Streaminghas never been more expensive.
Between constantprice increasesand an ever-expanding slate of newstreaming services, watching all the content available to you costs more than ever. So how can you still have access to all of your favorite content and protect your wallet – the easiest way is to set a budget.
These 5 lesser-known streaming services aren’t free, but they are cheap
Not everything needs to cost as much as cable.
I’ve spent the last few months slowly canceling streaming services I don’t think I use regularly, and I’ve reduced what I pay for streaming services each month drastically. Part of that has been due to making the switch from ad-free tiers to the ad-supported versions of services like Disney+ and Netflix. The other thing is getting rid of the services I no longer use regularly. So, in general, here’s how I set up my streaming services so I spend less than $40 per month.
Decide which streaming services are your non-negotiables
After that, the choices for your streaming services get much harder, but Prime Video has earned the third spot, mostly because you get Prime Membership along with access to Prime Video. All told, you can cover watch Netflix, Disney+ with Hulu, and Prime Video for just $32 per month if you don’t mind watching with ads.
Streaming Service
Without Ads
$15/month (Standard) / $23/month (Premium)
Amazon Prime Video
Included with Prime: $15/month or $139/year
+$3/month for Ad-Free
Disney+ and Hulu bundle
Max (formerly HBO Max)
$10/month (Ad-Lite)
$17/month (Ad-Free) / $21/month (Ultimate Ad-Free)
Paramount+
Discovery+
$6/month or $57/year
The original streaming service might still be the best
Netflixhas long been the dominant force in the streaming wars, and that’s not changing anytime soon with the fifth and final season of its biggest show,Stranger Things, set to hit the service in 2025. Netflix also has the largest library of original content and exclusives from the major streaming services.
Netflix started streaming back in 2007 and has a huge collection of original movies and shows to go along with some of the latest blockbusters to leave theaters.
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2Disney+ and Hulu bundle
A must-have for MCU fans and parents
TheDisney+ and Hulu bundleis one of the best deals on any streaming service. You can get both Hulu and Disney+ for $11. Once you have the bundle subscription, you can use Disney+ to watch all the best offerings from both services, as Hulu content will automatically be available on the Disney app alongside all the standard Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars content that Disney has.
It’s the best of both worlds for parents, as you get access to Disney’s collection of movies and shows for kids, which is far better than what other streaming services can offer. Meanwhile, Hulu offers a ton of new movies and shows for adults, including the new Alien: Romulus.
https://www.disneyplus.com/brand/disney
Disney+ is the home of Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and all of Disney’s own original content.
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3Prime Video
Plenty of new content and two-day delivery
Amazon has sunk a ton of money into its original programming with the Lord of the Rings spin-off Rings of Power costing the company over $1 billion dollars. While that show has been middling, Amazon has had plenty of other great originals, like Reacher, Fallout, and Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
The best part of the service is probably its huge collection of classic films and series that you get access to as a part of your Prime Membership though, which includes a ton of Hallmark Christmas movies just in time for the holidays.
Amazon’s streaming service comes with your Prime membership and offers tons of classic movies and shows, along with a library of original series like Reacher and the Lord of the Rings spin-off Rings of Power.
