How much does Apple TV Plus cost? And how does it compare with Netflix and Amazon Prime Video?

After months of teasers, Apple TV Plus is finally here. But one of the key questions to consider before signing up is how much it costs compared to Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, its two biggest rivals.

The first thing to mention is that there are a few ways to get Apple TV Plus for free. If you purchase a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac or iPod Touch from September 10 onwards, you’ll get Apple TV Plus free for a year. You can also get Apple TV Plus for free if you’re on Apple’s £4.99 per month Apple Music student plan.

If you don’t fall into either of those groups, a seven-day free trial is open to everyone. After that, a subscription to Apple TV Plus will cost £4.99 per month. That adds up to £59.88 over the course of a year.

With Family Sharing, you’ll be able to share one Apple TV Plus subscription with five other members of your family, and you’ll all be able to stream content simultaneously. Without Family Sharing, you’ll only be able to access Apple TV Plus on one device at a time.

So how does the price of Apple TV Plus compare with those of Apple’s biggest streaming rivals?

Related: How to cancel Apple TV Plus before your free trial ends

Netflix

The biggest of the bunch, Netflix, also offers a free trial, but it lasts 30 days. After that, there are three streaming tiers to choose from:

• Basic (one screen at a time, max quality SD) − £5.99
• Standard (up to two screens at a time, max quality HD) − £8.99 per month
• Premium (up to four screens at a time, max quality 4K HDR) − £11.99 per month

To sign up for Netflix’s free trial, follow this link, choose the right plan for you (details below), enter your payment details, and set up an account using an email address and password.

Related: How to cancel Netflix

Amazon Prime Video

Amazon also offers a 30-day free trial for Prime Video, but if you’re a student you can take advantage of a six-month free trial.

However, as well as access to Amazon’s streaming platform, you’ll unlock Amazon’s range of Prime membership perks, including one-day delivery on millions of items, ad-free music streaming with Prime Music, unlimited photo storage, and early access to Lightning Deals.

After this, things get a little messy. Amazon offers a £5.99 a month Prime Video-only subscription, but it doesn’t make a big song and dance about it.

Instead, it bigs up its Prime subscription, which costs either £7.99 per month, or £79 a year. This includes all of those Prime membership perks mentioned above.

Students, however, can pay £39 per year for Amazon Prime, rather than £79.

All subscription options allow you to watch stream up to three titles at the same time using the same Amazon account. However, you can only stream the same title on one device at a time. Here’s what you can watch on Prime Video right now.