Intro- Cost of Streaming Services Compared 2023
It's no secret that streaming is getting more expensive. Both Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have raised their subscription prices in 2022. Not to mention when you add more monthly charges because of an ever-expanding list of streaming services, the cost really adds up.
In this blog post, Cost of Streaming Services Compared 2023, I'll help you budget your streaming subscriptions.
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Take note that all prices listed are for the United States.
This post was last updated on December 23rd, 2022.
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How much is Netflix?
Netflix has four pricing tiers. All plans offer unlimited access to movies, shows, and mobile games. Netflix does NOT offer free trials for any plan.
- Basic (w/ Ads) for $6.99/month. Stream from one device at a time, some shows and movies are unavailable, and content has advertising. Streams in HD.
- Basic for $9.99/month. This gives allows you to stream from 1 device at a time and allows you to download content to 1 device. Streams in HD.
- Standard for $15.49/month. Stream from two devices at a time and download content to 2 devices. Streams in full HD.
- Premium for $19.99/month. Stream from 4 devices at a time and download to 4 devices. HD & UHD available.
How much is Hulu?
Hulu offers several different options, including access to Live TV streaming, depending on your plan.
A standalone subscription to Hulu has two options. These plans both include a month-long free trial.
- Hulu (with Ads) for $7.99/month. Access all of the on-demand movies and shows through the Hulu app with this plan.
- Hulu (No Ads) for $14.99/month. Access Hulu's movies and shows without ad interruptions, although there are some exceptions. Also allows you to download movies and shows for offline viewing.
The next option is the “Disney Bundle” that includes Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+ but no Live TV. The Disney Bundle does NOT include a free trial.
- Disney Bundle Duo Basic: Hulu (w/ Ads) and Disney+ (w/Ads) for $9.99/mo
- Disney Bundle Trio Basic: for $12.99/month. Includes Hulu (w/ Ads), Disney+ (w/ Ads), & ESPN+ (w/ Ads).
- Disney Bundle Trio Premium for $19.99/month. This includes Hulu (No Ads), Disney+ (No Ads), & ESPN+ (No Ads).
For more information on Hulu, check out our review here.
How much is Disney+?
Disney+ offers two subscription plans, one with advertising and one without. Both plans have full access to the Disney+ library of movies and shows.
Disney+ does NOT offer a free trial for a standalone subscription.
- A Disney+ Basic (w/ Ads) is either $7.99 per month or $79.99 per year.
- Disney+ Premium (no Ads) is $10.99 a month. This plan also includes support for offline downloads.
They also offer a “Disney Bundle” that includes Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+. The Disney Bundle does NOT include a free trial.
- Disney Bundle Duo Basic: Hulu (w/ Ads) and Disney+ (w/Ads) for $9.99/mo
- Disney Bundle Trio Basic: for $12.99/month. Includes Hulu (w/ Ads), Disney+ (w/ Ads), & ESPN+ (w/ Ads).
- Disney Bundle Trio Premium for $19.99/month. This includes Hulu (No Ads), Disney+ (No Ads), & ESPN+ (No Ads).
Hulu subscribers can also include Disney+ (w/ Ads) as an “add-on” for $2/mo.
How much is HBO Max?
HBO Max offers two plans. Neither offers a free trial.
- HBO Max (with Ads) is $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year. Certain titles feature ad breaks, although you will still get full access to the HBO Max streaming library.
- HBO Max (Ad-Free) for $14.99 per month or $149.99 per year. Eliminates all advertising interruptions plus provides the ability to download content for offline viewing and stream in 4K UHD on select titles.
Check out the Shall I Stream It? HBO Max review here
How much is Amazon Prime Video?
Amazon Prime includes access to their streaming service, Prime Video. You can also purchase a standalone Prime Video subscription. Both types of memberships offer a free, 30-day trial.
- An Amazon Prime memberships costs either $14.99 per month or $139.99 per year. It includes full access to Prime Video plus free two-day shipping on Amazon purchases and access to other services like Prime Music.
- A standalone Prime Video subscription costs $8.99 month with no annual payment option. You'll have the same, full access to Prime Video that you'd get with a regular Prime membership but without benefits like free shipping.
Amazon also offers discounts to students and EBT & Medicaid recipients (details here) as well as students (details here).
How much is Paramount+?
Paramount+ offers two main tiers of paid memberships. All plans offer a one-week free trial.
- The Essential plan costs $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year. This includes full access to the on-demand streaming library from the service with ads. Some live sports are included like NFL on CBS.
- The Premium plan is $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year. This plan removes ads on most on-demand content, gives you more live sports, a live feed of your local CBS station, and offline downloads.
