I loved the Roku Ultra, but it's no longer worth buying

When it comes to set-top streaming devices, the Roku Ultra has always been one of my top picks. It's fast, and Roku OS makes it easy to access all your favorite streaming services. You also get seamless access to The Roku Channel, Roku's free ad-supported streaming service, which offers a vast library of on-demand movies and TV shows, along with more than 500 free live TV channels.

I've been enjoying the Roku Ultra as my main streaming device for a while now, and its price was a major factor in convincing me to switch from a Fire Stick. For $100, you got a reliable set-top streamer with useful extras like a USB port and Ethernet. Plus, it frequently went on sale for as little as $75, making it one of my go-to recommendations for anyone who wanted a premium streaming experience without spending more on an Apple TV 4K (which used to cost $130 but now sells for $200) or the Google TV Streamer, which costs $100.

Unfortunately, Roku's recent decision to raise prices has changed everything. The Roku Ultra, once one of the best values in streaming, just isn't anymore. And with its price advantage gone, there's really only one set-top streamer best positioned to take its place.

The Roku Ultra now costs $150

Roku just raised prices on all its streaming hardware

As first reported by The Desk, Roku has raised the prices of its streaming devices by $10 to $50 in response to the ongoing memory shortage driven by the global AI boom and rising component costs.

The Roku Ultra was hit the hardest, jumping from $100 to $150 -- a steep 50 percent price increase. Here are all the price changes Roku has just put into effect:

What's the best alternative to the Roku Ultra?

The Google TV Streamer now has the upper hand

At $100, I felt the Roku Ultra was worth the price, especially when it regularly went on sale for even less. As I mentioned earlier, its fast performance and seamless access to The Roku Channel were key reasons I started using it as my main streamer, but there's plenty more that helped justify the cost. It comes with 32GB of storage and 3GB of RAM, giving it an edge over the Fire TV Stick 4K Max, and it supports Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. The built-in Ethernet port lets you hardwire it directly to your router for a more stable internet connection, and the USB port is handy for playing local media from a portable hard drive or SSD.

At $150, though, it's a much tougher sell, especially when the Google TV Streamer is cheaper at just $100.

The Google TV Streamer has a lot in common with the Roku Ultra, but it also offers a few key advantages. It includes the same 32GB of storage but bumps the RAM up to 4GB, while supporting the same premium audio and video formats, including Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and HDR10+.

Where the Google TV Streamer really pulls ahead, though, is its operating system. Because Google TV is based on Android, you can sideload apps and install custom launchers -- something Roku OS simply doesn't allow. Out of the box, Google TV includes ads, much like Roku OS, but you can install a third-party launcher like Arc Launcher to replace the default interface with a much cleaner, ad-free experience that feels similar to Apple TV.

It also has a Gigabit Ethernet port, which offers up to 10 times the bandwidth of the Roku Ultra's 10/100 Ethernet port. While most people probably won't notice much of a difference when streaming, it does provide more headroom for large downloads, local media streaming, and cloud gaming.

There's no indication yet that Google plans to raise the price of the Google TV Streamer. But with both Roku and Apple having raised prices, it wouldn't be surprising if Google eventually followed suit.

For now, though, at $100, I think the Google TV Streamer offers the best value of any premium streaming device on the market, especially now that the Roku Ultra costs $150 and the Apple TV 4K starts at $200.

It's not too late to buy a Roku Ultra

You can get it for $100 for a limited time only

If you'd prefer the Roku Ultra over the Google TV Streamer, there is still time to grab one for $100 before the price increase fully takes effect. Roku is currently running a limited-time "sale" on its website, discounting the Roku Ultra from its new $150 price tag back down to $100.

So if you've been on the fence about buying one and prefer the Roku experience to Google TV, now is the best time to pick one up. Ultimately, once the discount ends and the Roku Ultra returns to its new $150 price tag, it becomes much harder to recommend over the Google TV Streamer.