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Has Netflix's price hikes pushed you too far? Here are five alternatives.
A closed Blockbuster Video store location in suburban Maryland. (Kristoffer Tripplaar/Sipa/Newscom )
2. Blockbuster
Remember these guys? The ones who, back in 1994, charged you that $80 restocking fee after you forgot to return that VHS copy of "Police Academy: Mission to Moscow"? It turns out that despite having their lunch eaten by Netflix for the past decade, they're still around. They don't have quite as many stores as they used to, but they offer rent-by-mail and streaming video services.
As with Netflix, the two services are separate. For the mail service, one disc at a time costs $11.99 a month. That's four bucks more than Netflix, but many new releases are available 28 days before Netflix gets them. Plus, Blockbuster doesn't charge the extra $1 for Blu-Ray discs that Netflix charges, and they also offer video games.
As for Blockbuster's on-demand service, there is no monthly fee. Instead, you pay for each rental. Rentals start as low as $1.99, although new releases are typically $3.99.
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