Technologies

10 Ways to Save on Streaming Amid All the Price Hikes

Your TV streaming bill might be a pain, so here are some ways to lower those costs.

This story is part of 12 Days of Tips, helping you make the most of your tech, home and health during the holiday season.

What’s happening

The streaming service market is crowded. With multiple subscriptions to pay for and rising prices, it’s becoming expensive to watch TV on cable or as a cord-cutter.

Why it matters

You can trim your monthly expenses without totally eliminating your streaming service budget.

What’s next

Use these tips to save money while streaming the TV shows and films you want.

Hulu, Sling TV, Netflix and Disney Plus all raised their prices in 2022, with the latter two launching new cheaper, ad-supported plans to their lineups. Costs are going up on just about everything, and you may feel the pinch whether you have cable or not. Having multiple subscriptions to services like Netflix, HBO Max, Disney Plus or YouTube TV can make it seem like you’re paying as much as you were for cable alone, if not more.

Luckily, there are ways to reduce your streaming costs that don’t involve making many sacrifices. Need to watch shows like Willow or Wednesday? You can. Would you rather keep live TV? We’ve got your back. Continue reading for some suggestions on stretching your streaming budget.

1. Figure out which services you can cancel

Here’s a simple money-saving tip: Drop one of your streaming services. Just identify the one you’re using the least and cut it loose. For example, if you signed up for Apple TV Plus last year but have already exhausted its handful of decent original shows, there’s no point in keeping your subscription. It may save you only $7 monthly, but it’s a start. And remember: You can always resubscribe when there’s a new season of Ted Lasso or Severance.

2. Plan your binges

What’s great about Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max and the like is that you can cancel your subscription anytime and resume whenever it suits you — like when a favorite show comes back. Many series go a year or more between seasons, so you can take that time off and pocket the savings. (That’s one reason I don’t recommend subscribing for a year at a time, even if there’s a discount for doing so. You’ll almost certainly save more if you subscribe on a monthly basis.)

For serious savings, work out a rotation schedule. Instead of subscribing to multiple services simultaneously, you could choose just one, catch up on all your favorite shows there, then cancel and move on to another service. For example: Netflix in July, Hulu in August, Disney Plus in September.

Need more help? Learn how to churn your subscriptions like a pro. And check out the apps that help you track your favorite shows.

3. Ditch live TV (or use an antenna)

YouTube TV costs a jaw-dropping $65 every month. Hulu Plus Live TV: $70. Even a «budget» service like Sling will set you back $40, minimum. If you’re currently paying for a live-TV streaming service, it’s time to give serious consideration to giving it up.

Think about it: How much live TV do you really watch? You can catch NFL games on Paramount Plus or Prime Video and if you’re a news junkie, a free service can fill in the gaps. Plenty of services including Pluto, ABC News Live and CBSN stream live news for free. If nothing else, consider a cheaper alternative like Philo, which offers over 60 channels for a more palatable $25 a month.

Finally, consider deploying an antenna (remember those?) to pull down local TV stations. You won’t be able to record — not without additional hardware — but at least the airwaves are free. Here are the best indoor TV antennas for 2022 (starting at only $20!).

4. Take advantage of free trials

With the exception of Netflix, nearly every major streaming service offers a free trial, meaning if you plan your viewing wisely, you might be able to binge a series or two without paying a dime. Just make sure to mark your calendar with a cancellation reminder, or you’ll start getting billed after your trial expires.

5. Choose basic, nonpremium subscriptions

Nobody likes watching commercials, but if it means saving money, maybe you take one for the wallet. Paramount Plus, for example, costs $10 monthly for ad-free viewing, but just $5 if you’re willing to endure commercial breaks. And opting for Hulu’s ad-supported tier would save you $7 every month. Use that commercial time like we did in the old days: Grab a snack, hit the bathroom, fold your laundry.

