Streaming services are cheap… individually. You’ve probably heard yourself utter the words, “$10 a month is nothing,” while tapping your credit card details in just one more time.
And you’re right, 10 dollarydoos isn’t much for seemingly endless entertainment, but it’s not just $10 is it? Every few months a new streaming service rears it’s head, gives us that free trial, and sucks us in with weekly episode drops (looking squarely at you Apple TV+).
According to a US study, Americans on average are paying $47 per month on streaming platforms. Of course what happens in the states doesn’t directly correlate with what happens in Australia (see gun control, universal health care, et al), but using that figure as a starting point, that $47 USD comes to about $63 AUD. Ouch.
Imagine paying $750 a year on streaming platforms. Or maybe we don’t actually have to imagine it. In this article, we’re looking at how much Australian streaming services cost, and money-saving measures that still allow you to binge across platforms.
The real cost of streaming in Australia
The amount of streaming services available in Australia is insane, and to make it worse it seems as if every one of them actually has value. Of course, with streaming services you do have the ability to cancel and rejoin whenever you want to, but for the sake of these calculations let's assume that you are a set and forget kind of person.
We’ll also assume that for services with tiered subscription options that you’re sitting right in the middle.
| Service | Monthly Price |
| Netflix | $15.99 |
| Stan | $14.00 |
| Binge | $14.00 |
| Amazon Prime Video | $6.99 |
| Apple TV+ | $7.99 |
| Disney+ | $11.99 |
| BritBox | $8.99 |
| Shudder | $6.99 |
| YouTube Premium | $14.99 |
| Spotify or Apple Music | $11.99 |
| Kayo | $25.00 |
| MONTHLY TOTAL | $138.92 |
For just access to the streaming services, and not including the internet you need to keep them up and running you’d be paying almost $140 per month to be connected to some of the major Australian streaming services. That comes to $1,680 per year simply on streaming TV and music.
That’s a hefty price to pay for content. Streaming services are supposed to represent an affordable competitor to traditional pay TV options like Foxtel, but the total cost of these options is more than you’d pay for a Platinum Foxtel subscription per year.
I’ll say it again. Ouch.
Let’s be serious though, you probably don’t need ALL of these streaming services. If we take away the niche content like BritBox, Shudder, and Kayo, the price does drop to around $97 per month. But that kind of movie content is still going to cost you more than a movie theatre popcorn each month - just.
How to save money on streaming services
It’s hard to say goodbye to streaming services, but if you want to save money it’s a great place to trim some fat. Of course, there are other ways to cut costs on your streaming habit.
Pay for the year upfront
Some platforms give you the option to pay upfront for the year in exchange for a discounted rate. It’s also a nice way to get the cost out of the way in advance, think of it as an investment in your year’s entertainment.
Amazon Prime, Disney+, BritBox, and Shudder all give you 12 months of platform access for the price of 10. Between these four discounts you’ll save just under $70 per year for the exact same service.
That brings your yearly price down from $1,667 to $1,597.
Drop down a price tier
Most platforms have a tiered subscription system, so if you’re currently on a mid or high tier you can always drop down to save some coin.
Netflix, Stan and Binge all have cheaper streaming options than the ones listed above. If you opted for these instead you can save $120 a year.
Add those savings to your year upfront and you’re down to $1,477 per year on streaming. Still not great, but it’s getting better.
Bundle your streaming service with a phone or internet plan
We’ve all got phones, and if you’re reading this article then you have the internet as well. Did you know that some phone and internet services come with free or discounted access to streaming services?
If you’re in the market for a new plan it is worth seeing how you can take advantage of these perks. Telstra for example is giving away three months of Binge for free with every NBN plan. That’s $30 off your yearly streaming bill right there.
|
Telstra
All Fixed Line nbn®
Basic Internet Only Plan
$89/mth
Min. cost $44.50
Link not supplied
|
If you’re with Big T, then you can also add Kayo to your monthly bill for just $15 as opposed to the usual $25 charge. That takes another $120 off for the year.
For your mobile phone bill, Vodafone lets you pay for Amazon directly through its billing portal. It’s one way to cut back on the amount of direct debits flying out of your account, but the provider also offers three months of free Amazon Prime for new users on their Infinite plans. You’ll also need to be a new user to Amazon too, however.
|
#1
|
Vodafone
$58 Small SIM Only Plan
$45.00/mth
Min. cost $45
|
|
#2
|
Vodafone
$68 Medium SIM Only Plan
$50.00/mth
Min. cost $50
|
|
#3
|
Vodafone
$78 Large SIM Only Plan
$55.00/mth
Min. cost $55
|
Assuming all of this lines up, then you can take an extra $21 off your streaming spending this year.
Another provider offering discounts alongside phone plans is MATE. MATE is a Telstra MVNO with a range of SIM-only plans, and said plans with 18GB per month or more come with a year-long Tidal subscription. Tidal is a music streaming service similar to Apple Music or Spotify. It boasts a library of over 70 million tracks which is on par with the two major players. Jumping on board with this deal saves you spending $11.99 per month on a music streaming service, grossing a saving of $143.88 for the year.
|
#1
|
Pivotel
25GB Mobile Swift Plan
$11.45/mth
Min. cost $11.45
|
|
#2
|
SpinTel
Editor's Pick
$23 Mobile Plan
$12.00/mth
Min. cost $12
|
|
#3
|
Moose Mobile
Moose 23 SIM Only
$14.00/mth
Min. cost $14
Link not supplied
|
|
#4
|
Swoop
30GB SIM Only 5G
$14.00/mth
Min. cost $14
|
|
#5
|
Pivotel
50GB Mobile Swift Plan
$17.50/mth
Min. cost $17.50
|
|
#6
|
Pivotel
80GB Mobile Swift Plan
$22.50/mth
Min. cost $22.50
|
|
#7
|
Swoop
60GB SIM Only 5G
$23.00/mth
Min. cost $23
|
|
#8
|
Dodo
Small Mobile Plan
$25.00/mth
Min. cost $25
|
|
#9
|
SpinTel
$29 Mobile Plan
$29.00/mth
Min. cost $29
|
|
#10
|
Swoop
120GB SIM Only 5G
$30.00/mth
Min. cost $30
|
Let’s say that you’ve managed to clock each of these discounts - you’ll save a grand total of $314.88 across the year.
Right about now, you might be wondering why you would sign up to two different phone plans just to get a discount on your subscriptions. The short answer is that you, alone, would not, but this brings me to the final cost-saving measure.
Account share
Let’s be real, the vast majority of us are already doing this. We’re all, in some way, a part of a streaming syndicate. You might split the cost with a group of friends, or maybe one of you pays for Netflix while the other pays for Stan. Regardless of how you ration it out, it helps to cut down on costs.
Almost every video streaming service lets you create up to four different profiles under one account, although you won’t be able to do the same on music streaming platforms. Even if you’re still stuck paying full price for Spotify or Apple Music (or ideally enjoying your free Tidal from MATE), you’re still all but quartering your yearly spend.
Let’s say that you’ve got your free music subscription and you’re taking full advantage of these profiles and splitting every one of your video streaming services four ways. By sharing your accounts you end up paying just $325 per year, or $27 per month for your streaming addiction.
Just a touch better than the $138 from the beginning huh?
Anula Wiwatowska
Offsite Editorial Lead | Instagram
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