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Cord-Cutting Is Dead If You Keep Every Ad-Free Plan
After Disney's latest hike, eight ad-free streaming plans now beat a 2016 cable bill even after inflation. Here's how to stop overpaying.
Prices last read 2026-09-28
Short answer
Yes, if you keep the ad-free tier of every major service. According to Pocket-lint, that now adds up to $144.41 a month, more than an average 2016 cable bill even after adjusting for inflation.On September 23, 2026, Disney raised ad-free Disney+ Premium and Hulu (No Ads) by $2.50 each, from $18.99 to $21.49. Pocket-lint then added up the cheapest ad-free plan from eight big US services. Its total is $144.41 a month, which it says comes in roughly 28% above the inflation-adjusted 2016 pay-TV bill that cord-cutters set out to beat.Source: Pocket-lint: Cord-cutting is no longer cheaper than cable · 2026-09-28; 9to5Google: Disney+ starts rolling out another price hike · 2026-09-28
What Disney changed on September 23
9to5Google reports that ad-free Disney+ Premium went from $18.99 to $21.49 and ad-supported Disney+ went from $11.99 to $12.49. The ad-free Disney+ and Hulu bundle rose from $19.99 to $21.99. The ad-supported Disney+ and Hulu bundle stayed at $12.99. 9to5Google says Bloomberg broke the story first, and the new prices started rolling out on September 23. Pocket-lint says Hulu (No Ads) also moved from $18.99 to $21.49. If you pay for either ad-free plan, you're affected.
Source: 9to5Google: Disney+ starts rolling out another price hike · 2026-09-28; Pocket-lint: Cord-cutting is no longer cheaper than cable · 2026-09-28
How Pocket-lint got to $144.41
Pocket-lint adds up eight ad-free plans: Netflix Standard, Disney+ Premium, Hulu (No Ads), Peacock Premium Plus, HBO Max Standard, Apple TV, Paramount+ Premium and Prime Video's ad-free option. Disney+ and Hulu are now the two most expensive lines on that list. For the cable side, it uses Leichtman Research Group's figure of $103.10 for the average 2016 pay-TV bill and adjusts it for inflation. It concludes that every route back under the old cable number means accepting something cable used to be criticized for.
Source: Pocket-lint: Cord-cutting is no longer cheaper than cable · 2026-09-28
Our take: the math is a little rigged, and it still hurts. Almost nobody pays for all eight services at once, and a 2016 cable bill didn't include Netflix. But the comparison was never really about the exact total. The point is that the old pitch, 'cancel cable and save money,' assumed streaming would stay cheap while you stacked it. It didn't. The biggest problem isn't any single price. It's that we copied cable's habit of paying for everything every month, just spread across eight apps.
Who gets hit hardest
Disney+ Premium is the most overrated line on your card statement. The jump to $21.49 puts it level with Hulu (No Ads) at the top of Pocket-lint's list, above Netflix Standard. For a service most households binge in bursts, around a Marvel or Pixar release, that's hard to justify as a permanent subscription. The most underrated option in the lineup is the one Disney didn't touch: its ad-supported bundle stayed at $12.99. If you're keeping Disney at all, the ad-free premium now costs a lot more than the ads-in bundle does.
If you do not wish to accept a price change, you may cancel your subscription
Disney+, ESPN and Hulu Subscriber Agreement (US, effective October 17, 2025)Source: Disney+ Subscriber Agreement archive · 2026-09-28
The same agreement says that if you don't cancel in time, your subscription renews at the price in effect at renewal, and you don't have to do anything for that to happen. Disney says it will attempt to email you about price changes in advance. In practice, staying subscribed means accepting the new price, so a price-hike email is your cue to decide.
Source: Disney+ Subscriber Agreement archive · 2026-09-28
What to do instead of paying cable-level prices
- Run a one-in, one-out rotationKeep one or two services you actually use every week. Subscribe to the rest one month at a time, when there's a show or film you want to watch. Cancel before the next renewal, then move to the next service.
- Put ads only where you watch leastYou don't have to choose between all ad-free and all ads. Pay for ad-free on the one service you watch most, and use ad tiers for the ones you open twice a month.
- Check your bill against the hikeIf you pay for ad-free Disney+ or Hulu, look at your next charge. If $21.49 doesn't fit how often you watch, cancel or downgrade before you renew.
- Audit the stack every quarterPull up every recurring streaming charge. Any service you didn't open in the last month is the first to go.
The rule that beats the math
Any service you'd happily re-subscribe to in three months is a service you can cancel today. Rotation only works if you actually cancel, so set a calendar reminder a few days before each renewal.
Keep it ad-free only if…
- {'text': 'You open the app most weeks, not just for one big release'}
- {'text': "Ads would genuinely ruin how you watch (kids' shows, long binges)"}
- {'text': "It's the one service you'd keep if you could keep only one"}
The verdict: streaming isn't automatically more expensive than cable. But keeping everything ad-free all the time now is, and Disney just made that the most expensive way to watch. Rotate, take the ads where you won't notice them, and treat 'always subscribed' as the premium tier it has become.
Optional: compare third-party seller listings for Disney+ (a reseller listing, not official Disney access or an endorsement). That link carries our partner code Sk52g, which is how a purchase is attributed to this site. Promotion code UPD3S.
Sources (read 2026-09-28)