Renting DVDs online is now the obvious choice when renting movies. If you plan correctly, you'll find that it's easier, more convenient and cheaper than going to the local video store
to rent your DVDs. A number of companies now have thousands of titles and send them right to your mailbox for a fraction of the cost of renting at your local store. With new companies popping up every day, it’s hard to pick the best one. We’ve been renting DVDs online for years now, and have tried them all. Below are the top rental companies online...

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This industry leader launched their DVD rental services in 1999. The company's goal was to mutually use the internet and DVD platform to introduce a new service to the modern world. The company still holds the largest share of the market and leads the delivery time with its 35 shipping warehouses located strategically throughout the U.S. Last year, Netflix achieved 90% overnight delivery to its subscribers. With more than 3 million subscriptions, the company is capable of recommending more than 500 million titles a month to its members, a very valuable service initiated by Netflix to encourage the rental of older or less popular titles. Another unique valuable service worth mentioning is the Friends feature which allows friends and family to recommend movies to each other.

Netflix provides the most expansive DVD library in the world with the largest variety possible. The company stocks multiple copies of 90,000 titles ranging from new releases to independent productions or international hits. As a member, you would become one of the 90,000 visitors who watch movie trailers and can even add pre-release titles to your queue to be sent to you upon release. With such service, you would have access to approximately ten times more rental titles than your local video rental location.

In case of a damaged or broken disc, Netflix will promptly replace your DVD overnight and the problem could be conveniently reported on the website. All you have to do is return the damaged disc in the prepaid envelope. In case of a lost disc, you will not be held responsible for the lost item and Netflix will promptly assist you and replace the disc if needed.

The company holds very high customer service standards and a great customer satisfaction record. As of today, Netflix is still the industry leader with the market's largest share. Netflix is our number one recommended vendor.

BlockBuster is the nation's largest chain of home video rental stores. The company controlled the home video rental industry through its 10,000 store locations nationwide until the launch of Netflix.com, which announced the beginning of a new era and the start of a new industry. Since 1999, BlockBuster had lost a large market share to its online rival. The company fought back with multiple in-store membership plans but could not keep up with the online demand of the industry. In August of 2004 the company officially announced the launch of its online DVD rental store with a powerful 3-at-a-time plan that rivals the Netflix price, but additionally offers 2 in-store rentals per month for free.

Today, Netflix and BlockBuster are the largest two competitors in the DVD rental market, but BlockBuster offers the unique of advantage of renting both movies and games under the same membership in addition to its exclusive 2 free in-store rentals per month. If you are the typical gamer, then a BlockBuster membership is the right product for you. The company holds very high customer service standards and a great customer satisfaction record. As of today, BlockBuster is still an industry leader.

Intelliflix is one of the newest members of the industry, but in a very short time it managed to rival the industry leaders, Netflix and Blockbuster. Intelliflix offers a very comprehensive membership that provides access to its 60,000+ movie titles, thousands of games for multiple platforms and mature or adult titles as well. Their 3-at-a-time membership with unlimited number of rentals per month can be earned for only $8.25 per month under their annual membership program. With the company's quick shipping and receiving at their 35+ shipping centers nationwide, we were able to put our trial membership to use. We also experienced first class customer service first hand with a slight shipping problem we had. It was great to get things cleared up smoothly.

Intelliflix offers a great comprehensive package for the smart shopper. Under one membership, you will be able to access 60,000+ movie titles, thousands of games for multiple platforms and mature or adult titles as well.

The company holds high customer service standards with a modest customer satisfaction record.

In mid-January 2008, Apple introduced a new aspect of their iTunes store - movie rentals! Now, we know that this service is not technically "DVD" rentals. But we wanted to stick to our mission statement, which is to help you make better decisions about the way you rent movies. This new iTunes rental service is the latest technology, so we wanted you to know about it!

The iTunes store does not have a rental plan, as all other traditional DVD Rental programs do. Instead, they charge customers a set price per movie rental. The price per rental ranges from $2.99 to $4.99, depending on the title you are looking for. Newer releases command more expensive rental prices. While you are given 30 days before the movie rental expires, once you begin playing the movie, you are given 24 hours before the file is no longer playable! In that 24 hour time period, you can watch the movie as many times as you wish. But once the timer expires, so does the rental!

The library of movies offered for download is certainly not as large as typical DVD rental services like Netflix or Blockbuster. However, all the major movie studios are on board with Apple, either offering their movies for sale or for rent in the iTunes store. Not every title is available to rent, however. It's up to you to do your own research.

Overall, the service is getting mostly positive reviews so far, and is a great alternative for those who do not rent movies as often, making a monthly rental service unnecessary.

DVD Avenue is a small but competitive DVD rental service. The company offers a smaller selection than the industry leaders, but comes strong with the advantage of offering adult movie rentals as part of their inventory. DVD Avenue offers 4 different rental programs ranging from one to four at-a-time!! Such large memberships could be shared among members of the same household. These memberships are very easy to understand, with no monthly limits or confusing restrictions. The only inconvenience is the 2 to 5 business day delivery timeframe, which was slightly less convenient than we would like to see.

For the frequent movie renter or those interested in adult movies under the same membership, DVD Avenue offers the ultimate solution from the comfort of your home. Additionally, DVD Avenue member's can take advantage of the previously viewed DVD purchase program, where titles can be owned for as low as $7.99.

The company holds very high customer service standards and a great customer satisfaction record.

GreenCine is an up and coming service company, focusing on independent, documentary, and international titles. The company has a comprehensive mission statement which promises: "to form and foster a comprehensive online film community where members can connect with each other and discuss and recommend their favorite films, to broaden the viewing tastes of audiences and give a spotlight to films and filmmakers rarely featured on other movie sites, and to build and maintain one of the largest and most diverse libraries of films on the Internet."

If you are looking for movies which are a bit hard to find, chances are that GreenCine is your best bet. This company offers the ability to rent, download, and even purchase DVDs, with a catalog of over 80,000 titles and over 250 genres! GreenCine is gaining a fantastic reputation, albeit a smaller membership than the "big" online rental companies.

The company is based in San Fransisco, where the DVDs are shipped from, so the further you are away from there, the longer it will take to receive your movies. With easy-to-understand monthly memberships, there are no restrictions or limits...something we love to see!

The company holds very high customer service standards and has an increasingly strong customer satisfaction record.