It’s an excellent time to buy a media streaming device, whether you’ve just cut the cable cord or you’re looking to supplement your TV package with an online video service like Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV+, or Disney+. Compared to the typical smart TV, standalone streamers tend to have bigger app selections, speedier performance, and more features. And with so much competition between device makers, the hardware is becoming faster, more capable, and more affordable.
Here are our picks for the best streaming boxes and sticks. We constantly test all the latest devices, including Roku players, Fire TV devices, Android TV devices, Apple TV, and Chromecast. We review each new generation of hardware and constantly revisit the software and app selection so we can help you determine which platform is right for you. Our recommendations will change over time as new products come to market.
Best media streaming players for every budget
Roku Streaming Stick 4K — Best media streamer for most people
Pros
- Fast, fluid performance with dependable Wi-Fi connectivity
- Easy-to-operate interface with powerful voice control features
- Full of nice touches that other cheap streamers lack, such as AirPlay and a Replay button
Cons
- Discovering and tracking shows could be a lot easier
- No Dolby Atmos support or IR control for external sound systems
- Only supports wireless connections
If you want to buy a streaming player without overthinking it, just get the Roku Streaming Stick 4K. Not only is this $50 streaming player fast, fluid, and easy to use, it boasts support for both Dolby Vision and HDR10+. The Streaming Stick 4K also includes an improved W-Fi receiver compared to its predecessor, the Streaming Stick+. While the Streaming Stick 4K lacks the power and smart home features of the Apple TV 4K, it’s also a heck of a lot cheaper, and it offers a far calmer experience than Amazon’s too-busy Fire TV menus.
Roku Express 4K+ — Best budget-priced media streamer
Pros
- 4K HDR streamer with snappy performance and capable remote
- Full of nice little touches like private listening and closed-caption replay
- Adds AirPlay to any TV for cheap
Cons
- Wi-Fi performance could be better
- No unified streaming guide
- No Dolby Vision support
As with the slightly pricier Roku Streaming Stick 4K, the $40 Roku Express 4K+ comes a point-anywhere remote with voice, volume, and power controls, plus it includes dual-band 802.11ac for faster connectivity to newer wireless routers. It’s worth noting that the Express 4K+ lacks Dolby Vision HDR support. and as with other Roku streamers, there’s no universal guide to help users make sense of all their streaming options. Despite those downsides, the Express 4K+ has a lot to like for less than other 4K streamers.
Walmart Onn UHD Streaming Device — Best budget-priced media streamer, runner-up
Pros
- Feature-packed remote
- Supports private headphone listening, dual-band Wi-Fi, and Chromecast
- Android TV helps find things to watch without making apps hard to reach
Cons
- Remote may have TV control issues
- No Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, or HDR10+
- Android TV could be better at aggregating live TV and free content
You might not expect one of the best budget streaming players to come from Walmart, but it’s true. This 4K player runs Android TV, which offers a slick streaming menu, powerful voice search, and the ability to cast video from your phone. It also has a feature-rich remote that lets you flip through live TV channels, switch inputs, and control your A/V gear. Best of all, it only costs $30, undercutting comparable players from Roku, Amazon, and Google itself. Just note that if you need Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, or HDR10+, you’ll have to look elsewhere.
Apple TV 4K (2021) — Best high-end media streamer
Pros
- Superior speed, polish, and remote control
- No interface-cluttering ads or aggressive data collection
- Siri and the TV app help make sense of streaming
Cons
- No hands-free voice control
- Hybrid touchpad directional pad can feel awkward
- It’s still pretty expensive for a streaming player
The second-gen Apple TV 4K is a fabulous piece of hardware with a feature set that no competitor can match, and its aluminum-wrapped remote control is as classy as the competition’s is plasticky. And while our review focuses on its media-streaming abilities, it should also be mentioned that the Apple TV 4K can serve as a HomeKit smart-home hub and a Thread border router. Finally, Apple is unique in its efforts to protect its users’ privacy. But with its lofty $179 price tag, you’ll have to pay to play.
Compared to its 1080p-only competitors, the step-down Apple TV HD is very expensive at $149, even if it does come with the same new remote that ships with the even more expensive Apple TV 4K. This 1080p streamer is a good choice for folks who’ve devoted themselves to the Apple ecosystem—including the Apple TV+ streaming service (you can read our review of Apple TV+ here)—but can’t pull the trigger on the $179 second-gen Apple TV 4K (or who don’t have a 4K TV to take advantage of it).
Chromecast with Google TV — Best media streamer for Android users
Pros
- Unified streaming guide means less digging through apps
- Google Assistant makes finding and sorting through content easier
- Neat features like casting, Google Photos wallpaper, and multi-room audio
Cons
- Guide integration varies by app
- No support for multiple profiles (yet)
Chromecast with Google TV is an intriguing alternative to Roku players and the Apple TV 4K, and it no longer depends on using your smartphone or tablet as a remote control. Best of all, the hardware now incorporates the Android TV operating system that tries hard to incorporate all of your streaming choices into a single comprehensive guide. It doesn’t quite live up to its ambition, but it comes very close.
Nvidia Shield TV (2019) — Best media streamer for power users
Pros
- Impressive performance and AI-powered 4K upscaling
- Top-notch remote with backlit buttons
- Convenient home screen with no distracting banner ads
Cons
- Tube design is a bit awkward
- Setup takes some fine-tuning
The Nvidia Shield Android TV is relatively expensive at $149, but a new processor and AI-powered 4K upscaling make it a compelling choice for power users.
