We think SHOWTIME® is good for boxing fans, indie-film geeks, and lovers of cult “prestige” TV, like Dexter and Yellowjackets. At , it’s a relatively good deal, and you can cancel anytime after your free 30-day trial.
But while the quality is there, SHOWTIME doesn’t quite have as much of it as other premium competitors. For example, SHOWTIME has about one-fifth the content of HBO Max™ (which costs only $4.00 more per month). Also, on some devices, SHOWTIME’s watchlist is a mess and the interface is clunky.
But we still recommend SHOWTIME if you enjoy indie and art films more than blockbusters, dark-horse TV series over the ones everyone watches, and live fights.
The SHOWTIME/Paramount+ bundle ($11.99 a month with ads, $14.99 without) will save you $4.00–$6.00 monthly while offering you a ton more content.
Aside from that, new SHOWTIME customers can get a free 30-day trial on either à la carte SHOWTIME or the SHOWTIME/Paramount+ bundle. This is great if you’ve been wanting to try Paramount+, which has only a 7-day trial outside of the bundle.
| Plan | Price | Content | Streams | Video | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SHOWTIME | $10.99/mo. |
551 movies 92 series 2 live channels |
3 | 1080p, 4K | View plan |
| SHOWTIME/ Paramount+ Essential (ads) | $11.99/mo. |
SHOWTIME: see above Paramount+: 30,000 hrs. |
3 |
SHOWTIME: 1080p, 4K Paramount+: 1080p |
View plan |
| SHOWTIME/Paramount+ Premium (ad-free) | $14.99/mo. |
SHOWTIME: see above Paramount+: 30,000 hrs. |
3 |
SHOWTIME: 1080p, 4K Paramount+: 1080p |
View plan |
Data as of post date.
The SHOWTIME/Paramount+ bundle evens the odds in the HBO vs. SHOWTIME rivalry. For only $1–$4 more per month, you get SHOWTIME’s library plus 30,000 hours of Paramount+ movies and shows, making the bundle more competitive with HBO Max.
| Service | Price | Free trial | Streams | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SHOWTIME | $10.99–$14.99/mo. | 30 days | 3 | View plans |
| Paramount+ | $4.99–$9.99/mo. | 7 days | 3 | View plans |
| HBO Max | $9.99–$15.99/mo. or $99.99–$149.99/yr. | N/A | 3 | View plans |
| Disney+ | $7.99–$10.99/mo. or $109.99/yr. | N/A | 4 | View plans |
| Hulu | $7.99–$14.99/mo. | 30 days | 2 | View plans |
| Prime Video | $8.99–$14.99/mo. or $139.00/yr. | 30 days | 3 | View plans |
| Peacock | $4.99–$9.99/mo. or $49.99–$99.99/yr. | 7 days | 3 | View plans |
| Netflix | $6.99–$19.99/mo. | N/A | 1–4 | View plans |
| Apple TV+ | $6.99/mo. | 7 days | 6 | View plans |
Data as of post date.
An on-demand streaming service’s value depends mainly on its content library. With the exception of Apple TV+, SHOWTIME has a smaller selection than every service in this table.
But size isn’t everything.
Much of SHOWTIME’s library is exclusive or original, which by itself makes it worth your $10.99 a month.
But there are other things SHOWTIME gives you that other streaming services don’t.
Almost every series on SHOWTIME’s streaming service is unavailable elsewhere—some people subscribe to SHOWTIME just to watch Billions and Dexter.
On the movies side, SHOWTIME has a good mix of blockbusters, classics, and indie/arthouse films—but more of the latter.
SHOWTIME gives you two live channels: SHOWTIME East and SHOWTIME West (same programming, different time zones).
Most SHOWTIME TV episodes debut live and on demand simultaneously. But live boxing/MMA events, sports series, and current-events docuseries hit on demand 24–36 hours after airing live. That’s where the live feeds come in handy.
Not everything you’ve seen on the SHOWTIME channel is available to stream. Some of you might miss the following programs.
When possible, we’ve listed alternate places to watch them. “VOD” means the title is available to rent or purchase on services like Prime Video, Redbox, and Roku.
If you’re trying to decide between SHOWTIME and HBO Max, here’s how the services match up in a few key categories.
| HBO Max | SHOWTIME | |
|---|---|---|
| Live channels | — | 2 |
| First-run movies | ✔ | — |
| Movies | 2,300 | 551 |
| Series | 799 | 92 |
| Documentaries and docuseries | 737 | 132 |
| Kids and family | 312 | 64 |
| Live sports (boxing and MMA) | — | ✔ |
| Adult content | — | ✔ |
Data as of post date.
As you can see, HBO Max has some definite edges over SHOWTIME in terms of library size, kids and family content, and first-run film debuts.
As usual, SHOWTIME’s advantages are in niche categories like live boxing/MMA and adult content. But, again, the SHOWTIME/Paramount+ bundle adds a ton of movies and shows.
| Service | Included streams | Upgrades | Offline downloads |
|---|---|---|---|
| SHOWTIME | 3 | N/A | ✔ |
SHOWTIME allows three simultaneous streams. That’s average for a streaming service. The only services offering fewer streams are Hulu (2) and Netflix (1, bottom-tier plan). Services offering more than 3 streams include Apple TV (6), Disney+ (4), and Netflix (4, top-tier plan).
