Peacock Review 2022: Plans, Pricing, and More

Peacock isn't a major player in the streaming wars yet, but it’s still loaded with content (and it’s cheap).

Cheapest (on-demand streaming)
Editorial rating (4.3/5)

Price: Free–$9.99/mo.

Free trial for Peacock Premium: 7 days

Shows and movies: The Office, Yellowstone, Harry Potter, originals, and more

View plans
Compare to other services
Plan Price Hours of content Offline viewing Details
Peacock (with ads) Free 40,000+ ✗ View Plans
Peacock Premium (with ads) $4.99/mo. 60,000+ ✗ View Plans
Peacock Premium Plus (no ads) $9.99/mo. 60,000+ ✓ View Plans

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

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Is Peacock good?

Here’s some goodness: On-demand streamer Peacock is unique in that it’s the only major streaming service that offers a free, ad-supported tier alongside its paid plans. If you’re experiencing subscription fatigue—the struggle is real—you can access 40,000 hours of Peacock’s 60,000-hour library for nada.

You can go with the limited free version, a monthly $4.99 (with ads) full-library Premium plan, or the $9.99 (no ads) monthly full-library Premium Plus plan. This makes Peacock one of the least-expensive big media streamers out there—that’s a fat check in the “good” column.

Overall, we think Peacock is a worthwhile addition to your streaming apps lineup. The freebie tier gives you an impressive array of shows and movies, and it’s hard to argue with the price. Also, Peacock is the only place you can stream The Office—that’s a “Threat Level Midnight”-level argument (if you’re a fan, you get it).

Peacock pros and cons

Pros

  • Inexpensive plans
  • Exclusive NBCUniversal content

Cons

  • Limited original content
  • Lackluster interface

Jump to:

Peacock free trials and deals

Peacock offers a seven-day free trial for both its Premium tiers.

Xfinity and Cox cable subscribers can get Peacock Premium (with ads) for free with their service, or Peacock Premium Plus (no ads) for $4.99 a month. Read more in our How to Watch Peacock with Xfinity (and Cox) guide.

Peacock plans and pricing

Package Price Hours of content Offline viewing Live sports Details
Peacock (with ads) Free 40,000+ ✗ ✗ View plan
Peacock Premium (with ads) $4.99/mo. 60,000+ ✗ ✓ View plan
Peacock Premium Plus (no ads) $9.99/mo. 60,000+ ✓ ✓ View plan

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

The free version of Peacock gives you access to 40,000+ hours of shows and movies, with a lot of shows offering just their pilots or selected episodes. This includes current NBC broadcast series and older NBCU shows and movies—and yes, ads.

The Premium tiers open up the entire Peacock catalogue and include next-day drops of broadcast episodes from NBC series and Peacock originals. Most interestingly, at least for late-night talk show fans, Peacock Premium will drop new Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers episodes three-and-a-half hours before broadcast.

Peacock vs. the competition

Service Price Editorial rating Video Streams Compatible devices Details
Peacock Free–$9.99/mo. 4.33/5 1080p, 4K 3 10+ View plans
Netflix $9.99–$19.99/mo. 4.33/5 1080p, 4K 1–4 14+ View plans
Hulu $6.99–12.99/mo. 4.22/5 1080p, 4K 2 13+ View plans
Prime Video $8.99–$12.99/mo. 4.19/5 1080p, 4K 3 13+ View plans
Disney+ $6.99/mo. 4.61/5 1080p, 4K 4 13+ View plans
HBO Max $14.99/mo. 4.5/5 1080p, 4K 3 10+ View plans
Apple TV+ $4.99/mo. 3.93/5 1080p, 4K 6 7+ View plans
Paramount+ $4.99–$9.99/mo. 4.07/5 1080p 3 12+ View plans

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

Peacock’s tech specs are similar to other major on-demand streaming outlets, but it only has an ad-supported paid tier in common with Hulu and Paramount+. But, according to NBCUniversal, Peacock’s ad load is a relatively light five minutes per hour (if you believe the suits).

Shows and movies on Peacock

Peacock on-demand shows and movies

NBCUniversal’s library of TV shows and movies is deeper than you might think. It’s not just NBC shows on the TV side; it also includes cable networks USA, Syfy, Oxygen, Bravo, E!, CNBC, MSNBC, and Universal Kids. Peacock also carries previous seasons of Paramount Network cable juggernaut Yellowstone (which Paramount+ doesn’t)

Peacock also features some live news and sports, like Premier League soccer, the 2021 Summer Olympics, and WWE Entertainment (pro wrestling is a sport—we’ll die on this hill).

