Netflix vs Redbox Instant - Netflix Wins

I’ve been an avid Netflix user for the last few months. I use it watch TV shows like White Collar and Lie to Me and my kid watches Thomas & Friends, Curious George, Go Diego Go, etc. I don’t usually watch movies on Netflix, because I have seen all the movies I want to see in the Netflix catalog and it takes me more time to find a movie I want to watch then actually watching movies. I use the Redbox kiosks at least 2 times a month. I’m so “frugal” that I usually only rent from them when they send me the free promo codes via SMS and I always return them on time. So, take this review from that perspective: TV shows, Kid shows and an occasional Redbox kiosk user.

The bottom line is that I won’t be switching to Redbox Instant any time soon. They don’t have TV shows, they don’t have Thomas & Friends and their movie catalog is even worse than Netflix. Redbox Instant has some great features that Netflix doesn’t have, which I get into below, but they aren’t enough for me to make a move.

You’ll find more data and screenshots from the iPhone apps below. Hope this helps you decide which one to go with. LMK if you choose Redbox Instant…I’d love to know why.



Not Available. Screenshots below show that searches for White Collar and Lie to Me don't return the TV shows. [![IMG_0920](/images/blog/netflix-vs-redbox-instant_6043/IMG_0920_thumb.png "IMG_0920") Yes. [![IMG_0942](/images/blog/netflix-vs-redbox-instant_6043/IMG_0942_thumb.png "IMG_0942")



Seriously lacking. Definitely nothing there my 2 year old would want to watch.

Kids landing page:


No Thomas & Friends content.

Has Thomas & Friends, Curious George, Diego, etc.




Seriously lacking. Doesn't have Mission Impossible, Good Will Hunting, Punch Drunk Love or Adaptation. It's WAY better than Redbox Instant, but still lacking. It has all the titles mentioned to the left.


Yes, see preview button below the movie graphic


Not Available


Yes. You can add star rating and text reviews by clicking the "Add Review" button from the movie details view. [![IMG_0915](/images/blog/netflix-vs-redbox-instant_6043/IMG_0915_thumb.png "IMG_0915") Yes, but you can only add star rating from the moving details view. See the gold stars in the screenshot below. [![IMG_0980](/images/blog/netflix-vs-redbox-instant_6043/IMG_0980_thumb.png "IMG_0980")


Yes. You can filter by Rating and Format (HD/SD) and you can sort by Release Year, Rating and Title. [![IMG_0911](/images/blog/netflix-vs-redbox-instant_6043/IMG_0911_thumb.png "IMG_0911") No. You can only do text searches.


Yes, it is called Bookmarks Yes, it is called Instant Queue


Yes Yes
Yes, but it's bad. A search for "Matt Damon" returns anything with Matt OR Damon.


Yes, but you can’t search by actor name. Matt Damon returns zero results.



No Yes [![IMG_0983](/images/blog/netflix-vs-redbox-instant_6043/IMG_0983_thumb.png "IMG_0983")


No. This is what you get when you are laying down on your side and there's no way to change it.


Yes. Netflix will automatically rotate it to full screen based on your orientation.