The REAL cost of streaming your favorite shows: Hits like Succession, Yellowstone and Stranger Things are all on different platforms – with users shelling out as much as $88 a month to watch the lot

• There are more than 8,000 shows spread across Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, HBO Max, Paramount Plus, Apple TV, Hulu and Peacock Premium
• This means users have to subscribe to multiple streaming services to catch their favorite shows or they risk missing out on the most talked about moments
• But the cost of streaming the most popular shows is burning a hole in the pockets of television lovers, with users shelling out up to $88 per month

The growing list of streaming services is secretly burning a hole in the pockets of television lovers across the country. 

There are more than 8,000 shows spread across Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, HBO Max, Paramount Plus, Apple TV, Hulu and Peacock Premium.

This means users have to subscribe to multiple streaming services to catch their favorite shows or risk missing out on the most talked about moments. 

From Logan Roy’s shocking antics in Succession to John Dutton’s fight to protect his family and their land in Yellowstone and Eleven’s special psychokinetic abilities in Stranger Things, people pay through the nose to make sure they are up to date.

Here Dailymail.com breaks down the true cost of watching the most popular shows… 

Users have to subscribe to multiple streaming services to catch their favorite shows or they risk missing out on the most talked about moments

Netflix

Netflix has the biggest collection of television shows on its platform with 2,142 available to stream – and offers different subscription levels. 

Its basic with ads tier costs $6.99 a month but some of its shows are unavailable and you can only watch on one device in HD. 

If you don’t want to sit through adverts the next plan, titled basic, costs $9.99 and provides you with unlimited access to its movies and TV shows – and you can download on one device. 

Its standard subscription allows you to watch on two devices at the same time in full HD and download on two devices for $15.49 per month.

And the premium plan allows viewers to watch on four devices simultaneously in Ultra HD with downloads on six devices for $19.99 per month. 

Stranger Things is available to watch on Netflix and the original series was the most streamed show last year, with 52 billion minutes viewed.

The show, which stars Millie Bobby Brown, has dominated social media over the course of its four seasons and follows the journey of a group of friends who are tasked with saving their town called Hawkins.

You can also enjoy the award-winning Netflix original Ozark, which stars Jason Bateman. It had 31.3 billion minutes viewed last year. 

The series is about a financial adviser who drags his family from Chicago to the Missouri Ozarks, where he must launder $500million in five years to appease a drugs boss.

Bridgerton is another popular program on Netflix and it had 14 billion minutes watched last year. 

The show, famed for its passionate romance and decadent costumes, is about eight close-knit siblings of the Bridgerton family who look for love and happiness in London high society. It was inspired by Julia Quinn’s bestselling novels.

Netflix has the biggest collection of television shows on its platform with 2,142 available including Stranger Things which was the most streamed show last year with 52 billion minutes viewed 

Subscribers can also enjoy the award-winning Netflix original Ozark, which stars Jason Bateman, and it had 31.3 billion minutes viewed last year 

Bridgerton is another popular program on Netflix and it had 14 billion minutes watched last year

HBO Max

A HBO Max subscription with adverts will set you back $9.99 a month (or $99.99 a year), while the ad-free version costs $15.99 per month (or $149.99 a year) and allows you to download shows to watch on-the-go.

Both plans provide unlimited access to the 787 shows on the platform. 

Succession is one of the most popular television dramas in the past decade and is available to watch on HBO Max.

The series centers around the Roy family, the owners of a global media and entertainment conglomerate, who are fighting for control of the company amid uncertainty about the health of the family’s patriarch, Logan Roy. 

Each episode in the third season drew in around 7.2 million viewers, and it is currently on its fourth and final season. 

The Last of Us, an apocalyptic, mushroom-infected zombie video game adaptation which stars Pedro Pascal, is also immensely popular. 

It was watched for more than one billion minutes between March 6 and 12 and the series is the most-watched HBO Max series in Europe and Latin America. 

