Redbox vs. Netflix and Blockbuster

For the last couple of years I've debated about signing up through either Netflix or Blockbuster for their mail order movies, but was always hesitant because of the price. Then, along came Redbox and changed my mind altogether. I still wanted to make sure I was getting the best deal and compared the three to see who came out on top.
Netflix and Blockbuster have similar plans regarding the number the number of movies that can be out at a time, their free two-week trial period, and free shipping both ways, but that's where their similarities end. Netflix takes movie watching above and beyond and allows for unlimited online viewing from your computer for three of their plans, while Blockbuster allows for in-store returns so that your next movie is queued up a little faster.

Netflix
3 DVDs at a time Unlimited $16.99 Unlimited hours instantly online
2 DVDs at a time Unlimited $13.99 Unlimited hours instantly online
1 DVD at a time Unlimited $8.99 Unlimited hours instantly online
1 DVD at a time Limit 2/mo $4.99 2 hours included online

Blockbuster
3 DVDs at a time Unlimited $19.99
2 DVDs at a time Unlimited $16.99
1 DVD at a time Unlimited $11.99
1 DVD at a time Limit 2/mo $9.99

Then there's Redbox. I was hesitant to rent from them when they first came out because it's all automated and I'm giving my credit card information to a machine, and the whole process just seemed really impersonal to me. Here's why I'm convinced that Redbox is the way to go, it's $1.00 + tax for every movie you rent, and $1.00 + tax per day everyday thereafter. Whatever time you rent your movie on the first day, it is always due back by 9:00pm the next evening to avoid another days charge. Redbox movies can be returned to any Redbox regardless of where it was rented. The other great thing I just discovered about Redbox is their free movie rental code on Monday. Sign-up for SMS text messages from Redbox and they will send you a free code to rent a movie on Monday that must be returned by 9:00pm Tuesday to avoid any rental charges.

I still wanted to make sure I was getting the best deal by renting with Redbox so I thought about how many movies I could possibly watch in a month on Netflix. Blockbuster is priced a few dollars more than Netflix and I would not use their service since I would consider it a lousy rate of return. For the 3 DVD (possible 18 DVD's) and 2 DVD (possible 12 DVD's) Netflix plan it almost breaks even with renting from Redbox, but that's assuming I could watch the 18 and 12 DVD's in a month and that's also assuming that the postal system is going to be incredibly timely on deliveries. So after careful evaluation and consideration, Redbox gets my vote and I will continue renting my movies from the little red box.