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Your Streaming Bill Hit $139

Eight big services now cost $139.41 a month without ads. These nine moves cut that down, and #9 costs nothing but a library card.

Photo: Dmitry Makeev, CC BY-SA 4.0

Drop Down to the Ad Tier

Netflix Premium is $26.99 a month, while Standard with Ads is $8.99. It's the same catalog for most viewers, and $18 a month back, or $216 a year.

Photo: Ajay Suresh, CC BY 2.0

Stack Three Apps in One Bill

Disney+, Hulu and HBO Max with ads cost $19.99 a month as one bundle. Bought separately, the same three ad plans run about $35.

Photo: EvanProdromou, CC BY-SA 4.0

Check Your Phone Plan First

T-Mobile's Experience More and Experience Beyond plans include Netflix Standard with Ads free. Paying Netflix directly too means paying twice.

Photo: Mike Mozart, CC BY 2.0

Verizon's Disney Perk

Verizon myPlan lines can add Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ with ads as a $10 perk. It rises to $12 a month on Sept 17, so recheck the math then.

Photo: Harrison Keely, CC BY 4.0

Walmart+ Hides a Free Stream

Walmart+ ($98 a year) includes Peacock Premium or Paramount+ Essential, both with ads. You can switch between the two every 90 days.

Pay Once a Year Instead

Paramount+ Essential is $89.99 a year, about $18 less than paying monthly. HBO Max Basic with Ads is $109.99 a year, roughly $22 less.

Rotate, Don't Hoard

Keep one or two services, binge the show you want, then cancel and switch. Most services keep working until the paid month ends.

Photo: Raimond Spekking, CC BY-SA 4.0

Free Apps With Real Movies

Tubi, Pluto TV and The Roku Channel stream movies and live channels for free with ads, with no subscription, on phones and TVs.

Photo: FASTILY, CC BY-SA 4.0

Your Library Card Streams Too

Kanopy and hoopla stream films and TV free with a card from a participating library. There are no fees; your library sets a monthly limit.

Photo: Simon Tsu, CC BY-SA 4.0

Cut the Bill, Keep the Shows

Start with what you already pay for: a phone perk plus one ad tier can save over $200 a year. Then rotate the rest month by month.

Peacock's new prices, plan by plan