With the rise of on-demand streaming services, more options than ever compete for your viewing time and subscription fees. Two major contenders in this space are Vudu and Amazon Prime Video. But how do you decide which one is the better choice for your needs?
I’ve subscribed to both services extensively over the past few years. In this comprehensive guide, I’ll compare and contrast key features of Vudu and Amazon Prime Video to help you determine the best streaming service for your preferences and budget.
Quick Overview
Vudu – Walmart-owned on-demand platform for buying/renting new release movies & shows
Key Vudu Features:
- No subscription required
- New releases available early
- Rent or purchase movies & shows
- Some free ad-supported content
Amazon Prime Video – Included video service with Amazon Prime subscription
Key Prime Video Features:
- Included with Prime membership
- Original and exclusive programming
- Stream thousands of movies & shows
- Mobile downloads for offline viewing
Based on multiple first-hand experiences using both platforms extensively, this guide will explore:
- Content libraries and availability
- Streaming quality and device support
- Online purchase/rental capabilities
- Mobile app features
- Pricing and overall value
We’ll weigh the pros and cons of each service to determine whether Vudu or Amazon Prime Video aligns better with your preferences as a cord-cutting consumer.
Content Catalog Comparison
Both Vudu and Prime Video aim to supplement their collections of popular network and studio content with original and exclusive programming. But in terms of overall catalog size and availability of the latest movie releases, Vudu currently holds a slight edge.
Movie Catalogs
Vudu promotes its catalog of over 10,000 movies available in 4K HDR resolution when available. This includes many new theatrical releases accessible to rent or buy the same day they hit theaters through Vudu’s apps, including Vudu on Firestick.
Meanwhile, Amazon claims tens of thousands of titles available via Prime Video. However these numbers seem to include their entire store catalog of purchasable/rental titles, rather than just the subset streamable with a Prime membership.
Based on my firsthand comparisons, Vudu simply offers better availability and selection of the latest major movie releases. That said, Prime Video still houses an immense collection of movies spanning classics, award winners and popular franchises. Their selections represent an ideal hybrid of familiar comfort titles and hidden gems waiting to be discovered.
TV Show Catalogs
In terms of television series, Prime Video boasts thousands of included shows with the Prime membership. From past seasons of network series to their own award-winning originals, their catalog leaves little to be desired for TV fans.
Vudu conversely focuses less on television series in their streaming catalog. While you can certainly still purchase full seasons or individual episodes via their store, their platform seems more tailored to the movie lover.
If binge-watching shows is vital to your streaming priorities, Prime Video easily takes the win here for included catalog depth and original programming.
Streaming Quality
Both Vudu and Prime Video support up to 4K Ultra HD resolution given a compatible display device and sufficient internet speeds.
In my experience comparing streams on a 4K television, their UHD picture quality seemed comparable given similarly-coded titles available on both platforms. That said, a couple subjective impressions emerged:
- Vudu streams seemed to handle darker scenes better in terms of color banding artifacts.
- Prime Video was a hair quicker at ramping streams up to maximum available resolution
But these differences would likely go unnoticed by casual viewers. Bottom line – both deliver excellent 4K HDR streaming when available.
As for audio, Prime Video currently supports 5.1 surround sound at most. Vudu ups the ante with support for Dolby Atmos object-based surround on selected titles. For home theater owners with Atmos-enabled equipment, Vudu delivers a clear win in potential sound quality.
Compatible Devices
You can access both Vudu and Prime Video across a wide spectrum of media streamers, smart TV platforms, mobile devices and web browsers.
However Vudu holds the edge in terms of Device reach with apps available across all major platforms:
- Roku
- Apple TV
- Chromecast
- Amazon Fire TV
- Android TV
- LG webOS Smart TVs
- Samsung Smart TVs
- iOS Mobile
- Android Mobile
The only limitation of Vudu’s device support is an absence on Linux based platforms.
Meanwhile, Prime Video’s availability is hurt by lack of support for Google Chromecast or Android TV. And their mobile apps remain limited to Android and Fire OS devices only.
So Vudu takes the category for most ubiquitous access across smart TVs, streamers and mobile devices alike.
