Eight little charges can now add up to one very cable-sized bill.
“As streaming markets mature and become increasingly competitive and saturated, Ampere believes the trend could indicate that streamers are moving closer to the limits of consumer willingness to pay,” the research firm said in an August analysis. For families, that limit is getting easier to see.
A Fortune calculation found that the cheapest ad-free monthly plans from eight major streaming services now total $139.41, or $1,672.92 a year. The tally, based on published US prices as of Sept. 8, includes Netflix, Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, HBO Max and Prime Video without bundle discounts.
Choosing standard, full-catalog plans with commercials wherever available drops the bill to $89.92 a month. That still works out to $1,079.04 a year, making the cheaper option less of a bargain than it first appears.
The full stack is a benchmark rather than a picture of every living room, and it does not include live-TV packages or an internet bill. That distinction matters: a family may spend less by keeping only a few platforms, while sports add-ons and duplicate subscriptions can push another household past Fortune’s total.
The eye-popping total does not come from one runaway service. It grows dollar by dollar: Netflix Standard costs $19.99 a month without ads, Hulu Premium costs $18.99 and HBO Max Standard costs $18.49.
Related: Are Streamers Backing Away from Price Hikes?
Paramount+ Premium adds another $13.99, Peacock Premium Plus costs $19.99, Disney+ Premium runs $18.99 and Apple TV costs $14.99. Standalone Prime Video with its Ultra ad-free add-on reaches $13.98; Amazon says Ultra alone costs $4.99 and requires Prime or a Prime Video subscription.
The math carries a whiff of deja vu. Fortune compared the new total with the average 2016 pay-TV bill of $103.10, which comes to about $143 in July 2026 dollars after inflation. Streaming and cable do not offer identical products, but that four-dollar gap is awfully slim for a revolution built on saving money.
Most households do not keep all eight services. Still, the individual price increases matter because a few forgotten renewals can quietly turn an intentional entertainment budget into a bundle no one meant to buy.
Families have a few practical exits. Annual plans can lower costs for services used year-round, while the Disney+ and Hulu Premium bundle combines both no-ad plans for $19.99 a month instead of paying for them separately.
Other subscriptions may work better on rotation. CNET recommends cycling services by waiting until a desired series finishes its season, subscribing long enough to watch it and then canceling before moving to the next platform.
Price is only half the audit. A service also earns its place through what it brings into the home: worthwhile stories, age-appropriate choices and programs the family actually watches rather than scrolls past. Movieguide® has long encouraged that kind of thoughtful media stewardship, and a crowded monthly statement makes the question wonderfully concrete.
Families cut the cord to escape the bundle, then rebuilt it one subscription at a time. Streaming still gives viewers more control, but keeping that advantage now takes attention instead of autopilot.
Read Next: Disney Is Hiking Subscription Prices…Again. Here’s Why
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