Why I'm canceling Netflix in 2022

Why I'm canceling Netflix in 2021

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Netflix sent me and my family unit some greetings recently. It was dainty of the streaming service to drop us a line, but I really wish they shouldn't have, especially given the contents of the message.

"We hope you're enjoying Netflix, and we're always adding new TV shows and movies for our members to enjoy," Netflix happily informed us, which is a more gentle style of saying that as of Jan, nosotros were going to be paying an extra dollar more each month for the privilege of accessing Netflix's streaming content.

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You don't actually need to be fluent in corporate-speak to interpret what's going on here and why. Netflix produces a lot of original programming, from Oscar-contending movies to buzzy TV shows and specials. That takes cash to fund, and Netflix expects y'all and me to exist ponying upwards more of it.

Disney Plus lets me re-explore the Simpsons dorsum catalog with my daughter, Hulu offers plenty of on-demand shows nosotros might otherwise miss and Amazon'south selection of movies and shows is pleasingly eclectic. They're all on our watch list — Netflix is not.

That's a off-white plenty proffer — Netflix isn't running a non-turn a profit here so equally production costs on its ambitious slate of programming rises, that'south a toll that's going to get passed on to viewers. There'southward simply one problem with this otherwise audio line of reasoning: I simply don't watch plenty of Netflix'due south originals to feel like I'm getting good value for the $thirteen.99 Netflix wants me to pony up each calendar month.

Netflix vs Hulu vs Disney Plus

Netflix price change — (Image credit: Tom's Guide)

I'1000 not proverb we never watch Netflix. My daughter enjoys watching amateur bakers face-plant on Nailed It, and I binged my way through 3 seasons of Glow some fourth dimension ago before the plug got pulled on any future episodes. Merely in terms of regular date viewing, Netflix is pretty depression on our list.

The back catalog of movies is thin if y'all enjoy the classics — someone should tell Netflix that there'southward an entire century of movies that were made prior to the 2000s — and the number of films that are there seem to be shrinking at the expense of the Netflix originals the streaming service wants to put front and center.

In fact, information technology's safe to say that Netflix's communiqué of imminent price hikes has the members of my household asking whether Netflix is nevertheless worth it. I imagine a lot of Netflix subscribers are probably asking the aforementioned thing as their bills go upward.

What helped our family brand a decision was keeping log of everything nosotros watched for nigh a week — jotting down the program, what service information technology streamed on and whether we could live without it if that service were to all of a sudden disappear.

To respond the question, nosotros need to consider our own individual streaming habits. Our family unit cutting the cable string more than 18 months agone, and information technology's largely been a regret-free move, with the exception of the occasional sporting event stuck behind cablevision'due south paywall. Having streaming services that offer a wide assortment of movies and Telly shows has helped stem the loss, but at the same time, nosotros're eager not to add together and then many services that our monthly streaming neb winds up topping anything nosotros e'er shelled out to our local, mean cable provider.

To that end, also Netflix, we currently pay for Disney Plus, which I believe is at present mandated by federal law if y'all take a child. Hulu's ad supported streaming service is included with our Pandora subscription and because we pay for Amazon Prime, nosotros likewise get Prime Video. Our support of our local public broadcasting station gives us the extended programming of PBS Passport.

The thing is, we watch all the rest of those channels. Disney Plus lets me re-explore the Simpsons back catalog with my daughter, Hulu offers enough of on-demand shows we might otherwise miss when they aired in real time and Amazon'due south selection of movies and shows is pleasingly eclectic. They're all on our sentry listing — Netflix is not.

Doing the math

Disney Plus Valentine's Day collection — (Epitome credit: Shutterstock, Disney)

And that's the beginning step I'd suggest to anyone trying to decide if a streaming service is yet worth paying for. Add together up what you pay to stream things each month and see if it's more than you'd really similar to be spending. Paying out $4.99 here and $v.99 in that location doesn't seem like much in isolation, only yous'd be surprised how speedily all those services can add upwards.

If the amount you're actually paying is greater than the sum you thought you were doling out — or if the price of 1 of those services is about to inch upward — it's probably time to consider mashing the Unsubscribe push on at to the lowest degree one or more of those services. What helped our family unit brand a decision was keeping log of everything we watched for about a week — jotting down the plan, what service information technology streamed on and whether we could live without it if that service were to all of a sudden disappear.

Netflix is a goner, just as soon every bit my wife and I finish working our mode through The Good Place.

That should help provide some clarity as to which subscription services yous actually sentinel and which ones are surprisingly expendable. Another fob is to await at guides for shows currently streaming on the services you're paying for — Tom's Guide rounds up what's new on Netflix, the best movies and best Television shows on Hulu and everything new on Disney Plus for your convenience. Mark down the programming on those lists that grabs your interest. If you've got a list that's not very long — or you're staring at a blank sheet of newspaper — you may accept stumbled upon your answer.

If you lot've got a good reminders program on your smartphone, only set a reminder for the 24-hour interval or so earlier you get billed for the streaming service in question. That makes information technology piece of cake to review your monthly streaming habits and — if necessary — cancel before another month of billing kicks in.

HBO Max review — (Image credit: Tom'due south Guide)

Later going through all this, all the members of my household reached that consensus that Netflix is a goner, just equally soon as my wife and I finish working our fashion through The Good Place. (This just in: That four-year-old show is very skillful!) After that, we'll either pocket the money we would have spent each month on Netflix or re-classify information technology to HBO Max, a streaming service that seems to deliver more of the kind of programming nosotros want, whether that'due south an all-encompassing library of movies or newer shows like Succession and Harley Quinn.

At to the lowest degree until it tries to raise prices on us, also.

Philip Michaels is a senior editor at Tom's Guide. He has strong opinions nearly Apple, the Oakland Athletics and former movies. Follow him at @PhilipMichaels.