Paramount+ also offers a bundle together with Showtime. The bundle also includes a one-week free trial.
- The Paramount+ Essential Plan w/ Showtime is $11.99 per month or $119.99 per year.
- The Paramount+ Premium Plan w/ Showtime is $14.99 per month or $149.99 per year.
Check out the Shall I Stream It? Paramount+ review here
How much is Apple TV+?
Apple's streaming service is one of the most affordable out there. They currently offer a one-week free trial. With certain Apple product purchases, you get three months of AppleTV+ free.
- An AppleTV+ subscription costs $6.99 per month or $69 a year. The service is ad-free and there are no other membership tiers.
Additionally you can get AppleTV+ bundled together with other services in a package called “Apple One.” All Apple One memberships include a one-month, free trial.
- An Individual Apple One membership is $16.95 per month. It includes access to AppleTV+, Apple Music, Apple Arcade, and iCloud+ with 50GB of storage for one person.
- A Family Apple One membership is $22.95 per month and can be shared with up to five people. It includes AppleTV+, Apple Music, Apple Arcade, and iCloud+ with 200GB of storage.
- A Premier Apple One Membership is $32.95 per month and can also be shared with five people. It includes Apple TV+, Apple Music, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+, and iCloud+ with 2TB of storage.
How much is Peacock?
NBCUniversal’s streaming service offers three membership types, including a free tier. The paid tiers no longer offer a free trial.
- The Peacock Free Plan costs nothing and does not require a credit card to access. It gives you access to free movies and shows with advertising. You’ll also get some free “channels” similar to Pluto.
- The Peacock Premium Plans costs $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year. It unlocks even more TV shows and movies, including Peacock Originals. You’ll also get access to live sports like Premier League and WWE. This plan still includes ad breaks, though.
- The Peacock Premium Plus Plan costs $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year. This eliminates most ads and allows you to download shows to watch offline.
Check out the Shall I Stream It? Peacock review here
How much is Discovery+?
Discovery+ offers two main membership types. Both currently offer one-week free trials.
- A standard discovery+ membership costs $4.99 per month. You’ll get full access to the library of shows with advertising.
- A discovery+ (Ad-Free) membership is $6.99 per month. You get access to the full library without ads.
They also offer discounts to students (details here), members of the military (details here), and Verizon customers (details here).
Check out the Shall I Stream It? discovery+ review here
Cost of Live Streaming TV Apps- Cost of Streaming Services Compared
How much is fuboTV?
fuboTV has three main membership tiers that give you access to live channels and sporting events. All three plans offer a one-week free trial at the time of publication.
- The Starter Plan costs
$64.99 per month(15% off first month- see below) and includes 109 channels, 240 hours of cloud DVR space, and allows for 3 streams at once. - The Pro Plan costs
$69.99 per month(15% off first month- see below) and includes the same channels but with 1000 hours of DVR space and 10 streams at once. - The Elite Plan is
$79.99 per month. (15% off first month- see below) It includes 163 channels, 1000 hours of DVR space, and 10 screens.
Additionally, you can upgrade with premium channels and add-ons like extra DVR space. They also offer a membership with Spanish language channels.
Check out the Shall I Stream It? review of fuboTV here
How much is YouTube TV?
YouTube TV is a streaming service from the famous video site owned by Google that provides live streaming channels. They currently offer a one-week free trial.
- They have one membership that is $64.99 per month. This includes 85+ channels, unlimited DVR storage, and 3 streams at a time per household.
Additionally they offer premium channel add-ons as well as an additional fee for features like 4K video and unlimited streams.
For more on YouTube TV, check out the Shall I Stream It review here.
How much is Hulu+ Live TV?
Hulu also offers two Live TV plans. This gives you access to 85+ live channels as well as a Hulu subscription. Disney+ subscription, and ESPN+ subscription. Hulu+ Live TV plans do NOT offer a free trial.
- Hulu (w/ Ads)+ Live TV w/ Disney+ (w/ Ads) & ESPN+ (w/ Ads) for $69.99/month.
- Hulu (No Ads)+ Live TV w/ Disney+ (No Ads) & ESPN+ (No Ads) for $82.99/month. Includes offline downloads for Hulu and Disney+ shows.
For more on Hulu + Live TV, check out the Shall I Stream It review here.
How much is DirectTV Stream?
DirectTV Stream is the TV streaming service formerly known as AT&T TV Now. They have four different streaming packages. They offer a five-day free trial.
Take note that these prices will go up in January 2023.
- The Entertainment package is $69.99 per month and includes 65+ channels, unlimited DVR space when you order online, and unlimited in-home streams.