While you’re weighing the commercial question, ask yourself if you really need the ultradeluxe streaming plan — specifically Netflix Premium, which is the only way to get 4K streaming on that service. (It also allows for four simultaneous streams instead of just two.) You’re paying an extra $4.50 monthly above its standard plan for that privilege, and here’s a secret: 4K is utterly pointless if you watch mostly on a phone or tablet. And even on a big TV, standard-plan HD streaming looks amazing.

Not convinced? Here’s how to find out if it’s really worth it to pay extra to nix commercials.

6. Share subscriptions with friends and family

Different streaming services have different policies when it comes to password-sharing — but those policies can be vague and difficult to enforce. Maybe I pay for Netflix and Uncle Abe pays for HBO Max, and we share our respective accounts. That’s a real-world way to save money, right? Yes, but you should definitely take note of how streaming services are cracking down on password sharing.

7. Check out free streaming services

Ever seen Paddington 2? The sequel to the charming live-action flick is free to stream right now on Tubi. The riveting sci-fi thriller Ex Machina? Free to stream on Kanopy. Love The Rock? Watch the first season of Young Rock on Freevee.

The point is there are lots of free streaming services out there, and many of them are home to some pretty good TV and movies. Yes, you’ll have to sit through commercials on most of them (library-supported Hoopla and Kanopy are the exceptions), but otherwise, there’s zero cost. You can even get your fill of free livestreaming news.

Here’s a roundup of the best free movie streaming services and a similar batch of the best free TV streaming services. You should also check out ReelGood’s compendium of movies and TV shows on free services.

8. Get a cord-cutter credit card

Lots of credit cards give you cash back for various purchases, but a handful offer streaming-specific benefits as well. For example, the American Express Blue Cash card delivers 6% cash back on most streaming services, including Netflix, Disney Plus and Prime Video. If you’re paying, say, $40 monthly for various services, you’d save nearly $37 annually. That’s not enough to recoup the $95 annual fee for the card, but the card’s other cash-back perks might help with that.

Meanwhile, certain Chase cards offer rewards on select streaming providers, and among them are Hulu, Netflix and Sling. See if your current card has any streaming offers. If not, it might be worth switching to a card that does.

Check out DirecTV Stream

9. Put your money where your phone is

How about a free subscription to Netflix, Hulu or even Amazon? Various phone carriers dangle just such perks. If you’re a T-Mobile subscriber, for example, and have the Magenta Max plan, you get a Netflix Standard subscription (good for two screens) at no extra charge. AT&T’s Unlimited Elite comes with HBO Max, while Metro by T-Mobile’s Unlimited plan nets you Amazon Prime (and Prime Video along with it). Verizon will give you the Disney Bundle with two of its Unlimited plans.

In a time when streaming services are upping their prices, it pays to take advantage of all these savings strategies to keep more money in your wallet.

10. Temporarily pause your subscriptions

Not ready to break up with your streaming service just yet? Several providers allow you to temporarily put your subscription on pause, giving your bank account a break. Hulu and Sling will not bill you for up to three months if you pause your account, with the option to select a specific date to reactivate your service. Fubo and YouTube TV are among the other services that allow you to pause your membership for a set length of time, whether it’s a couple of weeks or months.

It is important to note that you will not have access to any of your services during a pause period, and that includes streaming services that may be bundled together such as Hulu and Disney Plus. Check your account page for specific details on how pausing affects your billing cycle and how long you’re able to temporarily stop paying.

Marvel Rivals Season 2 Adds New Vanguard Emma Frost, Krakoa Map

Emma Frost and Ultron are joining the Rivals roster in season 2, and developers are upping the pace to one new hero per month starting with season 3.

After surviving the endless night in New York City with the Fantastic Four, Marvel Rivals players are getting invited to the shores of Krakoa for the start of season 2 on April 11. The game dropped the first trailer for the new season, giving us our first official look at the new heroes, and a developer vision video dropped major news about the future of hero releases.

