Discovery Plus seems like a natural addition when you’re cutting the cord and building your dream streaming bundle. A fairly low cost for tens-of-thousands of hours of content. Sadly, once you dig a bit deeper, it’s not quite the natural addition it may seem like on our first glance. Join us as we dive into the ins-and-outs of the service in our Discovery Plus review.
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Content
When it comes to content on Discovery Plus, this may be one of its strongest arguments for it. The service not only has Discovery Plus originals, but also pulls content from TLC, Food Network, HGTV, ID, Discovery, Travel Channel, Magnolia Network, History Channel, A&E, OWN, CNN Originals, Lifetime, Animal Planet, Cooking Channel, Science Channel, Planet Earth, Destination America, and AHC. With all of these sources combined, Discovery Plus boasts over 55,000 hours of content.
While the amount of content is certainly something to be boastful about, it tends to lean specifically into what Discovery has become best known for over the past several years: reality television. This app is essential if you’re a fan of the 90 Day Fiance family of shows. It feels as though the app and the content were designed to be used in the background while you clean the house or cook a meal. Nothing about it screams that this is a destination that your average viewer is anxious to turn on each day to catch the hottest new show being discussed at work.
If you want 19 seasons of Deadliest Catch to keep you company as you fold laundry, problem solved. Personally, I was only looking for Deadliest Catch and Battle Bots, both series it has, but I didn’t find myself coming to it for any reason other than those two series, and that’s not enough to keep me subscribed to it for any significant amount of time.
Navigation
While Discovery Plus excels at offering a wide selection of content, discovering it can be a bit more complicated.
Programming is categorized as well as being located in channel hubs, but going into either place can be overwhelming. The sheer amount of content makes it hard to filter through in the hopes of discovering something new to watch. The service seems to be built far more to appeal to its existing customer base, and you’re coming to the service with a show already in mind. Finding your next binge isn’t going to happen naturally or easily.
This again plays into the concept of this being primarily a ‘background app.’ You start one show, and then the app will just take you naturally through shows until you eventually turn it off.
And if you really want to go back in history of your favorite Discovery-brand shows, this is certainly a way to do so.
How Much Does Discovery Plus Cost?
Discovery Plus went through a price increase for its ad-free tier in the latter part of 2023, putting it more in line with other companies.
Discovery Plus offers a seven-day free trial that lets you try out the service. If you decide to keep it, the price is $4.99 monthly for the ad-supported tier. An ad-free tier is also offered for $8.99 a month. No annual pricing option is provided for either tier.
The ad-free tier also allows you to download content for offline viewing.
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Who is Discovery Plus For?
Discovery Plus is now in a tricky position because a significant portion of its content also appears on its sister streaming service, Max. Max’s pricing is significantly higher, starting at $9.99 a month ($99.99 a year) and reaching as high as $19.99 a month ($199.99 a year). If you don’t feel you need any of the additional benefits of Max, or you want the most current programming, Discovery Plus is your better option.
As pricing continues to rise, however, paying for what amounts to essentially a duplicate streaming service is going to become far more difficult to justify. And if you’re simply looking for something to play in the background as you work, then there are free options such as Pluto TV, Tubi, Crackle, and so on.
Discovery Plus Review Verdict
What’s the conclusion of our Discovery Plus review? We suggest you pass on Discovery Plus as its content is offered elsewhere, and the recent price increase makes it harder to justify.
Discovery Plus Stats
- Devices Available On:
- Amazon Fire TV
- Android Devices
- Android TV
- Apple TV
- Computers
- iOS Devices
- LG Smart TV
- Roku
- Samsung TVs
- Vizio
- Xbox
- More
- Login Method: Onscreen Keyboard and/or voice
- Concurrent Streams: Yes, up to 4
- Profiles: Yes
- Offline Viewing: Yes, ad-free tier only
- Streaming Device Reviewed On: Roku
- Region Tested: U.S.
Disclaimer: We tried Discovery Plus out over three months. The subscription was paid for with company funds.
