Netflix Australia vs. Stan: Which is Best For You?

Before you first sign up to a streaming service you don’t really have a strong idea of what they offer, making the decision difficult and potentially wrong for you. Hoping to ease the trouble I went through both Australian versions of the streaming sites to see which works best.

The Layout

If functionality and simplicity are important to you it’s hard to look past Stan’s easy to navigate website. TV, movies and kids – Stan’s three prime categories and their subsequent drop down menu’s makes it super easy to quickly find something you can veg out on for a while. On the other hand, Netflix’s small ‘Browse’ section and disorganised drop down menu can make it difficult to look through the collection on offer other than what has been recommended for you. In saying that, recommendation is a wonderful feature for those who can’t be bothered looking too hard and want something that will be good enough straight away.

TV

Netflix has a great range of original content you can browse including huge shows like House of Cards and their recent series GLOW, it also features a near endless range of network shows like Freaks and Geeks, Summer Heights High and the Office. Its vast collection does seem to me to be going for a much more general viewing experience than the collection that Stan offers. While Stan’s is still quite large, it appears to be considerably smaller than Netflix’s collection. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though as it’s content appears to be more targeted towards certain categories of programs. For example, Stan has a frankly incredibly collection of British comedy sourced from the BBC, it has a whole section dedicated to Louis Theroux and it also hosts a great selection of Australian shows.

Movies

Similar traits extend to each service’s cinematic offerings. Stan has a large collection of classic and cult films but Netflix has the edge when it comes to big box office hits and action movies.

Which One?

If your sensibility tend towards British drama and comedy and you like searching through the lists yourself I would recommend going with Stan, but if you want to get a service that learns what shows you like and serves them up to you without much effort I would recommend going with Netflix. Either way you’re in for a treat.