The trailer features the former foe and sometimes-leader of the X-Men, Emma Frost, inviting people from across Rivals’ various timelines to the mutant nation of Krakoa, where everyone gets dressed up for a fancy gala — even Wolverine puts on a white tux. The event, however, is unceremoniously interrupted when Ultron shows up preaching extermination.

We also got a look at some of the cosmetics in season 2, though it’s unclear which are from the shop and which might be in the battle pass. In addition to the dressed-up Wolverine, we also got looks at Magik and Psylocke in the traditional X-Men blue and yellow. Nonmutant guests are also getting in on the fun, with fancy attire for heroes like Cap, Widow and Luna Snow.

New Heroes and balance changes in Marvel Rivals Season 2

Emma Frost joins the roster as a Vanguard who can project a shield forward, give herself damage reduction by going into her diamond form, and also choke-slam people while insulting them. We got a glimpse at her abilities in her hero trailer, but we don’t have detailed information about her abilities yet — expect that information to drop ahead of next week’s season launch. Ultron is coming in the season 2.5 update, which should be in late May.

Some team-ups are changing in season 2, including three new team-up abilities that were previewed in the newest developer vision video.

Emma Frost allows Magneto and Psylocke to create illusions of themselves.
Doctor Strange teams up with Scarlet Witch allowing her to use small portals to seemingly increase her damage output via a rapid-shooting alternate fire.
Cap finally teams up with Bucky, allowing the Winter Soldier to leap to allies.

A few existing team-ups are getting adjustments, with Psylocke, Winter Soldier and Doctor Strange being removed from older team-ups in favor of new ones, and Namor moving from working with Luna’s anchor to Hulk’s to empower his ultimate with gamma energy. Two team-ups are being removed entirely: Magneto can no longer team up with Scarlet Witch, and Thor is no longer anchoring Cap and Storm.

Rivals announced the full list of season 2 balance changes, including buffs to Peni, Mister Fantastic and Moon Knight, with Strange losing some damage for more survivability (via his new anchor buff) and Rocket getting several adjustments, while Loki and Adam Warlock receive nerfs to their Regeneration Domain and Soul Bond abilities.

Future seasons will be shorter, which means more new heroes

One of the most surprising moments in the developer video was the announcement that, beginning with season 3, seasons will be two months long instead of roughly three. There has been a lot of discussion online about whether Rivals’ pace of new heroes (about eight per year based on three-month seasons) was sustainable. Well, apparently the Rivals devs took that personally and are cranking up that pace to a new hero every month, meaning 12 new heroes per year.

This feels borderline ludicrous compared with other hero shooters that average about three new heroes per year, or even MOBAs like League of Legends, which has averaged about four new champions per year over the past five years. Rivals benefits from having an overflowing stable of Marvel characters to pull from rather than inventing their own hero concepts, and compared with Overwatch, the developers seem less worried about mechanical overlap in their heroes, as seen with many support ultimates. Still, a new hero every month feels unheard of for a hero shooter.

New Krakoa map and competitive changes

Season 2 is adding two new maps, including a Krakoa-themed domination map at the season’s start. Yggsgard: Royal Palace (domination) and Tokyo 2099: Shin-Shibuya (convergence) will rotate out of the map pool for ranked modes, though they’ll still be available in quick play and custom games.

The threshold for competitive picks and bans, which currently only happen in diamond-ranked lobbies, will be lowered to gold 3. Players in Eternity or One Above All ranks will only be able to duo queue, instead of queuing with larger groups — a measure that’s likely intended to keep high-level teams from stomping lobbies.

Speaking of ranks, season 2 will drop everyone by 9 divisions, which is equal to 3 ranks. That means players in Eternity will drop to diamond, and any players at platinum 3 or below will start their climb from bronze 3 again. (AGAIN… AGAIN.)

