{"id":543953,"date":"2024-07-11T16:31:04","date_gmt":"2024-07-11T14:31:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=543953"},"modified":"2024-07-11T16:31:04","modified_gmt":"2024-07-11T14:31:04","slug":"netflix-versus-showmax-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/broadcasting\/543953-netflix-versus-showmax-2.html","title":{"rendered":"Netflix versus Showmax"},"content":{"rendered":"

Showmax\u2019s packages are more affordable than Netflix, or offer additional features at the same price, even after its price increase<\/a> kicks in on 1 August.<\/p>\n

However, Netflix offers a far more extensive content library, while Showmax focuses on a narrower niche.<\/p>\n

On its most expensive plan, Netflix also provides higher quality video and audio than is available on Showmax.<\/p>\n

Showmax also has a separate mobile-only subscription for the English Premier League that allows subscribers to live-stream all matches.<\/p>\n

Both platforms allow subscribers to download video-on-demand content to watch later.<\/p>\n

They offer similarly-priced mobile-only plans, with Showmax Entertainment Mobile costing R45 per month, while Netflix Mobile is R49.<\/p>\n

These packages allow subscribers to watch content on a single smartphone or tablet.<\/p>\n

Showmax\u2019s mobile-only Premier League service is R69 per month and allows subscribers to stream matches to one device.<\/p>\n

The full Showmax Entertainment package and Netflix Basic are both R99 per month.<\/p>\n

However, Showmax offers full HD (1080p) and streaming to two devices simultaneously, while Netflix Basic is restricted to 720p video quality and streaming to one device.<\/p>\n

Both offer Dolby 5.1 surround sound.<\/p>\n

Showmax also offers combo deals, bundling its Premier League package with its Entertainment plans.<\/p>\n

The mobile-only version of the bundle deal is R99 per month, while a package with the full Showmax Entertainment plan and Premier League is R140 per month.<\/p>\n

Netflix Standard is most similar to Showmax\u2019s Entertainment plan in terms of features but costs R159 per month. It supports 1080p video and streaming to up to two devices simultaneously.<\/p>\n

Netflix Premium is R199 per month and supports up to 4K video quality with high dynamic range (HDR), Dolby Atmos, and up to four simultaneous streams.<\/p>\n

One benefit for South African viewers is that Netflix has elected to keep offering its Mobile and Basic plans locally rather than launch a cheaper Standard plan with ads.<\/p>\n

In locations where Netflix offers its Standard with Ads package, it has started shutting down<\/a> its cheaper Basic plan.<\/p>\n

Content-wise, Showmax has a large selection of African content, with international TV shows and movies from international partners like HBO, Sky, and NBCUniversal.<\/p>\n

Its original content includes popular locally-focused reality TV shows like Real Housewives of Lagos, Nairobi, Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban, and Die Wynlande.<\/p>\n

Showmax also features many local documentaries, such as Devilsdorp, Steinheist, Convict Conman, Tracking Thabo Bester, and Chasing the Sun.<\/p>\n

International shows include HBO\u2019s House of the Dragon, the Last of Us, Succession, and Paramount+\u2019s Yellowstone and Billions.<\/p>\n

Based on figures from JustWatch, Netflix in South Africa has roughly five times more content than Showmax.<\/p>\n

However, there is minimal overlap between the platforms.<\/p>\n

While Netflix\u2019s selection of local content is not nearly as deep, it does have a decent collection of South African shows and movies.<\/p>\n

These include the recently released Heart of the Hunter film and the popular Blood & Water series, which is in its fourth season.<\/p>\n

Netflix also features a show that was filmed in South Africa and is globally popular \u2014 One Piece.<\/p>\n

Besides being shot on location in South Africa, One Piece made extensive use of South African actors for several key recurring roles, and relied on local crew.<\/p>\n

The table below summarises how Netflix and Showmax compare in terms of pricing and features.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Netflix vs Showmax<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Mobile-only packages<\/td>\nPrice<\/td>\nVideo quality<\/td>\nStreams<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Showmax Entertainment Mobile<\/td>\nR45<\/td>\n1080p<\/td>\n1 phone or tablet<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Netflix Mobile<\/td>\nR49<\/td>\n480p<\/td>\n1 phone or tablet<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Showmax Premier League<\/td>\nR69<\/td>\n1080p<\/td>\n1 phone or tablet<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Showmax Entertainment Mobile + Premier League bundle<\/td>\nR99<\/td>\n1080p<\/td>\n1 phone or tablet<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Full packages<\/td>\nPrice<\/td>\nVideo & audio quality<\/td>\nStreams<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Showmax Entertainment<\/td>\nR99<\/td>\n1080p, Dolby 5.1<\/td>\n2 devices<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Netflix Basic<\/td>\nR99<\/td>\n720p, Dolby 5.1<\/td>\n1 device<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Showmax Entertainment (full) + Premier League bundle<\/td>\nR140<\/td>\n1080p, Dolby 5.1 (except live)<\/td>\n^ See above<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Netflix Standard<\/td>\nR159<\/td>\n1080p, Dolby 5.1 \/ Atmos<\/td>\n2 devices<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Netflix Premium<\/td>\nR199<\/td>\n4K+HDR, Dolby 5.1 \/ Atmos \/ Spatial audio<\/td>\n4 devices<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MultiChoice recently hiked the price of its streaming service Showmax. This is how it compares to Netflix.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":521669,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[35,2054,32140],"class_list":["post-543953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-broadcasting","tag-headline","tag-netflix","tag-showmax"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543953"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=543953"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":543955,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543953\/revisions\/543955"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/521669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=543953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=543953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=543953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}