Cord-cutters escaped the cable bundle only to rebuild it, one streaming subscription at a time. Subscribing to eight major streaming services without ads or bundle discounts now costs $139.41 a month, or $1,672.92 a year, according to a calculation of the platforms’ published U.S. list prices as of Sept. 8, 2026. Choosing each service’s standard, full-catalog ad-supported option wherever one exists brings the bill down to $89.92 a month.
That puts the full ad-free streaming stack within a few dollars of the cable bill many viewers fled from in the first place. In 2016, the average pay-TV bill reached $103.10 a month, according to Leichtman Research Group data. Based on the Consumer Price Index, that 2016 bill would equal approximately $143 in July 2026—only about $4 more than today’s $139.41 ad-free streaming lineup. Although the products are not identical, the narrow difference helps explain why streaming can still be technically, barely cheaper without feeling like much of a bargain.