The Nvidia Shield Pro version is even pricier at $200, but it can be configured to stream your personal media library to all your other devices; connected to an HDHomeRun networked tuner for use with Plex DVR, letting you record and watch free over-the-air broadcasts; and you can even plug in a USB stick and use the set-top box as a Samsung SmartThings smart home hub.
What to look for in a media streaming device
Still trying to decide between all these options? Here are some additional factors to consider when making your decision, followed by a chart comparing the features of the boxes we’ve mentioned above.
Performance: In general, set-top boxes are faster than streaming sticks, and the amount you spend correlates pretty strongly with the loading speeds and smoothness you’ll get.
Playback quality and resolution: If you have a 4K or 4K HDR television, you’ll probably want a streaming box that takes full advantage of those capabilities, including Dolby Vision and HDR10+. But these days, you won’t find any modern devices that don’t at least support 1080p resolution.
App selection: Traditionally, this has been the most important factor in choosing a streaming device, but over time app selection has started to look pretty similar no matter which device you choose, at least among major streaming services. Our app showdown chart will help you any particular service you’re interested in.
Ecosystem tie-ins: Apple apps and services (such as Apple Arcade and Fitness+) are generally only available through Apple TV, although the Apple TV app (good for access to Apple TV+ content as well as purchased or rented videos from iTunes ) has been making its way across a variety of platforms. Meanwhile, Fire TV devices are the most convenient way to watch Amazon Prime video, and Google’s video and music services are generally best accessed via Chromecast or Android TV. Roku is more of a neutral party, offering apps for Amazon, Google Play Movies & TV, and several other competing video services, but it lacks the sophisticated virtual assistants and smart home controls you’ll get with other platforms.
Content discovery features: Media-streaming devices are starting to evolve beyond a static list of apps. Features like Roku Feed and the Apple TV’s “TV” app help you keep track of new arrivals, while Amazon includes recommendations directly on the Fire TV home screen. Read up on these approaches to decide which one sounds most appealing.
Private listening options: Many devices support Bluetooth headphones for when you don’t want to disturb your spouse or kids. Roku players also support wired headphones through the Roku mobile app, and through the remote control on its pricier set-top boxes.
Captive portal support: If plan to take your streaming device on the road, you may run into Wi-Fi networks that require a web browser for logging in. This is known as a “captive portal,” and not all streaming devices support it.
Remote control features: Some remote controls are loaded with buttons for fast forward, rewind, and other special functions, while others take a more minimalist approach. Some remotes can control your television’s volume, and some include microphones for voice commands. No remote is perfect, however, so take a look at the ones that are included with each box to decide what’s most important to you.
Audio codec support: An increasing number of streaming services are supporting object-based soundtracks, such as Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, which add height cues to surround sound. If your home audio system can also take advantage of it—and even many of today’s soundbars can—you’ll want to hear it.
Connectivity: Do you plan on connecting a USB storage device, ethernet cable, or sound system via an analog or digital optical audio cable? Make sure your streaming box has the appropriate connections. You’ll also want a device with 802.11ax Wi-Fi (or Wi-Fi 6) if you’re worried about bandwidth on an overcrowded home network.
Media streamers that didn’t make the cut
Cooler than a Roku and much cheaper than an Apple TV, Amazon’s Fire TV Stick 4K Max boasts speedy hardware, Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support, plus powerful Alexa controls for finding and launching content, while the Live TV button and guide make for a great way to see what’s on right now. But while the Fire TV Stick 4K Max’s voice controls are fantastic, Amazon’s bloated on-screen menu system is an absolute mess, cluttered with ads and self-promotion. The same could be said for the older, step-down Fire TV Stick 4K.
Fully embracing voice control, Amazon’s Fire TV Cube does—at its best—feel like the future, complete with built-in microphones for Alexa that let you launch videos, tune in to live TV channels, play music, and control your TV’s volume without ever touching a remote. But the second-generation Fire TV Cube’s futuristic appeal is marred by some present-day limitations, including second-rate search capabilities, apps that don’t fully support voice commands, and Alexa’s occasional tendency to wake up when she’s not supposed to.
The Roku Ultra (2020) now supports both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. You can stream music to it via Bluetooth, and it has a faster processor. The company hasn’t taken away any of the Ultra’s best features, including its remote control with a built-in headphone jack for private listening, programmable launch buttons, and voice control. But on the minus side, we’re not quite as enthusiastic about Roku’s decision to stick with its approach to surfacing apps, versus surfacing content.
The Roku Express is not only the cheapest streaming player that Roku sells, its also by far the worst, mostly because its remote lacks volume and power buttons, TV controls that are now standard on every other streaming player.
The TiVo Stream 4K is a break from how most other streaming devices work. Rather than serving up a big list of apps to launch, TiVo funnels programming from several popular apps into one big TV guide, so you don’t have to bounce aimlessly between sources. For now, however, the TiVo Stream 4K only supports a handful of services, making it more a proof of concept than a killer consumer product.
The AirTV Player + Adapter streaming box makes cutting cable less intimidating by bringing Sling TV and over-the-air channels together, but it’s hobbled by a cumbersome channel guide and a lack of DVR support.
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Author: Jared Newman
Jared Newman has been helping folks make sense of technology for over a decade, writing for PCWorld, TechHive, and elsewhere. He also publishes two newsletters, Advisorator for straightforward tech advice and Cord Cutter Weekly for saving money on TV service.