- Tubi and Pluto TV are completely free with no credit card required — good enough for casual viewing.
- Hulu ($7.99/mo with ads) is the strongest paid alternative — more current TV, similar movie library.
- Apple TV+ ($9.99/mo) has fewer titles but higher quality originals than any other service.
- Rotating subscriptions — keeping one at a time and switching — cuts streaming costs by 50%+.
Why People Are Leaving Netflix
Netflix's Standard plan now costs $15.49/month. The ad-supported plan is $7.99/month but still requires a subscription. For a household already paying for Disney+, Hulu, and Max, Netflix can feel like a cost that's hard to justify — especially when you're not actively watching anything on it.
The good news: the streaming market has never been more competitive. There are genuinely good free options, and several paid alternatives that cost half as much as Netflix while covering most of what you actually watch.
Completely Free Alternatives
Tubi
Tubi is the best free streaming service available. It has an enormous library — over 20,000 titles — covering movies and TV shows across every genre. The catch is ad breaks, but they're no worse than regular TV. No credit card required. Available on every major device.
Best for: Movies, older TV shows, documentaries, foreign films.
Pluto TV
Pluto TV works more like a traditional TV — it has hundreds of live "channels" organized by genre (news, movies, reality TV, comedy) that stream continuously. You can also browse on-demand titles. Completely free, no account required. Better for background viewing than active watching.
Best for: Passive/background viewing, live news, niche genre channels.
Peacock (Free Tier)
Peacock's free tier includes a legitimate selection of NBC shows, older movies, and next-day episodes of some current NBC programming. The free tier has ads and limited content compared to Peacock Premium, but it's more curated than Tubi and includes live news.
Best for: NBC shows, The Office (partially), older Universal movies.
Cheap Paid Alternatives (Under $10/month)
Hulu — $7.99/month (with ads)
Hulu is the strongest Netflix alternative for current TV. It carries next-day episodes from major networks (ABC, NBC, Fox) and has a wide original content library. At $7.99/month with ads, it's roughly half the cost of Netflix Standard. The ad-free plan is $17.99/month — only worth it if ads bother you significantly.
Best for: Current TV seasons, FX originals, reality TV, Hulu Originals.
Paramount+ — $5.99/month (with ads)
Paramount+ is one of the cheapest paid streaming options and punches above its weight. It includes CBS shows, MTV reality content, Nickelodeon, BET, Comedy Central, and Paramount theatrical films. The $5.99 Essential tier has ads but full content access.
Best for: CBS shows, Star Trek franchise, Yellowstone universe, Paramount movies.
Apple TV+ — $9.99/month
Apple TV+ has the smallest library of any major service — but arguably the highest hit rate. Severance, Ted Lasso, The Morning Show, Slow Horses, Shrinking, and multiple Academy Award winners (CODA, Killers of the Flower Moon) all live here. No ads, no tiers, no confusion.
Best for: Prestige originals, quality over quantity, ad-free viewing.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Service | Price/month | Ads | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tubi | Free | Yes | Movies, older TV |
| Pluto TV | Free | Yes | Background/live TV |
| Peacock Free | Free | Yes | NBC shows |
| Paramount+ | $5.99 | Yes | CBS, Star Trek, movies |
| Hulu | $7.99 | Yes | Current TV seasons |
| Apple TV+ | $9.99 | No | Prestige originals |
| Amazon Prime Video | $8.99 | Yes | Movies, Amazon originals |
| Max (HBO) | $9.99 | Yes | HBO content, Warner films |
| Netflix Standard | $15.49 | Yes | Netflix Originals |
The Rotation Strategy: The Smart Way to Cut Costs
The most effective way to reduce streaming costs isn't picking one service and sticking with it — it's rotating. Keep one service at a time. Binge what you want. Cancel. Pick up the next one when something interesting releases.
Most streaming services make re-subscribing instant and keep your watch history. Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and Max all let you cancel and rejoin within the same day with zero friction. A household that rotates between three services pays for one at a time — roughly $96–$120/year — instead of $45+/month for all three simultaneously.
Track every streaming subscription you're paying for
SubPlus shows you exactly what you're spending on streaming each month and alerts you before every renewal on your schedule — so you can cancel before being charged for a service you're done with.