Are you thinking of canceling Netflix? A lot of people are doing the same right now. Last month, the streamer reported losing subscribers for the first time in over a decade. Canceling Netflix has become quite trendy, whether it's because they're tightening budgets or they're dissatisfied with the content.
If it's the latter, many viewers are disappointed by the wave of Netflix canceled shows such as The Baby-Sitters Club and Archive 81. Or the fact that a beloved series simply came to a natural end, like Ozark. They may want to cancel Netflix until the return of other favorites, like Bridgerton season 3, Squid Game season 2, Virgin River season 4 and Lincoln Lawyer season 2.
Once you cancel Netflix, you can use the $10, $15.49 or $20 you'll save every month to subscribe to two other streaming services. Yes, you can get rid of Netflix and get two just-as-good options in return.
Here's what we recommend:
Cancel Netflix Premium for HBO Max and Apple TV Plus
Netflix's Premium Plan, which comes with 4K Ultra HD streaming, costs $19.99 per month. For the same amount, you can get our top pick among the best streaming services, HBO Max, as well as our choice for budget streaming, Apple TV Plus.
HBO Max is my favorite streaming service and my colleague Philip Michaels finally jumped on the HBO Max bandwagon for the same reason: the deep, high-quality library. [Editors' note: Even the editor of this story agrees that HBO Max is the best.]
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As for Apple TV Plus, it's quickly rising up the ranks of streamers. Last year, I was set on canceling Apple TV Plus after my year-plus free trial, but changed my mind because of the excellent content led by Ted Lasso and For All Mankind.
Similarly, Phil recently cancelled, then changed his mind after being won over by offerings like Severance, The Afterparty and Oscar Best Picture winner CODA.
HBO Max's ad-free plan costs $15 per month, while Apple TV Plus is $5. With both, you won't miss Netflix at all.
Cancel Netflix Standard, get HBO Max with ads and Apple TV Plus
But most likely, you subscribe to Netflix's Standard plan. It's their most popular tier and costs $15.49 each month. If you cancel, you can still get the services I talked about above — with a catch.
You'll have to sign up for HBO Max with ads, which is $10. Add that to the $5 for Apple TV Plus and you are saving (a little) from cancelling Netflix. You can save even more if you get HBO Max's annual subscription. It's $99.99 for the year, which amortizes a monthly price of $8.33.
HBO Max with ads allows you to watch everything on the service, but you won't be able to download shows or watch movies in 4K UHD.
The best option after canceling Netflix Basic
If you're a budget-conscious Netflix subscriber who doesn't care about HD picture quality, you probably have the Basic plan at $10 per month.
After canceling Netflix, you can still replace it with two streaming services — it's just that one of them won't be HBO Max. Apple TV Plus ($5) is a must and the other could be Peacock ($5) or Paramount Plus ($5).
They both have good libraries: Peacock has The Office, Saturday Night Live and Yellowstone; Paramount Plus has NCIS, Survivor and Star Trek. They also offer live sports and programming: Peacock has Premier League soccer, tennis, the Olympics and WWE; Paramount Plus has the NFL, European soccer and golf. Paramount Plus does have the added bonus of being able to watch your local CBS station live.
Whichever configuration you choose, you can count on still having access to tons of top shows and movies after canceling Netflix.
In big breaking news: a Disney Plus Daredevil show is reportedly happening — meanwhile more and more long-time users are canceling Netflix, as loyalty may be dying in the streaming wars. In other Netflix news, Stranger Things season 4 spoilers caused a 'total meltdown.'
