Paramount Plus Review 2024: Is Paramount Plus Worth It? | TV Guide (2024)

What Is Paramount Plus?

Formerly known as CBS All Access, Paramount+ is Paramount Global's longstanding foray into the streaming world. It carries nearly every Paramount Global property, including CBS, Showtime, BET, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and Smithsonian, along with a range of other rotating titles.

Paramount+ is unique among similarly priced on-demand streamers, as it offers not only a robust content library but a range of live sports content. You can find a little bit of everything here, from Star Trek and Top Gun: Maverick to to a whole pile of Taylor Sheridan shows, Champions League soccer and NFL football. Read on to find out if Paramount+ is right for you.

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How Much Does Paramount Plus Cost?

There are two standard Paramount+ plans users can choose from and Paramount+ prices are as follows: The Essential plan, which is supported by ads, is $6/mo., and the Paramount+ with Showtime plan, which eliminates ads for most on-demand content and adds the entire Showtime library, is $12/mo. Prospective subscribers can also purchase an annual subscription for each of these plans and save about two months' worth of cash over what they would have paid for a monthly subscription.

So how much is Paramount+ if you pay annually? The annual Essential plan will set you back $60/yr. While the annual Premium plan will cost you $120/yr. Both of these plans are attractive offers for those hoping to save a few bucks — you're basically getting 12 months for the price of 10. You can also try the service for free with a seven-day Paramount+ free trial.

Since its launch as CBS All Access in 2014, Paramount+ has worked to position itself as a one-stop-shop for Paramount Global's keystone content, and that became increasingly true when Showtime was fully integrated into the service in 2023. The combined library is impressive, with exclusive originals from family-friendly channels like Nickelodeon, original shows from the Paramount network, and a vast collection of classic Paramount movies to boot.

Paramount+ is the only streamer out there that grants you access to nearly every CBS show. That means if you're looking to watch full seasons of NCIS, The Neighborhood, or Frasier, then this is the perfect service for you.

With Showtime, you're getting a double whammy — all of Showtime's decades of original series, along with its substantial rotating library of licensed films. Now you get all of that along with all the Paramount+ bells and whistles for about the price that Showtime cost all by itself as a cable add-on.

Price-wise the service is more affordable than a basic subscription to Hulu, Netflix, or Disney+. Plans for Paramount+ start at $6/mo., and all come with a seven-day free trial to get you started. Currently, only Hulu offers a better free trial among the on-demand streamers.

This is an important point, as it illustrates the service's commitment to affordability. This is also illustrated by the Paramount+ student discount, which offers the Essential plan to students for 25% off. This isn't quite as good as Hulu's student deal of only $2/mo. for its basic plan, but it's still a great value, especially if you want to watch Paramount+ exclusives like Star Trek: Picard or Champions League soccer.

Still, Paramount+ has managed to hold its own among these other streaming giants with its versatility, especially with Showtime now a part of it. It's the only service out there that you can use to watch new exclusives like The Offer or every Star Trek series, and also tune in to all your favorite live sports from the NFL, Masters, Serie A, National Women's Soccer League, and more. The only other service listed above that you can use to watch live sports is Hulu, but you'll need a Hulu + Live TV subscription (plans start at $70/mo.) to do so.

Can I watch Yellowstone on Paramount+

Despite being a Paramount Network series, the streaming home for Yellowstone is actually Peaco*ck, and so you can't watch it on Paramount+ at this time. But Paramount+ does have every other show produced by Yellowstonewriter and co-creator Taylor Sheridan, including the spinoffs 1883 and 1923, the historical drama Lawmen: Bass Reeves, the spy thriller Special Ops: Lioness, and the crime dramas Tulsa King and The Mayor of Kingstown.

Paramount Plus Features

Those looking for a service that the whole family can enjoy need look no further than Paramount+. Not only can you watch the service on three screens simultaneously, but parents can also set up parental locks to control what younger members of the family can stream. But with tons of Nickelodeon titles like Spongebob Squarepants, Danny Phantom, and The Wild Thornberrys Movie already on the streaming platform, there's no shortage of kid-friendly titles to enjoy.

Paramount+ frequently adds new titles to the service, so there is always something to enjoy. The service currently features new hits like Top Gun: Maverick, Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoningand Sonic The Hedgehog 2 alongside classics like Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Bridget Jones's Diary. You can also watch the latest Rugrats reboot, the newest Star Trek series, Strange New Worlds, and another upcoming Yellowstone spinoff.

Some of the Paramount+ shows and movies you can watch right now include:

• Star Trek: Picard

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• Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run

• Fire Country

• Why Women Kill

• The Good Fight

• 60 Minutes

• Mayor of Kingstown

• Wolf Pack

• Survivor

• Young Sheldon

• Lawmen: Bass Reeves

• The Family Stallone

Paramount+ also comes with plenty of additional features to keep users satisfied as well. All Paramount+ plans come with a few live TV channels and offerings, which means you can use your subscription to tune into many local news broadcasts and live sports matchups. Sports lovers can tune into games from NFL, SEC, March Madness, and more, depending on what's on.

Those hoping to stay abreast with the news and other local topics can stream full episodes from CBS Saturday Morning, 60 Minutes, and CBS Evening News. The service may be branded as an on-demand streamer, but Paramount+'s live TV offerings make it so much more. With the Premium plan, you also get access to your local CBS station.

Paramount Plus Supported Devices

You can stream Paramount+ on most streaming devices and smart TVs. Odds are very good you already have multiple devices that support the Paramount+ app, including phones, tablets, streaming boxes, game consoles and smart TVs. According to Paramount+'s support page, these are all the devices you can use to stream the service:

• Apple TV

• Apple iPhone and Apple iPad

• Android TV (Google TV)

• Android smartphones and tablet

• Google Chromecast

• Amazon Fire TV

• Facebook Portal TV

• Sony PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5

• Samsung TV (Tizen)

• Vizio TV

• LG TV

• Roku

• Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S

• Xfinity devices

• Cox Contour

• VIDAA TV

Is Paramount Plus Worth It?

Paramount+ will appeal to streamers who are looking for exclusive content like the complete Star Trek catalog, CBS original shows and Paramount films, or Champions League soccer. But it's much more than that. With a full slate of offerings from Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, BET, and Smithsonian, along with a rotating set of new and classic movies, there's something for everyone on Paramount+. And the addition of the Showtime library to the premium tier wasn't a small thing.

Why settle for a streaming service that specializes in just movies when you can sign up for a service that specializes in movies, TV shows, sports, animation, and everything else? Ultimately, the service has just about everything you could want in a streamer, all for a relatively low price.