The Games of Thrones prequel series House of Dragon is another draw for subscribers to HBO Max and its first series attracted 29 million viewers per episode in the US. 

It is based on the first of George R.R. Martin’s two volumes diving into the extensive Targaryen history and is set hundreds of years before the events depicted in Game of Thrones. 

HBO is set to renamed Max in a revamp which will see it combine with Discovery+ and it will launch on May 23 at a cost of $9.99 per month for the ad-supported tier and $15.99 per month for the ad-free version.

There will be a third ‘ultimate’ ad-free version with 4K UHD capability, an 100 offline download allowance and Dolby Atmos sound for $19.99 a month. 

A HBO Max subscription with adverts will set you back $9.99 a month with ads while the ad-free version costs $15.99 per month and allows you to download shows to watch on-the-go

Succession is one of the most popular television dramas in the past decade and is available to watch on HBO Max 

The Last of Us, an apocalyptic, mushroom-infected zombie video game adaptation which stars Pedro Pascal, is also immensely popular on the platform 

The Games of Thrones prequel series House of Dragon is another draw for subscribers to HBO Max and its first series attracted 29 million viewers per episode in the US

Peacock

The most popular Peacock plan is their premium subscription which costs just $4.99 per month (or $49.99 per year) and offers access to its 972 shows with adverts.

Its premium plus plan costs $9.99 per month (or $99.99 a year) and offers an ad-free experience, allows users to download shows and provides local NBC channels live 24/7. 

Peacock subscribers can watch the first four seasons of the hit western drama Yellowstone which has taken the internet by storm. 

The series follows the Dutton family, owners of the largest ranch in Montana, the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch and it racked up a billion minutes viewed in just week between December 26 and January 1. 

But the fifth season is only available to watch on the cable channel Paramount Network or you can buy it for $39.99 from Prime Video. 

Poker Face recently also landed on Peacock and is already proving extremely popular. Its available episodes were watched for a combined 641 million minutes between January 30 and February 5.

It is a murder mystery series which centers around Charlie Cale, a casino worker with an innate ability to detect lies, traveling across the United States on the run from a casino boss following a suspicious death.

The most popular Peacock plan is their premium subscription which costs just $4.99 per month and offers access to its 972 shows with adverts

Peacock subscribers can watch the first four seasons of the hit western drama Yellowstone which has taken the internet by storm

Poker Face is already proving extremely popular and its available episodes were watched for a combined 641 million minutes between January 30 and February 5

Hulu

Hulu’s cheapest plan costs $7.99 per month (or $79.99 a year) and provides access to its ad-supported streaming library- the same service is available to students for $1.99 per month. 

But if you want to watch the same 1,575 shows without any advert breaks it will set you back $14.99 per month. 

Hulu subscribers can enjoy the gripping true crime series Under the Banner of Heaven which stars Andrew Garfield and Gil Birmingham. It is based on the nonfiction book of the same name by Jon Krakauer.

The show is about how the faith of police detective Jeb Pyre is shaken when investigating the murder of a Latter-day Saint mother and her baby daughter that seems to involve the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Hulu is also home to the long-running series American Horror Story which chronicles fictionalized haunted locations, the living and the dead who interact within them.

Each of its 11 seasons has its own self-contained storyline and characters and there has been a new location with new characters.  

It peaked at an average of eight million viewers per episode but it has gathered more fans since it started streaming on Hulu.  

Hulu’s cheapest plan costs $7.99 per month but if you want to watch the same 1,575 shows without any advert breaks it will set you back $14.99 per month

Hulu subscribers can enjoy the gripping true crime series Under the Banner of Heaven which stars Andrew Garfield and Gil Birmingham 

The platform is also home to the long-running series American Horror Story which chronicles fictionalized haunted locations, the living and the dead who interact within them

Prime Video 

Access to the 1,522 television shows on Prime Video costs $8.99 per month but for those who have an Amazon Prime membership, which costs $14.99 per month, this service is already included. 

