More people are canceling their cable or satellite television plans in favor of streamers. A good number offer streaming bundles to viewers. For instance, Warner Bros. Discovery plans to bundle its services with HBO Max and Discovery+. The Walt Disney Company also has a bundle, allowing subscribers to tie Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ together for one low price. But what’s the better deal: Disney+ vs Disney Bundle? Subscribing to Disney+ as a standalone, or grouping them as a bundle? Let’s find out the answers.
Disney+ vs. Disney Bundle: Side By Side Comparison:
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| Disney+ | Disney Bundle | |
|---|---|---|
| First Launched | November 12th, 2019 | November 12th, 2019 |
| Price Per Month | $7.99 (ad-supported) $10.99 (ad-free) | $9.99 (ad-supported duo) $12.99 (ad-supported trio) $19.99 (ad-free trio) $69.99 (Hulu + Live TV w/ads) $82.99 (ad-free Hulu + Live TV) |
| Number of Titles | 750+ films, 200+ TV shows (with more than 80 Disney+ original films and TV shows) | Approx. 50,000+ TV episodes and films (with hundreds of Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ original films and TV shows) |
| Number of Subscribers | Approx. 165 million | Approx. 235 million across Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ |
| Number of Simultaneous Streams | 4 | 4 (Disney+) 2 (Hulu) 3 (ESPN+) |
Disney+ vs. Disney Bundle: Key Differences
Looking past these side-by-side specs, it’s worth taking a closer look at the key differences between Disney+ vs. Disney Bundle. From the total cost to pay for each to the size of the library you can access, these are the main distinctions between Disney+ as a standalone and the Disney Bundle.
Monthly pricing
A key difference between Disney+ and the Disney Bundle is that one costs more than the other. However, there’s more to it than the cost factor. Because Disney+ has multiple subscription tiers and the Disney Bundle has as many as five combinations (each with its price), there’s more nuance to it than meets the eye. Disney+ as a standalone service comes at two price points: $7.99 for Disney+ with ads and $10.99 without.
The Disney Bundle, by comparison, is a little bit more complicated. The Disney Plus Bundle Duo will cost you $9.99 a month to get Disney+ and Hulu (both with ad breaks). For the Disney Plus Bundle Trio, you can pay either $12.99 to throw ESPN+ into the mix (all three with ads), or fork over $19.99 a month to remove ads on Disney+ and Hulu. What’s more, the two Hulu + Live TV subscription options add additional price points. It’ll cost you $69.99 or $82.99, depending on whether you want Disney+ and Hulu with ads.
Available Titles
Another distinction is the titles available for Disney+ vs Disney Bundle. Disney+’s library pales in comparison to the size of the cumulative library of the Disney Bundle. In its standalone form, Disney+ offers more than 750 films and more than 200 different TV shows alongside some original films and shows made exclusively for Disney+. This number remains the same whether you subscribe to the ad-free or ad-supported tiers.
With the Disney Bundle, the number of titles increases tremendously. The Disney Bundle Duo includes everything on Disney+ plus everything on Hulu. You get access to roughly 5,000 titles. With the Trio and Hulu + Live TV bundles, that number only grows even higher. You can access a library of more than 50,000 films and TV episodes with the biggest bundles. It’s not a close call: the Disney Bundle has far more available titles than Disney+ as a standalone.
Number of Simultaneous Streams
While it’s hardly the most important thing a streaming service can offer its subscribers, it’s good to know how many simultaneous streams you can expect from streamers. In other words, how many different devices can play titles on the streaming service at a time? If you share an account with friends or family, you should consider this. So, what kind of numbers can you expect with Disney+ vs Disney Bundle?
For Disney+ as a standalone, you can stream on up to four devices simultaneously. This remains the same whether you have the ad-supported or ad-free subscription. The same goes for whether you pick Disney Bundle Duo or the Disney Bundle Trio. Likewise, Hulu offers two simultaneous streams, while ESPN+ offers three. To increase the number of streams, you must subscribe to Hulu + Live TV and pay for the Unlimited Screens add-on. This will only increase your Hulu streams, however.
5 Must-Know Facts About Disney’s Streaming Services
- Warner Bros. Discovery has 95 million subscribers across HBO, HBO Max, and Discovery+, while Disney has 235 million across Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+.
- Disney+ is expected to generate more than $1.75 billion in ad revenue annually by 2025. That number can increase to nearly $9 billion by 2028.
