It now costs households over $120 per month to subscribe to nine of the leading streaming services, with the vast majority increasing in price over the last year.
An analysis by found that it would cost Americans $121.41 per month to subscribe to ad-free plans on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Max, Peacock, Paramount+, Apple TV+, Disney+, Hulu and Britbox.
This total could rise even higher if households also signed up for other video streaming platforms such as ESPN+, NFL+ or YouTube Premium.
A 2022 study by market research firm Parks Associates found that a quarter of American households subscribe to nine or more streaming services, while 50 percent are subscribed to at least four.
And over the past year, increasing competition has caused prices for services to rise – some by as much as 43 percent – putting more pressure on household budgets.
It now costs households over $120 each month to subscribe to nine of the leading streaming services, according to an analysis by
Subscribing to a number of streaming services has previously been seen as a cheaper alternative to cable TV, where costs can add up when contracts and fees are taken into account.
But as the era of cheap streaming appears to be coming to an end, cutting the cord completely may not actually save you any money.
The price of cable varies significantly depending on the state – and can cost up to $200 per month for a package that includes TV, Internet and telephone access.
However, according to recent data from CableTV.com, the average TV-only service costs around $83 per month.
As more and more streaming services flood the market, companies have had to increase their prices and change their business models to improve their profitability.
In January 2023, it would have cost just over $100 a month to subscribe to the same nine major streaming services, a analysis found.
Eight of the nine major streamers increased their prices last year. Apple TV+, for example, increased the price of its ad-free tier by a whopping 43 percent – from $6.99 to $9.99.
Disney+, meanwhile, increased the price of its offering by 27 percent – from $10.99 to $13.99.
Britbox, the home of TV shows from the United Kingdom, increased the price by $1 per month, bringing the cost of the ad-free subscription to $8.99.
The vast majority of streaming platforms have increased in price over the last year – some even by up to 43 percent
Over the last year, Netflix has restricted password sharing and eliminated its $9.99 per month ad-free plan for new members. This means the cheapest plan without ads is now $15.49 per month.
Additionally, the ad-free Premium plan, which allows users to add two additional members from different households, has been increased – from $19.99 to $22.99 per month.
However, Netflix, Max, Peacock, Paramount+, Disney+ and Hulu all sell subscriptions with advertising at a discounted price. Peacock and Paramount+ offer the cheapest plans on the market at $5.99 per month minus taxes.
Last week, Amazon sparked outrage when it announced it would start running ads on Prime Video starting January 29 – and users would have to pay an extra $2.99 each month to avoid the disruption.
Currently, Prime Video has no advertising and is free, among other things, for customers who subscribe to Amazon Prime for $14.99 per month.
Americans can also pay Prime Video for as little as $8.99 per month, so the ad-free version will likely cost almost $12 per month once the change is implemented.
As more and more streaming services flood the market, companies have had to increase their prices and change their business models to improve their profitability
However, some of the leading streaming services offer the option of a bundled subscription to reduce the cost burden for households choosing different platforms.
Disney+'s ad-free premium plan costs $13.99 per month and Hulu's ad-free plan costs $17.99 per month.
But both providers offer a variety of combination deals in addition to the sports streamer ESPN+.
For example, users can purchase the Disney Bundle Duo Premium, which includes ad-free Disney+ and ad-free Hulu, for just $19.99 per month – saving $11.99.
Or the Disney Bundle Trio Premium plan – which costs $24.99 per month – includes Disney+ without commercials, Hulu without commercials, and ESPN+ with commercials.