Is Netflix Worth the Subscription Fees You’re Paying?
CC photo by Marit & Toomis
A while back I posed the question, “how has technology impacted your finances over the last decade?“. A few readers plugged Netflix as a way to cut down on cable TV expenses (by opting to go with Netflix, network TV, and Hulu or some other web video source). But are they getting their money’s worth? Now there’s a tool to help you find out.
If you’ve made the jump to Netflix but have had a hard time determining whether or not you’re getting your money’s worth, you may want to check out Feedflix. From my understanding of how Feedflix works you enter your Netflix account’s RSS feed and it will provide you with usage statistics, including cost/rental and cost/view. Cost per rental or cost per view should be able to tell you if you’re getting your money’s worth.
Here’s a screenshot of the usage statistics you can expect from Feedflix:
How to Determine if You’re Getting the Most out of Netflix
This site should be really useful in determining which Netflix subscription plan to sign up for, if any. It’s also worth noting that Feedflix is free to use. According to Feedflix (and Netflix), the most popular plan appears to be the 3 rentals per month plan:
This from a selection of:
My Thoughts on the Value of the Different Netflix Plans
For a single person or couple, I see no reason why you’d want more than 1 DVD at-a-time because deliveries are so quick. For those with children, perhaps the 2 DVD’s at a time program would make more sense. The only 2 DVD’s per month (1 at a time) plan seems a little constrictive, plus you only get 2 hours of streaming per month.
Readers:
- What’s the most rentals you’ve been able to pull off in a month with Netflix?
- What is your cost per rental or view per month?
- Are you getting your money’s worth with Netflix?
- Have you found a more cost effective alternative for videos than Netflix?
- Which Netflix plan are you on (if any). Take the poll!
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We’re on the 3 at a time plan, and I know we more than get our money’s worth. I don’t watch many movies, but my wife will easily watch 2 or 3 DVDs a week. It seems like every other day there’s a new movie in our mailbox. I do all of my watching while streaming through Xbox.
As an added note, it’s even more of a value since the nearest blockbuster is about 25 miles away, and the only other place closer than that to rent is a little hole in the wall store about 10 miles away, and they have a horrible selection and charge 4 bucks a pop.
Feedflix isn’t working at the moment so I don’t know what our actual stats are, but I’m guessing our cost per DVD is not much more than a dollar.
Also, it’s worth noting that services such as Netflix completely eliminate the need to own movies/tv show sets, aside from your absolute favorites. People buy a lot of movies– but there’s no point in buying movies when you can have whatever you want within two or three days. The three at a time plan is preferred because it allows you to have one movie in the mail, one on it’s way, and one in your player. Of course, this is only applicable to heavy movie watchers.
I live in a college apartment with 4 other roommates. We’re on the 1-at-a-time unlimited plan. The 8.99 divided 5 ways is about $1.80 per person per month. Because the delivery is so fast and reliable we can all put movies on the que that we want. We all have similar tastes in movies so there’s no issue with having to rotate who picks the next movie; plus with the streaming options we can all watch a movie we want on our laptops. And we get about 2 movies in a week. I think it’s a great deal.
I have the plan for myself and have the 1-unlimited package and love it. I am a huge movie buff and get the most out of the package as I can. Every time I get a movie I watch it either that night or the next and ship it out as soon as possible for the next one. Not everyone can or wants to do that, but for me it’s great and has aved me money on rentals, as well as allowed me to watch movies I never would have seen before.
@Kevin I agree, I always enjoy collecting DVD’s but since signing up for Netflix I haven’t bought any. It has cut back my DVD spending as well.
I currently have the 2 at a time package. I’ve had it for almost a year, and when I first started Netflix I watched a TON of movies because I had more free time. For the past 4 months or so I probably haven’t been watching more than 2 or 3 movies a month. However, I still think I save money by having Netflix. I might spend more per movie viewed, but as other commentators said, there are a lot of things I don’t buy because of having Netflix - including DVDs, movie rentals, etc.
Also, I’ve taken advantage of Netflix to watch a lot of independent movies and foreign films, which can’t be found in my small-town video rental stores.
This sounds like an awesome service! Thanks for pointing it out to us!
I’m not currently on Netflix, but that’s because I live alone, and aren’t often at home, what with work & all. :[
great tool!!!!
We just signed up for Netflix about 1.5 months ago. We are on the 1 at a time unlimited plan. It works well for us and I can see how it would cut back on our DVD purchases.
I used to have 3-out-at-a-time plan but recently downgraded it down to 1-out. These days, I only use netflix for their online streaming services.
Now if they could convert all their DVDs for online streaming….
Cool tool thanks for sharing… I know I drag my Netflix membership around some months with little or no value and then some months I’ll wear it out. It would be neat to have a usage report to see how much it is really costing me.
Thanks!
Dave
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