blockbustered

The race has been being run for a couple years now. Blockbuster may not have Wal-Mart behind them, like Netflix does, but they have Total Access! Like with anything, there are loud and happy fans on both sides and both sides have their critics that can be just as loud. What you need to know is what you want. It doesn’t matter how great a feature is if you don’t need it.

Really think about how many movies you will be watching per month, so you can get the right plan. If you have lots of time to devote to movie watching, get yourself signed up for one of the bigger plans. Remember, you can always change your plan later to a smaller one if you need to. Starting out with more than one movie can keep the new movie flow constant if you return them at different times.

So let’s compare these Blockbuster and Netflix by features.

Plans and price per month for unlimited number of movies:

* Blockbuster-$9.99 to $23.99 per month for 1-4 movies at one time
* Netflix–$9.99 to $47.99 per for 1-8 movies at one time
* Both-free two week trials

Plans and price per month for limited number of movies:

* Blockbuster-$5.99 for two movies per month and $7.99 for three movies per month.
* Netflix-$4.99 for two movies per month
* Both-movies are rented one at a time

Accounts types:

* Blockbuster-Total Access offers flexibility by allowing returns at participating stores
* Netflix-offers separate rental queues so different family member or housemates can have their own lists

Movie availability:

* Blockbuster-70+ thousand movie titles
* Netflix-75+ thousand movie titles
* Both-titles include TV shows and unrated movies

Bonuses:

* Blockbuster-coupons for free in-store rental
* Netflix-none

One of the best part of on-line DVD rental is that there are no late fees! So even with the plans that have a limited number of rentals, you can keep them for extended times without that extra charge. I wonder if anyone has done totaled how much an average movie renter pays on late fees. Of course, there is the obsessive/really wise movie renter who has them in precisely on time and never pays late fees. Most of us renters are busy with our life and allow the return date to pass and then we frantically search the house, return it and with heads hung, pay the late fees. Those days are now gone!