The Streaming Service That Beats Netflix In Customer Satisfaction

Perhaps no service is as synonymous with streaming television as Netflix, the company that helped to revolutionize the entertainment landscape. For better or worse, Netflix's pivot from mail-order video rental to on-demand streaming fundamentally shifted how movies and TV shows are made by reorienting the consumers' viewing habits. Outside of live events such as sports and award shows, most people have done away with the notion of "tuning in" to something on TV. Netflix reaped the rewards of its disruption and is the most subscribed-to streaming service by a wide margin, according to data from FlixPatrol.

But being the king is rarely the same thing as being well-liked, and Netflix hasn't earned the spot in customers' hearts that it has in their wallets. That's according to the most recent data from the American Consumer Sentiment Index (ACSI), which tracks consumer satisfaction across American markets. The ACSI's data on the best streaming services shows Netflix in second place, with a three-way tie for first place among video streaming services. The first-place winners are somewhat surprising, too: Paramount+, Peacock, and YouTube Premium emerge as prizeholders, but only by the slimmest of margins. Here's why that may be.

The ACSI's 2025 satisfaction benchmark data showed Netflix in second place, with a score of 79 (out of a possible 100). Paramount+, Peacock, and YouTube all scored slightly higher, with 80 points. A single factor is unlikely to explain the difference, and that single-point gap is narrow enough to take with a grain of salt. With that said, Netflix's high premium subscription fees, more draconian password-sharing countermeasures, and a lack of new originals breaking into the zeitgeist may have contributed to its slightly lower benchmark score.

Paramount+, owned by Paramount Skydance, is home to a slew of beloved properties, including "Star Trek," "South Park," and "The Daily Show," to name a few. Peacock is home to more crowd-pleasing, couch-surfing fare, such as various "Law and Order" series, and is the only place to stream reality shows like "Love Island Games" and "The Traitors." Netflix has had some bona fide hits over the years, but closed out "Stranger Things," its most popular original series, with a fifth and final season in 2025. 

That wouldn't matter much if the services were otherwise comparable, but you'll pay $25 a month for Netflix's most premium tier, which many people will want since it provides 4K with no ads. Meanwhile, Paramount+ charges just $14, and Peacock's premium plan costs $17. Unless you desperately need to rewatch "Breaking Bad" or catch the latest "Knives Out" movie, Netflix can feel like a significantly worse deal.

Of the three streaming services that beat Netflix for consumer satisfaction according to the ACSI, YouTube Premium is an odd duckling. Unlike the other services measured, YouTube's mainstay is user-generated content rather than traditional studio fare. It's a streaming service in the sense that it hosts videos you can watch on demand over the internet, but it has more in common with social media than with Netflix. Moreover, YouTube Premium  — the service specified by the Index  — does not offer its subscribers access to additional video content. It does away with YouTube's glut of pre-roll and mid-roll ads, allows users to download videos and stream them in the background on mobile devices, and includes access to YouTube Music.

YouTube Premium's high consumer satisfaction rating is likely the result of its ubiquity and truly gargantuan content library. At this point, the most cash-flush YouTube channels can build out entire companies to support a never-ending flow of video production, which can give them a production quality reminiscent of low-budget reality TV. With creators catering to every interest, no matter how niche, YouTube's content recommendation algorithms are likely to find something for everyone to enjoy.

While some balked when YouTube initially launched its premium tier (originally called YouTube Red), you're equally likely to find people singing its praises nowadays. That's not to say it's without controversy, but it does away with the constant war of attrition between Google and ad-blockers that can eat up time if you're determined to avoid YouTube ads, and it helps creators get paid more. Compared to Netflix, it may deserve its top spot.