Here's How Much It Would Cost to Subscribe to All Streaming Services in 2024

The nice thing about cable was that it had everything. The bad part? It had everything. As the Great Unbundling shook America, TV viewers of all stripes swore off cable TV in favor of ad-free streaming services like Netflix. Away with the ads! Down with the bundles!

Those days, it seems, have passed faster than a Frosty commercial.

Streamers are now adopting ad tiers and bundling en masse. They've also raised prices. Netflix, Disney, Hulu, Apple, and Amazon all raised prices last year. That's odd. Last time I checked, zero ads and zero bundling are what made streaming so much better than cable.

Is this season one of Cable 2.0, Return of the Bundle? To check, I've calculated how much it would impact your personal finances to subscribe to all streaming services in 2024. Here's the scoop.

Five top streaming services

Remember the prices of subscribing to the top streaming services are subject to change (read: rise). For example, regular Amazon subscribers will see ads on their Prime videos unless they upgrade to an ad-free plan for $3, beginning Jan. 29.

Folks who opt into cheaper, ad-supported options whenever possible would pay $47.95 monthly. Viewers paying for the cheapest ad-free options would shell out $78.45 monthly.

According to cableTV.com, the average cable TV plan costs around $83 monthly and includes 189 channels. That's still $5 pricier than watching the big five streamers ad free.

Top live TV streamers

Live TV is pretty much entirely ad-supported -- there's no paying your way out of it. Even if you buy the more expensive version of Hulu with Live TV, the Live TV portion will show ads. It's much like cable TV, but without the cable box. Small mercies, I guess.

If you're wild enough to buy every streaming service listed above -- many offer the same channels -- you'll pay $491.92 monthly. Or $504.92 monthly with ad-free Hulu thrown in.

If you want cable without the cable box, you're better off buying a YouTube TV subscription and paying for extra channels a la carte, like HBO. It's pretty easy to do, and you won't pay for the same channel six times over -- and it'll leave you with more money in your bank account.

Top on-demand streamers

No live TV, no problem. You can stream on-demand shows and films via dozens of streamers whose names aren't Netflix or Hulu -- though those are options, too. Some services, like Vudu and Google Play, let you purchase shows and movies individually.

If you're adventurous enough to splurge on every single service as cheaply as possible, you can do so for the low, low price of $50.93. Or, if you'd like to watch as cheaply as possible with as few ads as possible, you can do so for $82.42. (You'll still get some ads, though.)

But Netflix alone packs a mountain's worth of content. To keep things reasonable, consider only subscribing to smaller services when there's a particular show you want to watch. Set a reminder on your phone to cancel after the free trial (or monthly subscription) ends.

Top live sports streamers

Sports enthusiasts get a special shoutout. Considering how popular sports are in America, it's a sizable category. And a pricey one. It's tough to enjoy football season without breaking the bank.

Viewers who subscribe to all 14 streamers listed here (why, though?) would pay $112.90 monthly for the experience. To watch as cheaply as possible with as few ads as possible, they'd pay $140.89 monthly, about a $30 premium.

For a broad selection of sports channels, ESPN+ and Peacock pack a sizable amount of options. YouTube TV also offers a wide selection of live sports. Pick your poison, but probably don't pick all of them -- unless you're okay to overdose on repeat content.

What about other streaming services?

There are hundreds of streaming services available to Americans. Of those, dozens of "niche" services command subscriber bases in the thousands. Of those above, I've failed to list at least two niche streamers I've used frequently, Crunchyroll and Viki.

But you're unlikely to sign up for more than two or three at a time, even if you develop a spontaneous craving for anime and Asian dramas. (Ahem. It's been known to happen.)

Check out the complete list of top niche streamers, or, better yet, add up the cost of all the niche streamers you've signed up for. I cancel my smaller subscriptions regularly. Sometimes, I go years without using a particular service. (Sorry, Crunchyroll!)

What if you subscribed to all of the above?

Um. Please don't. I don't want to be responsible for sending innocent Americans down a doom spiral of endless content, much of it repeating content from overlapping bundles.

But for the sake of science, if you subscribed to every single streaming service mentioned above, excluding repeats (but not excluding overlapping bundles), you'd pay the following:

• $688.72 monthly for the cheapest plans
• $773.20 monthly for the cheapest plans with minimal ads

Subscribe at your own risk, channel surfer.

How to save on streaming prices

While viewers could go all Kill Bill on their streaming subscriptions, that may be overkill. The best way to save is to slash what you're ignoring and keep a wary eye out for free streaming credits. They exist.

And -- dare I say it? -- you might consider downgrading to an ad-supported tier on occasion. Hey, if you're hardly using it, you'll hardly notice, right? Wait. Please, don't shoot!

Some of the best credit cards for streaming services offer cardholders TV perks:

• The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express (see rates and fees) gets you $84 in Disney Bundle credit. Terms apply.
• The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers frequent travelers triple points for spending on streaming services.

Some T-Mobile customers get Netflix for free. If you sign up for the right plan, that'll save you streaming dollars. Some Verizon customers also get streaming discounts on an ad-supported Netflix and HBO bundle. If you have a Verizon plan, it's worth looking into.

What with the ads and bundling, cable-style TV is making a comeback sans cable. Good news is, you can spend less by limiting yourself to one or two services. And if you want everything at once, well…you can have that, too.