Netflix has announced it will be increasing its subscription prices by 17 per cent putting additional pressure on millions of household budgets already stretched amid the ongoing cost of living crisis.
Subscriptions to streaming services in the UK have continued to rise in the past year, with Ofcom reporting that almost half of people (49%) now consider them to be their main way of watching TV and movies.
Netflix is just one of many premium streaming services available on the market and finance experts at money.co.uk have crunched the numbers to work out the average cost per hour of content watched on each of the most popular platforms to find out which ones offer best value for money.
Here’s how Netflix’s mid-level subscription prices will stack up against rival services.
Subscription prices per month:
- Netflix - £10.99
- Amazon Prime Video - £7.99
- Now TV - £9.99
- Disney Plus - £7.99
- Apple TV Plus - £4.99
- BritBox - £5.99
Money.co.uk took the average amount of time per week spent on watching online streaming services, which came in at one hour and five minutes per day according to Ofcom statistics, and then calculated how much each streaming service costs to watch per hour of content.
Streaming service cost per hour to watch
- Netflix: 34p per hour
- Amazon Prime Video: 25p per hour
- Now TV: 31p per hour
- Disney Plus: 25p per hour
- Apple TV Plus: 15p per hour
- BritBox: 18p per hour
Commenting on the findings, James Andrews, Senior Personal Finance Editor at money.co.uk, said: “Streaming services hit a record high during lockdown, with 12 million of us signing up for a new service in 2020, however, given the rising cost of living it’s more important than ever to make sure we’re spending our cash wisely.
“Streaming services across the board are raising their subscription fees, so it’s worth knowing all the tips and tricks of streaming to get the most out of your money.”
James suggested that the best way to try a new platform for the first time is by signing up for free, prior to making a financial commitment, as most services offer free trials to lure in new subscribers - you can usually cancel anytime.
Some phone or broadband contracts also offer extended free trials to new customers. For example, O2 customers can get six months free of Disney Plus, while most new Apple products come with three months free Apple TV Plus.
Some streaming platforms will also offer a discount if you try to cancel your subscription, even if it’s just a free trial, so it’s worth going through the motions of cancelling to see what kind of reduction you might be offered.
James added: “Unless you’re streaming 24/7 there’s no need to sign up for every service, so consider which ones you’re using on a day-to-day basis. If you’re binge watching a long running series, you probably won’t be using your other platforms as much and you can cancel them until they’re needed again.”
He also advised before signing up to a service, figure out what you want from it. For example, if you want to watch Bridgerton, then you’ll have to subscribe to Netflix as that’s the only platform streaming the series. But if live sport is more up your street, then forget Netflix and look at Amazon Prime.
It’s also worth remembering that some services, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV and Disney Plus, are increasingly launching original programming.
This offers them an additional edge over the competition, as their libraries are likely to be updated with exciting new content more frequently.
How do the streaming services compare?
Netflix
- Price £10.99 a month, £6.99 for basic (new prices)
- Catalogue size: Over 5,000 movies and more than 2,000 TV shows
Disney Plus
- Price: £7.99 a month
- Catalogue size: Over 1,300 movies and more than 500 TV shows
Amazon Prime Video
- Price: £7.99 a month with an Amazon Prime membership
- Catalogue size: Thousands of movies and TV shows, with even more on the way, but many require extra money to watch
Apple TV Plus
- Price: £4.99 a month or free for three months with a new iPhone, iPad, Mac computer or Apple TV
- Catalogue size: More than 60 TV shows and 25 movies, with more launching every month
Now TV
- Price: £9.99 a month, £9.99 for Now TV Sky Cinema
- Catalogue size: More than 350 TV shows. Over 1,000 movies with Now TV Sky Cinema
BritBox
- Price: £5.99 a month
You can see how all the streaming services compare on money.co.uk’s full guide here.
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