Being owned by the same parent company, The Walt Disney Company, Hulu and Disney+ offer bundles at discounted prices. You can save over 40% compared to subscribing to each service separately – a great deal, right? After all, they have different content focuses, and a bundle provides a wider variety of content. If you wonder whether subscribing to both is necessary or just one would be adequate, follow this guide to find out.
Both Hulu and Disney+ offer ad-supported and ad-free plans. The monthly price for their “With Ads” plans is $9.99. Hulu’s ad-free plan is $18.99 per month, which is more expensive than Disney+’s “No Ads” option at $15.99 per month. Both Hulu (for its “With Ads” tier) and Disney+ (for its ad-free tier) offer yearly subscriptions.
Hulu provides a 30-day free trial for its “With Ads” plan, while Disney+ does not currently offer a free trial.
Additionally, Hulu offers a Student plan for $1.99 per month (for its “With Ads” tier only). Their Live TV service can be added to both ad-supported and ad-free plans, providing access to over 100 channels, including Disney Channel and ESPN. Disney+, on the other hand, does not offer a Student plan and only provides live sports through bundle plans with Hulu and ESPN+.
Compared to subscribing to Hulu and Disney+ separately, adding just $1 per month (or $4 per month for Disney+ No Ads) allows you access to the bundle plan with both services. However, if you only want the content or features of one of the two services, read on to discover more of their differences.
| Hulu | Disney+ | Hulu and Disney+ Bundle | |
| With Ads | $9.99/month $99.99/year | $9.99/month | $10.99/month |
| No Ads | $18.99/month | $15.99/month $159.99/year | $19.99/month |
| Student | $1.99/Month | / | / |
| Live TV | $82.99/month and up | / | / |
Some users may consider Disney+ as the international version of Hulu, since Hulu is primarily in the US (Hulu is also available in Japan but with a different library), and you can access Hulu directly on the Disney+ app if you subscribe to both services. However, Disney+ and Hulu have different focuses and content.
With more than 1,300 movies and 500 TV shows (JustWatch), Disney+ has a strong focus on family and kid movies and shows. It also features content from Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and National Geographic documentaries.
Hulu’s library includes over 1,200 movies and 1,300 TV shows (JustWatch), including outstanding originals like The Handmaid’s Tale and Only Murders in the Building. The platform also offers next-day access to the latest episodes from networks like ABC, FOX, FX, Searchlight, and Freeform. It has a wider range of genres, catering to a more general adult audience. In addition, the Live TV service on Hulu allows access to over 100 cable channels with an additional charge. You can also add Premium channels such as Max and Paramount+ to your subscription.
The distinct content of Disney+ and Hulu makes them complementary rather than identical. For example, you can watch the most recent season of “The Simpsons” on Hulu and the previous seasons on Disney+. As mentioned earlier, you can often get both services at attractive bundle prices. However, if you currently don’t have kids around and aren’t a fan of the Marvel universe, you may need Hulu only. On the other hand, if you’re only seeking family-friendly content, Disney+ might be your best choice.
Both Hulu and Disney+ support downloading titles to watch offline with ad-free accounts. You can download movies and shows to Mobile devices such as Android, iOS, and Fire tablets. These downloads can only be accessed through the Hulu or Disney+ app on the downloaded device. Downloaded content is valid for 30 days without watching, and 48 hours to finish if you started watching.
Hulu limits 25 downloads on five mobile devices at one time, while Disney+ allows downloading on 10 supported mobile devices.
Disney+ boasts a large library of 4K content, especially for its flagship and franchise titles. These videos often include HDR and Dolby Vision to enhance the viewing experience. Disney+ also offers IMAX Enhanced content with improved picture and sound quality for superior entertainment engagement.
Hulu offers a limited 4K content, primarily focusing on specific shows and original programming.
You can watch 4K content on Hulu or Disney+ with just the ad-supported plans, but make sure that you’re watching on a supported device. If video quality is your priority, Disney+ is obviously the better choice.
Disney+ and Hulu allow users to add an Extra Member to their subscription or bundle plans if this member is outside of the Household. Extra Members enjoy all the features of the subscription but can only have one profile and stream or download on one device (if applicable).
If you’re looking for family-friendly entertainment of high quality and available internationally, Disney+ is a winner. Hulu, on the other hand, stands out for its next-day streaming of current TV episodes. You can also add Live TV and Premium channels to Hulu at an extra cost. While Disney+ focuses on family content, Hulu offers a wider variety for a more mature audience. If you’re not sure which one to choose, just bundle both Hulu and Disney+ for an extra $1 or $4 a month.
Hulu and Disney+ allow you to download movies and TV shows with the No Ads plans. If you want to watch offline with an ad-supported account, smart tools like Pazu Hulu Video Downloader and Pazu Disney Plus Downloader offer a workaround.
With Pazu, you can download Hulu and Disney+ content to MP4 and MKV. The downloaders work on both Windows and Mac with either a With Ads or No Ads account. Downloaded files can be saved on your device even after cancelling your subscription. You can freely transfer downloaded videos to any supported device for offline viewing.
Download Disney+ movies & TV shows to MP4 with HD quality.
Follow the steps below to learn how to download movies and TV shows as MP4 files (Hulu as an example):
Download, install and launch Pazu Hulu Video Downloader on your Mac or Windows. Log in your Hulu account and choose hulu.com, hulu.jp or hulu.jp/store.
Enter the movie/TV show title in the search field or copy and paste the link of the movie/TV show from the Hulu website. Then click the Search icon.
Click the Settings icon to change:
Click the Download icon next to the title. For a movie, it starts downloading right away.
For a show, choose the season and episodes you want to download. Then click the Download button in the bottom right corner.
Once downloaded, click the History menu to view all downloaded videos. Click the Folder icon to quickly locate the Hulu videos in MP4 or MKV format, then you can play them on any supported device and app.
Download Disney+ movies and TV shows to MP4/MKV on your PC/Mac