Rivals developers also announced that individual player performance will be weighted higher when determining competitive progress after a match, meaning if your stats outperform your team’s, you’ll earn more for winning and drop less for losing. This change can help elevate smurfs and other high-skill players in lower-ranked lobbies by getting them into their appropriate ranks faster. However, it can also lead to players stat-farming, instead of playing in a way that is most effective for winning games. Overall, given that Rivals doesn’t use any sort of competitive placement matches, this should be a net positive for the game.

Other announcements

Rivals is adding new skin recolors to certain hero skins and (finally) giving players the option to gift costumes to their friends so they can surprise someone for their birthday, which you definitely did not forget about.

Missions are changing a bit, with the addition of weekly missions and a redistribution of where battle-pass-progressing chrono tokens are earned. The devs framed this as creating a «smoother expectation» of how to earn chrono tokens, but the surface-level description sounds like they’re just making it harder to earn battle pass progress over the season by tucking away more progress under missions with shorter time limits.

The developer vision update also gave us our first look at the competitive distribution, showing how many Rivals players are in each tier as of season 1.5.

The Hellfire Gala trailer says season 2 will start on April 11 UTC. While it doesn’t give a specific start time, expect the between-seasons maintenance to finish sometime in the middle of the night in the US.

For more on Marvel Rivals, check out which heroes and roles you should play and how to get free skins.

Technologies

Nintendo Switch 2 Preorders: New Tariffs Mean US Customers Will Have to Wait

We’ve got all the need-to-know details about the new console, but Nintendo’s recent announcement has caused some uncertainty.

It’s finally here. Well, almost. The Nintendo Direct event on April 3 gave us our first concrete information about its highly anticipated Switch 2 console. In addition to the official release date (June 5), we also got details about the specs, price and some hot new titles. Preorders were originally supposed to open on April 9, but the new tariffs mean that US customers will have to wait a little longer. Below, we’ve rounded up everything you want to know, including when and how you’ll be able to preorder one of these nifty new handhelds.

Where to preorder the Nintendo Switch 2

When can I preorder the Nintendo Switch 2

Preorders we’re originally set to open on April 9, and for most countries, that is still the case. However, in light of the new US tariffs, Nintendo has delayed preorders in the United States while it assesses «the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions.» As of now, there are no details about when US preorders will start, but we’re closely monitoring the situation and will update this page as soon as new information is available.

Read More: How Nintendo is Combating Switch 2 Scalpers

How much will the Nintendo Switch 2 cost?

The standalone console will start at $450, which is a $150 increase compared to the original console. You can also bundle it with Mario Kart World for $500, which saves you $30 compared to purchasing the game and system separately.

When will the Nintendo Switch 2 be released?

The Switch 2 will officially begin shipping on June 5. As of now, Nintendo has stated that the preorder delay in the US will not affect the release date.

When can I preorder Nintendo Switch 2 accessories?

Nintendo and several other retailers already have preorder pages for controllers, cases and other accessories, as well as games. It’s likely that preorders will begin at the same time as consoles, but there’s no official confirmation as of yet.

When can I preorder Nintendo Switch 2 games?

As with accessories, we expect that Switch 2 game preorders will be available when console preorders go live.

Nintendo Switch 2 preorders: What are people saying?

Feeling about the Switch 2 are mixed — to say the least. While the new console certainly offers some nice upgrades over it’s predecessor, including a larger screen, improved Joy-Cons and boosted storage, many are wondering if it’s enough to justify a fairly significant price hike. Especially when you consider with the new $80 price tag of its two biggest launch-window games — Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza. CNET gaming expert Scott Stein sums it up as a console that «feels a lot like an updated version of a system many people already own.» Additionally, the confusion about preorder availability has many gamers wondering if they’d be better off waiting a year or two and grabbing a refurbished console at a lower price.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for April 5, #1386

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle No. 1,386 for April 5.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Still recovering from yesterday’s tricky Wordle? Today’s Wordle puzzle is a little easier, although the first letter isn’t one I often guess. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.