The voice-search functions are equally effective, but the results you get from the Amazon streamer are heavily weighted towards content found on Prime Video even when you might get it free on other services. In terms of pure usability, though, the Chromecast is streets ahead. You can use them to power on and off your TV as well as turn the volume up and down too. Both remotes are a good size and well thought out, and they each allow quick and natural search and control functions of your on-screen experience. Voice control was an all-new feature introduced with this particular Chromecast model and it lifts the Google streamer's usability right up to the excellent level of the Fire Stick. That's no big deal for these dongles themselves, given that they're tucked away, but the Chromecast's matching remote control certainly looks cheerier than the Fire Stick's. It comes in a choice of three colours – Snow (white), Sunrise (pink) or Sky (blue) it's just plain gun-metal grey for the Fire Stick. The penny toffee-shaped Chromecast is a little more touchy feely. They slot into one of your TV's HDMI ports and require their own power through a USB cable that needs to run between the streamer and a wall socket. **Winner** Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K – cheaper and sometimes as little as half the price of the Chromecast when bought on sale.īoth of these dongle-based streamers have a similar design ethos: make it small and keep it out of sight. We wouldn't be surprised to see it come down again in the coming months, but be warned that a new version of the Fire TV Stick 4K is likely to launch at some point soon – and that would replace the current version and bring with it, no doubt, a price bump.

The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K has been around since the end of 2018, and we have seen its price drop to as low as £30/$29 on occasions.

And keep an eye on Google's store (opens in new tab) if you are also in the market for another Google device such as a Pixel smartphone or Nest smart speaker.

The Chromecast is considerably newer than the Fire TV Stick, so standalone discounts are harder to come by, but you can sometimes find it in bundles such as the free giveaways YouTube TV subscriptions. The difference in price between these devices may be small, but every penny counts at this end of the media streamer market.Īt launch, the Chromecast with Google TV was the more expensive of the two, at £60/$50, with the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K coming in at £50/$40.

Plex chromecast with google tv