Shudder Review 2023
We've tested Shudder for 2+ years and we're pleased to say that the horror streaming service is a value-packed horror buffet.
Price: $4.75–$5.99/mo.
Free trial: 7 days
Library: 650+ titles
Streams: 1
Is Shudder good?
You bet your chainsaw Shudder is good. Owned by AMC but curated by horror fans, the on-demand streaming TV service offers a blend of classic and contemporary horror movies, shows, and podcasts—including many exclusives and originals. It also has Shudder TV, a live channel with three themed streams.
Real horror fans will want to sign up for Shudder directly instead of as an add-on because Shudder’s native app offers the best experience. Direct sign-up is also the only way to get Shudder’s annual subscription deal, a 21% discount over the monthly rate.
Shudder pros and cons
Pros
- Low price
- Knowledgable curators
- Frequent new additions
- Exclusive and original movies and shows
- Fun user experience with Shudder app
Cons
- 720p max resolution
- Only one stream
- Bad user experience as an add-on
- No offline viewing
Shudder deals and promotions
Shudder has no deals aside from a free seven-day trial. You can, however, save 20% with an annual Shudder subscription, which drops your payment from $5.99 to $4.75 a month.
But, keep an eye out for Amazon to put Prime Channels on sale. That’s how I first signed up for Shudder—at half off for the first three months. It’s a good way to sample the Shudder library on the cheap, but we recommend subscribing to Shudder directly for a richer experience.
AMC+, which includes Shudder (plus BBC America, IFC, and SUNDANCE NOW) also offers big discounts here and there. It’s a good value, but it has the same user experience problem as Prime Video’s Shudder channel.
Shudder plans and pricing
Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary and are subject to change.
Shudder has one plan and serves it three ways: through its own app, as part of AMC+, as an add-on with YouTube TV, or as a Prime Channel through Amazon Prime Video. The Shudder app is by far the best experience for real horror fans. But keep reading for deeper dives on the various ways to watch Shudder.
Shudder vs. the competition
| Service | Price | Free trial | Library size (estimated) | Streams | Resolution (up to) | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Best overall Shudder |
$5.99/mo. or $56.99/yr. | 7 days | 650+ | 1 | Up to 720p | View Plan |
| Arrow Player | $6.99/mo. or $69.99/yr. | 30 days | 600+ | unavailable | Up to 4K | View plan |
| Full Moon Features | $6.99/mo. or $59.99/yr. | 7 days | 500+ | 3 | Up to 1080p | View Plan |
| Screambox | $4.99/mo. or $35.88/yr, | 7 days | 400+ | 3 | Up to 1080p | View Plan |
| Monsters and Nightmares | $2.99/mo. or $29.99/yr. | 7 days | 86+ | Unavailable | Up to 1080p | View Plan |
Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary and are subject to change.
In this table, Shudder is clearly superior to other horror streaming services in terms of price and library size—but inferior in resolution. What you don’t see in the table is Shudder’s library quality and excellent user experience. We’ll discuss this in more detail later.
For more info on each of these gruesome competitors, head over to our Best Horror Streaming Services review.
Shudder through Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Fire TV devices support the Shudder app, or you can subscribe to Shudder through Amazon’s Prime Video Channels. It’s the same price ($5.99 a month), but with some key differences:
- There’s no annual subscription option (so no 20% savings like with the app).
- You have to watch Prime Video Channels with the Prime Video app or your web browser.
- No Shudder live channel—but it’s free for anyone to watch online at Shudder.tv
- You’ll have 3 simultaneous streams instead of one.
So, if you gotta watch Cannibal Holocaust through Amazon, do it via the Shudder app, not the Prime Video Channel. That way, you can enjoy the fun and full functionality of the Shudder app on your preferred device and still have access to the cheaper annual subscription.
But if you can live with Prime Video’s frustrating user experience, you can share Shudder with two of your people. That’s something you can’t do in the Shudder app since it gives you only one stream. But you can also get three streams with our last option, YouTube TV.
Shudder through YouTube TV
Besides also offering three streams, YouTube TV charges only $5 a month for its Shudder add-on. That’s almost as good a deal as the Shudder annual subscription—but with the freedom of month-to-month billing.
