How the streaming cost comparison works
Last updated 10 November 2026
Streaming subscriptions are easy to add and easy to forget. Each one looks small, but together they can take a real share of a monthly budget. This page lists the plans we could confirm on each service’s own price page, and adds up the ones you choose.
How it works
- Pick how you pay: monthly, or yearly where a service offers a yearly price.
- Choose a plan in each row, and add a row for every subscription you pay for or are thinking about.
- Read the total a month and a year, then use the table to see every listed plan in order of monthly price.
Worked example
With the starting choices:
- Netflix, Standard (R 179.00); YouTube Premium, Individual (R 81.99); Spotify, Premium Standard (R 69.99).
- Together they cost R 330.98 a month, which is R 3 971.76 a year.
- The lowest monthly price in the table is R 37.99 (Spotify, Premium Student) and the highest is R 229.00 (Netflix, Premium).
- Netflix on its own costs R 2 148.00 over twelve months.
What is in the table
The table lists every plan we could read, sorted by monthly price from lowest to highest. It shows the service, the plan, the monthly price, a yearly price where the service gives one, and the number of screens that can stream at once. The last column shows the day we read the price. The order is by price only. The table does not say which plan suits you, because that depends on how many people watch, on what devices and how often.
Monthly and yearly billing
Most services in the table charge month to month, so the yearly cost is twelve payments. Disney+ shows both a monthly price of R 179.00 and a yearly price of R 1 590.00. Paying yearly costs R 1 590.00 against R 2 148.00 for twelve months, a difference of R 558.00. A yearly payment is made up front, so check the cancellation and refund terms with the service.
Screens and what they mean
Screens means the devices that can stream at the same time, as the service states it. Music services and YouTube Premium do not state a screen limit.
Netflix also lets some plans add extra members who live elsewhere, for a further monthly fee. Extra members are not counted in the total. Add them yourself if you pay for them.
Services we could not list
Services whose official price page could not be read are not listed. That includes Showmax, DStv Stream, Apple TV+ and Apple Music. That does not mean those services are dearer or cheaper. It only means we could not confirm a price from the source, so we left them out rather than guess.
Prices that depend on a bundle, a mobile network or a decoder package are not included.
Source links
Prices were read on 2026-11-10 from these pages:
- Netflix Help Center: Plans and Pricing (South Africa)
- Disney+ South Africa
- Prime Video: Amazon Prime offer
- YouTube Premium
- Spotify Premium (South Africa)
About the figures
Prices were read on each service’s own page on 2026-11-10. Services change prices and plans without notice, so check the price on the service before you sign up. Netflix, YouTube Premium, Disney+, Amazon Prime and Spotify can all change a price at any time, and a price shown on the day you sign up may differ. This is a way to add up numbers, not advice on what to subscribe to. Read the full disclaimer.
Things to watch
- A free trial usually turns into a paid plan unless you cancel before it ends.
- Prices can change without notice, so check the amount on the service before you sign up.
- A subscription billed through a phone network or an app store can cost a different amount.
Related: the monthly budget planner, the affordability check and the gym membership cost comparison.