Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K vs. Roku Streaming Stick+

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K

The Fire TV Stick 4K has nearly every spec you want in a streaming device. Really, the only thing missing is YouTube and YouTube TV, thanks to a feud with Google.

Roku Streaming Stick+

Roku is inexpensive and easy to use. The Streaming Stick+ has easy access to YouTube and YouTube TV, but lacks support for Dolby Vision HDR.

Choosing between the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K and Roku Streaming Stick+ really is more about choosing an ecosystem than hardware. There's near-parity between the two products, and the real question is about which trade-off you want to make.

Pick your stick ...

For most folks, one of these two devices is what we'd recommend if you're going with a basic streaming stick over either Amazon or Roku's top-of-the-line offerings. (Actually, I argue that the Fire TV Stick 4K is Amazon's too-of-the-line offering .)

They're nearly in line when it comes to specs. Really the only difference you need to know about is that the Roku Streaming Stick+ doesn't have support for the Dolby Vision flavor of HDR. It still does HDR 10, but Dolby Vision is just better . If your TV supports Dolby Vision, then you want your streaming device to also support Dolby Vision.

The other side of the trade-off coin, however, comes on the services side. Roku has pretty much every streaming service available. That includes Amazon Prime Video, and YouTube TV. But Roku doesn't do HDHomerun, if that's what you rely on for over-the-air TV.

Amazon Fire TV, on the other hand, doesn't do YouTube or YouTube TV, because it's still fighting with Google. That's probably not a deal-breaker for most folks, but it is something to know going in.

Me? I'd recommend either one of these sticks. Dolby Vision is important if you've got a TV that does Dolby Vision. And YouTube TV is important if you use YouTube TV.

In other words, pick the one that works best for you, and it'll work best for you.