After revolutionizing the movie rental business by delivering DVDs to your doorstep, Netflix has become the leading video streaming service. An Editors’ Choice pick, the service has millions of subscribers who love its ad-free movie streaming, high-quality original shows, and feature-rich apps on a variety of platforms. Without Netflix, we wouldn’t have Tim Robinson in a hotdog suit.
But Netflix’s quality doesn’t come cheap. This year we got yet another price increase. Netflix’s most expensive tier costs $19.99 per month, up from $17.99 per month. That gets you Ultra HD 4K streaming, four concurrent streams, and offline downloads to four mobile devices. Remember how Netflix only cost $7.99 per month back in 2011? Even worse, Netflix is now testing a system that charges people a few dollars whenever they share their passwords outside their home in an attempt to offset the cost. What we call “sharing the wealth,” Netflix calls “freeloading.”
Netflix may be one of the best streaming services, but the overall streaming ecosystem has become so vast and varied that you don’t need to endure the company’s most-expensive option. You have choices.
Downgrade Netflix
You can pay less for Netflix without completely giving up on the service. Netflix may no longer offer a free trial, but it offers multiple plans at multiple price points. Our recommended plan is the $15.49-per-month Standard Plan. That gets you HD streaming, two simultaneous streams, and offline downloads to two devices.
But honestly, the cheapest plan may be more than enough to suit your needs at $9.99 per month for the full library. You only get one simultaneous stream and offline download, but if you’re an individual user—not part of a family—that should be fine. The plan limits streams to SD quality, but do you really need to watch Love Is Blind at the highest possible resolution?
You can easily modify your Plan Details under your Netflix account. For more, here’s how to cancel or change your Netflix subscription.
Switch Streaming Services
If you want to completely leave Netflix behind, you can also choose from dozens of other video streaming services with attractive prices. Here’s just a few examples for aspiring cord cutters.
Peacock is our Editors’ Choice pick for free streaming services with its robust ad-supported tier, and its priciest premium option won’t break the bank at $9.99 per month. Watch original shows like Bel Air and MacGruber along with your Office reruns. Amazon Prime subscribers can enjoy great movies and quality shows (including the MGM acquisition) through Amazon Prime Video. You can also subscribe to just the service for $8.99 per month. Top Amazon Prime Video shows include Jack Ryan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and the upcoming The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
For Netflix prices, you can subscribe to streaming service bundles, giving you even more content to choose from. The Disney Bundle combines Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ starting at $13.99 per month. You get sports along with entertainment for kids and adults. Paramount+ sells a bundle with premium channel Showtime for $12 per month. HBO Max is already a fantastic service on its own, with an ad-supported tier at $9.99 per month, but once it combines with Discovery+ it’s all over. HBO prestige and reality trash all together? Sign me up.
Keeping track of all these subscriptions can get tricky, and potentially even pricier than just sticking with Netflix. If you need help, read our guide on how to pick the best video streaming service for your budget, and use these decision tools to find exactly what you want to watch so you only pay for the services you need.
Ditch Streaming Entirely
Online video streaming may be convenient, but you don’t have to lock yourself into an increasingly expensive subscription to enjoy movies and TV shows. In fact, you can own your favorite films by buying them on physical media. At this point, streaming economics have been just as confusing as cable, so consider keeping the cord and sticking with traditional TV. There’s more to entertainment beyond Netflix.
If you’re still ride or die with Netflix, keep track of everything coming to Netflix and everything leaving Netflix each month. For more streaming coverage, check out our absolutely massive catalog of streaming video reviews and news.
