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Peacock Premium vs. Premium Plus: Features of Each Plan and Which Is Better

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Peacock Premium vs. Premium Plus: Features of Each Plan and Which Is Better

A lot of streaming services give you options when signing up. You’ll often see three or four plans with the introduction of ad-supported tiers and varying picture qualities. Each plan’s wording doesn’t help make the decision any easier. Peacock is an excellent example of this. Therefore, you might be asking yourself what’s the difference between Peacock Premium and Premium Plus. What are the features of each plan, and which of the two is the superior pick? Let’s find out!

Peacock Premium vs. Premium Plus: Side-by-Side Comparison

PremiumPremium Plus
Monthly price$4.99$9.99
Annual price$49.99$99.99
AdsYesNo (some exceptions)
Offline downloadsNoYes (some exceptions)
Local NBC channel livestreamNoYes
Full Peacock libraryYesYes

What’s the Difference Between Peacock Premium and Premium Plus?

Moving away from the benefits of each plan above, let’s take things one step further. What’s the difference between Peacock Premium and Premium Plus? Where do the plans cross over, and where do they diverge? From monthly and annual prices to the number of ads, from the ability to download to the option of a live local NBC channel stream, many things differentiate Peacock Premium plans. Let’s explore these in detail below.

Infographic Peacock Premium vs. Peacock Premium Plus

Pricing

A significant difference between Peacock Premium and Peacock Premium Plus is their prices. Premium costs $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year. The monthly plan will cost you about $10 more a year. Peacock Premium Plus, by comparison, costs $9.99 a month. The annual price for this plan is $99.99, or about $20 cheaper than monthly subscriptions. Peacock also had a free ad-supported tier with a limited library but eliminated this option in January 2023.

Ads

People used to flock to streaming services to get away from ads. But, after years of failing to make a profit, many streamers have brought back ads to recoup the billions spent on these services a year. Peacock is no exception to this trend. While the free ad-supported tier is now gone, Peacock still has one plan with ads: Peacock Premium. Conversely, Peacock Premium Plus is almost entirely ad-free. There are some exceptions, such as during live sporting events or live local NBC channel streaming, but most Premium Plus tier is free of ads.

Offline Downloads

Whether you commute to work or school on the train, you need to keep an eye on your monthly data expenditure, or you’re headed out on a road trip with inevitable spotty service, offline downloads are a handy way to watch streaming content without using any Internet or data. Peacock Premium vs Premium Plus have different rules about these offline downloads. Premium doesn’t offer them to its subscribers. Peacock Premium Plus does, though. In fact, Premium Plus subscribers can download up to 25 titles across all their devices simultaneously.

Local NBC Stream

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NBCUniversal has local channels in most major markets. Peacock Premium Plus lets you live stream these channels.

Lastly, we have the option of the 24/7 local NBC channel stream. Maybe you’d like to see the local news as it airs. Or perhaps you’d like to catch the latest episodes of your favorite NBC series live. Maybe you’d like to watch the weekend’s most significant sporting events in your area. Whatever the reason, this local NBC channel livestream can be a great little addition to your Peacock subscription. However, Peacock Premium and Premium Plus are not the same in this department. Premium doesn’t offer it, while Premium Plus does.

The History of Peacock

Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu first made a name for themselves in the streaming world by offering a wide range of television shows and films. It didn’t matter the movie studio, the production company, or the television network behind the film or TV show. These streamers offered it all. However, that logic eventually changed. Now, we see Disney+, Paramount+, HBO Max, and Peacock: streaming services dedicated entirely to one particular network, studio, and company. The last of these, Peacock, is NBCUniversal’s answer to this trend.

In January 2019, NBCUniversal made its plans official: The company would launch its over-the-top streaming service by 2020. It would include original content and titles from the NBCUniversal library and come with free ad-supported and paid ad-free tiers. Eight months later, in September 2019, NBCUniversal named this service Peacock after the company’s iconic logo. The official release date would come another ten months later: July 15th, 2020.

At launch, Peacock was available in three subscription tiers: Peacock, Peacock Premium, and Peacock Premium Plus. The first was free and ad-supported, the second was $4.99 with limited ads, and the third was $9.99 with next-to-no ads. The streamer dropped the free tier, leaving just Peacock Premium vs Premium Plus. Both versions of Peacock have access to the entire library. This includes Peacock’s original series alongside hits from NBC, Hallmark Media, NBC News, WWE, and NBC Sports.

What Happened To Peacock’s Free Tier?

Peacock logo on flatscreen TV.
Peacock went from three subscription tiers to two in January 2023. The NBCUniversal streaming service got rid of its free tier.

