Streaming services were once hailed as the budget-friendly, ad-free alternative to cable TV; today, subscribing to just two of the most popular services can cost anywhere from $15 to $130 per month.

Almost 70 per cent of Australians subscribe to at least one streaming service, according to Finder’s Internet TV streaming statistics 2023 report, and the average Aussie is subscribed to two.

And many will soon pick up yet another subscription to HBO’s hotly anticipated Max platform, which launched in Australia today.

Boasting exclusive rights to new seasons of HBO shows like The Last of Us and House of the Dragon, hordes of Aussies are expected to buy into the new service.

It helps that Max offers relatively affordable subscription tiers of $11.99, $15.99 and $21.99 per month, which are currently discounted to $7.99, $11.99 and $17.99 per month as part of an introductory offer.

Streaming subscription costs have spiked in the past five years, with streaming juggernaut Netflix jacking the price for its Standard tier from $13.99 per month in 2020 to $18.99 per month in 2025.

By comparison, Max’s Standard $15.99 tier seems like a steal.

Only three comparable platforms offer a cheaper standard tier: Prime Video, Paramount+, and Apple TV+.

Max also offers a bargain ’Basic with ads’ tier for $11.99 per month, following a string of other platforms which have introduced budget subscription tiers with ads.

Though streaming services were once celebrated because they, unlike cable TV, offered ad-free viewing, these ‘with ads’ tiers have been designed to appeal to customers looking to save money on streaming in a cost of living crisis.

Max has also followed the trend of streaming services cracking down on password sharing, which previously allowed families or groups of friends to save money by sharing a single subscription.

To reduce password sharing and drive up subscription numbers, platforms like Netflix and Disney+ have recently made it so most customers can only share their subscription within a single household.

That has pushed some Australians to fork out for additional subscriptions, especially those who want to watch platform-exclusive content hosted on multiple different services.

Many massive streaming hits are exclusive to a single platform, like Netflix’s Stranger Things series or Amazon Prime Video’s Amazon Original series The Boys, forcing Aussies to subscribe to streaming services if they want to watch them all.

So what does it actually cost the average Australian to subscribe to two streaming services in 2025?

Based on nine of the most well-known TV and movie streaming services in Australia (Max, Netflix, Stan, Binge, Prime Video, Disney+, Paramount+, Apple TV+ and Foxtel Now), the cost could be as low as $14.98 per month or as high as $109.99 per month.

Aussies who don’t mind ads can subscribe to Paramount+ Basic (with ads) for $6.99 per month and either Netflix Standard with ads or Max Basic with ads for $7.99 per month (based on Max’s current introductory offer), totalling $14.98 per month.

For cheap streaming without ads, they can subscribe to Paramount+ Standard for $10.99 per month and HBO’s Max Standard for $11.99 per month (based on Max’s current introductory offer), totalling $22.98 per month.

The most expensive pairing would be Netflix Premium for $25.99 per month and Foxtel Now Ultimate bundle for $104 per month, for a total of $129.99 per month.

And if a household wants to subscribe to all nine services, it could cost between $118.94 per month and $256.93 per month.

By comparison, Foxtel’s Platinum Plus cable TV package (which includes access to Netflix, HBO’s Max, and Foxtel Go) costs $145 per month without discounts.

The numbers don’t lie; while streaming is generally still cheaper than cable TV, it is no longer the ad-free bargain it was even five years ago – especially with so many platforms to keep up with.