Alright look I rewrote this again because even the last one still read a little too clean in places, like somebody edited it behind my back. I’m just sitting here in sweatpants on a Sunday afternoon in early March with three different streaming apps fighting for my attention and the heat kicking on every ten minutes because it’s still stupid cold outside. I don’t have some perfect system. Half the time I pick whatever thumbnail looks least depressing.
I first dumped cable back when everybody was doing it—probably 2017? Felt like I was sticking it to the man. Now in 2026 I’m basically paying the same amount or more just spread across six different logins I can never remember. I have Post-it notes on my fridge with passwords. It’s pathetic.
That’s legit what my living room looks like right now. Remotes, empty energy drink can, charger cables like spaghetti, TV paused on some random Hulu screen.
Why Even Bother Ranking Them Again
Because prices jumped again last fall, a couple shows I cared about disappeared to other services, and I’m tired of friends asking “which one has The Office now?” every six months. I rate them mostly on: real monthly cost after the honeymoon period, how often I actually open the app, how mad the ads make me, and whether downloading episodes works when my internet decides to take a nap.
Zoomed in on the chaos. Those kernels get everywhere. Vacuumed twice last week, still finding them.
My Current Top 10 (March 2026 Edition, Subject to Change Next Week)
- Netflix — I still open this one the most. Ads tier is cheap but I pay extra to skip them because I get unreasonably angry at pharmaceutical commercials. They keep making weird good stuff though.
- Hulu — Best for “oh that show everyone is talking about dropped yesterday”. I watched too much reality garbage here last winter and felt bad about myself after.
- Disney+ — When I need something cozy or superhero-y. Watched like every Pixar movie in order during a snow day. No regrets.
- Max — The one that makes me feel cultured. Their new limited series are stupidly good. Price crept up though—felt personally attacked.
- Prime Video — Comes with my Amazon packages so I pretend it’s free. Some originals slap, some feel like they were made by algorithm.
- YouTube TV — Live sports and local channels without selling my soul to cable. DVR is unlimited which saved me during playoffs. Expensive as hell though.
- Peacock — Cheap. Has Premier League and random NBC junk. I mostly use it for Olympics every four years and calling it good.
- Paramount+ — Star Trek people love it. I like the cop procedurals when I’m folding laundry and don’t want to think.
- Apple TV+ — Gorgeous shows, zero ads, but like five things total. I rewatch Severance when I want to feel smart.
- Sling TV — Cheapest way to get live TV if you don’t need every channel. I had it for a few months when I was broke—worked fine until football season.
If you want more up-to-date pricing torture, I usually peek at CNET’s streaming page or Tom’s Guide live TV comparison. They actually test this stuff instead of just whining like me.
I still haven’t canceled anything I should. I tell myself “next paycheck” every month. If you’re in the same boat, maybe just keep two or three and rotate the rest monthly—it’s the only way I’ve found to not hate my bank account. Which ones are you stuck paying for right now? Tell me so I can feel less alone in my bad financial decisions. Or tell me I’m an idiot. Either way.