Every comparison of these two you will find online says Netflix is much cheaper. Every one of them is working from prices that changed in September.
We checked five, all dated 2026. All five had Netflix’s cheapest tier at £5.99 or £4.99. It went up to £7.99 on 4 September 2026, a rise of a third, and that was Netflix’s second increase of the year.
Most of them also list NOW Entertainment at £9.99, which is the price of a different membership. Plain Entertainment is £7.99.
So the comparison everyone is making — £5.99 against £9.99 — does not exist. The real one is £7.99 against £7.99, and it produces a different answer.
Figures below checked 6 October 2026.
What they actually cost
| Netflix | NOW | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard with Ads | £7.99 | Entertainment | £7.99 |
| Standard | £13.99 | Entertainment & HBO Max | £9.99 |
| Premium | £20.99 | Cinema | £9.99 |
| — | — | Sports | £34.99, or £14.99 a day |
| — | — | Boost | £6 on top |
Level at the entry point. Which makes the next part the one that matters.
Both cheap tiers are crippled, in different ways
Neither company advertises this, and in both cases it is the thing that decides the comparison.
| Netflix £7.99 | NOW £7.99 | |
|---|---|---|
| Picture | 1080p Full HD | Standard definition |
| Devices at once | 2 | 1 |
| Downloads | Yes, but capped (reportedly 15 a month) | Not applicable |
| Adverts | Yes | Yes, on demand |
Netflix’s cheapest tier does download, which many comparisons get wrong — but it is capped. The figure usually quoted is 15 titles a month across two devices: fine for a holiday, thin for regular commuting. Netflix does not publish a download limit for its ad-supported tier, so that figure is widely reported rather than confirmed — treat it as indicative and check your own account.
NOW’s standard tier is standard definition on one device. That is NOW’s own description, not ours, and on a large television it looks exactly as bad as it sounds.
Fixing the NOW problem costs £6 a month for Boost, which brings Full HD, two streams and no adverts on demand. So the honest like-for-like is:
- Netflix Standard with Ads: £7.99, Full HD, two streams, downloads capped (reportedly 15 a month)
- NOW Entertainment with Boost: £13.99, Full HD, two streams
Netflix wins the price comparison after all, by six pounds a month — but for a different reason than anyone has been saying. Our guide to whether NOW Boost is worth the extra covers the cases where you can do without it, chiefly if you watch on a laptop.
Why the question is slightly wrong anyway
These two are not really alternatives, and treating them as such is how people end up with the wrong one.
NOW exists to sell you Sky content. Sky Atlantic, Sky Cinema, Sky Sports. Netflix does not have any of it and cannot get it, because Sky holds those rights for long terms.
Netflix exists to sell you volume and originals. NOW does not attempt that and never will.
So the useful question is not which one, but whether you need the thing NOW has. If you do, no amount of Netflix substitutes. If you do not, NOW is a narrow service at a full-service price.
What NOW has that Netflix cannot get
Sky Atlantic, and therefore HBO
Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, The Last of Us, Euphoria, The Penguin, True Detective, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Dune: Prophecy.
If a well-known American drama is missing from your Netflix, this is usually where it is.
One honest caveat on NOW’s behalf: HBO Max has been a standalone UK service since March 2026, from £4.99 a month, so NOW is no longer the only route to HBO. It remains the only route to the Sky Atlantic channel and the Sky originals around it. Our guide to watching Sky Atlantic without a Sky contract compares all three routes.
Sky Cinema, which is NOW’s best argument
This is the part that almost never gets mentioned and it is genuinely unanswerable.
Sky Cinema carries three new premieres every week, and films reach it reportedly four to six months after their cinema release.
Netflix’s film catalogue runs well behind that. Netflix buys and makes its own films; it does not get the big cinema releases on anything like that timetable.
So if what you want is recent films rather than Netflix originals, NOW Cinema at £9.99 does something Netflix cannot do at £20.99. Our guide to how long films take to reach streaming in the UK covers the windows across every service.
Live sport
Netflix has none in the UK. NOW has all the Sky Sports channels, and the day pass at £14.99 is the only way in Britain to watch a single match without committing to a season. Our guide to watching the Premier League in the UK covers who holds what.
