Compare online DVD rental services
Compare online DVD rental services
It's hard to say outright which is the best DVD rental service, because each provider has a slightly different set of options which would suit different customers. Broadly, all the best online DVD rental companies offer the same type of service - i.e. you maintain a wishlist of DVDs online, they send them to you by post (the number the send out at once depends on how much you pay), then you return them by free post when you're finished (no late fees!).
Common things to look at when trying to find the best DVD rental service for your needs include the number of titles, the monthly limit on how many DVDs you can watch, whether or not there is a free trial, and how many DVDs they send to you at any one time. We've listed some of the main online DVD rental providers below.
LOVEFiLM DVD rental | Tesco DVD rental | Blockbuster online DVD rental | easyCinema DVD Rental
LOVEFiLM is Europe's largest online DVD rental community and has been offering its unlimited DVD rental service since May 2002. It merged with other big dvd providers - ScreenSelect and Video Island. LOVEFiLM is one of the best-established providers out there (if you find that kind of thing reassuring), and powers a number of other DVD rental providers, including Tesco, WHSmith and Easy Cinema.
| Options: | From 1 DVD out at a time (with a max 2 or 3 DVDs at a time) to unlimited plans that offer up to 3 DVDs at a time with no monthly limit |
| Price from: | £3.99 |
| Free trial: | 14 days |
| Titles available: | 65,000 |
| Adult titles? | Yes |
| Game rentals? | Yes |
LOVEFiLM mobile broadband website
Tesco DVD Rental is (no surprises) a very competitively priced DVD rentals provider. The package is pretty standard: choose between 1, 2, or 3 DVDs at a time, and you can change them as often as you like and keep them for as long as you want.
Note that Tesco is powered by LOVEFiLM, but they offer their own telephone, email and online support, so hopefully customer service shouldn't be an issue. And you get clubcard points!
| Options: | From 1 DVD out at a time with a monthly limit of 2 to 3 DVDs out at a time with no monthly limit |
| Price from: | £3.99 |
| Free trial: | 14 days |
| Titles available: | 56,000 |
| Adult titles? | No |
| Game rentals? | No |
Tesco mobile broadband website
Blockbuster DVD Rental is, naturally, one of the biggest names in postal/online DVD rentals because of its dominance in the high-street market. The offering is really very similar to other leading providers such as LOVEFiLM - you choose either a fixed number of DVDs per month or unlimited DVDs - the monthly fee increases depending on how many DVDs you want at once.
| Options: | From 1 DVD out at a time with a monthly limit of 2, to 5 DVDs out at a time with no monthly limit |
| Price from: | £4.99 |
| Free trial: | 1 month |
| Titles available: | 80,000 |
| Adult titles? | No |
| Game rentals? | No |
Blockbuster mobile broadband website
easyCinema DVD Rental takes a different approach to most DVD rental providers. Rather than paying a monthly fee, you buy credits then use them up (so it's more like a pay-as-you-go mobile phone compared to a contract phone). So the big benefit is that your risk is lowered - you only pay for what you use. On the flip side, if you're likely to watch LOADS of DVDs, it'd work out cheaper to go for a more traditional monthly-style arrangement, because you'll get more for your money. easyCinema is powered by LOVEFiLM.
| Options: | Between 1 and 3 DVDs at a time, no monthly limit |
| Price from: | Pay as you go from £1.99 per DVD |
| Free trial: | |
| Titles available: | 56,000 |
| Adult titles? | No |
| Game rentals? | No |
