Streaming Service Prices Increase 2025: How to Find the Best Package

Options beyond Amazon and Netflix include Apple TV+, BET+, Disney+, Max, PBS Passport

Aaron Kassraie,

Updated February 07, 2025

AARP

En español

Published April 06, 2022

/ Updated February 07, 2025

Apple TV+

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.

Streaming platforms were initially seen as a means of saving money by cutting cable in favor of their lower prices. This strategy is now a bit more challenging with major players such as Disney, ESPN, Hulu, Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock and Starz hiking prices. In this round of increases only Apple+ and PBS Passport went totally unchanged.

Though everyone is familiar with streaming pioneers Netflix, the first in 2007, and Amazon Prime and Hulu, 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.

How streaming is different from cable TV

No installation or cancellation fees. Streaming platforms don’t charge extra for starting or canceling service.
On-demand access. Movies and TV shows are available over the internet whenever you want.
Requirements. All you need is a reliable internet connection and a compatible device, such as a smartphone, TV, tablet, computer or gaming console.
Flexible subscriptions. Subscribe for just a month and cancel before the next billing cycle. Resubscribe later when the platform adds new content.

Bundling options:

Pay one price for multiple platforms, such as Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+.
Cost-effective only if you enjoy enough content on all bundled services.

Free ad-supported services:

Free ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) services, such as The Roku Channel, Tubi and Pluto TV offer free programming with ads.
These services may lack new releases but feature many timeless classics.

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 a month?
Does a new service have enough shows I like to be worthwhile?
What are a service’s terms of cancellation?

A few companies, including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Hulu and Paramount+, offer a free trial, which can help you assess their programming. But they require a credit card to sign up. You will be charged automatically if you don’t cancel your subscription before the free trial ends.

What to consider when choosing a streaming service:

Cost. Monthly subscription fees vary widely.
Content. Check if the service offers your favorite shows, movies or sports.
Features. Consider family sharing, offline downloads or 4K streaming quality.

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Amazon Prime Video vs. Netflix

AARP Members Only Access

Apple TV+

BET+

Discovery+

Disney+

Hulu

Max

Paramount+, including Showtime

PBS Passport

Peacock

Starz

For the sports junkie

How to stream live TV

Amazon Prime Video vs. Netflix

Netflix reigns over Amazon Prime Video as the streaming service with the most subscribers, according to digitaltrends using information from the streaming services or their parent companies as of January 2025. Disney+ and Max are third and fourth, respectively.

Both Amazon and Netflix provide original shows and films, some of which have won top awards. Each platform carries additional movie and television options never broadcast on the big or small screens, but the services differ in a few ways.

Amazon Prime Video is available for $8.99 a month. You can subscribe without the standard delivery service on the Prime Video page. As an Amazon Prime member or video-only user, you must pay an extra $2.99 a month for the ad-free option. Users can rent or buy newly released television shows and movies individually without an Amazon subscription. Additionally, those whose incomes are verified and receive SNAP, Medicaid or other qualifying government assistance programs may receive full access to Amazon Prime for free for 30 days, then $6.99 a month thereafter.
Netflix has a membership option with ads at $7.99 a month. Some of its movies and shows are not available to subscribers on this plan because of licensing restrictions. The platform’s standard plan runs $17.99 a month. But video quality is not full high definition unless you join its premium plan, which recently increased to $24.99 a month.

The company has cracked down on password sharing and allows only two people in the same household to stream Netflix at once on its standard plans and four on its premium option. Additional people who live outside the primary household may be added to the account for $6.99 a month with ads or $8.99 without.

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AARP Members Only Access

What is it? AARP Streams, part of AARP Members Edition content, offers exclusive and premium content for members, including a rotating selection of on-demand, full-length films and documentaries, as part of your AARP membership. Other content includes celebrity interviews, Spotify playlists from legendary musicians, popular books and AARP Smart Guides.

How to access: Log in and create an account with aarp.org using your AARP membership number. You can view the material on your PC or Mac or cast it to a bigger screen, such as your TV.

Price: Access comes with joining AARP: $20 a year, $15 a year for automatic renewal.

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Apple TV+

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Jon Hamm and Jennifer Aniston in "The Morning Show."

Apple+

What is it? Apple TV+’s award-winning and viral successes include Severance, a show about office workers whose memories are divided between their personal and work lives, and Ted Lasso, a comedy about a football coach leading a British soccer team. New movies and series are added every Wednesday and Friday, including Slow Horses, The Morning Show and Wolves.

How to access: The Apple TV app, which is available on most Apple products and most smart TVs, PS5, PS4, Roku and Xbox One.

Price: One-week free trial, then $9.99 a month. Additionally, three months of the service come free with the purchase of a new Apple device. If you’ve established an Apple Family Sharing group of up to six people total, you or a loved one within the group can share the subscription with all of them.

