Five ways to reduce the cost of your subscriptions before Disney+ prices rise

SUBSCRIPTION services can be a great way to access your favorite food, movies, music and more.

However, rising prices are not always good for your bank balance.

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Disney+ will increase the price of its premium subscription starting Sunday, March 24.

The streaming giant made changes to its subscription plans at the end of last year, with premium subscriptions rising from £7.99 to £10.99 per month.

But those who renew their annual premium subscription will be charged £109.90 instead of £79.90 at the end of this month due to the introduction of a new three-tier subscription service.

The new system is as follows:

• Disney+ standard (with ads) – £4.99 per month
• Disney+ standard (ad-free) – £7.99 per month (or £79.90 per year)
• Disney+ premium – £10.99 per month (or £109.90 per year)

Here’s how to cut some of the costs so you can keep streaming and subscribing without hurting your bank balance too much.

Pay annually

Sometimes it can seem difficult to pay for an entire year’s subscription in one go.

But if you know you’ll stick with the service, paying for it all at once can save you money.

Customers can save £13 per year on Amazon Prime membership by paying annually.

Full membership costs £95 upfront for 12 months, but if you pay £8.99 monthly you’ll end up paying £107.88 over the year.

Disney+ customers on a standard subscription can also save up to £21.98 per year by paying their bill a year in advance.

Rotate and downgrade

If you have multiple TV and movie subscriptions, you can save money by rotating what you pay for each month.

If you sign up for everything, you can make a fortune.

Netflix costs £10.99 per month, Amazon Prime £8.99 and Disney+ £7.99 – which works out to £27.97 per month if you have them all, or £335.64 per year.

However, each of these services allows users who pay monthly to cancel their subscription at any time without penalty.

So if you can plan what to watch, you can alternate which service you’re signed up for and save it.

And if you don’t mind a few commercial breaks and want Netflix or Disney+, consider their standard plans with ads.

Both Disney and Netflix’s cheapest plans with ads cost just £4.99 per month.

Make a buddy

Sharing streaming subscriptions between a household is one of the easiest ways to save money.

Spotify is a platform that has this option.

While the music streaming service costs £10.99 for a single membership, you can get the Premium Duo subscription for £14.99 per month.

This saves £83.88 per year compared to the price of two separate subscriptions.

Netflix’s standard and premium account plans also allow users to be added outside the household for an additional £4.99 per month.

You can save by doing this with a friend and splitting the costs.

Take advantage of free trials

Streaming services often let you try it out before you commit and get a month free.

For example, a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime Video is worth it if you’re just signing up to watch a particular show.

Apple Music, Amazon Music Unlimited, and YouTube Premium also give new users a one-month free trial.

And new Spotify Premium members get the first three months free.

Set a reminder to cancel before the end of the promotional period so you don’t end up with an unwanted subscription.

Check for freebies

Hundreds of films and box sets are available via free streaming services such as All 4, ITVX, UKTV Play and My5.

You usually have to watch ads, but the savings usually make it worth it.

BBC iPlayer is also free if you already pay for a TV license, although you can’t watch it without a TV license.

You can even get a free subscription service for a certain period of time when you buy a new cell phone plan or take out a new credit card.

For example, new Barclaycard customers can get Apple TV+ for free for five months.

O2 is also offering newbies up to three months of free Apple TV+.