How Much Are You Really Paying for Streaming?
Select the services you subscribe to. We'll show your real monthly and annual cost — plus how to cut it.
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Related Verdicts
The streaming giant that started it all
HBO originals, DC, Studio Ghibli, and live sports in one premium streaming service
Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and Disney classics in one place
Ad-free YouTube plus YouTube Music in one subscription
The default music streaming service with 100M+ songs
The largest anime streaming library with same-day simulcasts from Japan
The Real Cost of Streaming in 2026
The average American now spends $61 per month on streaming services — that's $732 per year, up from $48/month just two years ago. The problem isn't any single subscription. It's the stack. Netflix feels like a necessity. HBO Max has the prestige shows. Disney+ has the kids covered. Spotify handles music. And before you know it, you're paying more for streaming than your parents paid for cable.
We built this calculator because most people have never added up their streaming spend. Each $10-18/month subscription feels insignificant on its own. Combined? The number genuinely surprises most users who run their first calculation here.
The Bundle Strategy
Streaming companies have figured out that bundles keep subscribers locked in. The Disney+/Hulu/Max bundle at $19.99/month saves you roughly $3/month versus subscribing to Disney+ and Max separately — and throws in Hulu for free. If you're subscribing to any two of those services independently, you're overpaying. Our calculator flags bundle opportunities like this automatically.
Music overlap is another expensive blind spot. Spotify Premium ($12.99/month) and YouTube Premium ($13.99/month) both include full music libraries. If you have both, you're paying $27/month for music streaming when one service would be enough. Check our Netflix verdict and HBO Max verdict for our take on which services deliver the most value per dollar.
The Rotation Strategy
The smartest approach we've found — and what Reddit's r/cordcutters community has been recommending for years — is rotation. Keep 1-2 services year-round (typically Netflix and one music platform), then rotate everything else on a quarterly basis. Subscribe to Disney+ for two months when new Marvel content drops, cancel, switch to Max for the next HBO season, cancel, repeat.
This works because every streaming service retains your profiles and watch history for 10+ months after cancellation. When you resubscribe, everything is exactly where you left it. A rotation strategy typically saves $300-360/year compared to keeping everything active simultaneously.
We go deeper on which services are worth keeping year-round and which are the best rotation candidates in our streaming services guide for 2026. Use the calculator above to see your total spend, then decide which services to keep and which to rotate.