On the movies side, Peacock draws from NBCU brands DreamWorks, Focus Features, and Universal Pictures.

Shows on Peacock (partial list):

  • The Office
  • Parks and Recreation
  • 30 Rock
  • Friday Night Lights
  • Saturday Night Live
  • Battlestar Galactica
  • Law & Order franchise
  • Downton Abbey
  • Below Deck
  • Southern Charm
  • Yellowstone
  • House
  • Cheers
  • Frasier
  • Parenthood
  • Psych
  • Saved by the Bell
  • The Bad Girls Club
  • Snapped
  • All current NBC series

Movies on Peacock (partial list):

  • Die Hard franchise
  • Friday franchise
  • Bridesmaids
  • Pretty Woman
  • The Goonies
  • Sex and the City
  • The Green Mile
  • The Hangover
  • Trolls World Tour
  • Despicable Me
  • Robin Hood
  • The Cat in the Hat
  • Meet the Parents
  • Neighbors
  • Point Break
  • Twister
  • How to Train Your Dragon
  • Monster vs. Aliens

Peacock original shows and movies

Peacock has a growing number of exclusive originals up its feathered sleeve, like Psych 3: This is Gus (the third sequel to the USA series), A.P. Bio (a comedy continuing from NBC), and modern-day Saved by the Bell and Punky Brewster reboots.

It’s not all refurbished and borrowed sitcoms though. There are also some heavy dramas, like Departure (an international thriller starring Archie Punjani) and Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol (from The Da Vinci Code author), and small-town comedy Rutherford Falls (starring The Office’s Ed Helms). It’s a small lineup, but Peacock continues to expand with originals like Girls5eva, We Are Lady Parts, and the critically-acclaimed Amber Ruffin Show.

Peacock originals
(partial list):

  • Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol
  • A.P. Bio
  • Saved by the Bell
  • Punky Brewster
  • A.P. Bio
  • Brave New World
  • The Capture
  • Intelligence
  • Downton Abbey: A New Era
  • Girls5Eva
  • Rutherford Falls
  • We Are Lady Parts
  • The Amber Ruffin Show
  • Departure
  • The Girl in the Woods
  • Dr. Death
  • One of Us is Lying
  • Angelyne

WWE on Peacock

Peacock dedicates a whole in-app tab to its exclusive WWE content, separate from the sports section. In addition to live events, Peacock also carries episodes of Friday Night Smackdown and WWE originals like Steve Austin: The Broken Skull Sessions and Table for 3. However, much like the other live sports on the platform, WWE livestreams require a paid subscription.

Premier League on Peacock

For subscribers at the Premium tier or higher, Peacock offers an impressive array of live English Premier League games. In fact, almost half of all Premier League games are exclusive to Peacock, so you’ll miss out otherwise. Regardless of whether a game is a Peacock exclusive, though, you can watch any game on demand for up to 30 days after airdate.

For more information on how to watch English Premier League games on Peacock, check out our guide.

In addition to exclusive WWE and English Premier League content, Peacock recently added Major League Baseball coverage, although its offering is small in comparison. For more information, head over to our MLB on Peacock review.

Peacock specs and features

NBCUniversal video apps, like those for NBC and Syfy, have always been fresh and functional—Peacock is no exception. There aren’t many bells and whistles, but it works well enough.

Multiple streams

Service Streams Upgrades Offline downloads
Peacock 3 None Yes

Three simultaneous streams is the unspoken streaming standard, and so it is with Peacock.

You can also set up different user profiles on Peacock (with an actual peacock avatar) and create a dedicated “kids mode” account too.

Supported devices

Device Peacock
Amazon Fire Cube, Stick, TV ✓
Android phones, tablets ✓
Android TV ✓
Apple TV (4th gen.) ✓
Apple TV 4K ✓
Chromecast, Chromecast with Google TV ✓
Echo Show ✓
iPhone, iPad ✓
LG TVs (select models) ✓
Nintendo Switch ✗
NVIDIA SHIELD Pro TV ✓
PC, Mac web browsers ✓
PlayStation 3, 4, 5 ✗
Roku Ultra, Express, Premiere, Stick, TV ✓
Samsung TVs (select models) ✓
TiVo Stream ✓
Wii ✓
Xbox One ✓
Xfinity Flex, X1 ✓

Peacock’s on everything but Nintendo and PlayStation. No Peacock for you, gamers.

Video and audio quality

Rectangles, tabs, and channels—oh my! For a largely on-demand service, Peacock’s interface looks a lot like a cable TV setup. Maybe it didn’t want to confuse Xfinity and Cox customers (who get free or discounted access to Peacock Premium).

