Last Updated on February 6, 2023
If you are looking at purchasing an Amazon Fire Stick or a Fire TV, this may be the guide for you. At some point, you’re going to choose one or the other. We’ll be giving you a side-by-side comparison of each device so you know which one may suit you best.
While they both serve the same purpose such as providing you with excellent streaming options, there may be some features that can stand out in some way. If you are in the market for a device that will give you plenty of streaming options for movies, TV shows, sporting events, and more, keep reading.
Contents
Fire Stick vs. Fire TV at a Glance
If you are short on time, we’ve put together a brief list of the advantages and disadvantages for both the Fire Stick and Fire TV:
Fire Stick Advantages:
- Excellent sound quality
- 4K Ultra HD picture quality
- Streams consistently at 60 fps or more
Fire Stick Disadvantages:
- Not as portable
- May not be affordable
- Won’t pair up with Echo devices
Fire TV Advantages:
- Portable
- Affordable
- Pairs up with Echo devices
Fire TV Disadvantages:
- Lacking in sound support
- Picture quality is decent but not as good as Fire TV
- No 4K support
Winner: Fire TV
What’s the Difference Between Them?
Picture Quality
First and foremost, let’s discuss the picture quality of each device. Indeed, you want the best quality possible when you want to watch your favorite movies and shows. The Fire TV offers 4K Ultra HD streaming picture quality.
Meanwhile, the Fire Stick will have good picture quality. At the end of the day, it’s clearly obvious which device has it better. Nevertheless, they are still able to provide you with well over half a million movies and TV shows.
However, there is a Fire TV Stick that has 4K. The only difference is that it might cost you a bit more compared to the standard Fire TV Stick. The picture quality will be slightly better, but it may not hold a candle to the original Fire TV.
At this point, you already know who wins out here in terms of picture quality. So we’ll make the official declaration here.
Winner: Fire TV
Pairing with Echo devices
Of course, leave it to Alexa to help find a show for you. You can use that feature with the remote control that came with your device. However, there is one thing that will make the Fire Stick stand out compared to its Fire TV counterpart.
If you have an Alexa device such as the Echo Dot, you can use it for hands-free control. Sure, using a remote may be a good option. However, if you can’t find the remote anywhere, you can use your Echo device to watch TV or a movie.
Unfortunately, the Fire TV doesn’t have the ability to pair with Echo devices. So if you lose the remote, you could consider downloading an app on your phone that may be compatible with your Fire TV device.
Either way, using Alexa is a great way to take advantage of the voice command feature. Just mention a title of a movie, a specific actor, or a genre and you’ll open up a huge list of movies and TV shows that you’ll love to watch.
Winner: Fire Stick
Dimensions
The measurements may not make a bit of a difference in terms of your purchasing decision. But just in case they do, we’ll talk about them. The Fire TV measures out at 2.6 inches in width and length while measured at 0.6 inches in depth.
Meanwhile, the Fire Stick measures out at 3.4 inches in length, 1.2 inches in width, and just a half-inch depth. The Fire Stick also weighs less.
Dimensions may matter most because of where you can set up the Fire Stick or Fire TV. Your Fire Stick will likely be installed behind the TV where there is an HDMI port. At this point, the dimensions may not matter since they are somewhat similar to each other in size.
Winner: Tie
Audio support
We’ve discussed picture quality earlier. Now, let’s talk about sound. What will be great in terms of audio quality and support. The Fire TV will provide you with plenty of audio support such as Dolby Digital, Digital Plus, and Atmos.
The audio quality for the Fire Stick is great. However, it doesn’t have the same level of support as its Fire TV counterpart. On the bright side, at least you still get better quality for both picture and sound compared to your computer or mobile device.
With that said, in the case of audio support, the Fire TV wins out here.
Winner: Fire TV
Portability
Wait a second. Portability? Yes, let’s talk about it.
If you are traveling, you can take your Fire Stick with you. It’s small enough to take with you wherever you go. All you need to do is connect it to a TV that has an HDMI port and WiFi. Boom, problem solved.
With the Fire TV, it’s not as portable. While the Fire Stick got trounced in the audio support department, we’ll give it the win here because of its portability. It’s the perfect substitute for having to rely on your computer or mobile phone for watching your favorite movies and TV shows.
Oh, and it certainly beats those pay-per-view movies that you’ll find on those hotel TVs.
Winner: Fire Stick
Price
If you are looking for what you can afford best, the prices for each device should come as no surprise. The Fire TV is perhaps the more expensive option and for good reason. Because you get better features and better quality.
At $70, that’s actually not a bad price. You’d expect it to be more than that given what you get out of it. Meanwhile, the Fire TV Stick is about $40. So for the budget conscious, this seems like the clear choice.
As mentioned before, the Fire TV Stick 4K will be approximately $10 more than the original Stick. You pay a bit more because of the improved picture quality.
At this point, you are aware of the major differences between the two. So you may have already decided on what to get. However, if you want to consider affordability, then the Fire TV Stick will get another win here because of that reason.
Winner: Fire TV Stick
Storage Space
The internal storage may be a deciding factor because of how many apps you can download. You can download so much. So who has more compared to the other? The answer will surprise you.
Both the Fire TV Stick and the Fire TV come with 8 gigs of storage space. Close to half of it will be available for internal storage. You may have expected the Fire TV to have a bit more, but surprisingly enough, it doesn’t.
You can download as many apps as the device allows you. At the same time, you can also save photos and videos that you can view on your television as well. Be careful though – you have so much space that you can work with.
That’s a wrap on that. It’s a deadlock between the two in terms of storage space.
Winner: Tie
Connectivity ports
Lastly, we’ll be taking a look at the connectivity ports. The Fire TV Stick unfortunately has an HDMI connector and USB. There are no additional ports that you’ll need to plug into. It will only connect to WiFi, which means it won’t have an Ethernet port for you to use for faster connectivity.
Meanwhile, the Fire TV device itself has a slot for MicroSD cards, USB 2.0 ports, and an Ethernet port. If you want a faster connection to your device, you can simply connect it to your router (assuming it’s close enough).
As mentioned before, the Fire TV device has a slot for MicroSD cards. It can handle cards that have up to 200 GB in size. That’s plenty of files for an SD card of that size.
In terms of connectivity, you can take advantage of the extra ports with the Fire TV. For that reason, it will get the win here.
Winner: Fire TV
Conclusion
While the Fire TV Stick and the Fire TV each have excellent qualities, we have to declare a winner here. It was a close race to the finish, but the Fire TV will get the overall win here.
The advantages that sent them over the finish line is that it has better picture and audio quality. Even though it costs more than the Fire Stick, it’s the overall value you get out of the device. That’s not to say you shouldn’t get the Fire TV Stick, however.
You can still decide if the Fire TV Stick is the best option for you if you prefer some of its features like its portability or how affordable it is. Regardless, you can still be able to stream as many of your favorite movies and TV shows.
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