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BET+

What is it? BET+ provides a collection of dramas, movies and sitcoms featuring Black culture with more than 2,000 hours of ad-free viewing. This includes exclusive programming such as documentaries, originals from Tyler Perry and specials from BET Networks.

How to access: Subscribe to BET+ through its website or add it to your Amazon Prime Video account. View it on Android and Apple devices, some smart TVs and the web.

Price: With ads, one-week free trial, then $5.99 a month, or $54.99 a year; without ads, seven-day free trial, then $10.99 a month, or $104.99 a year.

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Discovery+

What is it? Discovery+ gives users access to more than 70,000 current and former episodes of new and classic shows from Animal Planet, CNN, Discovery Channel, Food Network, HGTV, Investigation Discovery (ID) and TLC. Exclusives and Discovery+ originals feature personalities such as the Irwin family, Jonathan and Drew Scott and Bobby Flay.

How to access: Amazon and Apple devices, Android TV, Chromecast, Roku, Samsung TVs, the web and Xbox. A full list is available here.

Price: With ads at $5.99 a month, Discovery+ provides the cheapest streaming option; without ads, it’s $9.99 a month after a seven-day free trial.

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Disney+

Lin-Manuel Miranda stars as Alexander Hamilton in the biographical musical, "Hamilton," on Disney+.

Disney

What is it? Disney+ — which oversees Marvel, National Geographic, Pixar and the Star Wars franchise — provides thousands of movies, such as the Broadway production of Hamilton, Taylor Swift the Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version) and shows to stream.

Programming includes documentaries, films and series for subscribers of all ages. Popular original programs include the new Goosebumps: The Vanishing starring David Schwimmer, Star Wars: Andor, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, X-Men ’97 and the music documentary Beatles '64.

How to access: Android and Apple devices, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, most smart TVs, PS5, PS4, the web and Xbox One.

Price: No free trial. The service starts at $9.99 a month with ads or $15.99 a month ad-free. Disney programming may be bundled with ESPN+ and Hulu with ads for $16.99 a month or $26.99 a month without ads or only with Hulu for $10.99 a month with ads or $19.99 a month ad-free.

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Hulu

What is it? Streaming pioneer Hulu is No. 6 in streaming service subscribers.

Hulu offers new episodes of select broadcast TV shows the day after they air, including content from ABC, FX, Fox and NBC. For cord-cutters, this may be the best way to continue accessing network programming.

While these four networks provide streaming options, they are only available to cable subscribers, who must link their accounts to watch content online. However, NBC’s primary streaming service, Peacock, does not support cable login and requires a separate subscription because it includes additional programming and movies. Cable subscribers can still access NBC content digitally through the NBC App.

Additionally, Hulu also carries its own original content, including The Handmaid’s Tale, Only Murders in the Building and The Bear.

How to access: Amazon Echo Show, Amazon Fire Stick and Fire TV, Android and Apple devices, Apple TV, Chromecast, Nintendo Switch, PS5, PS4, Roku, most smart TVs, the web, Xbox One and Xbox 360.

Price: The ad-supported plan costs $9.99 a month and includes a 30-day free trial while the ad-free plan is $18.99 a month with no free trial. Viewers have the option to add subscriptions from Cinemax, Disney+, ESPN+, Max, Showtime, Starz or live TV but trial periods vary.

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Max

What is it? Max combines offerings from what had been called HBO Max and Discovery+. Subscribers can view HBO programming, such as the critically acclaimed The White Lotus (Season 3 will premiere Feb. 16) and The Last of Us, along with popular shows from the Food Network, HGTV, ID, Magnolia Network and TLC. The platform also offers a selection of blockbuster movies, indie favorites and award-winning documentaries. Live sports games and matches can be streamed for free from the NBA, NHL, MLB and U.S. Soccer may be added for $9.99 a month.

Max also maintains a library of licensed movies and shows from Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, DC Comics, Discovery, HGTV, ID Discovery, Magnolia Network, TLC, Travel Channel, Turner Classic Movies and Wizarding World.

How to access: Android and Apple devices, Chromecast, PS5, PS4, most smart TVs, the web and Xbox One.

Price: Max doesn’t offer a free trial as part of its service. But sometimes other platforms, such as Amazon Prime Video, will offer a trial period with Max as part of a bundle.

With ads, Max is $9.99 a month, $99.99 a year. Without ads, it’s $16.99 a month, $169.99 a year. A third-tier plan, Ultimate Ad-Free, runs $20.99 a month, $209.99 a year; it allows you to stream in 4K UHD and Dolby Atmos as available, watch on four devices at once and download up to 100 videos for viewing offline.

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Paramount+, including Showtime

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Sylvester Stallone as Dwight "The General" Manfredi and Garrett Hedlund as Mitch Keller of the Paramount+ original series Tulsa King.