Peacock Browsing T V Channels
Peacock's home screen

In addition to the usual along-the-top tabs—which include a YouTube-like “Trending” section—there’s a tab for a grid of 21 “channels,” which are really just endless loops of shows. Peacock features channels dedicated to NBC News, The Tonight Show, Saturday Night Live, and ‘80s classics, among dozens of others.

Peacock Channel Selection
Peacock channels

There’s not much of a learning curve with Peacock’s interface, as it’s light on features and options—which is good or bad, depending on your level of tech tolerance. On a purely aesthetic note, we’re not sold on the choice of yellow highlighting. With so many colors on a peacock, why go with the most obnoxious one?

Peacock’s audio is standard 2.0 stereo, though some shows and movies stream in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound—like megabudget action flicks, where it sounds and feels like you’re right in the middle of whatever disaster The Rock is battling against.

Peacock mobile app

Like most streaming services, Peacock offers a mobile app on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. This app functions mostly the same as its in-browser counterpart, although the interface is adjusted to fit a smaller screen.

The app is extra handy if you pay for Peacock Premium Plus—that extra bit of cash gives you the ability to download content for offline viewing, just in case you want to get your SNL fix on the go.

The Peacock app icon. A white letter P and a row of rainbow-colored dots.
The Peacock app home screen on an iPad. There are three rows visible: My Stuff, Paramount Picks, and Just Added.
The Peacock app home screen on iPad.

The biggest drawback of the mobile app is that you can’t take screenshots like you can on a computer. As is becoming common with other streaming apps like Netflix, HBOMax, and Disney+, the content just becomes a black rectangle upon screenshotting and only the UI remains.

This decision only makes it harder for shows to gain traction since so many shows and movies thrive on word-of-mouth advertising and social media buzz. There’s no easier way to share content than just taking a screenshot, and restricting that feature only discourages organic discussions.

The Peacock app live TV page on iPad. The bottom half of the screen displays a cable-TV-like guide, and a channel called "Out of this World" is airing an episode of Ancient Aliens. The top half of the screen is black because the app does not allow screenshots.
The live TV or "Channels" section of the Peacock app on iPad.

Final take: Is Peacock worth it?

While the hype level for Peacock is nowhere near that of Disney+ or HBO Max, it still has plenty to offer. It’s more in-line with Paramount+: nice to have, but probably not absolutely essential (though Battlestar Galactica and The Office fans may strongly disagree).

But, for the price, Peacock is worth checking out—the free tier alone gives you thousands of viewing diversions, many you can’t get anywhere else. It won’t be your sole source of entertainment (at least not yet, though the originals are getting better all the time), but Peacock is a solid addition to your app lineup.

Besides, you’re more than a little curious about what the Psych guys are up to now, right?

Get Peacock

Methodology

Our experts employed hours of hands-on testing with Peacock, rating the streaming service on bang for your buck, reliability, features, and customer satisfaction. Then we matched up Peacock 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.

Related articles

Peacock FAQ

Is Peacock free?

Peacock’s basic tier, with ads, is free for anyone with access to the app to stream. Peacock Premium (with ads) and Peacock Premium Plus (no ads) both offer a free trial period of seven days.

Xfinity and Cox cable subscribers can get Peacock Premium (with ads) for no extra charge with their service, or Peacock Premium Plus (no ads) for $4.99 a month. Learn more in our How to Watch Peacock with Xfinity (and Cox) guide.

How much does Peacock cost?

There are three levels to Peacock, and all of them are cheaper than most other on-demand streaming services.

  • Peacock (free with ads): A no-cost, ad-supported tier with access to half of Peacock’s library (40,000+ hours of content), including next-day streams of current NBC series and older NBCUniversal shows and movies.
  • Peacock Premium (with ads): A $4.99/mo. ad-supported tier with access to all of Peacock’s library (60,000+ hours of content), including next-day streams of current NBC series, older NBCUniversal shows and movies, and Peacock original content.
  • Peacock Premium Plus (no ads): A $9.99/mo. ad-free tier with access to all of Peacock’s library (60,000+ hours of content), including next-day streams of current NBC series, older NBCUniversal shows and movies, and Peacock original content.

Does Peacock stream live TV?

Peacock streams live news programs from NBC, Sky News, MSNBC, and CNBC, as well as rebroadcasts and curated news briefs.

Peacock also streams live sports, including Premier League soccer, Ryder Cup golf, WWE Entertainment, and the Olympics.

Does Peacock stream local channels?

Unlike Paramount+, which livestreams CBS local channels in select markets, Peacock doesn’t carry any NBC local affiliate stations. To get local channels, we’d suggest subscribing to a live TV streaming service or buying a digital over-the-air antenna.

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