SHOWTIME also allows you to download up to 15 movies or shows for mobile viewing on these devices:
For all devices, you can choose your download quality preference in order to save data. On phones, you’re limited to standard definition (540p) or high-definition (720p), while tablets go up to full HD (1080p).
| Device | SHOWTIME | Paramount+ |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon Fire Cube, Stick, TV | ✔ | ✔ |
| Android phones, tablets (Android 7.0+) | ✔ | ✔ |
| Android TV (LeEco TV, Sony Bravia, Hisense TV) | ✔ | ✔ |
| Apple TV (3rd gen.+) | ✔ | ✔ |
| Apple TV 4K | ✔ | ✔ |
| Chromecast, Chromecast with Google TV | ✔ | ✔ |
| Cox Contour Box | — | ✔ |
| Facebook Portal TV | ✔ | ✔ |
| iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, iPad Mini | ✔ | iPhone, iPad |
| LG Smart TV (with webOS) | ✔ | ✔ |
| Nintendo Switch | — | — |
| NVIDIA SHIELD TV Pro | ✔ | ✔ |
| Oculus Go | ✔ | Via web browser |
| Oculus Quest | ✔ | Via web browser |
| PC browsers | ✔ | ✔ |
| Mac browsers | ✔ | ✔ |
| PlayStation 4, 5 | ✔ | PS4 only |
| Roku, Roku TV | ✔ | ✔ |
| Samsung TVs (select models) | ✔ | ✔ |
| TiVo Stream 4K | ✔ | ✔ |
| VIZIO TV (select models) | — | ✔ |
| Wii | — | — |
| Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S | ✔ | ✔ |
| Xfinity Flex, X1 | ✔ | ✔ |
| Xiaomi devices | Xiaomi Mi Box | Select devices |
SHOWTIME supports a wide variety of devices, including a surprising number of smart TVs. So does Paramount+, which we include here in case you decide to get the bundle. For more information on Paramount+, see our review.
We tested the SHOWTIME app on these setups:
As with most streaming services, SHOWTIME’s streaming quality varies depending on the strength of your connection—and it maxes out at full HD (1080P) and 4K (1440p).
We have Google Fiber, so our connection and picture quality were steady at home. We briefly experienced lower resolutions and buffering outside the house on our 5G network—but that was expected.
The SHOWTIME app interface doesn’t use carousel menus like Prime Video, Netflix, HBO Max, and virtually every other streaming TV app. Instead, it’s all branching menus with gigantic thumbnails. This is neither awful nor refreshingly new; it’s just different.
But the SHOWTIME user interface can be a little frustrating on some devices. On the Xbox One, rewinding and fast-forwarding with any precision is incredibly difficult. A 10-second jump back/forward option would go a long way here.
We didn’t have this problem on the Roku Ultra, where directional arrows allow for bidirectional 10-second jumps (short press) or faster navigation (long press). The Roku device is by far our favorite way to use SHOWTIME.
And the Samsung smartphone has a 10-second jump backwards, but not forwards. But you can drag the cursor—albeit imprecisely, on such a small screen—in both directions.
SHOWTIME also finally improved its watchlist, which had been a confusing mess of three different menus. The new SHOWTIME watchlist is more like what we’re accustomed to on services like Netflix and Prime Video: You can add all seasons and episodes of a series with one click—and find them in one place.
Aside from these complaints, the SHOWTIME app ran well in all configurations.
Despite its small library and frustrating watchlist, SHOWTIME has a good blend of content that, unlike HBO Max, isn’t aimed at mainstream audiences. Instead, it has something for everyone—except kids.
But you can expand the content library dramatically by subscribing to the SHOWTIME/Paramount+ bundle, which adds 30,000 hours of content—including tons of family-friendly movies and shows—for only .
We’ve tested and researched the SHOWTIME streaming service for more than 85 hours, running it on two different TVs, two different streaming devices, and a smartphone. We then paired our SHOWTIME testing with data on competing streaming services to see how it compared. For more on our process, see our How We Rank page.
SHOWTIME ($10.99 a month) has a tiny library of excellent original series, live boxing and MMA events, and a blend of blockbuster, classic, and independent films. But the SHOWTIME/Paramount+ bundle is a better deal because Paramount+ adds 30,000 hours of content for only $1.00–$4.00 more per month.
SHOWTIME ($10.99 a month) is good, but HBO Max ($14.99 a month) has five times the content. Fortunately, the SHOWTIME/Paramount+ bundle adds 30,000 hours of content from the Paramount+ library, and it’s the same price as HBO Max. Now all you need is to decide which service’s content better suits your taste.
| HBO Max | SHOWTIME | |
|---|---|---|
| Live channels | ✗ | 2 |
| First-run movies | ✓ | ✗ |
| Movies | 2,300 | 551 |
| Series | 799 | 92 |
| Documentaries and docuseries | 737 | 132 |
| Kids and family | 312 | 64 |
| Live sports (boxing and MMA) | ✗ | ✓ |
| Adult content | ✗ | ✓ |
Data as of post date.
SHOWTIME is not free with Amazon Prime, but it is available as an add-on Prime Channel for $10.99 a month.
SHOWTIME costs 10.99 per month as a standalone streaming app or $11.99–$14.99 per month when bundled with Paramount Plus. Also, SHOWTIME can be added to a cable, satellite, or streaming TV plan for an additional cost that is sometimes discounted.
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