Streaming Costs Soar: Total Monthly Bill Tops $140 for 8 Major Platforms

The latest price hike by Disney has sparked renewed attention to the rising costs of popular streaming platforms. Disney's new prices have pushed up the total cost for consumers who subscribe to all eight major platforms with ads to $86.92 per month, a 4.8% increase since March. The total cost without ads is now $144.41 monthly, a 12.5% rise over the same period.

The Walt Disney Company's (NYSE:DIS) price hike follows earlier increases by Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX), Warner Bros. Discovery's (NASDAQ:WBD) HBO Max, Paramount Skydance's (NASDAQ:PSKY) Paramount+, and Comcast's (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Peacock. Apple Inc's (NASDAQ:AAPL) Apple TV remains the priciest option at $14.99 per month, while Amazon.com's (NASDAQ:AMZN) Prime Video costs just $8.99.

Disney may be raising prices most often, with four increases in four years. The company has nearly doubled the cost of its ad-free Disney+ plan from $10.99 to $21.49 per month. Consumers can save money by bundling or paying for an annual membership, but these options are not included in the total costs calculated here.