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- Streaming platforms offer benefits that aren't always obvious to subscribers.
- Netflix, Apple, Spotify, and more have perks that appeal to gamers or those looking for audiobooks.
- Accessing all the features available can mean more bang for your monthly fee.
There are a lot of streaming platforms on offer — and the cost of subscribing to them all can quickly add up.
One way to get the biggest bang for your buck from a streamer is to use most, if not all, of the features offered by each site.
Netflix and Spotify are mainly used for watching TV shows and listening to music or podcasts, respectively, but both have less well-known features. These perks can save you money, time – or even offer more fun, at no extra cost.
Netflix subscribers have access to about 50 free games
Netflix plans start at $6.99 a month for an ad-supported plan and cost up to $19.99 for a premium option. No matter what plan you have, Netflix Games is an available feature.
About 50 games, like "Stranger Things: 1984," "Sonic Prime Dash," and "Exploding Kittens," are on offer, and they can be played on smartphones and tablets with no ads or extra fees.
Categories include action, adventure, arcade, card, music, party, puzzle, racing, role-playing, simulation, sports, strategy, and tabletop.
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Amazon Prime includes much more than just free shipping
Amazon prime members have access to way more than just fast, free shipping and a host of TV shows and films to stream.
As a Prime member, you get access to exclusive deals during Amazon Prime Day, as well as Prime Gaming, which offers a host of free games, in-game content, and a free monthly channel subscription on Twitch.
Prime subscribers are also eligible for 12 months of Grubhub+, which includes free delivery on orders over $12 and exclusive discounts at various restaurants.
If you're not in a hurry to receive your Amazon package, you can earn a discount on your order or $1 digital credits for opting for No-Rush Shipping at checkout. The credits can be used to save money on ebooks, movies, games, and more.
Amazon First Reads lets Prime members choose two free Kindle books from a selection of ebooks. There's no need to own a Kindle device to access the library, as there's an app available for mobile devices and computers.
There's also free music on offer with Prime — a total of 100 million songs — as well as podcasts, all ad-free. There is one catch: You can only "shuffle play" an artist, album, or playlist, and can't select specific tracks.
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Audiobooks are now included in Spotify Premium
Spotify Premium gives you unlimited ad-free music for $10.99 a month. It also offers the Duo plan, two premium accounts, for $14.99 and the Family plan, six accounts, for $16.99.
In addition to ad-free music and podcasts, Spotify Premium users now have access to over 150,000 audiobooks. Users can listen to 15 hours of audiobooks per month. This feature is already available to subscribers in the UK and Australia, and it set to be rolled out in the US later this year.
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The Apple One bundle gives you access to more than just music
If you're paying $10.99 a month for Apple Music, you might want to consider upgrading to the Apple One bundle for about $6 more.
Doing so will give you AppleTV+, the Arcade gaming service, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+, and 50 gigabytes of iCloud storage, as well as your Apple Music tunes.
According to the official Apple site, bundling the subscriptions saves consumers about $7 a month.
Arcade offers more than 200 ad-free games that can be played online or offline across all your Apple devices.
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