📺 Peacock vs. Hulu: Price and Catalog Compared (2026)

Peacock is the cheaper service. Full stop.

At $5.99 per month for ad-supported and $11.99 for ad-free, Peacock undercuts Hulu's $7.99 (with ads) and $14.99 (Premium) tiers by $2–$3 monthly. Over a year, that's $24–$36 saved per subscriber. But price alone doesn't win the streaming wars. Hulu owns a deeper licensed library, live TV, and the kind of catalog consistency that keeps people subscribed even when nothing new appeals. Peacock trades width for sharpness: fewer total titles, but a fiercer grip on NBCUniversal's primetime stack and sports. Tradeoffs exist—live TV is Hulu-only, Premier League is Peacock-only—but the core question isn't "which is better," it's "which saves you money per hour watched," and the math favors Peacock unless you're chasing broadcast TV or need live sports urgently.

By the Numbers

Figures reflect official pricing as of July 2026 per Peacock and Hulu's public product pages. Catalog counts are estimates based on third-party tracking; streaming services do not publish exact title tallies.

Why This Matters to Streamers (And Studios)

The price gap between Peacock and Hulu matters because it signals two competing bets. Comcast-owned NBCUniversal (Peacock's parent) is betting that subscribers will tolerate a thinner catalog if the cost is right—a classic volume-over-curation play. Disney (Hulu's parent) assumes users will pay a premium for breadth and add-on services like live TV. The strategy difference explains why Paramount+ raised prices again in 2026—Disney and Paramount believe subscribers will absorb rate hikes to retain premium catalog access. Peacock's discount posture, by contrast, is a counter-narrative: subscribers are price-sensitive, and market share grows through affordability, not feature bloat. Neither bet has won yet.

Peacock's Pricing and What You Actually Get

Peacock offers three tiers: Free (ad-supported, limited catalog), Premium ($5.99/month, ads), and Premium Plus ($11.99/month, ad-free). The $6-per-month gap between Premium and Premium Plus is steep for a household watching casually; over 24 months, that's $144 extra just to skip ads. If you watch 4–5 hours weekly (roughly 200 hours per year), the math: $5.99 ÷ 52 weeks ÷ 4 hours = $0.03 per hour with ads. Premium Plus? $11.99 ÷ 52 ÷ 4 = $0.06 per hour. You're paying double to skip 15–20 minutes of ads monthly. I'd take the ads.

Peacock's strength sits in live sports and same-day broadcast access. NBC's primetime lineup (the "Today" show, "Saturday Night Live," sports, news) drops same-day on Premium. Hulu airs most NBC shows 24 hours later. For sports: Peacock holds Premier League soccer (200+ matches per season), select WWE events, Olympics (when broadcast), and WNBA games. That's a real moat. The licensed film library—roughly 2,000–2,500 titles—leans heavy on Universal and MGM back-catalog films, plus some A24 titles. No Marvel, no Star Wars (those are Disney's). Most Peacock originals ("The Traitors," "Poker Face," "Mr. Robot") are solid, but not catalog-moving.

Hulu's Pricing and Its Hold on Subscribers

Hulu's tiers are Free (ad-supported, limited), Ad-Supported ($7.99/month), and Premium ($14.99/month, ad-free). The $7 gap between tiers is wider than Peacock's, and here's where Hulu's bet shows: they assume the ad-free experience is worth the premium. It partly is. Hulu's ad load on the cheaper tier is roughly 4–5 minutes per 30-minute episode, versus Peacock's similar cadence. No material difference in ad density. But Hulu's catalog is roughly 30% larger—around 19,500+ titles versus Peacock's ~15,000—which means more back-seasons of licensed shows and deeper film variety. The real Hulu lock-in is live TV ($14.99/month add-on, bringing total to $29.98/month for live + Premium). That's where broadcast TV refugees park themselves. Hulu Live includes ABC, NBC, Fox, and 70+ other channels plus cloud DVR. If you cut cable and want live sports, news, or network primetime without a delay, Hulu Live is nearly mandatory. Peacock can't compete here because NBCUniversal doesn't own the entire broadcast bundle.

Hulu originals ("The Bear," "Dopesick," "Only Murders in the Building") punch above their weight critically and culturally. That matters: prestige content drives word-of-mouth and retention, even if it doesn't move millions of viewers. Compare this to Apple TV+ and Paramount+, both of which bank heavily on prestige wins. Hulu has that lever too.

