Ad-supported vs ad-free plans: what you actually save

The gap below is the monthly list-price difference between one ad-supported plan and one ad-free plan on the same service. It is not a guess about how many ads you will see. Where a service sells a still-higher ad-free tier, that tier is left out of the subtraction so the gap is not mixed with extra streams or 4K.

What the cheaper plan gives up

• Netflix: Ads, and some titles stay locked. Two streams at 1080p. The ad-free plan in the table: Ad-free on two streams at 1080p. No 4K.
• Disney+: Ads. Up to 4K on supported devices. The ad-free plan in the table: No ads on series and movies. Downloads included. Ads can still play on select live and linear programming.
• Hulu: Ads. The on-demand library without downloads. The ad-free plan in the table: No ad breaks on most of the library, plus downloads. A few shows still bookend with a short ad, and select live programming can carry ads.
• Disney+ and Hulu bundle: Both libraries with ads. The ad-free plan in the table: Both libraries without ads on demand. Live and linear exceptions still apply.
• Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max bundle: Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max Basic, all with ads. The ad-free plan in the table: Disney+ Premium, Hulu Premium, and HBO Max Standard. Ads can still appear on select live and linear content.
• HBO Max: Ads, and a narrower feature set than Standard. The ad-free plan in the table: Ad-free on demand. Ads still run on select live and linear content.
• Paramount+: Ads. Select Showtime series, not the full Showtime library. The ad-free plan in the table: Ad-free on demand, downloads, and Showtime. Live TV still carries ads.
• Peacock: Full catalog with ads. The ad-free plan in the table: Most on-demand titles play without ads, with downloads. Ads remain in channels, live sports, and a few shows.
• YouTube Premium: Most videos are ad-free. Ads remain on music content and Shorts. YouTube Music Premium is not included. The ad-free plan in the table: YouTube and YouTube Music ad-free for one person.

Peacock Select is $8.99 a month and is also ad-supported, but it is a smaller catalog. It is not the row above. Premium is the full catalog with ads. Premium Plus is the plan that drops most on-demand ads.

YouTube’s prices are marked reported. The public Premium pages did not render a US price in the check. Premium Lite is not a fully ad-supported YouTube: most videos are ad-free, and ads remain on music content and Shorts. YouTube Music Premium is not included.

Spotify’s paid plans in the catalog are all marked ad-free. There is no ad-supported Spotify price on file, so there is no gap to publish. Apple TV has one plan, and it is ad-free. Prime’s full membership is not tiered as an ads toggle. Prime Video only is a separate, cheaper product without the shipping benefits, and the plan note says many shows and movies still carry ads.

The same list prices are lined up on Netflix vs Disney+ vs HBO Max vs Hulu, Paramount+ vs Peacock, and cheapest streaming services.