- A report finds that streaming services now cost more than cable
- Disney+, Apple TV+, and Peacock are the platforms with the biggest price increases over the last five years
- According to The Hollywood Reporter, streaming increases have outpaced inflation
When the cost of cable and satellite went up, it gave the best streaming services a big advantage, and soon everyone (including myself) dropped traditional TV to sign up to the likes of Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+. But given the constant price hikes, streaming is now just as, if not more expensive than cable viewing.
Compared to prices from five years ago, subscription costs today are through the roof. We’re pretty used to the odd price hike — Peacock recently raised its prices for the fourth time in four years.
They come around like clockwork, but the difference between now and five years ago is truly shocking, and we have HonestlyRanked to thank for putting these sky-rocketing increases into perspective for us — it compared the past and present prices of nine of the most-used services out there.
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|
Streaming service |
Monthly price five years ago |
Current monthly price |
|---|---|---|
|
Netflix Standard |
$13.99 |
$19.99 |
|
Disney+ Premium |
$7.99 |
$18.99 |
|
Hulu No Ads |
$11.99 |
$18.99 |
|
HBO Max Standard |
$14.99 |
$18.49 |
|
Apple TV+ |
$4.99 |
$14.99 |
|
Paramount+ |
$9.99 |
$13.99 |
|
Peacock Premium Plus |
$9.99 |
$19.99 |
|
YouTube Premium |
$11.99 |
$15.99 |
|
Spotify Premium |
$9.99 |
$12.99 |
|
Total monthly cost |
$95.91 |
$154.41 |
|
Total annual cost |
$1,150.92 |
$1,852.92 |
Overall, HonestlyRanked found that the combined subscription costs across all nine services have increased by 61% over the last five years, going from $95.91 a month ($1,150.92 a year) between 2021-23 to $154.41 per month ($1,852.95 a year) today. Annually, that’s a $702 increase.
But while there are significant increases across the board, there are some platforms that stand out more than others.
Disney+, Apple TV+, and Peacock are the three platforms with the highest increases by percentage, with Apple TV+ taking the top spot with a 200% increase over the last five years, followed by Disney+ at 138%, and Peacock at 100%.
Surprisingly, platforms such as Netflix and Spotify (which have both received a lot of flak when raising their prices), don’t come as close, even though Spotify rolled out a price increase earlier this year, shortly followed by Netflix’s March price hike.
Then again, these streaming giants say the same thing whenever a price hike comes around: it’s always something along the lines of ‘we’re investing in our services to bring you the best experience possible’. That reads well on paper, but when platforms decide to invest more in vertical video feeds instead of improving the quality of movie and shows, it doesn’t ring very true.
Over the past 12 months alone, streaming services have raised prices by 11.8%, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The outlet also pointed out that the highest yearly increase was in 2023 when rates went up by 17.7%, while cable and satellite prices which went up by a mere 3.9% in comparison. Oh, how the tables have turned.
However the fact that streaming prices have surpassed cable prices isn’t the most shocking part. The Hollywood Reporter adds that streaming services have ‘widely outpaced inflation’ which, given the rapidly growing pace of inflation itself, is rather worrying.
Have you been thinking of switching from cable to streaming? Given the comparisons, you’re better of staying right where you are.
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