I tried these 5 streaming services, and they’re a total rip-off

Key Takeaways

• With countless streaming services, it’s impossible to watch everything.
• Major media companies are constantly releasing new streaming apps.
• Some services like Apple TV+, Netflix, ESPN+, Starz, and Prime Video may not always justify their costs.

Face it: you’re never going to be able to watch everything that you want to. There’s actually too much content out there for any one person to consume. We aren’t even talking about random videos on YouTube. We’re talking movies and TV series, and there are ones for all ages of people. There are also topics that will interest just about anybody. While it may seem like you will scroll on a streaming service forever before you find something that interests you, there will inevitably be something that does interest you.

The content machines known as streamers aren’t going to stop anytime soon. Pretty much every service has turned out its own app and major media companies all want a piece of the action. Your’e probably paying for an app that you forgot about. That’s how many streaming service apps there are. There are also bundles nowadays, so you can pay a set price and receive Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. You can also substitute ESPN+ for Max in a bundle. Paramount+ with SHOWTIME is another as is Xfinity StreamSaver with Peacock, Netflix, and Apple TV+.

It can be hard to know which streaming services you should cut out of your life. If you’re trying to think about what to drop, we’ve got you covered. Here are our personal picks for the streaming services that aren’t worth the money. You may love them, but we haven’t found they actually pay off to justify their costs.

1 Apple TV+

There’s a caveat here, so hear us out

Ted Lasso is over. Severance will have gone three years in between seasons once Season 2 releases next January. Lessons in Chemistry was a one-season wonder. If you’ve watched all of these shows, you may be wading through a lot of random shows that not many people watch before your favorite shows come back. Don’t get us wrong: there’s plenty of good on Apple TV+. Shrinking, Slow Horses, Presumed Innocent, even a guilty pleasure like The Morning Show all are great watches. But Apple TV+ does have a lot that leaves you wanting more.

Is it the worst offender of that? Not by a long shot. But what is great about Apple TV+ is that you can cancel it and resubscribe when you want. On multiple occasions, I have joined for a month or two and binge-watched a show I wanted to watch and then canceled right after I was finished. I’m fine missing the occasional Friday Night Baseball game and I don’t care about Major League Soccer. So when I’m done watching the shows that I’m interested in, I cancel the $9.99 a month until I want to join again. It’s worked for me and I haven’t looked back. Oh, and when it comes to movies, for every amazing movie like CODA you can watch, you get a Ghosted or a Finch. I’ll pass.

2 Netflix

There’s a ton to like and even more not to

This has more to do with the price. Also, this has to do with how long we have to wait until Stranger Things comes back. If you’re someone who wants to watch with ads, $6.99 per month isn’t a huge deal. But if you don’t want to watch with commercials, $15.49 per month for the standard plan and $22.99 per month for a premium plan is a huge jump. Netflix is full of dark shows and ridiculously light shows that are perfect to put on while you scroll your phone. If that’s your type of entertainment, that’s awesome and you’re probably happy with your subscription.

You’ll find some truly nasty docuseries about horrible boyfriends, murderous roommates, and true crime stories that will make your toes curl.

But you can’t tell me that many people come to Bridgerton or Emily in Paris for the acting. You’ll find some truly nasty docuseries about horrible boyfriends, murderous roommates, and true crime stories that will make your toes curl. A huge plus in Netflix’s column is that it does have a host of differing content, so everyone will find something they like. But there is also so much that you’re not going to care about.

Netflix has flooded its platform with so much that it’s hard to even keep up with what is current and what hasn’t had a season in a while. I’m thrilled that Squid Game is coming back but why did The OA only get one season and House of Cards get six? For $22.99, this better be the streaming service that I use the most. If it isn’t, you’re wasting your money.

3 ESPN+

Unless you’re a fan of really niche sports teams, get a bundle

ESPN+ just announced that it’s standalone price will jump up to $11.99 per month. Why would anyone pay for just that and not the Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+ bundle that costs $14.99 per month (with ads) or $24.99 per month (ESPN+ is the only one with ads). You might as well pay $3 per month extra to get two other streaming services with it. That’s an extra $36 a year.

ESPN+ always has ads, whether you pay for a premium subscription or not.

The big pull of ESPN+ is the amount of live sporting events that you get. From a load of college sports, such as basketball, football, softball, baseball, and more, to NHL, NFL, and UFC, there’s sporting events for you to consume all day long. But the original programming of ESPN+ is weak at best. You get access to archived games and shows from ESPN’s past plus ESPN’s 30 for 30 library. But other than that, there’s not much that’s current for you to enjoy. Do yourself the favor of bundling ESPN+ if you really need it.

4 Starz

There’s just not enough for your money

$5.99 for Starz is not going to break the bank. It can also be added as an add-on to streaming services like Hulu or Prime Video. But if you’re looking at a standalone streaming service, Starz doesn’t really hold up. It doesn’t have enough original content that makes it worth the cost. While it has been producing Power or Power Book 2: Ghost or Power Book 3: Raising Kanan for what seems like many years, the other shows available on the streamer aren’t ones you’ve probably heard of.

Gaslit starred Sean Penn and Julia Roberts and nobody talked about it. Sweetbitter was based off of one of the biggest books at the time it came out and it landed with a thud. DaVinci’s Demons was a cool show but it debuted in 2015. Outlander is arguably the biggest thing Starz has ever done, so if that’s your show, it could be worth it for you. For the rest of us, it’s probably not.

5 Prime Video

Add-ons make this complete but without them, it feels hollow

If you have Amazon Prime, you get Amazon Prime Video. Because you don’t have to pay extra for it, you probably don’t even care that you have it. But if you’re someone who doesn’t have Amazon Prime, Prime Video costs $8.99 per month for a standalone subscription. There are a lot of series that don’t really produce any hype on the streamer to warrant you spending this kind of money.

Maybe if you’re really wanting select Yankees games and Thursday Night Football, it’s worth it. Prime Video has a ton of great shows like The Boys, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Reacher. There are even some good movies on there and adding on other subscriptions, like Max or Starz, can make the streaming platform worth eliminating other ones in the processs. But if you’re one of the many people who haven’t liked The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, you might even be mad you’re paying for it.

Amazon will be getting a lot more live sports in the future, so it may be smart to lock in a price now if you’re interested.