- The Choice package is $89.99 per month and includes all features of the Entertainment package with additional sports channels for a total of 90+ channels.
- The Ultimate package is $104.99 per month and includes all features/channels of the Choice package plus extra channels like Oxygen, Golf Channel, and NHL Channel for 130+ channels total.
- The Premier package is $149.99 per month and includes all features/channels of the Ultimate package plus premium channels like HBO Max, Showtime, and Starz.
How much is Sling?
Sling TV offers three packages for streaming live TV channels. Sling periodically offers a free trial as a promotion.
- The Orange plan is $40 per month. It includes 50 hours of DVR storage, 1 device stream, and 32 channels including ESPN and Disney Channel.
- The Blue plan is $40 per month. It also has 50 hours of DVR storage but with 3 device streams and a different mix of 42 channels. These include Discovery Channel, NFL Network, and local Fox and NBC affiliates in select markets.
- The Orange/Blue plan is $55 per month and includes 50 channels, including all from both the Orange and Blue plans.
How much is Philo?
Philo is one of the most affordable options if you’re looking to gain access to live TV channels like VH1, Paramount Network, Hallmark Channel, TLC, Discovery, HGTV, and Nickelodeon. They currently offer a one-week free trial.
- A Philo membership costs $25 a month for 60+ channels. This includes unlimited DVR space and 3 simultaneous streams.
Additional channels are available as add-ons like Epix and Starz.
Check out the Shall I Stream It? review of Philo here
How much is Frndly TV?
This streaming service provides a low-cost way to access live channels like Hallmark Channel, Lifetime, A&E, History, and Game Show Network. They offer three membership plans, each with a 7 day free trial.
- The Basic plan $6.99 per month. Get access to all 30+ channels live channels and on-demand content in Standard Definition and watch on one screen at a time.
- The Classic plan costs $8.99 per month. You get all the same channels as the Basic plan but in High Definition plus unlimited DVR recordings, the ability to stream on 2 screens at a time, and the ability to keep recordings for 3 months.
- The Premium plan costs $10.99 per month. The same channels as before in HD, the ability to watch 4 screens at a time, and unlimited DVR recordings that you can keep for 9 months.
Check out our Frndly TV review here.
Other Streaming Services- Cost of Streaming Services Compared
How much is Funimation?
Funimation is an anime streaming service with over 10,000 hours of TV episodes and movies. They offer three membership types and each has a free, 14-day trial.
- Premium– This membership is $5.99 per month or $59.99 per year. With it, you unlock the full library of content from Funimation, including the current season shows without advertising. This membership allows for two simultaneous streams per account.
- Premium Plus– $7.99 per month or $79.99 per year. Full access to the library ad-free. 5 simultaneous streams. Allows you to download content for offline viewing. Plus you get access to members-only events, early access to Funimation Shop sales, free shipping on orders over $20, and other members-only offers.
- Premium Plus Ultra- $99.99 per year. All the benefits of Premium Plus except ALL orders get free shipping from the Funimation Shop. You'll also receive an annual anniversary gift (the most recent was a Funimation scarf).
Check out the Shall I Stream It? review of Funimation here
How much is CuriosityStream?
CuriosityStream is a low-cost streaming service from the creator of the Discovery Channel. It provides a wide range of non-fiction TV shows and documentaries covering science, history, technology, travel, food, and kids programming.
They don’t currently offer a free trial at the time of publication
- A Standard membership is $2.99 per month or $19.99 per year. This includes access to all shows and documentaries on the CuriosityStream in HD.
- A Premium (4K) membership is $9.99 per month or $69.99 per year. This gives you access to everything on CuriosityStream in either HD or 4K resolution. Plus you get access to five additional services: Somm TV, Tastemade, Topic, Nebula, and One Day University.
CuriosityStream also offers bulk subscriptions to libraries and businesses.
Check out the Shall I Stream It? CuriosityStream review here
How much is Starz?
While it used to be known primarily as a premium cable channel, like HBO and Showtime before it, Starz now has its own subscription service. Popular shows include Power (and its various spin-offs), Outlander, and American Gods. Movies include Spider-Man: Homecoming, Venom, and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.
- A membership to Starz has just one tier for $8.99/month, although there is usually some sort of discount or free trial offer for new customers.
For more on STARZ, check out our review here.
Conclusion- Cost of Streaming Services Compared 2023
I hope this guide was helpful for you. As prices for streaming services like Netflix go up, it helps to see the cost of streaming services compared.
What do you think is the best streaming service if you're on a budget? Let me know in the comment section below. To stay up-to-date with all things streaming subscribe to the Shall I Stream It? email newsletter and YouTube channel.
