DVD and game rentals, by monthly subscription or pay as you go
Less well known DVD rentals but with plenty of packages, starting at 2 rentals a month for £4.89. 35,000 DVDs to choose from.
Two weeks free trail without commitment on most packages. Free first class postage both ways and 70,000 titles to choose from.Music and film for CDs & DVDs to buy
Downloads for music and film downloads
14 days free
New subscribers only
2 weeks - One month free
depending on package
New subscribers only
There are probably not as many rental companies as you might think. Most companies use Lovefilm, just with different stationery and a different header on the web site.
There are two ways to rent DVDs online. You can pay a monthly subscription and borrow a number of DVDs every month or you can pay per rental.
Subscription services
Each of the companies offers two approaches to DVD rental by monthly subscription. One is to pay for a fixed number of rentals per month. You can choose 2, 3 or 4 per month, depending on the company. The other, more popular approach, is to let you have a certain number of DVDs at home at a time, but with no limit on the number you can have in a month. The quicker you send them back, the quicker they will replace them with others from your wish list and the more you will be able to see in a month.
Which company is best for you may depend on how many DVDs you want to watch and how many you want at a time. The most popular package is to have three at home at a time with no limit on the number per month.
Comparison
of DVD
rental costs |
Blockbuster | Cinema Paradiso | Lovefilm |
Limited number of rentals at a time and per month |
|||
2 per month |
£4.88 | £4.89 | £3.91 |
3 per month |
£5.99 | ||
4 per month |
£7.82 | £7.99 | £7.82 |
Unlimited number of rentals per month, limited number at a time |
|||
1 at a time |
£9.78 | £9.49 | £9.78 |
2 at a time |
£12.71 | £12.49 | £12.72 |
3 at a time |
£14.67 | £14.99 | £15.65 |
Number of DVDs available |
"almost all" | 65,000, including foreign titles | 65,000 |
See the table for a comparison.
All the companies offer a free trial on their unlimited packages. Usually the free trail is for 2 weeks but Blockbuster offer a free month with their 2 at a time unlimited package.
You could try all four companies and choose which, if any to stick with. The trials are free and there is no commitment, so there is nothing to lose and up 8 weeks free DVD rental to gain.
Pay as You Go
If you do not want to commit to a monthly subscription, Lovefilm and Blockbuster offer alternative pay-as-you-go schemes.
You still get the benefits of free delivery to your door and free returns. With Lovefilm you also get no late fees, but Blockbuster charge extra after the first 5 nights.
With these schemes you you pay per rental rather than per month, so you get movie rentals with less commitment. Lovefilm sell credits for 4, 9 or 15 rentals which you can use when you like. Costs vary from about £1.95 - £2.94 per film, depending on the size of your package and whether you allow automatic top-ups. Blockbuster charge £4.50 per rental for new titles and £3.50 for others for the first 5 nights.