Online Rentals & Purchases
One of Vudu’s biggest unique selling points lies with its Core capabilities as an à la carte movie store. Prime Video conversely focuses on streaming included titles to subscribers rather than direct sales.
On Vudu, you can choose to either rent a movie for $5 or less, or buy it outright to own digitally usually for under $20. Either option grants access to stream the title indefinitely with no due dates or late fees to worry about. Owned titles can be downloaded locally on mobile devices as well.
Rentals allow access for 30 days once started, while purchases are yours to keep and stream forever. This gives great appeal to fans maintaining digital libraries of owned content. And the ability to rent all the latest releases is alluring given theaters remain inaccessible or undesirable to many right now.
Amazon does maintain its own store for buying and renting titles outside one’s Prime benefits. But the experience feels more tacked on there compared to Vudu’s seamless checkout and streaming.
Mobile App Capabilities
Vudu, Prime Video and Amazon Shopping apps are all available free for iOS and Android mobile devices.
On the app front, Prime Video holds a couple advantages:
- The ability to download select titles for offline playback comes included with a Prime membership. Great for keeping kids entertained on road trips when data is unavailable.
- X-Ray gives cool supplementary IMDB-powered information on cast, characters, music and trivia while streaming/viewing.
However Vudu has one mobile capability unmatched by Amazon – Disc to Digital. This uses your mobile device’s camera to easily scan your existing DVD/Blu-ray collections. Any eligible titles can then be imported into your Vudu library in digital format.
This feature makes building a digital catalog a breeze for disc collectors. Having immediate access to my entire collection on the go remains a joy of Vudu I’ve yet to see matched anywhere else.
Pricing & Plans
Vudu operates on a pay-per-title model with no cost or commitments to stream complimentary ad-supported movies. Rentals and purchases grant full mobile access with prices comparable to competing stores.
Amazon Prime Video comes included with an Amazon Prime subscription covering free shipping, music, photos and more. At $139/year, the video library alone may not justify the now inflated price.
Vudu Pricing
- No subscription fees
- Free movies w/Ads
- Rentals from $3.99
- Digital purchases from $9.99
Amazon Prime Pricing
- $139/year for full Prime access
- Prime Video included perk
- Amazon video store rents/sells at similar pricing to Vudu
If you regularly shop Amazon or use other Prime perks like music or Kindle books, the video library adds nice complimentary value. But for streaming alone, shelling out over $100 yearly is harder to swallow given the breadth of cheaper alternatives.
On price alone, Vudu clearly comes out ahead for cost-conscious streamers. You need only pay for the specific videos you want to own or view once.
Which Service Should You Choose?
To recap the central pros of each service:
Vudu Pros
- Huge catalog of new release movies to buy or rent
- Excellent streaming quality with Dolby Vision & Atmos
- Disc to Digital conversion through mobile app
- Accessible across nearly all streaming devices
- Very affordable à la carte pricing
To aid your research in weighing the pros and cons, check out this hands-on Vudu review detailing one user’s experience with the platform.
Amazon Prime Video Pros
- Included with Prime subscription perks
- Award-winning original & exclusive series
- X-Ray extras and offline downloads on mobile
- Large collection of movies & TV series to stream
So which streaming video service reigns supreme in this battle? The winner is…it depends!
If you want the included video perk of a versatile Prime subscription, or consider original series a top priority, then Prime Video becomes an obvious choice.
But for those that mainly watch big-screen movies and appreciate having the latest releases immediately available, Vudu better satisfies that itch at an unmatched value. It remains my personal go-to streaming destination due to unbeatable film selection and digital ownership capabilities.
That said, many cord-cutters stand to benefit from both services meeting different preferences. The two platforms ultimately complement one another well when bundled.
I hope breaking down their distinguishing strengths and key features assists fellow streaming devotees in choosing the best service or pairing to meet your needs. Vudu and Prime Video both have fantastic interfaces, apps and growing catalogs worthy of anyone’s viewing time.
Now it’s just a matter of selecting which platform to subscribe your dollars toward based on personal priorities. Feel free to reach out with any other questions comparing your options beyond what’s covered here!
