Disney+ and Apple TV+ both launched in November 2019, though the former made more of a splash and quickly collected over 150 million subscribers. But does that mean that Disney+ is better than Apple TV+?

With so many streaming services to choose from, it can be hard to know where to best spend your money. As such, we're going to compare Disney+ against Apple TV+ in a variety of categories, like content, availability, price, and more, to see which one is best.

Disney+ vs. Apple TV+: Movies and TV Shows

In the US, Disney+ only hosts first-party content from The House of Mouse. In case you weren't aware of Disney's monopolization of the entertainment industry, that's a lot of brands. It includes Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic.

In some territories, Disney+ also includes the Star brand, which offers more adult-orientated content from studios like ABC, 20th Century Studios, and Searchlight Pictures. In the US, this is available through the separate streaming service Hulu.

Alongside most of Disney's historical work, Disney+ also includes original movies and TV shows only available on the platform. Some highlights include Hawkeye, The Beatles: Get Back, Andor, and Monsters at Work.

Disney+'s library streams in varying quality; newer content is more likely to support a higher resolution. Quality ranges from 1080p to 4K, with support for HDR10, Dolby Vision, and IMAX Enhanced (a 1.90:1 aspect ratio) on some titles.

The majority of Apple TV+'s content is exclusive and original, though it does license a small handful of third-party content. Since Apple didn't have an existing back catalog to pull from like Disney, its content offering at launch wasn't enormous. Nowadays, things are better, but it's still slight in comparison.

The nice thing about Apple TV+ is that you won't have seen its movies and TV shows elsewhere and, generally, they're high quality. You can watch things like Ted Lasso, Bad Sisters, Foundation, and Severance. Some of its earlier releases, like The Morning Show and Dickinson, have had multiple seasons.

Nevertheless, if you're looking for sheer quantity, Disney+ wins out. However, that skews predominantly to families and younger viewers in the US. While Apple TV+ does have some children's content, it's primarily for adults.

Everything on Apple TV+ is available in 4K HDR/Dolby Vision, with most of it supporting Dolby Atmos. Assuming you have the right gear, movies and shows will look and sound incredible.

Winner: Disney+

Disney+ vs. Apple TV+: Price

apple tv+ pricing

Apple TV+ is one of the cheapest streaming services from a major company. It costs $4.99/month or $49.99/year. Thankfully, it only offers a single tier, so everyone gets access to the same features.

There are ways to get Apple TV+ for free, though these are subject to change:

  • There's a standard seven-day trial on a monthly subscription.
  • On purchase of many Apple devices, you get three months free.
  • If you have the Apple Music Student plan, you get Apple TV+ free for as long as you maintain the Apple Music subscription.

If you're hooked in the Apple ecosystem, the cheapest way to get Apple TV+ is through Apple One. This bundles services like Apple Music, Apple Arcade, and Apple TV+ together for $14.95/month.

disney plus bundle

While Disney+ offered a free trial at launch, it no longer does. Now, you must pay $7.99/month or $79.99/year. That's still reasonably priced, but more than Apple TV+ on a pure numbers game.

Like Apple TV+, there is only one membership tier, though at some point Disney+ plans to introduce an ad-supported tier that will presumably be cheaper.

Alternatively, you can sign up for The Disney Bundle. This includes Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. It costs $13.99/month or $19.99/month if you want Hulu without ads.

Sporadically, Disney+ uses a system called Premier Access, though it seems to have phased this out nowadays. This is where you pay a one-off cost for early access to something. For example, Mulan (2020) cost $29.99 within this scheme. However, wait a few months and it becomes available to everyone as part of the standard subscription.

Winner: Apple TV+

Disney+ vs. Apple TV+: User Interface and Discovery

disney plus homepage

Disney+ has a simple and clean interface. At the top, a scrolling carousel highlights recently released content. Beneath this are tiles for the main Disney brands. Further down, the content splits by row ("Recommended For You", "Continue Watching", and so on). It's the interface that Netflix popularized and it works equally well here.

You can search for something specific, or browse by type (movie or show) and genre. There are also Disney+ collections to explore that group themed content together.

apple tv+ homepage

Apple TV+ has an equally simple interface, with content accessible through tiles separated by rows. It gains points for putting your "Continue Watching" content at the top, which makes it quick to jump back into something.

However, partly to hide its lack of content, it often uses entire rows to highlight one show or movie, which isn't a great use of space. Furthermore, depending on your device, it can be confusing when the app launches and first shows you Apple TV content (which includes rentals and purchases from other studios), rather than just Apple TV+.

Both Disney+ and Apple TV+ offer a pretty similar viewing interface. There's nothing fancy like Amazon's X-ray feature, but you can press a button to skip intros and track forward and backwards with a preview.

Winner: Disney+

Disney+ vs. Apple TV+: Extra Features

apple tv+ show overview with download icons

Apple TV+ offers various extra features that enhance the service. This includes the ability to download anything for offline viewing on iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, or Mac, which is great if you have a dodgy internet connection. It's a shame you need an Apple device for this, though.

Elsewhere, you can use parental controls to lock mature content, build a watchlist, and enable subtitles and customize their appearance. These are fairly standard streaming features, but are always good to have.

While you can share your subscription with others, you must do this through Apple's Family Sharing service. This requires everyone to have their own Apple ID, which is a hassle.

disney+ groupwatch

Disney+ has the same extra functionality as Apple TV+, through often trumps it on convenience. For example, offline downloads supports Android and additional profiles can be created within moments from a single account.

Disney+ also has a watch party feature called GroupWatch. This lets you and up to six other Disney+ subscribers remotely watch something simultaneously—perfect for when it's hard to get all your friends in the same room for movie night.

Winner: Disney+

Disney+ vs. Apple TV+: Device Availability

disney+ devices

Disney+ wasted no time in being available on every device under the sun. That includes game consoles, mobiles and tablets, computers, smart TVs, and streaming sticks.

Chances are, if you own a streaming device, you can run Disney+ on it.

apple tv+ devices

Apple TV+ is, of course, easily accessible through all Apple devices, including the Apple TV box, iPhone, iPad, and Mac. You can also watch via your web browser and on other devices like Roku, Fire TV, smart TVs, and game consoles.

The main downside is that Apple has been slow to support a native app on "older" smart TVs. Don't be surprised if you can't find the Apple TV+ available on your TV that you purchased pre-2018.

Additionally, Apple TV+ has no Android app. While you can watch through your mobile's web browser, it's not as streamlined as having a dedicated app.

Winner: Disney+

Disney+ vs. Apple TV+: Which Should You Subscribe To?

Ultimately, the answer to whether Disney+ or Apple TV+ is better comes down to the content. If you want family-orientated viewing, Disney+ is victorious. If you're after more unique, prestige-style content, Apple TV+ might be better.

Then again, don't feel you need to pick one and stick to it. That's the joy of the streaming landscape. You can bounce between the services as needed; watch what you want, move on to the next, then return when more content has arrived.