Unfortunately, as with Prime Video Channels, you have to use YouTube TV’s app to watch Shudder, and you can’t get Shudder TV, the live channel. Still, the YouTube TV option should appeal to the livestreaming service’s current customers and rookie cord-cutters.
Shudder through AMC+
AMC, Shudder’s parent company, advertises that AMC+ includes Shudder. The claim is true, but it’s the same deal as with Amazon Prime Video and YouTube TV: You have to access Shudder through the AMC+ app. And although AMC+ is a great deal, the app is confusing, dreary, and doesn’t let you see the full Shudder catalog.
We can’t say it loudly enough: If you’re looking for the best Shudder experience, subscribe to the service directly.
Shudder movies and shows
While small, Shudder’s library beats those of rival horror streaming services like Screambox and Full Moon Features in both quality and quantity.
Shudder has 650+ movies (we’ve seen the total climb to 700+), including many exclusives and originals. The Shudder library also includes 40+ series (28 exclusive or original) and 7 podcasts (4 exclusive or original)—in many flavors:
- Anthologies
- Apocalypse flicks
- Asian Extreme
- Body horror
- Creature features
- Cult movies
- Documentaries
- Exploitation
- Eurocult
- Folk horror
- Giallo
- Horror comedies
- J-horror
- K-horror
- Midnight movies
- New French Extremity
- Psychological thrillers
- Slashers
- Supernatural
- Zombies
- . . . and more!
Shudder shines in its exclusive and original content—34% of its library is either exclusively licensed to, or created by, Shudder. And it’s great stuff, as you’ll see below (look for the asterisks denoting exclusive or original titles).
Movies on Shudder
- A Field in England (2014)
- A Wounded Fawn (2022)*
- All the Colors of Giallo (2019)
- All About Evil (2010)
- American Mary (2013)
- Anthropophagous (1980)
- The Apology (2022)*
- Audition (1999)
- Bad Moon (1996)
- Basket Case (1982)
- The Beyond (1981)
- Bird Boy: The Forgotten Children (2018)
- Black Sunday (1960)
- Blood Quantum (2020)
- Blood Relatives (2022)
- Bloody Muscle Bodybuilder in Hell (1995)
- Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
- Children of the Corn (1984)
- City of the Living Dead (1980)
- Color Out of Space (2020)
- Deep Red (1975)
- Def by Temptation (1990)
- Demons (1986)
- Frankenhooker (1990)
- Fried Barry (2021)*
- Ginger Snaps (2000)
- Halloween (1978)
- Hellbender (2022)
- Hellraiser (1987)
- Hellraiser 2: Hellbound (1988)
- The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
- Horror Noire (2021)*
- The Innocents (2021)
- Intruder (1989)
- Kuso (2017)*
- The Love Witch (2017)
- Mad God (2021)
- The Mortuary Collection (2019)
- Ms. 45 (1981)
- Phantasm Remastered (1979)*
- Pieces (1982)
- The Prowler (1989)
- Psycho Goreman (2020)*
- The Queen of Black Magic (1981 and 2019 versions)*
- Re-Animator (1985)
- The Return of the Living Dead (1985)
- Revenge (2015)*
- The Sadness (2021)
- Saloum (2021)
- Scare Package (2020)
- Scare Package II: Rad Chad’s Revenge (2022)
- Slash/Back (2022)*
- Spookies (1988)
- Summer of 84 (2018)
- Tenebrae (1982)
- Terrified / Aterrados (2017)
- Tetsuo the Iron Man (1989)
- The Deadly Spawn (1983)
- The Stylist (2021)
- They Look Like People (2016)
- Things (1989)
- This is GWAR (2022)*
- Tourist Trap (1979)
- Undead (2005)
- The Void (2017)
- The Wailing (2016)
- Wilczyca (1983)
Shows on Shudder
- The 101 Scariest Horror Movie Moments of All Time*
- A Discovery of Witches*
- Behind the Monsters*
- Beyond the Dark
- Blood Machines*
- The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula*
- Channel Zero
- The Core*
- Creepshow*
- Cursed Films*
- Cursed Films II*
- Dario Argento’s Door Into Darkness
- Deadhouse Dark*
- Deadwax*
- Doomsday
- Eli Roth’s History of Horror*
- Elvira’s 40th Anniversary, Very Scary, Very Special, Special*
- Etheria
- Firestarter: Rekindled
- Hammer House of Horror
- Holliston
- The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs*
- NOS4A2
- Queer for Fear: The History of Queer Horror*
- Slasher: Flesh & Blood*
- Todd & the Book of Pure Evil
- Trickster
- True Horror*
- The Walking Dead: World Beyond
Podcasts on Shudder
- Congeria
- Darkest Night
- Deadly Manners
- Eli Roth’s History of Horror Uncut*
- Horror Noire Uncut*
- She Kills*
- Video Palace*
Live TV on Shudder
Shudder’s titles stream live 24/7, and ad-free, on the app’s Shudder TV tab. You can choose from three different channels: It Came from Shudder (exclusives and originals), Psychological Thrillers (tense mind-scramblers), and Slashics (slasher movies).