Where Peacock Wins (And It's Not Just Price)

The honest reframe: Peacock isn't just cheaper—it's strategically different. If you're a soccer fan, Premier League on Peacock is objectively better than nothing on Hulu. If you follow NBC primetime and want same-day access, Peacock's the only choice. If you're a WWE subscriber, Peacock includes it; Hulu doesn't. These aren't lifestyle luxuries—they're hard reasons to sign up. Peacock's catalog may be smaller, but it's more concentrated on what NBCUniversal owns outright, which means fewer licensing cliffs and cancellations.

Peacock Premium's ad load also skews lighter than industry average. NBCUniversal, as the operator, can enforce ad density stricter than third-party platforms. You'll see roughly 4 minutes of ads per 30 minutes of content, same as Hulu, but Peacock's ad targeting (via Comcast's data) is more precise, so ads hit you less often (fewer total ad breaks, even if duration is identical). That's a minor comfort, but it counts.

Where Hulu Still Wins

Hulu's live TV is unmatched—full stop. Peacock doesn't offer it, and a home theater without live sports or news is a hard sell for some households. If you want to cancel cable and retain broadcast-TV access, Hulu Live is a legitimate one-service solution. Peacock cannot promise that.

Hulu's film library is broader. While Peacock owns deeper Universal/MGM back-catalog, Hulu's licensed roster includes more indie and recent films, plus better Disney back-catalog integration (since Disney owns both). Peacock's film rotation feels more sparse in comparison.

Hulu's original series have won more awards and cultural attention. That's not a metric I usually weight (awards don't correlate with viewing, as we've written before with box office and awards), but for subscription retention, prestige content matters. Hulu has more of it.

Hulu Premium includes 4K streaming on select content; Peacock Premium Plus does not. Small but real.

The Calculation: Monthly Cost Per Hour

Let's assume moderate use: 40 hours per month (roughly 10 hours per week, or 90 minutes per day).

Peacock Premium ($5.99/month):
$5.99 ÷ 40 hours = $0.15 per hour. Over 12 months: $71.88.

Hulu Ad-Supported ($7.99/month):
$7.99 ÷ 40 hours = $0.20 per hour. Over 12 months: $95.88.

Hulu Premium ($14.99/month):
$14.99 ÷ 40 hours = $0.37 per hour. Over 12 months: $179.88.

If you watch live TV (Hulu Live add-on), add $14.99 monthly, bringing Hulu's total to $29.98/month, or $0.75 per hour. That's five times Peacock's cost, but you're getting broadcast TV in exchange. The tradeoff is explicit: you pay for access to content Peacock doesn't own.

Catalog Depth: Does Bigger Mean Better?

Hulu's 4,000+ title advantage feels meaningful on paper. In reality, it's partly noise. Streaming services inflate "catalog" by counting seasons separately (one show with 10 seasons = 10 titles to some counters) and rotating content. Peacock's 15,000 titles include every episode of every NBC/Telemundo show ever, back to the 1980s. That's vast but niche unless you're a "Cheers" completist.

What matters is overlap with your tastes. If you're a prestige-drama voter (HBO, FX, AMC content), Hulu's licensed roster is deeper. If you're a sports fan or NBC primetime loyalist, Peacock is comprehensive. Neither service wins on "variety"—both rely on licensing deals that can terminate. Streaming catalogs differ by country, and within the US, both rotate aggressively each quarter.

The Verdict (Restated)

Peacock is the smarter choice for price-conscious streamers who can tolerate a narrower catalog and don't need live TV. At $5.99/month ($72 annually), it's the entry point that justifies itself. Hulu is for households that want live sports, news, or broadcast TV—or for subscribers who value prestige originals enough to justify the $179.88 annual tab for ad-free access. Peacock Premium Plus ($11.99/month, ad-free) is Peacock's real trap: the ad load on the cheaper tier is bearable enough that paying double to remove it doesn't math out unless you hate ads with religious intensity.

Peacock. Pick it. Save the $24–$36 yearly.

The next price hike is coming for both—streaming's profitability race is still in its early innings, and Comcast and Disney will both test the ceiling of what subscribers will absorb. Watch Peacock's Q3 2026 earnings for signs of subscriber drag if they raise the ad-supported tier above $7.99.