We've got the battle royale of streaming duels on our hands as two significant companies vie for the title of Who Should Win Your Money.
It's almost time for college students to head off to school, and a streaming device is one way to transform a dorm room into a home theater. But which streaming device offers the best bang for the buck?
In one corner isย Roku, the most famous name in streaming devices. In the other corner sitsย Amazon Fire TV, the streamer made by one of the most influential companies in the world.
Many people want a cheap, easy way to get streaming video from Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, HBO Max, Hulu, YouTube, and Apple TV Plus on their TV, and both companies offer numerous devices with similar prices and features that allow you to do just that.
But which one should you pick?
At CNET, we've spent countless hours testing both over the years and generally, both work well.
Most Roku and Fire TV devices we've reviewed received an 8.0 (excellent) rating or higher, so it's tough to go wrong.
The Roku Streaming Stick 4Kย offers Dolby Vision and is sometimes on sale for less than the older and Vision-lessย Roku Express 4K Plus. Meanwhile, theย Fire TV Stick 4K Maxย is one of the fastest streaming devices on the market.
Do you think you could choose between Roku and Fire TV? To start, realize they have more similarities than differences.
- Both are super-affordable, starting at $30 for their cheapest players, and they often go on sale for less.
- Both have access to thousands of TV apps, including all major ones. Most apps look and behave the same on both.
- The latest Roku and Fire TV models are pretty much equally quick, responsive, and reliable as long as you have a solid internet connection.
- Both (except for the cheapest Rokus) offer remotes with TV volume and power buttons to control most
TVs
So you can ditch the remote that came with your TV if you still need to…