personally, I’m still partial to the immediacy of the in-store exchange. But I guess I’ll have to wait and see what other changes Blockbuster makes.
Comment by Abigail — Apr 30th 2009 @ 6:06 am
Abigail: You are correct. I didn’t mention that because it nearly doubles the price, plus you’re still subject to their new rule about the in-store exchanges counting against your online queue.

As for the comments above about reputation, I didn’t address it directly in the article because there’s nothing particularly notable to say about either one. While many people swear by Netflix, Blockbuster has it’s own share of fans.

Comment by Nickel — Apr 30th 2009 @ 8:30 am
Netflix absolutely rules now that Blockbuster decided to ruin their only advantage(in-store rentals for free). Netflix has much better selection of movies too. I think Blockbuster will be bankrupt by the end of 2009.
Comment by Investing Made Simple — May 1st 2009 @ 11:07 am
I’d also like to note that now you can stream those On-Demand Netflix movies to your Xbox 360. It’s great! My fiancee and I use it all the time.
Comment by Sanctimonia — May 1st 2009 @ 12:34 pm
Netflix also streams to TiVo boxes, with great quality available though our HD Tivo!

I can’t speak for Blockbuster, but Netflix also has Blu-Ray DVD’s. You pay $3 extra for the ability to get these discs, however I have noticed it increases your chances of getting a damaged disc. They get cracked and damaged more easily than regular DVD’s.

Still worth it to us though!
Comment by Danielle — May 1st 2009 @ 3:33 pm
Netflix is the future. Pretty soon everyone will have a box that will stream movies from Netflix libraries. I’ve since canceled my DirectTV and only use Netflix and the web.
Comment by Phinance — May 1st 2009 @ 6:32 pm
Tried both; Netflix is superior on the following: 1) Movie selection, 2) Recommendations based on your rating history; 3) Streaming – movie selection is limited, but the TV series selection is INCREDIBLE; 4) Consistent service for a price that rarely changes like Blockbuster did.

Blockbuster stores in Tulsa are really getting run down. With streaming on Netflix, I can now fill those impulse viewing opportunities.
Comment by Craig — May 4th 2009 @ 3:53 pm
I was a Blockbuster user until I rented “Wonder Boys” and noticed that “Blockbuster” edited the film for content. I am not sure what they needed to edit from that film, but when I took it back to question them, the store stated that it was Blockbuster’s policy to edit for content as they saw fit. (This was never advertised on the dvd sleeve).

I became a Netflix girl from then on. In addition, I found that their selection was larger… including films that Blockbuster did not, such as “Wit”.
Comment by shashe — May 5th 2009 @ 2:51 pm
NETFLIX Defintely! I’ve had them both for the last 6 months and have gotten probably 30% faster turnaround with Netflix which equals more movies! I live in a major metro area with a facility for both very nearby so I’d definitely gauge my experience as an example for your own.
Comment by Shelby — Jun 15th 2009 @ 6:30 pm
I have a unique vantage point, so I thought I’d way in. I recieve Blockbuster, my sister (who lives in the same household) gets Netflix. We both have 3 at a time, unlimited (I have no in-store), she pays $1.25 more. She has to pay for Blu-Ray, but I get them free. I can also get free HD DVDs (I’ve never used this service).

The turnaround is about the same so no complaints from that. However, often (and I mean often) Blockbuster would stop sending me dvds. I had to e-mail them about this problem about 5 times (I know, I’m a masochist). The response was always the same “We apologize for the error, we will fix it. Please be sure to keep enough available movies on your list so that we may be able to send you the next dvd” It always sounded like it was my fault. On the 4th time, I mentioned that maybe it would be better for me to switch to Netflix, and they gave me a free month, so that was cool. I also sent them an e-mail asking if I get a free in-store once a month like they used to, the said no, but sent me 1 free in-store anyways.

I have quite a few “very long wait”s on my list (My sister has none). If I’m nice to my sister, she will request an unavailable dvd through Netflix for me. The last one, “Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog” wasn’t carried through Blockbuster, but had a very long wait through Netflix. She requested it, and it only took a week to come, meanwhile, I’ve been waiting up to 6 months for some Very long wait to change to simply “long wait”.

