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Streaming Service Prices in October 2026: Every Major US Plan Compared

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US streaming service prices moved again in 2026: Netflix, Paramount+, Prime Video, Peacock, Apple TV, Disney+ and Hulu all changed what they charge or how their plans work during the year. The figures below were read from each service’s own pricing or help page on October 11 and are monthly US list prices before tax, current as of October 2026. Disney+ and Hulu changed most recently, on September 23, 2026.

The short version: the cheapest way into each big library is an ad-supported plan between $8.99 and $12.49 a month, and going ad-free costs roughly double. Two of the cheap tiers come with catches for movie fans: Peacock Select excludes movies, and Netflix’s ad plan locks some titles.

Streaming service prices at a glance

The table lists the monthly price of each service’s main tiers. Where a service sells more than one ad-free plan, the higher tier usually adds 4K, more simultaneous streams or more downloads rather than more films. Annual billing, where offered, is noted further down.

Service With ads Without ads
Netflix $8.99 $19.99 Standard; $26.99 Premium
Disney+ $12.49 $21.49
Hulu $12.49 $21.49
Disney+ and Hulu bundle $12.99 $21.99
HBO Max $10.99 $18.49 Standard; $22.99 Premium
Prime Video (standalone) $8.99 $13.98 with Ultra
Paramount+ $8.99 Essential $13.99 Premium
Peacock $8.99 Select; $12.99 Premium $19.99 Premium Plus
Apple TV no ad tier $14.99

Fortune ran the same exercise a month earlier and put a full ad-free stack of eight services at “$139.41 a month” using list prices as of Sept. 8, 2026, or “$89.92 a month” on ad-supported plans. That was before Disney raised Disney+ and Hulu later in September, so today’s total is higher. For scale, Fortune set that against the $103.10 monthly pay-TV bill that Leichtman Research Group recorded for 2016.

Netflix

Netflix’s help center lists three US plans: Standard with ads at $8.99, Standard at $19.99 and Premium at $26.99. Only Premium streams in 4K with HDR. Netflix bills monthly and says it does not offer annual plans. Extra members who live elsewhere cost $7.99 a month with ads or $9.99 without. The old Basic plan is gone.

The ad tier has a limit that matters for a movie night: Netflix says “most movies and TV shows” are available on it, and a lock icon marks the ones that are not. According to Fortune, citing Reuters, the current prices arrived on March 26, Netflix’s second increase in 14 months.

Disney+, Hulu and the bundles

Disney raised every Disney+ and Hulu tier in late September. Gray News reported the new rates the day they were announced: Disney+ with ads went from $11.99 to $12.49, Disney+ Premium without ads from $18.99 to $21.49, and Hulu moved by the same amounts on both tiers. Variety, as quoted in that report, counted it as Disney’s fourth streaming price rise in four years.

Disney’s own site now shows those numbers, plus an annual Disney+ Premium option at $214.99 a year. The bundles are where Disney wants subscribers to land: the Disney+ and Hulu bundle with ads stayed at $12.99, only 50 cents more than either service alone, and the ad-free Premium bundle is $21.99, up from $19.99. Disney+ also sells a three-way bundle with HBO Max at $21.99 with ads or $34.99 without. Verified college students can get the ad-supported Disney+ and Hulu bundle for $6.49 a month, according to Hulu’s site.

HBO Max

HBO Max’s help center lists Basic with Ads at $10.99 a month, Standard at $18.49 and Premium at $22.99. It is one of the few services with yearly billing on every tier: $109.99, $184.99 and $229.99, which the company says saves about 16 percent. Premium is the plan with 4K and four simultaneous streams. Fortune dates the last HBO Max increase to Oct. 21, 2025, the same day Hulu’s ad plan last went up.

Prime Video

Prime Video is priced differently from everyone else. It comes with Amazon Prime, which Amazon told Fortune costs $14.99 monthly or $139 a year, and can also be bought on its own for $8.99 a month. Both versions show commercials. On April 10, Amazon replaced its $2.99 ad-free add-on with a $4.99 tier called Prime Video Ultra that also adds 4K, Dolby Atmos and more streams. Fortune’s math puts standalone ad-free Prime Video at $13.98 a month. Amazon’s help pages could not be read when this guide was checked, so the Prime figures here come from that Fortune report rather than from Amazon directly.

Paramount+ and Peacock

Paramount+ shows two plans on its site: Essential with ads at $8.99 and Premium at $13.99, which adds Showtime and mostly ad-free viewing (live TV still carries ads). Fortune reports the $8.99 Essential price took effect on Jan. 15, 2026.

Peacock has three tiers, and the cheapest one is the trap for film fans. Select costs $8.99 a month or $89.99 a year, but its own plan card says it “Excludes Sports, Movies and Peacock Originals.” Premium, at $12.99 a month, is the cheapest Peacock plan with the movie library, and Premium Plus without most ads is $19.99, or $199.99 a year. Those two prices rose on Aug. 18, from $10.99 and $16.99, according to Peacock’s notice as reported by Fortune.

Apple TV

Apple TV has no ad tier at all. Apple lists it at $14.99 a month after a seven-day free trial, and one subscription can be shared with up to six people through Family Sharing. Fortune notes it launched at $4.99 in November 2019 and reached $14.99 after a $2 increase on Aug. 28. Apple also sells an Apple TV and Peacock bundle for $17.99 a month.

Which services subscribers keep

Price is not the whole story of who cancels. Fortune, citing Antenna data reported by MediaPost, says Netflix had the lowest monthly churn of nine premium services in May, at 2%, despite having the priciest top tier on this list. Disney+ followed at 3% and Hulu at 4%, while Paramount+, Apple TV and HBO Max sat at 5% and Peacock at 7%. Netflix and Paramount+ share the same $8.99 entry price, yet Paramount+ loses subscribers at more than twice the rate, which suggests habit matters more than the size of the bill. Rotating services month by month, subscribing for a specific film or season and then cancelling, is the simplest way to use that to your advantage.

Once you know what each service costs, the next question is whether its current catalog is worth it this month; our running guide to the best movies streaming across every major service is a good place to compare.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the cheapest streaming service in October 2026?

Among the big US services, the lowest ad-supported prices are $8.99 a month: Netflix Standard with ads, Paramount+ Essential, standalone Prime Video and Peacock Select. Peacock Select does not include movies, so for films the cheapest Peacock option is Premium at $12.99.

How much is Netflix per month now?

Netflix lists Standard with ads at $8.99, Standard at $19.99 and Premium at $26.99 a month in the US, per its help center checked in October 2026. Netflix does not sell annual plans.

Did Disney+ and Hulu raise prices in 2026?

Yes. In late September 2026 Disney+ and Hulu with ads went from $11.99 to $12.49 a month and the ad-free tiers from $18.99 to $21.49. The Disney+ and Hulu bundle with ads stayed at $12.99.

Is there an ad-free version of Prime Video?

Yes, but it costs extra. Since April 10, removing ads means adding Prime Video Ultra for $4.99 a month on top of Prime or the $8.99 standalone Prime Video subscription, according to Fortune.

Which streaming services offer annual plans?

Among the services listed here, HBO Max, Peacock and Disney+ Premium list yearly prices on their own pages, as does Amazon Prime at $139. Netflix says it does not offer annual plans.

Sources

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