Unfortunately, on some devices—like our Android phone, you can’t change channels. Shudder TV plays whichever feed you last watched on the last device you used to watch the service. (So, if you were watching Slashics, you can’t switch to Psychological Thrillers.)
Shudder specs and features
As streaming service features go, Shudder is a mixed bag. Aesthetically, it’s superb, blending nostalgia with modern design. Functionally, it’s smooth—but not as intuitive in some areas (like watchlist location). But we wish it had offline viewing, more user profiles, and more streams.
Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary and are subject to change.
Officially, Shudder allows only one stream at a time. But in our tests, we were able to watch Shudder on three devices at once. Obviously, we can’t guarantee that this will work for you. That being said, subscribing through Prime Video or YouTube TV will get you three streams, as well as six user profiles. But you still won’t get to use the swanky Shudder app.
Shudder app
Again, Shudder’s native app is the best Shudder experience. It has the most features, a fun interface and user experience, and it’s the cheapest way to subscribe if you go with the annual subscription (you save $1.24 a month).
The Shudder app is also compatible with many devices. So whether your streaming box of choice is a Roku or an Amazon Fire TV Stick, you’ll have easy access to the app, too.
Unfortunately, the Shudder app does not support downloading titles for offline viewing. Gaaaaaaahhh. Why? (Arrow Player, Full Moon Features, and Screambox do support downloads.)
Compatible devices
| Shudder | |
|---|---|
| Amazon Fire TV devices | ✓ |
| Android phones and tablets | ✓ |
| Apple TV devices | ✓ |
| Google Chromecast | ✓ |
| iPhones and iPads | ✓ |
| Playstation 3, 4, 5 | ✗ |
| Roku devices | ✓ |
| Samsung smart TV (select models) | ✓ |
| Xbox 360, One, and Series X|S | ✓ |
| Web browsers | ✓ |
As you can see, there is no shortage of device options with Shudder—ditto for its rivals. You probably already own at least one of these Shudder-compatible devices.
Video and audio quality
We tested the Shudder mobile app on a Windows 10 laptop and a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3. We also tested the Shudder apps for the Xbox One on a 55” LG smart TV and the Shudder app for Roku Ultra on a 55″ Samsung smart TV (the QN90A). We also tested Shudder’s Prime Video Channel through the Prime Video app on Xbox One.
Shudder streams in full HD as long as your internet connection is strong. If your connection is laggy, the adaptive video resolution will scale down to a rez your connection can handle. In all of our tests, we seemed to stay around standard HD (720p). But you might experience different results.
Interface and playback features
| Live | On-Demand | |
|---|---|---|
| Pause | ✗ | ✓ |
| Rewind | ✗ | ✓ |
| Fast-forward | ✗ | ✓ |
| 10-second jump | ✗ | ✓ (back-only on PC) |
| Onscreen volume control | ✓ | ✓ |
| Subtitles | ✓ | ✓ |
| Commercials | ✗ | ✗ |
Final take: Is Shudder worth it?
