Why you should cancel every streaming subscription

Last month, while reviewing my finances, I noticed an anomaly: two separate charges for Disney Plus in a single month. As I dug deeper, I realised I’d been paying for two different plans for almost a year and a half. That's roughly $380 down the drain. It was a wake-up call that led me to cancel every single one of my streaming subscriptions, even the ones I was actively using. In an era where "vampire" subscriptions bleed our bank accounts dry, the only way to truly get on top of things was to start from zero.

I’ve been writing about streaming services in Australia for an entire decade. When Netflix launched back in 2015, the value proposition seemed too good to be true. $8.99 per month for thousands of movies and TV shows on demand when you’d fork out roughly the same amount for an overnight rental from Video Ezy or Civic Video? Unbelievable. I won’t even notice it coming out!

Then, of course, more streaming services arrived. 4K smart televisions became more affordable and, suddenly, the old ad-supported free-to-air and Foxtel models seemed even less interesting. But $8.99 per month quickly became $20.99 per month if you wanted to continue streaming ad-free. Then another $20 per month over here because you wanted to watch that new Star Wars show everyone was talking about, and another $9.99 per month over there because you were probably going to pay for Amazon Prime for express shipping anyway. Next minute, you’re paying over $60 per month for more streaming services than you can keep track of. 

An international study by YouGov in 2024 showed that more than half of all consumers are paying for at least one subscription that they haven’t used in the last six months, and that’s assuming they are even aware of every subscription they’re paying for. I certainly wasn’t.

Rewarded for walking away

Cancelling everything couldn’t have been easier. Other than access to the content library, you lose nothing by cancelling your month-to-month subscriptions. In this system, the only existing subscribers who are rewarded are the ones who cancel. Sometimes, those who cancel are rewarded quite handsomely.

As soon as I clicked 'cancel subscription' on Disney Plus, I was offered the same plan at 25% off for the next six months - a saving of $31.50, just like that. HBO Max offered roughly 20% off for the next three months, and MUBI offered me a whopping 12-month discount at 40% off. That’s a saving of $117 just at the mere suggestion of cancelling.

Not every service played ball. Binge and Netflix, for example, are playing hard to get, offering no immediate discounts. But the joke's on them because I have no reason to resubscribe right now, saving me an additional $50.99 per month. 

The savings stack up

In fact, I didn't accept any of the previously mentioned retention offers. So, as it stands, I'm saving $190 per month from cancelling Stan Premium, Disney Plus Premium, ad-free Prime Video, Binge Premium, Netflix Premium, HBO Max Premium, and Kayo Premium (which I don't even remember subscribing to). 

Full disclosure: I didn't cancel my Apple TV subscription as it's tied to my Apple One subscription that gives my family Apple Music and extra iCloud storage. That's how they get you. 

Of course, I'm bound to resubscribe to many of these services in short order. Disney Plus is getting some seriously good stuff in 2026, and HBO Max keeps delivering Adult Swim hits I love, like Primal and Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law. But from now on, I'll pay for them when I’m actually watching them, not while they’re sitting idle. For now, I've got an extra $190 per month to spend on petrol.

Brodie Fogg

Managing Editor - Streaming

Brodie Fogg is WhistleOut Australia's Managing Editor for Streaming. He's been writing about tech, streaming, games and telco since 2015. He previously managed a team of entertainment editors at Finder, and has also appeared on 7NEWS.

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