4 Ways to Save Money on Your Netflix Subscription

Forget paying $240 a year. Here's how to enjoy the shows you love for less.

Netflix is one of the most popular subscription services in the world, and it's built up quite the collection of TV, movies, and games over the years. This ever-expanding library now comes with a price tag of anywhere from $9.99 to $19.99 per month, depending on the plan you choose.

That can strain your bank account, especially since Netflix is notorious for not offering discounts or coupon codes. But there are still steps you can take to save on your annual Netflix costs. Here are four of them.

1. Get it for free with a T-Mobile cell phone plan

T-Mobile customers could be eligible for a free Basic or Standard Netflix plan, depending on the phone plan they choose. The Basic plan enables you to watch Netflix on one screen at a time, and it's available with the following T-Mobile plans:

• Magenta® Max single-line plan
• Magenta® multi-line plan
• Magenta® Military multi-line plan
• Magenta® 55+ multi-line plan
• Magenta® First Responders multi-line plan

You could also be eligible for a free Standard plan, which enables you to watch Netflix on two devices simultaneously with one of these plans:

• Magenta® MAX multi-line plan
• Magenta® Military MAX multi-line plan
• Magenta® 55+ MAX multi-line plan
• Magenta® First Responder MAX multi-line plan

This could be a smart choice for you if you're already a T-Mobile customer or are thinking about switching. But if T-Mobile doesn't offer great service in your area, this probably isn't the best way to save on your Netflix subscription.

2. Pause your subscription

Netflix enables you to cancel your membership at any time, so if there's a month where you aren't watching TV as much or you're primarily using other streaming services, you can temporarily cancel your Netflix subscription. 

Netflix won't charge you during the months you've paused your subscription. Then, when you're ready to start watching again, you can resume paying for the service. 

3. Downgrading your plan

Netflix currently offers three paid plans -- Basic, Standard, and Premium. The only difference between these three plans is how many devices you can watch Netflix on at a time. With a Basic subscription, you're allowed one device. A Standard subscription gives you two simultaneous streams and a Premium subscription gives you four.

If you're paying for one of the higher tier plans, but you only ever watch one Netflix show at a time, you could save quite a bit just by downgrading your plan. If your needs later change, you can always upgrade your service again.

4. Try the new subscription tier with ads

Starting in November 2022, Netflix is offering a new Basic with Ads plan for $6.99 per month. This allows a single stream at a time, but you also have to contend with ads during shows and movies. In addition, some shows and movies may not be available to watch if you have this subscription tier and you won't be able to download anything to your device to watch offline.

Still, if you're comfortable accepting these restrictions, you could save up to $156 a year by going with the ad-based plan over one of the ad-free plans.

Think about how often you use Netflix when deciding which of the above solutions is right for you. And don't forget, you can change your Netflix subscription at any time, so if you try something for a month and decide you don't like it, you can always go back to the plan you had before.