Carry on streaming?
CUT THE MUSIC AND TV SUBSCRIPTIONS
SUBSCRIPTIONS have become part of our regular monthly bills as we sign up to all sorts, from music to entertainment, cosmetics to meal delivery services.
We shell out over £40 a month on average, adding up to a hefty £500 a year, according to the latest research from Barclaycard Payments. Worryingly, more than half of those with subscriptions don’t know just how much they are coughing up each year.
As the rising cost of living is hitting everyone’s pockets hard, now could be the perfect time to take a closer look at what you are paying out, to check if you think you are getting value for money, and to see if you could be making savings.
Subscriptions can offer value for money, but only if they are utilised to their full and are being used regularly. We often get bored, or change our habits and forget about regular amounts coming out of bank accounts. These can add up to a tidy sum.
Cutting down on subscriptions, or completely getting rid of them can be easy for those that are frivolous luxury items.
But for those that we really enjoy or that add something beneficial to our lives it can be hard to bear. By being smarter and with a bit of research you can swap to cheaper alternatives, or even free options, and still enjoy the benefits but at a fraction of the cost.
We’ve teamed up with couponbirds.com, which offers discounts on all sorts of items, including some subscription services, to compare the most popular subscriptions with their cheaper (and sometimes free) alternatives.
MUSIC Spotify versus Deezer
Spotify has two options. A free service which lets you listen to albums and playlists on shuffle mode – with limited options to skip tracks you don’t like – and regular ads during your listening sessions. But it still means you can listen to a large library of music from every genre.
Its premium service, which has more than 182 million subscribers, is ad-free and costs from £9.99 a month. That doesn’t sound too expensive, but racks up to almost £120 a year, which is a lot to pay for a bit of ad-free freedom. Other subscriptions include Apple Music (£9.99 a
month) and Tidal (£19.99). supported by ads. But it offers a bit more flexibility. It has more than 90 million songs, you can create personalised mixes and playlists, pick and play any songs on selected personalised playlists and listen to podcasts and radio.
Deezer Premium, which is ad-free costs £11.99 a month.
FILMS & TV
Disney+ and Netflix versus Amazon Prime and Pluto TV Disney+ has just overtaken Netflix with 221 million subscribers. It costs
£7.99 a month (£95.88 a year – or you can purchase an annual subscription for £79.90).
But Disney has just confirmed prices in the UK will go up next year as it plans to introduce new levels of subscriptions. Those on cheaper plans will have to put up with ad breaks. It offers hit movies and exclusive series from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic and Star.
Netflix is just behind Disney+ with 220 million subscribers worldwide. It offers a range of movies, TV series and reality shows, with the library differing from country to country.
It has three plans, basic at £6.99 per month (standarddefinition quality and stream to just one device), standard at £10.99 (up to high-definition quality and stream on two devices at once) and Premium at £15.99 (up to 4k Ultra HD definition and stream on four devices at once). So from £83.88 to a hefty £191.88 per year.
Amazon Prime is one of the best alternatives as it costs £7.99 a month (£95.88 per year, or an annual subscription for £79) – but included is Amazon Prime delivery, Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Music Prime, so it’s like getting three for one. You can get an Amazon Prime Video only membership for £5.99 per month (£71.88 a year). Amazon Prime Video offers a huge range of free-to-view films and TV shows. But there is also some content that costs extra if you wish to view it.
Pluto TV: This is a good basic free service that offers a range of TV shows and movies that can be run on browsers and mobile devices.