Netflix is the first, and arguably the most popular, DVD rental plan company. It boasts the biggest selection of DVDs, with more than 100,000, according to its website, and has an aggressive pricing scheme, with plans that start at $8.99 a month. This particular plan allows you to take out one DVD at a time. Other plans allow you to take more DVD rentals out at a time, but also have higher fees. The company nowadays pushes its streaming video capabilities to the forefront, including the feature with every DVD rental plan.
Blockbuster, once the king of brick-and-mortar rental places, is Netflix’s biggest competitor. Its selection is almost as big as Netflix’s, with approximately 95,000 titles, and its pricing plan is also low priced, starting at $8.99. Customers can also exchange movies in-store. In March 2010, Blockbuster scored a coup when it reached agreements with most of the major studios for a 28-day exclusivity period on new releases, according to Home Media Magazine. The company also added games recently to their online rental selection.
Apart from Netflix and Blockbuster Online, several smaller companies like GreenCine, DVD Avenue, and Café DVD offer similar rental plans with plans that start from $9.95 to $14.95 as well as alternative pricing methods like for example $2.99 for 3 DVDs over a seven-day period, like Café DVD offers. Their interface may be simpler than those of Netflix and Blockbuster, but they offer obscure titles in out-there categories that may cater to the discerning videophile.