- An estimated 26% of Disney+ subscribers are expected to embrace the service’s new, cheaper, ad-supported subscription tier.
- Across their streaming platforms, Disney is expected to spend well over $10 billion on original films and TV shows.
- Combining all three of Disney’s streaming services, they become the most popular paid streamer on the planet. However, YouTube is the most popular streaming service, with more than 2 billion monthly users.
The History of Disney+
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Given the long-standing success of Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video, it’s not unusual for a movie studio or production company to enter the Streaming Wars. As such, the Walt Disney Company’s decision to create Disney+ is quite understandable (to say the least). As the studio prepares to celebrate its 100th birthday, it’s obvious that Disney knows a thing or two about changing with the times. Not to mention, they understand just how important cross-platforming can be.
After tweaking and tinkering since 2015, the official Disney+ launch date was set for the fall of 2019. Its arrival coincided with a few very successful moves for the Walt Disney Company. For one, about seven years prior, the studio had purchased LucasFilm — thus gaining the rights to Star Wars and Indiana Jones, among other properties. Disney had just acquired 20th Century Fox earlier in 2019. Given their massive growth (both in physical and creative size), Disney+ entered Streaming Wars with real brute force.
Upon its November 2019 launch, Disney+ was betting on billions in original and recently acquired content. Combining this with ad spend, research, and development costs, it wouldn’t be surprising to know Disney+ and its library exceeded $100 billion or more. Naturally, they had nothing to worry about. The Disney name alone was enough to know with absolute certainty the service would be a hit. And a hit it was.
Disney Bundle Debut
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Interestingly enough, at launch, Disney had the foresight to know just how popular streaming bundles would become. Alongside the announcement of Disney+, the Walt Disney Company announced something called “The Disney Bundle.” Cumulatively, Disney has three different streaming services: Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. The so-called Disney Bundle combines two or three of these services into one convenient package, allowing subscribers to enjoy all Disney offers at a discounted price.
At the start, the Disney Bundle was just Hulu and ESPN+ alongside Disney+. Hulu and ESPN+ were the cheaper, ad-supported versions, and the all-in cost was $12.99 a month. In time, Disney also introduced the bundle to Hulu + Live TV subscribers, allowing them to add on Disney+ and ESPN+ at a similarly discounted rate. Then, in late 2021, Disney made Disney+ and ESPN+ an integral part of Hulu + Live TV.
The introduction of an ad-supported, more affordable Disney+ subscription in August of 2022 changed the Disney Bundle. Now, bundlers had many different options instead of the introductory three-part bundle in 2019. You can pick from five bundles: The Disney Bundle Duo (with ads), the Disney Bundle Trio (with ads), the Disney Bundle Trio (without ads), Hulu + Live TV (with ads), and Hulu + Live TV (without ads). Prices range from $9.99 for the ad-supported duo to $82.99 for the ad-free Hulu + Live TV bundle.
Disney+ vs. Disney Bundle: Pros and Cons
| Pros of Disney+ | Cons of Disney+ |
|---|---|
| On the affordable end of streaming services, even with the more expensive ad-free tier | Much less selection compared to rival streamers |
| Exclusive streaming home to Star Wars and Marvel shows and films, both new and old | Not much to offer for adult viewers apart from family and kid’s entertainment |
| Many original Disney shows and movies | Not many older films available to stream |
| One of the most family-friendly streamers |
| Pros of Disney Bundle | Cons of Disney Bundle |
|---|---|
| Get two or three streaming services for the price of one | Several different options and prices can lead to some confusion |
| Massive library of streaming films and TV shows across Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ | Costs more than Disney+ as a standalone |
| Something for every person in your household | Ad-free Hulu + Live TV tier is quite pricey |
| Can be bundled with Hulu + Live TV |
Disney+ vs. Disney Bundle: Which Is Best?
So, Disney+ vs Disney Bundle: which of these two options is ultimately the better deal? If you’re looking at it from the affordability angle, Disney+ is undoubtedly the cheapest as a standalone ad-supported service. However, the ad-free Disney Bundle Trio is the best deal. These services would cost you $10.99 for ad-free Disney+, $14.99 for ad-free Hulu, and $9.99 for ESPN+. Altogether, that’s nearly $40 a month. The ad-free Disney Bundle Trio is just $19.99 by comparison. It’s a savings of more than half, making it a much better deal.