If you were an early subscriber to Peacock’s free tier, you might wonder: Am I going to lose my plan? Am I going to have to start paying for Peacock? The answer is somewhat of a complicated beast. In January of 2023, Peacock eliminated the free subscription tier for all new subscribers. If you hadn’t previously signed up for Peacock, you would now be presented with only two options: Premium and Premium Plus. However, if you already subscribed to the free tier before it was removed, you would retain access to it.

In other words, the only way to get Peacock’s free tier is to be grandfathered into it. Peacock and NBCUniversal explained the decision in simple terms. By continuing to offer free subscriptions, Peacock would be at a greater disadvantage than the competition. In other words, the service would be losing money at a much more rapid pace than its closest competitors. The decision to get rid of the free tier to new subscribers might deter some from subscribing in the first place, but it ultimately helps the streamer retain a competitive advantage.

As of this writing, only a handful of streaming services still offer free viewing. Freevee, Amazon’s free and ad-supported service, is probably the most notable, offering original content made in-house. However, Tubi and Roku Channel are just as popular as free streamers. Pluto TV, Crackle, Vudu, and Sling Freestream also occupy space in this market. It’s what the industry calls FAST: free ad-supported television. It’s a crowded space that Peacock didn’t want to be in.

Peacock Premium vs. Premium Plus: 5 Must-Know Facts

  • Peacock is the official and exclusive streaming home of hit comedies The Office and Parks & Recreation. Additionally, Peacock offers access to never-before-seen super-sized episodes of The Office — including deleted scenes and bonus features not found on any other streamer.
  • To recreate the feeling of watching live television, Peacock has many live-streaming “channels” that feature a particular show (or genre of the show) on a 24/7 continuous shuffled loop.
  • One of the most innovative Peacock features is “Watch Together,” which allows groups of people to host watch parties, including a live chat and a simultaneous stream of a show or movie from Peacock’s library.
  • Peacock will be the exclusive streaming home of most 2024 Olympic events. The deal was signed in May of 2023, allowing the streamer plenty of time to prep for the big games next summer.
  • NBCUniversal’s streaming service can create multiple user profiles, including ones explicitly geared toward children. These kid-friendly profiles block any mature content and allow parents to implement additional parental controls based on their preferences.

Peacock Premium vs. Premium Plus: Pros and Cons

Peacock Premium

ProsCons
Only $4.99 a monthHas ads
Includes full Peacock libraryNo offline downloads

Peacock Premium Plus

ProsCons
Includes live stream of local NBC channelMore expensive than the Premium
Almost entirely ad-freeSome programs still have ads

Peacock Premium vs. Premium Plus: Which Is Better?

So, Peacock Premium vs Premium Plus: which one of these Peacock subscriptions is good for you? Peacock Premium costs half the price of Peacock Premium Plus, but it also comes with ad breaks. Peacock Premium Plus is almost entirely ad-free, plus it has offline downloads and the local NBC channel live stream. But it’s twice the price. Ultimately, this higher price is more bang for your buck than the cheaper alternative. Peacock Premium Plus is our big winner.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Peacock Premium?

Peacock Premium is most affordable Peacock subscription tier. It’s priced at $4.99 a month (or $49.99 annually) and comes with ad breaks between movies and television shows. Despite including ads, it offers access to the full Peacock streaming library — including Peacock’s original programming and live-streaming Peacock Channels. However, it lacks the ability to download titles for offline viewing and does not include a live stream of your local NBC affiliate channel.

What's the difference between Peacock Premium vs Premium Plus?

Peacock Premium and Premium Plus are the two options available to Peacock subscribers. The former costs $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year, while the latter costs $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year. Premium comes with ad breaks, while Premium Plus is almost entirely ad-free (save for the ads you will see during sports or other live streams). Peacock Premium Plus also allows for offline downloads, while Premium does not.

Does Peacock Premium have 4K picture quality?

No, Peacock Premium does not offer a 4K picture quality. Its highest picture quality available to stream is 1080p HD (i.e. 2K HD). Peacock Premium Plus, on the other hand, does have 4K UHD picture quality with certain content. As long as you subscribe to Premium Plus and have a compatible 4K television or device, you can enjoy 4K streaming quality.

How many devices can download for offline viewing with Peacock Premium Plus?

Peacock Premium Plus lets you download on up to five devices. You can download as much as you want, but there is a time limit on how long you can have the content downloaded before it expires. If you want to download on more than five devices, you’ll need to create a new account.

Can you share a Peacock account with multiple people?

Peacock Premium and Premium Plus both allow for the creation of separate profiles under the umbrella of one Peacock account. However, Peacock’s terms of service forbid you from sharing an account with people outside of your household. If you are caught doing so, you face the possibility of having your account suspended or banned from Peacock.

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