If you want to spruce up your home theater or smart home set-up with an affordable streaming stick, two of the main options you're likely considering both the Amazon Fire TV Stick HD and the Roku Express.
The Amazon Fire TV Stick HD is the most basic Fire TV streaming dongle, getting you access to Amazon's smart TV operating system and all the perks of it for a low cost.
The Roku Express is the equivalent from tech company Roku, which was designed as one of the cheapest options on the market but with a few useful perks.
So if you're on the market for a streaming device to improve your TV, without breaking the bank and while still getting some useful features, both are contenders. But which should you pick? I'll run you through the key differences and features so you can make an informed decision.
Amazon Fire TV Stick HD vs Roku Express: price
Of these two streaming sticks, the Roku Express is the cheapest. It costs you $19.99 / £29.99.
You'll have to pay a little bit more for the Fire TV Stick HD, as it sells for $34.99 / £39.99.
You can occasionally find both streaming sticks for lower prices in sales, so if you're on the market don't be surprised to find either option available at about $10 / £10 less.
Both of these options are the cheapest from their prospective lines (the Fire TV Stick HD taking that mantle from the recently-discontinued Fire TV Stick Lite). If you want to spend a little more you can get 4K options (the Fire TV Stick 4K and Roku Express 4K) and even more premium versions that cost more.
Amazon Fire TV Stick HD vs Roku Express: design
Like most streaming devices, the Amazon and Roku both consist of two parts: a remote and a part that you plug into the TV.
As you can tell from the name the Amazon Fire TV Stick HD plugs into a TV with a stick. It's 8.6cm long and and is roughly rectangular, protruding straight out of the back of your TV. The Roku Express is a little puck that you plug into the TV with a cable so there's a little bit more versatility, but it may end up dangling.
Now onto the remote, and the Fire TV Stick HD has a few more options than the Roku Express. Both have a few buttons at the buttom for specific apps as well as play-pause, navigation options and a home icon.
However the Fire TV Stick HD also has a voice control button, for easier navigation, as well as a mute button to easily stop sound.
Neither remotes let you control your TV, and you'll need a pricier streaming stick to do that.
Amazon Fire TV Stick HD vs Roku Express: what it's like to use
The main difference between the Amazon Fire TV Stick HD and Roku Express is what they're like to use: the Fire Stick runs on Amazon's Fire TV operating system and the Roku uses Roku OS.
Both of these are services full of various streaming service apps as well as live TV and an app store to download more.
Fire TV is best if you're already an avid user of Amazon's services like Prime Video, Amazon Music and Audible. It has these apps built in with a home page that focuses on recommending you new shows and listens based on your habits.
It does have other apps as well, with most of the best streaming services covered and also is video game streaming platform Luna, but it can be a little overwhelming to use at times with how cluttered its interface is.
Roku OS arguably looks a little antiquated compared to its Amazon rival but it offers all the same services as its Amazon rival, and then some.
The big perk of Roku OS is access to The Roku Channel, a free streaming service with a fairly big library of movies and TV shows, which includes some originals.
Amazon Fire TV Stick HD vs Roku Express: video & audio quality
The video quality is equal on both the Amazon Fire TV Stick HD and Roku Express: both let you stream your video in HD resolution or 1080p, which is the default for most streaming services as well as the resolution older TVs use, though newer ones support 4K.
If you want to stream videos in 4K, you'll need to opt for one of the pricier streaming sticks both companies offer.
Neither streaming stick lets you enjoy Dolby Atmos audio, but Amazon's uses something called 'Dolby encoded audio' which replicates the surround-sound effect of full Atmos.
Roku does offer a Headphone Mode instead though, which lets you easily stream your movies and shows to your headphones via the mobile app if you want to watch quietly.
