READY to slash those subscription bills as we head into 2026? You’ll save hundreds over the course of the year.
Here are six simple ways to reduce the amount of money that you’re forking out on monthly subscriptions.
1. CHECK YOUR PLAN
Sometimes you might be overpaying for a plan and not even realise it.
For instance, Netflix‘s Premium plan costs £18.99 and gets you 4K Ultra HD streaming.
But if you don’t have a 4K TV (or the device you’re using like a Fire Stick isn’t a 4K model) then you won’t get the 4K picture. Similarly, you might not notice the difference between 4K and Full HD on a tiny smartphone screen.
So you could arguably be better off on the Standard plan, which is Full HD and only costs £12.99. That would save you £72 a year.
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And if you’re willing to put up with ads, you could say a further £7 a month on the Standard with Ads plan, which is a £156 saving versus Premium.
Similarly, Amazon Prime normally costs £8.99 a month or £107.88 a year.
But students and 18-22-year-olds can get it for £4.49 a month, or £53.88 a year (and you get Amazon Prime Music with this too).
And if you only want Prime for Amazon Video, you can get the video-only subscription for £5.99 a month, or £71.88 over a year. That’s a £36 saving versus full Prime.
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2. BUNDLE IT!
A good option for Apple gadget owners is the Apple One plan.
It comes in three tiers, and bundles in popular Apple subscriptions.
So if you’re already paying for a few, it could save you some decent cash.
The Individual tier costs £18.95 a month and includes iCloud+ (50GB), Apple TV+, Apple Music, and Apple Arcade – saving you £10 a month or £120 a year.
The Family plan increases the iCloud+ storage to 200GB and lets you share your plan with up to five people. The saving is £12 a month or £144 a year, but technically more if you do share it with other family members.
And the top plan is Premier, which is £36.95 a month and includes 2TB of iCloud+ storage, plus Apple Fitness+ and Apple News+.
That saves you a whopping £28.99 a month versus paying for those perks individually, or £347.88 a year.
And if you share it with your other family members who were already paying for these services, the savings quickly climb.
3. GO FOR FREE TELLY
There’s plenty of TV out there that you don’t need to pay a penny for.
Just try a few of the FAST – or free ad-supported streaming television – apps.
As the name suggests, they let you watch live channels and on-demand TV as long as you’re willing to put up with some ads.
There are some great options out there. Here are a few of the most popular:
- Pluto TV
- Xumo Play
- Tubi
- Rakuten TV
- Plex TV
Also if you have a Samsung device (like a Samsung TV or smartphone) then you’ll get access to Samsung TV Plus, which is also a FAST service.
4. USE THOSE TRIALS
Free trials are a tricky one, because not everyone offers them.
For instance, here’s the free trial availability for most of the popular apps:
- Netflix – NO FREE TRIAL
- Disney+ – NO FREE TRIAL
- Apple TV+ – 7 days
- Now TV – 7 days
- Amazon Prime Video – 30 days (via Prime)
- Crunchyroll Premium – 7 days
- Paramount+ – 7 days
- Discovery+ – 7 days
It’s not exactly an ultra-generous selection, but there are a couple of ways around this.
One option is with Amazon Prime’s Student & 18-22-year-old Membership.
Not only is this cheaper (as I mentioned earlier) but it also gives you an extended six-month free trial.
Another option is for Apple customers who recently bought a gadget.
You can get three months of Apple TV+ if you’ve snapped up a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, or Mac.
Just make sure to go into the Apple TV app within the first three months of setting up your device.
That’ll save you £9.99 a month for three months, equal to £29.97.
Another way to get Apple TV+ is through Apple Music Student. This cheaper Apple Music subscription is £5.99 instead of £10.99, and comes with Apple TV+ thrown in for free.
5. STREAM SWAP!
One of the easiest ways to cut your TV streaming bills is by subscription swapping.
Many of us will buy TV subscriptions and leave them running all year round.
For instance, here’s how much some of the most popular TV services cost each month:
- Netflix (Premium) – £18.99 (annually: £227.88)
- Disney+ (Premium) – 14.99 (annually: £179.88)
- Amazon Prime – £8.99 (annually: £107.88)
- Apple TV+ – £9.99 (annually: £119.88)
So if you’re paying for all of those for a full year, you’ll fork out £635.52.
Instead, rotate them.
Use Netflix for a month, then Disney+, then Amazon Prime, then Apple TV+.
Once you get to the end, start from the beginning and repeat the process.
Then do it one more time to take you to the full 12 months.
That means you’re only paying for a single subscription in any given month, and you have each service for three months.
You won’t miss any shows, because you’ll be using each service spread across the full year.
With this tactic, your total yearly bill would be £158.88. That’s a massive saving of £476.64.
You could even treat yourself and have them all running at Christmas as a one-off.
And you might also find that some services offer you sweetener deals to stay or rejoin.
6. CHECK YOUR DISCOUNTS
Last but not least, check if you’re owed any discounts or freebies from other services that you pay for.
If you’re with Lloyds Bank and you have a Club Lloyds account, you can claim a 12-month Disney+ Standard with Ads subscription as one of your lifestyle benefits.
Sky TV customers get Netflix for free as standard, as well as Discovery+.
And if you pay for Sky Cinema then you also get Paramount+ for free too.
