Best Streaming Services: Compare Prices and Packages for 2023

Not only are television screens getting larger, but the number of must-watch shows is increasing across a growing assortment of on-demand streaming video services intent on persuading you to cut your cable TV cord.

Everyone is familiar with streaming pioneers Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu. However, with so many evolving streaming options, choosing the right budget-friendly platform can be challenging. See our breakdown to help you determine the best streaming platform for your needs.

Ways to keep costs in check

For consumers, more options can mean more temptation, kind of like the by-the-pound buffet at the grocery store. To keep your budget in line, ask yourself:

• How many hours of TV do I want to watch in a month?

• Does a new service have enough shows I like to be worthwhile?

• What are a service’s terms of cancellation?

Some companies offer a free trial period, which can help you assess their programming, but they require a credit card to sign up. Keep in mind that you will be charged automatically if you don’t cancel your subscription before the free trial ends.

Unlike cable television, streaming services don’t charge fees for installation or for starting or canceling service. So you can subscribe for just a month — as long as you remember to cancel before the next billing cycle — and resubscribe later, once the platform repopulates with new viewing choices.

Another option is bundling, which allows you to pay one price for two or three streaming platforms. This could lower your costs, but only if you like enough shows on every service that you’ll be paying for as part of the bundle.

Or you can also try downloading free ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) services, which offer all their programming for free with ads. While they might not provide the newest movies and TV shows, they do offer many timeless classics.

For those who aren’t ready to move to streaming, cable TV channels, which often have ads, will continue to exist because “they serve their parent corporations a unique economic opportunity,” says Josh Jackson, assistant director of the media studies program at the University of California, Berkeley. “Broadcast television is still the primary vehicle for advertisers to reach a massive audience quickly.”

But much of broadcast television relies on advertisers who prioritize viewers ages 18 to 49. And content is created to appeal to that age group. Streaming services might give older adults more opportunities to find the shows they want, Jackson says.

“A subscription-based television environment that’s more concerned with numbers of subscribers and less concerned with demographics might provide a greater variety of shows that might value and target an older audience because their appeal to advertisers isn’t part of the equation,” he says.

That means shows such as The Kominsky Method, starring Michael Douglas, 78, on Netflix; classics like Friends on Max; and new hits like Only Murders in the Building on Hulu can become part of your watch list.