Picture this: after a long day of contributing to society, you pour yourself a little-too-tall glass of red wine, kick your feet up on the couch, grab the remote to turn on HBO and… your membership has ended.
So what, no more Soprano’s then?
Yes, my parents canceled their HBO account. And yes, my siblings and I are all devastated as we now must (GASP!) pay for our own. So, as the eldest daughter, I took it upon myself to figure out the best streaming services available and I must say I am… overwhelmed. Did you know there are over 200 streaming services worldwide? And the average American is subscribed to at least three or more. As your frugal friend, I’m here to break down the monthly costs for you. Depending on your membership plan, here’s what you’ll pay for some of the top streaming services available:
- Apple TV: $6.99
- Netflix: $6.99 – $19.99
- Hulu: $7.99 – $14.99
- HBO Max: $9.99 – $19.99
- Disney+/ESPN+: $7.99 – $10.99
- Prime Video: $8.99 – $14.99
- Paramount+: $4.99 – $14.99
- Discovery Plus: $4.99 – $6.99
- Peacock: $4.99 – $9.99
- Showtime: $10.99
- Starz: $9.00
Side note – remember when we all started our VHS collections? But then had to re-start said collection with DVDs because, well, yeah. Now our movie and series collections consist of paid digital downloads or a recurring monthly payment, however we don’t physically ‘own’ any of it. Life is weird like that.
If you need to fuel your reality TV obsession (I’m talking to you Vanderpump Rules people) and can’t possibly say goodbye to Yellowstone (is this the last season?), but also have a child and need some family-friendly options (or you’re like me and watch Hercules on average once a week) then you have to pay up for a few of these subscriptions! Not to mention the prices are almost guaranteed to increase – darn you, inflation. And for those who are defending the cable TV lifestyle – the average monthly cable package is a whopping $217.42 per month. PER. MONTH.
So… what’s a gal to do? Give up the Soprano’s to save a few bucks? Forgetaboutit.
