HBO vs. HBO Max – What’s the Difference?

When you want to make your weekends exciting and relax at home, binge-watching is your go-to solution. Some good films, Tv favorites, web series, or originals give a break from the daily stressful life with something fun and worthy of your time. But, when it comes to watching something good despite multiple platforms, you are not sure of getting appealing content. 

So, you will need to check your trusted platforms like HBO. However, it has a long history of confusing people with various platforms under HBO, HBO Go, and HBO Now. In this case, an understanding of the difference between the classic HBO vs HBO Max will make you get your hands on quality content.

If you are confused about which one to select to subscribe to, this article will be worth your time. You will also know which one is better, HBO or HBO Max, and why both of them continue to exist together.

HBO vs. HBO Max – Which One Is More Accessible?

For watching web series and Films, you need to ensure that you have access to a streaming platform. When Warner Brother Launched HBO Max, they made sure that users could access it from different platforms. It means they made it available on Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, and other streaming devices in the modern world.

But this situation is not similar to the Classic HBO. Before the advent of HBO Max, it was available on comparatively more platforms. Gradually, its accessibility has decreased because now it offers limited access. You can get it on older TV devices but not new ones.

Or else, you can stream it via the HBO Max Website. It is not available on modern platforms because it was not released due to compatibility issues.

Where Will You Find Better Content HBO Or HBO Max?

You want to watch films, TV series, originals, and Web shows; that is the prime reason to understand the difference between these platforms. While both offer series and Films to watch, HBO Max will offer you all the content you will get to watch on HBO.

Additionally, you will get to watch more content by Warner Brothers too. It means the content from HBO and extra too. Moreover, it has doubled the range of HBO.

HBO Max has a comprehensive menu of series, movies and documentaries, and many originals. It includes titles like Game of Thrones, The Big Bang Theory, and The Fresh prince.

Also, you can get to watch Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, TCM, and DC, which comes under Warner Bros with their New Movies on its premiere day. Overall, it counts for more than 10,000 hours of content, which is a lot more than HBO, with about 4,000 hours of content only.

Which Is More Affordable- HBO Or HBO Max?

Pricing is an essential factor for streaming platforms, considering the amount of content they offer. So, when we are comparing the price, then both the media have a similar pricing plan. The basic plans of HBO and HBO Max have equal costs of $14.99 per month. So, yes, you will get more content on HBO Max at the same price as HBO.

If you want additional no-ad support options, then HBO offers no such option. But HBO Max offers a No ad support option for $9.99 per month for HBO Max. Moreover, HBO has no yearly plan option available on HBO Max. Apart from that, you get more payment methods to subscribe to HBO Max than you get for HBO.

Which Platform Gives You More Features?

Are you looking for special features in your streaming platforms? If so, there is not much difference between HBO and HBO Max, which have a similar set of Special Features.

Also, you can get to stream the platforms from the same website itself. You can watch both HBO and HBO Max in HD. There are some selected movies and shows that are available to stream in 4K UHD.

If you want to download films and shows to watch them later easily, then this service is available on both of these platforms. You can download episodes and movies on HBO and HBO Max to watch them later or so. Still, a few features are available on HBO Max only.

Which One Has More Restrictions Between HBO And HBO Max?

Suppose you wonder what the restrictions could be; we mean the limit on the number of devices used. There are not many restrictions when you choose across different streaming platforms. You can register three machines in a single account on HBO.

But, for streaming, you can only stream content on two devices simultaneously. But you can write a countless number of devices on HBO Now with its stand-alone subscription. Still, you can only stream to three devices at one time.

If you try to stream content on more than three devices, then you will get a message about the same. It will ask you to sign out, or you will have to restart the fourth one. When you upgrade to Max, the upgrade is simple for existing users. But, there is not much difference in restrictions.

Which One Is The Best Platform HBO Or HBO Max?

After comparing all the differences, let’s understand which is the best among HBO and HBO Max. Both of them are a part of the same brand name HBO. So, HBO was a previous service, and HBO Max is the new platform offered by Warner Bros. In terms of accessibility, HBO Max is the latest than HBO. So, it is available across various streaming sites than the latter which makes it more accessible.

HBO Max has more content because it offers all the content available on HBO. Also, the pricing of both platforms is similar, which means you get more content at the same rate. Both HBO and HBO Max offer the same features, and Max offers a little more again under similar restrictions.

Still, HBO Max lags behind a little when it comes to originals. The reason for it is the covid-19 pandemic-enforced lockdown. As the TV and filming industry was shut down owing to the pandemic, then a variety of HBO Max originals have been delayed.

Many of them scheduled for release later had paused their Filming. The two big names under that are an Anna Kendrick rom-com TV series. The other one is a new talk show. Watching originals is a prime reason you subscribe to a new streaming platform; given that reason, you will have to wait for it on HBO Max.

As a result, we can say that HBO Max is a far better choice than HBO.

Why Is There An HBO When HBO Max Is better?

These differences between the two platforms make it clear that HBO Max is far better than HBO. So, you might wonder why there is an HBO when HBO Max is much better. Well, the reason is that Warner Bros wants to keep it active for the people who are not willing to get an HBO Max for whatever reason.

Many subscribers have taken a subscription to HBO in their lives TV plan. So, they would want to continue rather than upgrade. For those subscribers, HBO continues to offer service without disrupting their experience. Although, they may find that it’s not easy to avoid the attractive offerings by HBO Max.

So, How Can I Subscribe To HBO Max?

If the attractive offerings by HBO Max have impressed you, then you can upgrade your HBO to HBO Max itself. You have to select it because that won’t happen automatically. Since they have similar pricing, there is no reason to say ‘no.’

However, you need to consult and consider your cable provider on the same. There are 8 million users who choose HBO without going for a traditional cable package through different services. So, it was carefully discussed with cable companies who saw online streaming and removing traditional TV as a threat and renegotiated deals.

Conclusion:

We have reached the end of this article, and you will have clearly understood the difference between HBO and HBO Max. HBO Max is similar to HBO with a lot more features. It has more content, unique features, and better availability at the same price.

HBO offers linear channels that HBO Max doesn’t provides. But you can get it through a subscription—live TV streaming services, such as YouTube TV or Fire TV, offer such subscriptions.

HBO Max will offer you more content of Films, TV shows, documentaries, and Web shows with fewer restrictions and more features. You will get access to other Warner Media brands and exciting originals that say that HBO Max is the right choice.