It started innocently. Netflix at $15. Then Hulu for live sports. Disney+ for the kids. HBO Max because everyone kept talking about that show. Peacock during football season. Apple TV+ came free with your phone, but now you pay for it. One by one, they've moved in — and quietly they've replaced cable with something nearly as expensive.
According to a 2024 survey by Deloitte, the average American household subscribes to four streaming services and spends around $61 per month on streaming. That's $732 a year. Over ten years? $7,320 — before accounting for the price increases every service seems to announce annually.
Breaking Down What You're Actually Paying
The Services That Add Up
- Netflix Standard (with ads): $7/month | Netflix Premium: $23/month
- Disney+ Basic: $8/month | Disney+ Premium: $14/month
- HBO Max with Ads: $10/month | Max Ad-Free: $16/month
- Hulu (Live TV): $77/month
- Apple TV+: $10/month
- Peacock Premium: $8/month
- Amazon Prime (includes video): $15/month
- Spotify (often bundled): $11/month
Most households aren't paying for all of these — but most are paying for more than they realize. If you have Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, and Amazon Prime, you're already at $54/month before you've added a single other service.
The Hidden Escalators
Streaming prices aren't static. Netflix raised prices multiple times in the last five years. Disney+ doubled in price between launch and 2024. The trend is clear: these companies set low introductory prices to get you hooked, then gradually increase them, banking on the fact that you won't bother canceling.
If each of your four streaming services raises its price by just $2 a year, you're looking at paying $96 more annually by year five than you do today. Small increases, compounded over years, add up to real money.
The Opportunity Cost Nobody Mentions
Here's the thing most streaming analysis misses: what else could you do with that $60/month? If you invested $60 a month into a low-cost index fund earning a historical average of 7% annually, after 10 years you'd have roughly $10,300. After 20 years: $31,700.
That's not a reason to never watch TV — it's a reason to be intentional about which services you actually use and which ones auto-renew because you forgot they existed.
A Smarter Approach to Streaming
Rotation is underrated. Watch one service for a month or two, binge what you want, cancel, and rotate to the next. Most services will take you back without charging you an activation fee. You can work through all the major platforms' libraries for about $15-20/month by never paying for more than one or two at a time.
Also: your public library almost certainly offers free access to Kanopy and Hoopla, which have thousands of movies and shows. Tubi and Pluto TV are free with ads. Not every hour of TV has to cost you money.