Help choosing TV stick

[Volkswaggin]

Hey folks,
I just wanted to ask what you all thought was the best plug-and-play TV option. I'm thinking of something like Amazon's Fire stick or a Chromecast that just plugs into the TV.
I'm shopping for a birthday for someone who just wants to watch Netflix, YouTube, and possibly the NFL. They already have a Blu-Ray player that does this but the machine is incredibly slow and a pain to use. I am also not interested in buying a Smart TV at the moment.
I'm unfamiliar with all of these products, so what options do you think are the best?
Thanks for your time!

 

[TJ Hooker]

I have the Fire TV Stick 4K, no complaints. I don't actually have a 4k TV though so I can't comment on 4K streaming/playback. https://www.amazon.ca/Stick-All-New-Remote-streaming-player/dp/B079QH9GG7
I find it generally very responsive. Can also side-load android apps onto it if you want.

 

[Alabalcho]

Chromecast cannot work by itself, it needs a "command centre" in the form of tablet / phone / browser, so Roku / Fire Stick is much better option. Whatever you choose, make sure there's NFL app for that (and it would be nice of you mentioning to your friend that he/she will need subscriptions for all these services).

 

[Sagar_20]

Google chromecast 3 or Amazon Fire TV Stick.

but I think both require an internet connection to cast anything to your TV.

Using Google home app, you can see the list of apps that Google Chromecast-3 can cast, but it cannot work independently.