Brian Douglas/Paramount+

What is it? The former CBS All Access has been rebranded as Paramount+. Users can continue to stream shows from BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, the Smithsonian Channel, NFL on CBS LIVE and CBS News. The addition of Paramount means films stream after a short theatrical release, like Gladiator II and the service has more than 50 original series, including 1883, a reboot of Frasier and Tulsa King.

Paramount’s Premium plan is ad-free, includes live streaming of your local CBS station and Showtime, which ended its stand-alone streaming service. With the addition of Showtime, streamers have a greater selection of original series, hit movies, documentaries and sports programming. Viewers can stream the reboot Dextor: Original Sin, the third season of the breakout hit Yellowjackets (Feb. 14), or its newest spy thriller, The Agency.

How to access: Amazon Fire TV, Android and Apple devices, Chromecast, PS5, PS4, Roku, most smart TVs, the web and Xbox One.

Price: One-week free trial. Essential plan, with ads but no access to local live CBS programming, $7.99 a month or $59.99 a year. The Premium plan, largely without ads but including Showtime and access to your local CBS station live, costs $12.99 a month or $119.99 a year.

Note, AARP members can save 10 percent on any Paramount+ plan.

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PBS Passport

What is it? PBS Passport is the Public Broadcasting Service’s version of on-demand programming. Though not all PBS shows are part of its library, it does include popular series such as Antiques Roadshow, Finding Your Roots and a rotating selection of Masterpiece and Ken Burns films.

How to access: Amazon Fire Stick, Amazon Fire TV, Android and Apple devices, Android smart TVs, Chromecast, Roku and newer Roku TV models, and the web.

Price: No free trial. PBS stations set their own rules for what donation amounts qualify for a Passport membership benefit. Generally, donors need to give at least $60 a year or $5 a month as a sustaining member.

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Peacock

What is it? Peacock includes shows from MSNBC, NBC, Bravo and Telemundo along with original series such as the hit reality series, The Traitors, and the British spy thriller The Day of the Jackal. The service’s film catalog includes some classic franchises like the Harry Potter movies and recent hits, such as Oppenheimer, that appeal to a variety of ages.

How to access: Android and Apple smart devices, Chromecast, PS5, PS4, Roku, most smart TVs, the web and Xbox One.

Price: Peacock no longer has a free option or a free trial period. For $7.99 a month, $79.99 a year, you can access the platform’s ad-supported movies, shows, live sports, NBC and Bravo programming, and more than 50 “always-on” channels. For $13.99 a month, $139.99 a year, you can watch ad-free, download select titles offline on mobile devices and stream your local NBC station.

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Starz

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Ella Purnell stars as Rhiannon in Sweetpea.

Starz

What is it? Starz offers a library of diverse shows, movies and docuseries. In addition to a rotation of blockbuster movies, viewers can stream original series such as Outlander, a historical drama about a World War II nurse who is mysteriously transported to 18th-century Scotland; The Couple Next Door, a psychological thriller about a young couple whose new friendship with their neighbors takes a dark turn; and Sweetpea, a dark comedy-drama following an ordinary woman with a murderous secret.

How to access: Amazon Fire Stick, Android and Apple devices, Roku, Xbox and most smart TVs.

Price: No free trial. But the first three months have a promotional rate of $4.99 a month for the first three months, then $10.99 a month thereafter or $35.99 for a year and then $69.99 for the following year.

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For the sports junkie

Finding the right channel to watch your favorite team can be frustrating, especially right before a big game. Fortunately, streaming provides options for sports fans, too.

ESPN+ costs $11.99 a month or $119.99 a year and offers live events, original shows and acclaimed programs such as the entire library of 30 for 30 documentaries about significant people and events in sports history. No free trial.
Starting at $84.99 a month, fuboTV is one of the more expensive but most comprehensive options for sports fans. It features all the major broadcast networks, national sports league channels and even some entertainment options. It comes with cloud DVR, meaning you can record and watch programs from anywhere at any time without purchasing additional equipment. Each package offers a one-month promotional discount.
You can also add sports packages to streaming subscriptions from Hulu, Peacock, Sling TV and YouTube TV.

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How to stream live TV

If you want to ditch cable or satellite TV altogether, a variety of streaming services offer live channels, often for less than the cost of a cable subscription.

The number of channels may be limited compared with cable or satellite TV, but starting prices range from $28 to $82.99 a month. Options include DirectTV Stream, Philo TV, Sling TV and YouTube TV.

This story, originally published April 6, 2022, has been updated to reflect price changes and new offerings from the streaming services.

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Aaron Kassraie writes about issues important to military veterans and their families for AARP. He also serves as a general assignment reporter. Kassraie previously covered U.S. foreign policy as a correspondent for the Kuwait News Agency’s Washington bureau and worked in news gathering for USA Today and Al Jazeera English. 