Best Subscription Services To Gift This Christmas
If you're struggling for gift ideas, or you have someone on your list who loves all-things entertainment, then you really can't go wrong with a subscription service this Christmas. Something they can enjoy all year round, a music-streaming service, on-demand video service or even an audiobook subscription is sure to make someone very happy on the 25th December.
Music Subscriptions
If you're shopping for a music lover, why not go with a music streaming service subscription? There are plenty out there, such as Google Play Music and Amazon Music, but two of the biggest are Spotify and Apple Music.
Spotify
Price: £9.99
How to gift: Buy a Spotify gift card, available from PayPal. Choose between 1, 3, 6 and 12 months, and email the gift across to the recipient.
Why Spotify? If you know someone who constantly uses the free version of Spotify, then Spotify Premium will be a fantastic Christmas gift for them. Removing ads, providing unlimited skips and enabling users to download songs so they can listen without an internet connection, Spotify Premium is great for uninterrupted listening anywhere, anytime.
With curated playlists like New Music Friday, Release Radar and even radio channels based on specific artists, it's really easy to discover new music on Spotify too. Spotify will get better the more it's used as well. The person you're gifting Spotify Premium to will find multiple Daily Mixes ready and waiting for them, which are playlists created by Spotify based on the music genres they listen to. Each playlist changes every day, and includes songs they've been loving alongside new music Spotify predicts they'll also like based on their recent activity.
Apple Music
Annual price: £9.99 per month
How to gift: Head to apple.com/uk/shop/gift-cards and choose whether you'd like a physical gift card or an electronic gift card. You can select the amount you wish to gift (e.g. £60 which will pay for 6 months of Apple Music), and the receiver can choose to pay for their Apple Music subscription with this credit.
Why Apple Music? It's just as easy to use as Spotify, and has a huge library with pretty much every artist you can possibly think of.
There are endless playlists to explore too, and making your own is simple. You can search for songs in seconds with Siri, store up to 100,000 songs on your iTunes library and even link Apple Music with a HomePod speaker - something worth considering if the recipient is already a big Apple fan. Of course, Android users are able to use Apple Music too - the app can be found on the Google Play Store.
Video Subscriptions
Amazon Prime Video
Price: £5.99 per month alone, or either £7.99 per month or £79 a year for Amazon Prime
How to gift Amazon Prime: Set up a new Amazon account for your recipient, and purchase a Prime subscription or Prime Video subscription from there. Unfortunately, Amazon's 'Give the Gift of Prime' service is currently limited to the USA - so you can't buy a subscription for an existing account just yet.
Why Amazon Prime Video? It doesn't matter if the person you're buying for is into TV box sets, films or both, Amazon Prime Video has an impressive selection of both. Exclusive content just for Amazon Prime Video users includes originals such as Mr. Robot and The Man in the High Castle. Amazon's live sport offering could be a decider if you're stuck between multiple services - from tennis and Thursday night NFL games to Premier League football, you can find a huge range of sport ready to stream live here.
With an Amazon Prime subscription, you'll also be gifting a year's worth of unlimited next-day delivery from Amazon and access to Amazon Music - ideal if you want to combine both a video and music streaming service in one gift.
Netflix
Price: Starting at £5.99 per month
How to gift Netflix: Head to netflix.com/gift-cards and buy your gift card through PayPal or Startselect. Your recipient will receive an email with a special code that'll update their balance once they make an account, which they'll be able to use to pay their new subscription.
One of the most famous TV streaming services, a Netflix subscription will suit all tastes. A Basic Plan will cost just £5.99 a month, and with this a user can view and download content on one device. You can upgrade to a Standard or Premium Plan too, which offers HD streaming and the ability to watch and download shows and films on multiple devices.
The extensive Netflix catalogue is always changing, and there's even a section for younger viewers with favourites such as Peppa Pig, Pokémon and Sonic. Box sets like The Vampire Diaries and Breaking Bad have been a staple for Netflix for a long time, and with a subscription you'll be giving someone acess to famous Netflix Originals such as Stranger Things, Orange is the New Black and 13 Reasons Why.
Now TV
Price: £7.99 for per month for the Entertainment Pass, £11.99 per month for Sky Cinema
How to gift Now TV: Simply buy a Now TV gift card from nowtv.com/gift-cards or purchase a Smart Stick with subscription code included from high-street electrical stores.
Why Now TV? With Now TV, you can tailor your gift more closely to your recipient's entertainment preferences. There are two main Now TV subscriptions to choose from: an Entertainment Pass where you'll find all the latest box sets, and Sky Cinema which is a must for film fanatics.
You can also sign them up for hayu (a subscription focused on the best of US reality TV) or a Kids Pass which will give access to channels like Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon.
Now TV is a great choice if this gift is for someone who is into shows like The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones too, with previous seasons always added before a new one premieres. Content changes frequently, so there's always something new to watch.
Apple TV+
Price: £4.99 a month
How to gift AppleTV+: Just like Apple Music, gifting Apple TV+ is as simple as buying an Apple gift card and loading it up with money. Whoever is receiving your gift will be able to use this credit to pay for an Apple TV+ subscription.
Why Apple TV+ The newest on-demand video service in our list, Apple TV+ was launched in November 2019. Anyone can enjoy Apple TV+ - it's not exclusive to iPhone users - and it's different from Netflix, Now TV and Amazon Prime Video thanks to its catalogue of completely new and exclusive content.
Due to its selection of Apple Originals, an Apple TV+ subscription will be a great present for just about anyone. Even if you're buying it for someone who's already subscribed to a different streaming service, they won't be able to access shows such as Dickinson, The Morning Show and See anywhere else. It'll cost you £4.99 a month, which comes to £59.88 a year.
Audiobook Subscriptions
Audible
Price: £69.99 a year, £47.99 for 6 months, £23.99 for 3 months, £7.99 for one month
How to gift Audible: Visit Audible.co.uk, select 'Gifts' and choose how many months' worth of audiobooks you'd like to purchase. You'll be asked to enter the recipient's email and name, as well as your name and the date you'd like the gift to be emailed to them. You can choose a printed option too, so you can hand the gift over in person if you prefer.
Why Audible? Audiobooks are brilliant for people who love to read, but struggle to find the time to sit down with a book. They also present a way to enjoy fiction and non-fiction in another form, and the narration can really help bring a story to life.
Audible is known for being the world's largest audiobook library, and there's a huge number of titles waiting to be explored. For £69.99 a year you can gift 12 credits, and the receiver will get to choose a book they love a month. Smaller subscriptions are available too if that's a little bit beyond your budget, including a 6-month subscription for £47.99 or 3 months for £23.99.
Progress will sync across multiple devices too, so they'll always be able to pick up where they left off when listening to their latest audiobook.
Enjoy all the above services on a range of smartphones, available on the best contract, upgrade or SIM-free deals here at e2save.