Six ways to save on streaming costs

Streaming services are truly a godsend, keeping everyone entertained after working all day as well as creating a special time for family bonding. However, with more and more streaming services competing for watchers’ attention and with household bills becoming more expensive, it might be time to cut back on streaming costs while still enjoying favourite films and TV shows.

Here are six ways to slash streaming costs and save some cash: 

Compare services

From Amazon Prime and Netflix to BritBox and NOW, there are numerous options for streaming services. There’s a different service for sports lovers, news enthusiasts and TV series addicts, but most of them offer several similar show categories. Lots of TV shows and films are duplicated across numerous different services, so it might be worth comparing services first to identify the best one for the relevant entertainment needs.

To make it easier to compare different streaming services in the UK, prospective buyers might want to visit comparetv.co.uk (or one of the many other comparison websites on the web) to benefit from comprehensive comparisons as well as reviews of different streaming services, in order to find the best one.

Annual plans

Some TV subscription services offer annual plans that are truly money savers. Paying for a full year instead of opting for monthly payments is typically 10-20% cheaper, despite a relatively significant payment upfront.

It’s worth noting, however, that this option is only practical for the streaming services that will be used a lot throughout the year. In general, if this is a service that’s already been subscribed to for years, an annual plan is a money-saving option.

Cancel redundant services

Probably the simplest way to cut down streaming costs is to cancel those that aren’t being used. First, it’ll be necessary to identify the streaming services used least often by considering the time spent using each one, and chances are there’ll be one that’s getting heavier user than the others.

For instance, for someone who signed up for Netflix last year but feels they have exhausted the handful of decent series and films available, there’s no point in using the service. And anyway, one can always subscribe again when there’s a new season of a favourite show or a better collection of films on offer.

Skip live TV

Live TV is expensive. For instance, YouTube TV can cost £46.04 every month, while NOW TV can set users back by up to £33.99. Anyone currently paying for a live TV streaming service might want to give it up to save cost.

Live TV is usually not a necessity except for diehard fans to catch live sports games. And even they can find plenty of free services to fill in the gaps – or just invest in a digital TV antenna to pick up your local channel signals (though in most cases a TV licence will be necessary to do this).

Look for education deals

Not everyone knows that some streaming services offer students big discounts on subscriptions. For instance, YouTube Premium costs £11.99 every month, but students can enjoy a reduced cost of about half the price to £6.99 per month. And this includes ad-free YouTube viewing as well as YouTube Music.

Music streaming service Spotify also offers a discounted deal for students, costing only £5.99 a month from the regular £9.99 monthly price.

Prospective buyers should note, however, that this only works with accredited universities or colleges, and some services only support specific schools. However, it never hurts to check for eligibility.

Opt for a lower resolution

Most streaming services provide a variety of tiers set at different price points. This means it’s possible to choose to save money by sacrificing a bit of streaming quality and moving down a tier or two. For instance, the cheapest subscription for Netflix is £5.99 per month with a standard definition, followed by the Standard subscription that allows users to watch in HD for £9.99 per month. Lastly, their Premium subscription comes with Ultra HD for £13.99 per month.

Those who primarily watch on mobile devices or don’t care about the resolution can drop down to a lower tier and save more cash.

Conclusion

There’s no doubt that streaming services have enhanced entertainment. However, with loads of streaming services around, bills can rack up quickly. Following the above tips can help cut down on expenses without sacrificing entertainment quality.

The editorial unit