The other Sky channels
Sky Witness, Sky Comedy, MTV, and a rolling library of Sky originals. Not a reason to subscribe on its own, but it fills out the Entertainment membership more than people expect.
What Netflix has that NOW does not
- Volume. Netflix will not run out. NOW will.
- Originals, continuously. Netflix releases more in a month than NOW’s Sky originals manage in a year.
- Non-English drama. Squid Game, Dark, Money Heist and a deep international catalogue. NOW has essentially nothing here.
- Recommendations that work. Netflix is better at this than anybody, and it matters more than catalogue size.
- Documentary and reality. Both substantial on Netflix, both thin on NOW.
- Proper picture quality on the cheap tier. No £6 surcharge to reach Full HD.
The arrangement most households should take
Not one or the other. Netflix permanently, NOW in bursts.
Netflix’s value is continuous, so there is always a reason to hold it. NOW’s value is specific and occasional: a series on Sky Atlantic, a fortnight of Cinema over Christmas, a run of fixtures. It is the only major service genuinely built for picking up and putting down.
One warning. Take NOW at full price if you intend to leave. The advertised £4.99 carries a six-month minimum term, and twelve months on Sports, and cancelling inside one does not release you. Three pounds more a month is a fair price for actually being able to leave, and our guide to NOW UK prices sets out which plans commit you. Our guide to cancelling NOW covers getting out, including that Boost cancels separately.
Before you stack them, do this sum
If you find yourself holding Netflix and NOW and Disney+ at once, you are close to Sky territory and should check.
NOW Entertainment with Boost, Netflix Standard and Disney+ comes to roughly £33 a month. Sky Stream starts at about £17 for its Entertainment package on a 31-day rolling contract and carries considerably more television.
It is not a clean comparison — Sky Stream will not give you Netflix originals — but if you are stacking three subscriptions for Sky content plus Netflix, the arithmetic is worth doing properly. Our comparison of NOW, Sky Stream, Sky Glass and Sky Q works through it, including the fact that Sky Q came off Sky’s website in December 2025.
So which should you pick?
Netflix, if you are picking one. More to watch, better value at the entry tier, no surcharge to get out of standard definition, and it will not run out.
NOW, if you specifically want Sky. HBO drama, recent films at three premieres a week, or live sport. Nothing else in Britain offers those without a long contract.
Both, if you can — but not continuously. Netflix all year, NOW when there is a reason.
Neither, if the budget is tight. iPlayer, ITVX and Channel 4 carry a great deal for nothing, as our guide to free streaming in the UK sets out.
Common questions
Is NOW cheaper than Netflix?
At the headline price they are level, both £7.99. But NOW’s standard tier is standard definition on one device, so adding the £6 Boost makes it £13.99 against Netflix’s £7.99.
Which has more to watch?
Netflix, by a wide margin, and it releases far more. NOW is narrow by design.
Can I get Game of Thrones on Netflix UK?
No. It needs NOW, a Sky package, or an HBO Max subscription direct from £4.99.
Does NOW have newer films than Netflix?
Yes. Sky Cinema carries three new premieres a week, with films arriving a few months after cinemas. Netflix’s film catalogue runs well behind that.
Does NOW have a contract?
Not at full price. Every advertised discount carries a six-month minimum term, or twelve on Sports.
Should I have both?
Netflix permanently and NOW in bursts is the sensible arrangement. NOW is built for that in a way no other service is.
Why do other comparisons say Netflix is £5.99?
Because they have not been updated since the 4 September 2026 rise. Netflix put its UK prices up twice in 2026.
The short version
They cost the same at the headline price, and Netflix wins once you add the £6 Boost that NOW effectively requires to get out of standard definition. But they are not substitutes: NOW is the only route to Sky Atlantic, to three new film premieres a week, and to live sport without a contract. Keep Netflix all year and take NOW when there is something you actually want — at full price, so you can leave.
For NOW in full, see our complete guide to NOW and Sky UK, and for how both sit against Prime Video and Disney+, our guide to UK streaming services compared.
