I’ve been paying for too many of these at once for about three years. At some point last fall, I sat down with my bank statement and just stared at it. Eleven dollars here, sixteen there, a family plan I share with my sister that technically saves money but requires a group chat every time someone wants to change the password. It’s a whole thing. And yet I kept most of them. Not because I’m bad with money — well, not only because of that — but because a few of them genuinely earn their place.
So here’s where I’m at in 2026.
Netflix Is Still the Default, Which Is Annoying
I wanted to cancel it. I really did. After they cracked down on password sharing and raised prices again, I was ready to be done. But then I’d find myself watching something at 11pm that I didn’t know I wanted to watch, and I couldn’t explain who made me turn it on. That’s kind of the Netflix trick — it’s not that any single show is unmissable, it’s that the library is just wide enough that you always find something.
Their originals are uneven. That’s the honest take.
The Shows That Actually Kept Me Subscribed
There were two or three things this past year that I genuinely couldn’t stop thinking about for days after finishing them. A Korean thriller, a documentary series about something I would normally never care about, and one show my partner dragged me into that I ended up finishing before them. Netflix is still doing interesting international stuff. That matters more than people admit.
The Stuff That’s Gotten Worse
The recommendation algorithm feels like it’s regressed somehow? I don’t know if that’s just me. But it keeps suggesting things I watched three years ago or things that are clearly just trending, not things I’d actually like. I’ve started ignoring it entirely and just searching for specific things I’ve heard about elsewhere. Which kind of defeats the purpose.
Still — I keep it. Probably always will. That’s the frustrating part.
HBO Max (Or Whatever They’re Calling It Now)
Max. It’s called Max. I still call it HBO because that’s what signals quality to my brain, and I don’t think that’s going away anytime soon.
This one I would defend loudest if someone made me choose only one. The depth of the back catalog combined with what they’re still producing — prestige drama, genuinely weird stuff that wouldn’t survive anywhere else, documentary films that feel like they were made for theaters — it’s a level of intentionality that Netflix doesn’t quite have. Netflix casts a wide net. Max feels like someone with opinions made it.
In my experience, people who cancel Max come back. That’s not a hot take, I’ve just watched it happen.
Apple TV+ Is Better Than You’re Giving It Credit For
Small library. I know. That’s always the first thing people say. But here’s the thing — I’d rather have ten shows I’m excited about than a hundred I feel vaguely guilty for not watching. The catalog anxiety on Netflix is real. On Apple TV+ I can actually see everything available and make a decision.
Severance alone probably paid for itself over however many months I’ve had the subscription. And they keep making things that feel properly cinematic, like someone is actually spending money and trusting directors.
The price is reasonable. The interface is clean. I rarely think about it as a service, which is a weird compliment but I mean it sincerely.
Peacock: Underrated, Mostly Because of Sports
This one used to feel like NBC’s desperate attempt to stay relevant. And in some ways it still does — the interface isn’t great, the original content is inconsistent. But if you watch any live sports, specifically Premier League, Olympics coverage, or NFL games, it becomes a different calculation entirely.
I used to think streaming and live sports were always going to be separate things. That’s not really true anymore.
For a certain kind of viewer — casual sports fan, doesn’t want to pay for a cable package just to watch games — Peacock sits in a specific useful slot. It’s not trying to be Max. It’s not trying to be Netflix. It’s kind of just… there, doing its thing, and occasionally doing it well enough that I’m glad I have it.
One Complaint Though
The ads on the lower tier are badly placed. Mid-episode breaks that feel like they were timed by someone who has never watched television. It’s a small thing but it breaks immersion in a way that sticks with me.
What About Disney+
Honestly? My enthusiasm has cooled. That’s not an objective judgment — the library is enormous and if you have kids it’s probably non-negotiable. But for me personally, the Marvel content has felt like diminishing returns for a while now, and I’ve seen the classic films enough times that I don’t need them on rotation.
There are exceptions. The stuff they do with National Geographic is genuinely great. Some of the Star Wars things landed well. But as a standalone subscription for an adult without children in the house, I find myself going weeks without opening it.
I keep it bundled. That changes the math.
The Bundle Question
This is where it gets complicated and also where most advice I’ve read online falls apart, because bundles depend so heavily on your situation. The Disney/Hulu/ESPN bundle makes sense for one type of household and is completely wasteful for another. Same with the various add-ons some services now offer — Paramount+, AMC+, things that attach themselves to Amazon like barnacles.
I have Amazon Prime because of shipping. The video comes with it. I don’t really count it as a streaming service I “subscribe to” even though technically I do. There’s good stuff on there — some of the best stuff, actually — but the interface has gotten so cluttered with channels and rentals and things that cost extra that using it feels like navigating a mall.
Hulu is interesting. It’s become sort of the catch-all for people who want both live TV and on-demand without committing to a full cable package. I went back to it after about eight months away and was surprised by how much had been added. The FX content especially.
My Actual Current Stack
If you want the honest answer — the one I’d give a friend who asked, not the one I’d write in a list article — it’s this:
Max is non-negotiable for me. Netflix probably always will be even though I complain about it. Apple TV+ is worth it at that price point. And Peacock stays because of soccer.
Everything else goes in and out. I’ll subscribe to something for a month to watch one specific thing, then cancel. Paramount+ for a limited series. Shudder for a few weeks around October. That’s actually the better approach for a lot of people — these services have made it frictionless enough to cancel and resubscribe that treating them like long-term commitments is optional.
I used to feel weird about the cancel-and-return cycle, like I was gaming the system somehow. Now I think it’s just rational behavior that the companies have accidentally made possible.
What I’d Tell Someone Starting Fresh
Don’t subscribe to more than three at once. Pick based on what you actually watch, not what sounds impressive. And give things a real chance before you decide a service is bad — I almost canceled Max twice before I understood what it was doing.
Also, the password-sharing crackdown across most platforms now means you’re probably paying for your own account regardless, so factor that in when you’re comparing prices. The era of splitting one Netflix account six ways is effectively over.
There’s something slightly exhausting about having opinions on streaming services. It feels like a very 2020s problem — too much choice, constant reevaluation, the vague guilt of paying for things you’re not using. But here we are. At least the shows are good.
Some of them, anyway.