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is an Amazon original series and is the most expensive series ever made and is said to have cost $1billion to produce and had 9.4 billion minutes viewed. 

It is set thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings and is based on author J. R. R. Tolkien’s history of Middle-earth. 

The show begins during a time of peace and covers all the major events of Middle-earth’s Second Age: the forging of the Rings of Power, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, the fall of the island kingdom of Númenor, and the last alliance between Elves and Men. 

The Boys is another Amazon original series available to watch for Prime Video subscribers and is a superhero television series based on a comic book of the same name. 

It is set in a universe where superpowered individuals are recognized as heroes by the general public and work for a powerful corporation that markets and monetizes them – but outside their heroic personas, most are corrupt. 

The show was the most watched Amazon original show with 10.6 billion minutes viewed. 

Access to the 1,522 television shows on Prime Video costs $8.99 per month

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is an Amazon original series and is the most expensive series ever made at $1billion and it had 9.4 billion minutes watched

The Boys was the most watched Amazon original show with 10.6 billion minutes viewed

Disney +

A basic Disney+ plan with adverts costs $7.99 per month and the premium version, which offers an ad-free experience and download capability, is priced at $10.99 per month. 

There are 437 television series to choose from on the platform including the hugely popular American space Western series The Mandalorian – which subscribers watched 14.5 billion minutes of in 2021. 

The Emmy Award-winning show is based on George Lucas’s Star Wars and stars Pedro Pascal. 

It is set five years after the events of Return of the Jedi and follows Din Djarin, a lone Mandalorian bounty hunter in the outer reaches of the galaxy.

The Simpsons is the most streamed series on the platform despite it running for more than 33 years. 

The long-running animated comedy which focuses on the eponymous family in the town of Springfield was watched for 15.9 billion minutes last year. 

A basic Disney+ plan with adverts costs $7.99 per month and the premium version, which offers an ad-free experience and download capability, is priced at $10.99 per month 

Disney+ subscribers watched 14.5 billion minutes of The Mandalorian in 2021 

The Simpsons is the most streamed series on the platform despite it running for more than 33 years and was watched for 15.9 billion minutes last year

Apple TV+ 

Apple TV+ has the least amount of shows on its service compared to the platforms above with just 81 – but its subscription plan is one of the cheapest at just $6.99 per month and is advert free. 

Subscribers can watch the award-winning series Ted Lasso, which is about an American football coach, played by Jason Sudeikis, who is unexpectedly recruited to coach a fictional English Premier League soccer team, AFC Richmond.

The show was viewed for 507 million minutes between October 4 and October 10 2021 and its third and latest season was released last month. 

The Morning Show is a star-studded Apple TV drama which features Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell and each episode is said to have cost $15million to make. 

It looks at the modern workplace through the lends of people who help wake America up on an early morning television program.

Apple TV+ has the least amount of shows on its service compared to the platforms above with just 81 but its subscription plan is one of the cheapest at just $6.99 per month

Subscribers can watch the award-winning series Ted Lasso was viewed for 507 million minutes between October 4 and October 10 2021

The Morning Show is a star-studded Apple TV drama which features Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell and each episode is said to cost $15million to make 

Watching the most popular shows across all of the streaming services will set you back $88 per month if you opt for the most premium, ad-free experience – while the cheapest subscriptions total $57 per month. 

For those who do not want to shell out for all the streaming platforms, Netflix offers the most bang for your buck with subscribers getting 214 shows per dollar.

Hulu, Peacock and Prime are also good value for money with users getting 197, 195 and 164 programs per dollar.   

HBO Max and Disney+ subscribers get 79 and 55 shows per dollar. And Apple TV+ users can be forgiven for feeling short changed as they only get 12 shows per dollar in their subscription. 

Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max and other subscription services saw a 49 per cent rise in cancellations in 2022 compared to the previous year as people cut their streaming service subscriptions to combat inflation and the rising cost of living. 

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