To borrow a favorite phrase from the late horror film critic Chas Balun, Shudder really “delivers the gross-eries.” There’s enough content to keep you busy for some time, so it’s worth $5.99 a month—and the annual subscription ($56.99 a year, or $4.75 a month) really cranks up the value.
But the annual Shudder subscription is available only when you sign up directly through Shudder—but that’s okay, ’cause the Shudder app is hands-down the best experience. Avoid going through Prime Video Channels or YouTube TV.
Shudder FAQ
How much is Shudder a month?
Shudder costs $5.99 a month or $56.99 a year ($4.75 monthly, which is a 20% discount).
Is Shudder worth it?
Shudder is absolutely worth it. It has the largest catalog of any horror streaming service, with classics, cult favorites, and top-notch exclusive and original content—plus a devilishly fun user experience. Real horror fans should get the annual Shudder subscription, which is $56.99 a year (which works out to $4.75 monthly—a 20% discount). Sign up for a free 7-day trial to check it out.
Is Shudder free with Prime?
Shudder is not free with Amazon Prime, but you can subscribe to Shudder through Amazon Prime Video Channels for the same price ($5.99 a month). You’ll also get the same 7-day free trial and three simultaneous streams (Shudder allows only one).
That said, the best Shudder experience is through its mobile app, which supports Amazon Fire TV devices. We highly recommend it over Shudder’s Prime Video Channel.
Which is better: Shudder or Screambox?
Shudder is far better than Screambox in terms of quality, quantity, and user experience. We don’t recommend Screambox—to learn why, read our review (coming soon).
Is it easy to cancel Shudder?
It’s pretty easy to cancel your Shudder subscription. If you subscribed through Shudder, click on My Account while signed into the Shudder app. Then, under Membership Settings, click Cancel Membership.
If you subscribe to Shudder through a third party (Amazon, the Apple Store, Google Play, iTunes, Roku, or YouTube TV), you’ll have to have to go through them instead of Shudder. But the steps are similar.
How many devices can use Shudder?
Shudder supports Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Roku devices, as well as Android and iOS smartphones and tablets, Google Chromecast, and Xbox One. For more on device compatibility, see this section.
If you’re wondering how many devices can watch Shudder at the same time, the official answer is one. But in our testing we were able to watch on three devices at once. Of course, we can’t promise that this will work for you—Shudder could shut that down at any time.
But if you subscribe to Shudder through Amazon Prime Channels or YouTube TV, you’ll be able to watch on up to three devices without fail. We recommend subscribing to Shudder directly, though, since it’s a much better experience.
Can I watch Shudder on multiple devices simultaneously?
Officially, Shudder supports only one stream at a time. But when we tested this, we were able to watch on up to three devices. Since that’s not Shudder’s intent, we can’t guarantee it will work for you. If you want more streams, subscribing to Shudder through Prime Video Channels or YouTube TV will allow you to stream Shudder on three devices at a time without fail.
What makes Shudder different from cable?
Shudder, like any other streaming service, differs from cable TV in that the service costs less, has no contracts, and comes to you over the internet instead of a cable connection. And, as a predominantly on-demand service, Shudder has only three live channels.
How does Shudder work?
Shudder works like any other streaming service. Just sign up directly through Shudder (or add Shudder to your Amazon Prime Video Channels or YouTube TV subscription), download the app on your chosen device, and watch the heads roll.
Is Shudder free?
No. But you can try Shudder free for seven days. After that, it’s $5.99 a month or $56.99 a year for an annual subscription (a 20% discount, dropping your payment to $4.75 a month).
How can you get Shudder?
We recommend subscribing to Shudder directly. Then you can use the Shudder app—the best way to experience the service—on a variety of devices.
Shudder is also available as an add-on through Amazon Prime Video Channels or YouTube TV, but you won’t be able to use the Shudder mobile app.
All methods include a free 7-day trial.
Is there a Shudder gift card?
No, but you can sign up for an account in your friend or relative’s name, then give them the username and password.
Methodology
CableTV.com’s TV experts have hundreds of hours’ experience researching and testing Shudder. In our research, we look at other horror streaming services, comparing them based on price, catalog, features, and more. We then present the data, along with expert recommendations, to our readers in these reviews. To learn more about our process, see our How We Rank page.
