Not that long ago, cutting the cord felt like a financial no-brainer. Swap your bloated cable package for Netflix, maybe Hulu, and suddenly you were saving hundreds of dollars a year. Fast-forward to 2026 and... well, things have changed.
Every major studio now has its own streaming platform. Hit shows are scattered across half a dozen services. Prices keep climbing. And "just one more subscription" has become the entertainment equivalent of "I'll only have one chip."
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To find out just how much streaming habits have changed, we surveyed 682 Tom's Guide readers about the services they subscribe to, how much they spend each month and which streamers they'd never give up. The results paint a picture of viewers who still love streaming, but are becoming much more selective about where their money goes.
We're subscribing to how many streaming services?!
The biggest surprise wasn't that people subscribe to multiple streaming services. That ship sailed years ago. It's just how many.
Nearly 30% of respondents said they currently subscribe to seven or more streaming services. Another 39% pay for between four and six. Add it all together, and more than two-thirds of the people we surveyed have at least four subscriptions on the go.
# of streaming services |
% of respondents |
|---|---|
1 |
5.4% |
2 |
9.2% |
3 |
16.6% |
4 |
12.8% |
5 |
13.8% |
6 |
12.5% |
7 or more |
29.8% |
It's easy to see how this has happened. Netflix unveils a new season of "Bridgerton." HBO Max has "The Last of Us" and "The Pitt." Hulu drops the final season of "The Bear." Apple TV keeps producing buzzy hits like "Severance." Before long, canceling one service means missing the show everyone will be talking about Monday morning.
At some point, the hardest part of movie night stopped being deciding what to watch. Now it's remembering which app it's on.
The monthly bill is starting to look a lot like cable
Of course, all those subscriptions come with a price tag.
More than 35% of respondents said they spend over $60 every month on streaming, while another 29% spend between $36 and $60. In other words, nearly two-thirds of the Tom's Guide readers we surveyed shell out at least $36 every month just to keep up with their favorite shows and movies.
Monthly streaming spend |
% of respondents |
|---|---|
Under $15 |
10.6% |
$16–25 |
12.2% |
$26–35 |
13.2% |
$36–45 |
14.2% |
$46–60 |
14.5% |
Over $60 |
35.3% |
It's a far cry from the early days of streaming, when subscribing to Netflix was an easy way to save money after ditching cable. Back then, one or two services gave you access to most of the TV and movies you wanted to watch. Today, that's no longer the case.
It doesn't help that nearly every major streaming service has raised prices over the past few years while introducing ad-supported tiers and premium plans. Even viewers who opt for cheaper, ad-filled subscriptions can easily find themselves paying more overall as they add yet another service to the mix.
Prime Video is everywhere, but Netflix still owns viewers' loyalty
Prime Video technically came out on top in our survey. More than 83% of respondents subscribe to Amazon's streamer, edging out Netflix at 76%.
Streaming service |
% of respondents |
|---|---|
Prime Video |
83.0% |
Netflix |
76.4% |
Paramount+ |
54.1% |
Hulu |
50.7% |
HBO Max |
48.8% |
Disney+ |
46.6% |
Peacock |
40.0% |
Apple TV+ |
37.5% |
That probably shouldn't come as much of a surprise. Millions of people receive Prime Video automatically as part of an Amazon Prime membership, making it less of a deliberate streaming purchase than many competitors.
But when we asked which service people would never cancel, the picture changed dramatically.
Netflix is still the one viewers won't give up
Nearly 39% of respondents said Netflix is the one paid streaming service they'd never cancel. Prime Video finished second at 29%, while every other platform couldn't even reach double digits.
Streaming service |
% of respondents |
|---|---|
Netflix |
38.9% |
Prime Video |
28.7% |
Paramount+ |
7.8% |
HBO Max |
6.7% |
Apple TV+ |
5.7% |
Disney+ |
4.8% |
Hulu |
4.0% |
Peacock |
3.4% |
That's a big gap in favor of Netflix. It suggests viewers may subscribe to lots of services throughout the year, but Netflix remains the foundation. Everything else is negotiable.
That's exactly the kind of loyalty every streamer is chasing, but nobody other than Netflix has managed to replicate.
Free streaming is big
One of the most encouraging trends in the survey is the growing popularity of free streaming. More than half of respondents use YouTube to watch free content, while nearly half use Tubi.
Pluto TV and The Roku Channel have also become regular destinations for many viewers.
Free streaming service |
% of respondents |
|---|---|
YouTube |
53.7% |
Tubi |
48.8% |
The Roku Channel |
32.1% |
Pluto TV |
31.2% |
Plex |
15.1% |
Sling Freestream |
5.9% |
None |
21.7% |
Not long ago, free streaming carried a stigma. Today, FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) services offer thousands of movies, classic TV shows, live channels and even original programming. For viewers feeling the pinch of subscription costs, watching a few ads is increasingly becoming a worthwhile tradeoff.
The future of streaming looks a lot more intentional
If there's one lesson from our survey, it's this: Streaming habits are evolving.
Consumers aren't necessarily subscribing to fewer services. Instead, they're becoming more intentional about where their money goes. They're identifying the platforms they consider essential, weighing whether new releases justify another monthly bill and increasingly turning to free, ad-supported services to fill the gaps.
As streaming continues to mature — and prices continue to climb — that balancing act may become the new normal.
Let us know in the comments: How much are you paying per month? Which streaming service would you never cancel?