I know this is a long post, and I’m sorry for that. We, too, don’t have cable or dish. We swap DVDs and watch TV shows on the internet (Gray’s Anatomy and Desperate Housewives) or wait for them to come out on DVD. Yes, we sometimes miss TV, but we both prefer our DVD clubs. But I’m starting to think I should switch…
Comment by fluffy8u — Jun 22nd 2009 @ 5:30 pm
I was with Netflix when it first came out, then switched to Blockbuster. Liked it at first, but loved the streaming movies and quicker, nicer service of Netflix. My Blockbuster queue was always telling me movies had a “long wait” or “unavailable.” Really common popular titles. Netflix gets my movies out so much faster, and had lots of problems exchanging my mail rentals in store, which is the whole reason I went with Blockbuster!!! Netflix is on top of it and I am switching over to them again. Whoo hoo! GO NETFLIX.
Comment by Elizabeth — Jun 25th 2009 @ 2:26 am
I have blockbuster’s total access with the three out at a time. For the most part I have been pretty happy with it, but now with the in-store rentals counting against the queue (as mentioned by several others) the turn around time is getting pretty slow and it’s definately hurt the service.

Recently, however, they decided to make it even worse. Apparently, if you have a movie at the top of your queue that has a wait, blockbuster will wait 2 or 3 days to ship your next movie to see if that top movie becomes available. I hadn’t gotten a movie for a few days and checked my queue the other day and found that they hadn’t even sent a new movie, though I’d turned two movies in three days before at a store. So, my queue actually had no movies checked out. I asked customer service why and they explained about waiting to see if the top movie becomes available and told me I should have all available movies at the top of my queue in order for them to ship them quickly. WHAT? I don’t have a queue so I can log in every day and manually update it. I wrote them back about how stupid their policy is and they sent me what was basically a copy/paste of the first response. This isn’t the first time I’ve had less than satisfactory customer service.

So, JDB, you wanted to know about the customer service of these two. Well, I don’t know about Netflix, but blockbuster’s customer service sucks.

Anyway, I was thinking about switching to Netflix and after reading this article and everyone’s comments. I think I’ll switch. See ya blockbuster. You sank your own ship.
Comment by My Compuer Coupons — Jul 2nd 2009 @ 1:16 am
I’ve never been a member of Blockbuster, but one of their biggest selling points, imho, is the store exchange. We don’t have a BB anywhere near us, so that point is moot.

My husband and I became members of Netflix about two months ago, give or take, and I LOVE it. I can not only get dvds through the mail, but I can also stream them onto my laptop. Their streaming selection could improve some, sure, but it saves me time and money. The only video store in my town is a Hastings and they charge over 3.50 per new release, and I’m terrible about remembering when they are due back. So, I always have late fees and they add up fast!

I was doing a bit of research, and considering in switching to BB for a while to see if they had a bigger selection, but after reading many different things, such as this one. I think I will stick with Netflix, and I will do so quite happily.
Comment by Laurie — Jul 17th 2009 @ 11:26 pm
Reading this was like a scary case of DeJa Vu. Did I write this myself?????

I agree 100% with everything you have said. I will say that the prices are actually equal considering folks with BluRays pay an extra 3 bucks for Netflix, while it is included in the more expensive BlockBuster Plan.

In regards to RedBox, the idea is good, but the selection will never really be there besides new release type movies.

And on the topic of Kiosks, BlockBuster has officially entered the market with their own. Hoping to have half the Number of RedBox Kiosks by the end of 2010.
Comment by G. Massey — Sep 1st 2009 @ 5:41 pm
One more advantage for Blockbuster now:
Netflix raised blue ray price several months agao no matter you rent one or not, Blockbust doesn’t charge extra for blue-rays.

And now you don’t have to return exchanged discs to store before you recieve regular plan discs.

I rent a lot blue rays, so 5 ins tore exchanges with less subscription fees for Blockbuster than Netflix makes my choice very clear: Blockbuster.
Comment by switched — Sep 2nd 2009 @ 8:13 pm
I found out today that Blockbuster’s exchange disc no longer counts against queue, which is a big plus for Blockbuster.
And even for a one disc plan, there are 5 exchanges per month.
Comment by switched — Sep 2nd 2009 @ 8:18 pm
NETFLIX, NETFLIX, NETFLIX!!!!!! They ship the day they receive your movie. Blockbuster gives up to two days.
Comment by shann934 — Sep 29th 2009 @ 1:49 pm
I have blockbuster online and up until about 4-5 months ago was happy with it. – It used to be that if I exchanged a DVD in store it would trigger the next movie in my queue to ship. This no longer happens. The movie I exchange is what counts against my 3 out at a time plan. That was the first negative thing about them that I kind of got used to but now it takes 2 business days to ship out available DVDs… It was never that slow. . . Not sure whats going on but I’m looking into maybe trying out netflix.
Comment by pooneej — Sep 29th 2009 @ 7:37 pm

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