The best streaming services, according to hackers
20 streaming services were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 3 earn the Hacker Approved badge.
Top picks
The three most recommended streaming services with the badge. Each figure is 5 people. RecommendsCriticizes One comment
Pays creators directly
People recommend Nebula as a curated alternative to YouTube where subscribers pay creators directly. Critics say its catalog is narrow, with few genres and languages.
Quality programming for adults and kids
People recommend PBS for high-quality programming for both adults and children, documentaries and science shows, and public-media funding. Critics say it is politically biased.
Large selection of films and documentaries
Free with a library card, with a large ad-free catalog of films and documentaries. Most common caveat: selection is smaller than major streaming services.
All 20 streaming services, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Approval share is recommenders out of everyone who gave an opinion; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 13, in which someone recommended it.
| Rank | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | YouTube Premium | 197 | 195 | 50% | 13 | 10 yrs10 owners | — |
| 2 | Netflix | 181 | 538 | 25% | 12 | 15 yrs10 owners | — |
| 3 | Nebula | 58 | 17 | 77% | 12 | 2 yrs5 owners | Approved |
| 4 | HBO | 32 | 32 | 50% | 7 | — | — |
| 5 | Amazon Prime Video | 29 | 114 | 20% | 11 | — | — |
| Tied 6 | Disney+ | 23 | 150 | 13% | 9 | 1 yr3 owners | — |
| Tied 6 | PBS | 23 | 10 | 70% | 9 | — | Approved |
| 8 | Apple TV+ | 22 | 20 | 52% | 9 | — | — |
| 9 | Kanopy | 13 | 1 | 93% | 5 | — | Approved |
| 10 | Paramount+ | 11 | 35 | 24% | 6 | — | — |
| Tied 11 | Tubi | 9 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | — |
| Tied 11 | Hulu | 9 | 30 | 23% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 13 | Dropout | 8 | 1 | 89% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 13 | MUBI | 8 | 5 | 62% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 15 | Peacock | 7 | 15 | 32% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 15 | HBO Max | 7 | 35 | 17% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 17 | ESPN | 6 | 6 | 50% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 17 | Apple One | 6 | 5 | 55% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 19 | Criterion Channel | 5 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 19 | Pluto TV | 5 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment over the past year. Someone who praises the same streaming service in five threads counts once.
The badge goes to streaming services that at least 10 people recommend, with recommenders outnumbering critics at least 2 to 1, recommended in at least 4 of the 13 months.
Rankings are never for sale. We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. It never changes the order.