Streaming service prices in 2026 have climbed to the point where a full line-up of major platforms in the United States costs almost as much as the cable packages many households abandoned.
Eight leading services cost $139.41 (£105) a month, or $1,672.92 a year, when taken on their cheapest ad-free plans and without promotional bundles. Choosing standard ad-supported plans where available reduces the total to $89.92 a month.
The comparison covers Netflix, Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, HBO Max and Prime Video. Apple TV has no advertising tier, while Prime Video’s $8.99 standalone subscription includes commercials and requires a further $4.99 a month to remove them.
Even the ad-free total is only marginally below the average US pay-TV bill in 2016. A $103.10 monthly cable bill at the time would be worth about $143 in July 2026 after inflation, leaving a difference of roughly $4 with today’s streaming line-up.
The figures underline how the original promise of cord-cutting has faded. Streaming still allows viewers to choose individual services, but maintaining a lower bill now depends on downgrading plans, searching for bundles, cancelling unused subscriptions or moving between platforms.
Streaming service prices in 2026 reflect a dramatic shift
Apple TV offers one of the clearest examples of the change. It launched at $4.99 a month in November 2019 but now costs $14.99, following a further $2 increase on August 28. The price has therefore tripled in less than seven years.
Disney+ launched at $6.99 a month without adverts in November 2019. Its equivalent ad-free plan now costs $18.99, while its advertising-supported tier is priced at $11.99.
Netflix’s US plans now range from $8.99 with adverts to $26.99 for its Premium package. Its $19.99 Standard plan is the cheapest ad-free option, compared with the $7.99 streaming-only plan offered in 2011.
Paramount+ has raised its cheapest plan to $8.99, up from the $5.99 charged when CBS All Access launched in 2014. Its Premium plan, which is free of adverts, costs $13.99.
Hulu’s ad-supported plan costs $11.99, while its ad-free option is $18.99. HBO Max’s Standard ad-free plan is priced at $18.49, compared with the $14.99 monthly fee charged when the service launched in May 2020.
Peacock’s latest increase took effect on August 18, lifting its Premium plan to $12.99 and Premium Plus to $19.99. Existing subscribers are due to see the new rates applied from their next billing date on or after September 17, according to the service’s pricing notice. ([peacocktv.com](https://www.peacocktv.com/help/article/price-increase?afsrc=1&cid=2201affiliateevgnpkpdaff4393&irgwc=1&utm_source=openai))
Amazon has changed the structure of Prime Video’s ad-free offering rather than simply increasing the basic subscription. Prime Video Ultra costs an additional $4.99 a month and adds features including 4K UHD, Dolby Atmos, extra downloads and more simultaneous streams, although some live events and other selected content may still contain advertising. ([digprjsurvey.amazon.com](https://digprjsurvey.amazon.com/csad/help/node/TQxvJTrRbxz5mNiBBP?utm_source=openai))
Across the sector, prices have risen by 11.8% over the past year, while the cost of streaming since 2022 has increased more than three times as quickly as inflation, according to figures cited in the analysis.
The increases have also come as the number of new scripted programmes has fallen from its peak. FX Research counted about 600 original scripted series in 2022, before the total dropped 14% to 516 in 2023.
That leaves subscribers paying more at a time when the supply of new, high-budget drama and comedy has contracted. Streamers have increasingly favoured established returning shows and cheaper unscripted programming over a constant flow of new series.
Which streaming services are subscribers cancelling?
Price alone does not determine whether a service survives in a household’s monthly budget. Netflix recorded the lowest churn among nine premium platforms tracked by subscription-analytics firm Antenna in May, at 2%.
Disney+ recorded 3% monthly churn and Hulu 4%. Paramount+, Apple TV, Discovery+ and HBO Max each stood at 5%, while Peacock recorded 7%.
Netflix and Paramount+ both have an entry price of $8.99, but Paramount+’s churn was more than twice as high. The contrast suggests that viewers are more likely to abandon a service when they stop using it regularly, rather than simply because it becomes more expensive.
Search data offered a slightly different picture. Searchbloom found that Paramount+ accounted for 17.9% of searches related to joining or cancelling seven major streaming platforms, followed by Apple TV at 17.5% and Disney+ at 17.3%.
“People cancel the app they stopped opening,” Cody C. Jensen, Searchbloom’s chief executive and founder, said in the accompanying statement. “Price only decides how long they wait to notice.”
For households trying to keep their entertainment bills down, one increasingly common approach is streaming cycling: subscribing to a service long enough to watch its most wanted programmes, then cancelling and moving to another platform.
The era when cord-cutting was a single decision appears to be over. For many viewers, keeping streaming cheaper than cable now requires a fresh calculation every month.
