HBO Max Review 2025: Cost, Plans, and More

Is HBO Max good? It’s complicated.

I used to love HBO Max. HBO consistently produces high-quality originals, and its parent company Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) owns some of the biggest franchises on the planet.

But I just can’t fully recommend its current iteration. Its prices are too high for what it provides, and it’s spent the last few years removing content in ways that just baffle me. Cancelling Sesame Street was the last straw.

WBD isn’t the only company to remove original streaming content—previously assumed to live on the platform forever—but it was the first to do so.

HBO Max is still a decent place to watch most DC, Discovery, and, yes, HBO content, but for some subscribers, that still might not be enough content to justify the hefty price tag.

How much does HBO Max cost?

Data effective as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

HBO Max comes in three different plans: Basic with Ads, Standard, and Premium. The ad-free Standard plan is what you might already have if you’ve signed up for HBO through another streaming service or cable provider, and will get you a pretty good ad-free streaming experience. However, if you have a big family or want to take advantage of a 4K television, you might want to upgrade to the pricey Premium tier.

If you’re looking for the cheapest way to stream HBO content, you’ll probably be fine with the lowest ad-supported tier. Keep in mind that HBO shows were originally designed to air on HBO—the premium cable channel whose entire deal is the lack of ads. Those ad breaks are going to be awkward and intrusive.

Each of HBO Max’s three plans is one of the most expensive of its kind among the major streaming services. As of April 2025, its Basic with Ads plan is more expensive than any other service’s ad-supported tier, and the Standard plan is only a buck cheaper than Netflix’s comparable tier. Its premium tier is actually much less expensive than Netflix’s or Disney+/Hulu’s, so we wouldn’t be shocked to see that go up another dollar or two in the near future.

HBO Max vs. other streaming services

Data effective as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

HBO Max’s biggest competitor is Netflix, and the two are pretty evenly matched as the most expensive on-demand streaming services around. Netflix definitely has the bigger library of original content, but HBO Max has more live content through B/R Sports.

HBO Max’s next closest competitor in price and size is Hulu. Hulu is still pretty pricey, and a choice between the two will likely come down to whether you want more cable TV shows (Hulu) or HBO shows (HBO Max). While HBO Max does have a decent amount of Adult Swim titles, for example, it’s not interested in having a comprehensive collection or exclusive access to WBD-owned properties. In fact, HBO Max is often removing Cartoon Network titles and selling them off to other streaming services.

HBO Max’s library is great for HBO fans

HBO Max on-demand shows and movies

After its 2023 rebrand from HBO Max to just Max (which has since been reverted back to HBO Max as of July 2025, SMH), WBD began incorporating content from its other streaming platform, Discovery+. While that service still exists as a standalone, HBO fans now get—or are stuck with, depending on your interests—access to all of Discovery’s biggest shows, like 90-Day Fiance and Mythbusters.

HBO Max advertises itself as “the one to watch for HBO,” which is an awful slogan, but also not entirely true. HBO Max does not have the full HBO library (see note about WB Watchlist), nor is it the only way you can get HBO.

However, it is a good way to watch certain recent HBO titles like Succession, The White Lotus, and The Last of Us, which all do very well at award shows. That seems to be the biggest draw to HBO Max—the promise of HBO originals. HBO has been a household name longer than the concept of streaming services has existed, so that makes a lot of sense.

HBO Max may be the one to watch for HBO, but WBD’s other favorite brand is DC. HBO Max offers dozens of popular DC titles, from mainstream DCEU movies to animated specials like Legion of Super-Heroes. It’s even got plenty of DC LEGO titles, including The LEGO Batman Movie.

However, HBO Max doesn’t carry the CW’s Arrowverse—Netflix still owns those streaming rights, so you won’t find The Flash or Legends of Tomorrow here. You’d think that HBO Max would want a complete monopoly on DC properties from now on, but not so. Rotten Tomatoes reported that WBD sold three Batman projects to Amazon Prime Video, and let’s not forget about the time the studio canceled its near-finished Batgirl film. HBO Max just can’t seem to decide whether it likes its superheroes or not.

HBO Max’s user experience

Read on for all the details on the new HBO Max’s user experience, including plan specs, ease of use, and app reliability.

Multiple streams on HBO Max

Data effective as of post date.

Unfortunately, HBO Max has seen a drop in video quality and available streams. Previously, the Standard tier got you three streams and 4K viewing, but now you’ll have to fork over $20.99/mo. for the privilege. Both the Standard and With Ads plans only allow two simultaneous streams, where the Premium plan allows four.

HBO Max can be set up for five separate viewer profiles, with individual preferences and even show-specific profile pictures. However, HBO Max would prefer that all five viewers live in the same location. You can add one extra member outside of your main household, but only one, and it will cost you an additional $7.99/mo.

HBO Max allows downloads for offline mobile viewing, a convenience that cabled-bundled HBO previously didn’t offer. The ad-supported Basic with Ads, however, doesn’t do offline downloads—another strike against it.

HBO Max is available on most devices with an internet connection

HBO Max’s features

Kids’ content on HBO Max

While you can’t turn on a “Kids’ Mode” like on other platforms, you can adjust content ratings per user profile, and set a passcode for user profiles with more mature ratings. It’s not a perfect system, though.

Studio Ghibli, Sesame Street, and even Cartoon Network content is pretty buried, even on a kids’ profile. And the app still displays ads for mature collections, like horror movies, even if the collections are empty if a child tries to click on them.

Customer satisfaction with HBO Max

What’s included in HBO Max’s streaming service?

HBO Max is one of the most expensive streaming services on the market, so it’s got to provide a lot of content to make up for that oversized price tag.

HBO Max subscribers get access to HBO shows and movies, in addition to content from Discovery+, DC, Studio Ghibli, Turner Classic Movies, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, and more.

Most of these collections aren’t exhaustive—the service removed DC’s Aquaman: King of Atlantis and HBO’s Westworld, for example—but contains enough to make most viewers happy. Just make sure it’s worth it for $9.99–$20.99/mo.

HBO Max FAQ

Why you should trust us

Our experts employed hundreds of hours of hands-on testing with the service HBO Max, rating the streaming service on bang for your buck, reliability, features, and customer satisfaction. Then, we compared HBO Max with other on-demand streaming services head-to-head to give a clearer picture of its strengths and weaknesses. For more information on our methodology, check out our How We Rank page.