The Best Streaming Services to Give as Holiday Gifts

Shopping for your friends and loved ones during the holiday season can be quite a challenge. There’s invariably that one person on your gift list who seems to already have everything they could possibly need. And the last thing they want is yet another random item cluttering up their living space. Thankfully, you can avoid all that with the gift of streaming. Yes, that’s right — you can give a Netflix, Apple TV, Hulu and even Disney Plus subscription to a loved one. Not only will a streaming service help your loved ones stay entertained at home no matter what, but it’s also the gift that keeps on giving.

Whether you buy a gift card online or in-store, many of the most sought-after streaming services have a dedicated section for redeeming digital gift card codes so that your giftee can activate their subscription at their convenience, whether they want to revisit their favorite movie or sink into the couch and binge-watch some excellent original programming.

Netflix? Disney Plus? Streaming services make quick and easy gifts.

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Before you buy a streaming gift card, there are a few things to consider. Your giftee will need a streaming device or smart TV to enjoy the service. (If they don’t have one, congratulations! You’ve stumbled into another gift idea. CNET can help you navigate affordable, quality streaming devices and smart TVs.) In addition, once the gift card or gift subscription runs out, naturally, access to the service does, too. If they want to keep using the service, they need to add a credit card for payments.

Here’s a list of some of the best streaming service gift subscriptions you can give to family and friends this year, from popular choices to more niche products for people with particular viewing sensibilities.

Netflix Disney

Disney Plus is the only streaming platform where you can find the majority of Pixar and Marvel releases, Star Wars and Marvel movies, as well as Disney Vault movies, fun documentaries and plenty of TV shows. Gift your loved one a Disney Plus gift card, which they can put towards a subscription to the service. Disney Plus gift cards can be purchased online at various retailers. 

A Disney Plus subscription costs $8 per month for the ad-based plan. The ad-free version costs $14 a month. Disney also offers two bundles. Trio Basic combines Disney Plus, Hulu and ESPN Plus with ads for $13 monthly. A $20-per-month Trio Premium bundle gets you all three streaming platforms, and only ESPN Plus has ads. 

Momentum Pictures

Shudder is the ultimate streaming service for horror movie fans. With a subscription, you can watch classics like Children of the Corn and Carnival of Souls, as well as Shudder Originals, sci-fi, creature features, psychological thrillers and more. 

A Shudder subscription costs $7 per month or $72 per year after a seven-day free trial. Like some of the other services on this list, it doesn’t offer a dedicated gift card, but you can buy a prepaid cash card for the recipient to put toward the subscription.  

Crunchyroll

You can find a good selection of anime on other streaming platforms like Netflix and Hulu, but Crunchyroll is a well-known hub for manga, games, news, as well as popular anime shows like Attack on Titan, Bleach, My Hero Academia, Death Note and Inuyasha. You can use Crunchyroll for free, but the Premium tier unlocks an ad-free, HD-viewing experience across multiple devices. In addition, you’ll get early access to anime titles within about an hour of the original broadcast in Japan, as well as discounts on DVDs and more. 

Crunchyroll offers three premium tiers — Fan ($8 a month), Mega Fan ($10 a month) or Ultimate Fan ($15 a month) after a 14-day free trial. You can give a premium subscription tier through the website. 

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