Apple TV+ Ranks 6th in Top Streaming Services by Subscriber Count

Netflix may be a household name and the first to pop into their head when someone thinks “streaming service”, but it is far from the only player in the industry anymore. Newsweek has put together a list of the top streaming services right now, ranked by subscriber count.

It’s worth noting Apple ranks 6th with apparently 33.6 million subscribers for Apple TV+; it’s unclear how many of these are customers with free one-year trials from eligible product purchases.

Note: All subscriber counts referenced are from each of the services’ Q1 2021 earnings calls, barring Apple TV+. 

1. Netflix

Latest subscriber count: 207.64 million

Netflix still leads the pack with a little over 200 million subscribers across the globe. Home of celebrated originals like Stranger Things, Money Heist, and The Witcher, Netflix has been bracing itself for fierce competition since as far back as 2019 when formidable competitors like Apple TV+ entered the fray.

According to its latest earnings call, the leading streaming service only gained 4 million subscribers in Q1 2021, down from the 16 million new subscribers it bagged in the same time last year with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic.

2. Amazon Prime Video

Latest subscriber count: 200 million

Amazon is fighting a war on every front with every big name in the tech space, all while nipping at Netflix’s heels and steadily picking up pace. Notably, Amazon Prime Video’s numbers are considerably bolstered by the fact that it comes as a free add-on to Amazon Prime.

3. Disney+

Latest subscriber count: 100 million

With a slew of well-received Marvel content (plus even more on the way) and other strong Disney properties on the platform, Disney+ has been unprecedented headway. The streamer has amassed 100 million subscribers in just 19 months.

4. HBO Max

Latest subscriber count: 44.2 million

HBO Max is seeing slow but steady growth, especially with a number of new big-ticket films like Godzilla vs. Kong and Zack Snyder’s Justice League releasing exclusively on the platform before making their way elsewhere.

5. Hulu

Latest subscriber count: 39.4 million

Also a property of Disney, Hulu’s subscriber base is limited by geography as the service is only available in the U.S.

6. Apple TV+

Latest subscriber count: 33.6 million

Apple has been pretty tight-lipped about how many subscribers the tech giant’s streaming platform has, but Ampere Analysis puts the streamer at 33.6 million subscribers at the end of 2019, and an estimate of 40 million subscribers by 2020’s end from Statista.

Apple TV+ has a strong content slate and award-winning originals, but it should be noted that Apple gives away a free one-year subscription to the service with the purchase of every new device.

7. Peacock

Latest subscriber count: 33 million

Peacock has lost out on a lot of potential customers with its originals being delayed due to the pandemic, but the streamer may see a significant boom in subscribers now that hit comedy The Office has moved to the platform from Netflix.

8. Paramount+

Latest subscriber count: <36 million

ViacomCBS’s entire streaming platform, which consists of Showtime, BET+, and Paramount+, has 36 million subscribers in total. How many of those belong to Paramount+, however, hasn’t been disclosed.