Canceling Max Because of Newest Price Hike? Which Cheaper Streamers Should You Replace It With?
On Tuesday, Max announced it was raising subscription prices by $1 per month on both of its ad-free plans.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming service is named Max because of the amount of premium content available, but customers may point to the rising price of the service as the true source of its name. WBD announced on Tuesday that the price of streaming ad-free on Max was going up, as both the Max Ad-Free and Max Ultimate plans will cost by $1 per month more, effective immediately for new customers. If you’re ready to cancel your Max subscription before your budget takes yet another hit thanks to a streamer raising prices, I’ll lay out some excellent alternatives for you below.
Key Details:
- Existing customers will see the new price reflected on their bills on or after July 4.
- Apple TV+ is closest to Max in terms of the prestige TV content it offers.
- Peacock is an excellent replacement for Max for viewers who love watching live sports.
The timing of the price increase could have been better, as just yesterday #DontStreamOnMax was trending on social media platforms. Existing customers will see the price hike reflected on their first bill on or after July 4, but new subscribers to the service will see the updated price schedule immediately. Max Ad-Free now costs $16.99 per month instead of $15.99, and Max Ultimate has seen a price increase to $20.99 per month.
Depending on what it is that initially attracted you to Max, check out what I think are your best, lower-cost alternatives. Whether you’re a fan of the prestige TV, live news, or sports available on Max, I’ll lay out your top options to replace the service with something that will require a bit less of an investment on your part.
Best Max Replacement for Prestige TV Fans: Apple TV+
Apple TV+ is the best way for viewers who prioritize prestige TV to continue getting their fix after leaving Max. The streamer has always followed a quality-over-quantity approach to streaming and populates its library almost exclusively with original shows and movies packed with A-list stars like Brie Larson, Harrison Ford, Jennifer Anniston, Steve Carell, Jason Sudeikis, Maya Rudolph, and many others. Apple TV+ titles like “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” show the streamer is willing to go all-out with blockbuster entertainment, while series like “Lessons in Chemistry” and “Shrinking” demonstrate its range by offering viewers more intimate studies on humanity.
From a price perspective, viewers will enjoy substantial savings by opting for Apple TV+ over Max. There’s only one plan of Apple TV+, an ad-free subscription that costs $9.99 per month after a seven-day free trial. That price is $7 cheaper (41%) per month than the least expensive ad-free plan Max will offer after the new increase.
Best Max Replacement for Sports and News Fans: Peacock
Peacock is also raising its subscription prices in July, but even when that increase is completed, viewers will still save money over what they paid for Max. Peacock will offer ad-free streaming for $13.99 per month once the price increase is completed, still a $3-per-month discount over the cost to stream on Max.
Peacock has a wide variety of original shows like “Ted” and “Poker Face,” a well-stocked bench of old favorites like “The Office,” and movies from Universal. But its sports lineup is what many consider to be the crown jewel of the streamer; it will carry every event of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, and get an exclusive NFL regular season game in addition to its weekly simul-streams of “Sunday Night Football.”
Peacock also carries Big Ten football and basketball, Notre Dame football, auto racing, cycling, tennis, PGA Tournament events, and much more, and unlike Max there are no plans to start charging viewers extra to watch live sports on the service. Also, while it will still be about 16 months until this happens, it is expected that NBC will take over TNT’s national broadcast rights with the NBA, so starting in the fall of 2025, Peacock will be the streaming home of the groundball games you can currently find on Max.
Oh, and did I mention that new customers can get one full year of ad-supported Peacock for just $20 for a limited time?
Best Max Alternative for Kids Programming: Disney+
Max has a decent lineup of children’s titles, including Looney Tunes cartoons, selections from Cartoon Network, and more. If this was your main incentive for subscribing to the service, you should look into a subscription to Disney+ instead.
Disney+ costs $13.99 per month to stream ad-free, but parents who are mostly interested in the service for its obviously kid-friendly library will be pleased to know that even on its $7.99-per-month ad-supported plan, children’s shows and movies stream ad-free. Disney+ is home to some of the most popular kids shows on the planet, such as “Bluey” and “The Amazing World of Gumball,” and of course its library is full of the animated classics that made the studio a household name,
Best Max Alternative for General Entertainment: Netflix
Netflix would deserve a much higher spot on this list but for two factors: its cheapest ad-free streaming plan is only $1.50 less per month than Max’s new price for its Ad-Free tier, and most viewers subscribed to Max probably have a Netflix subscription already.
If you’re not subscribed to Netflix, however, now may be the perfect time. The streamer is well-known for its originals, such as the recently-released new season of “Bridgerton” or the newly announced second “Knives Out” sequel starring Daniel Craig. The final season of “Stranger Things” is sure to be a can’t-miss event, and Netflix has even begun making moves in the live sports arena. It will stream episodes of “WWE Raw” starting in 2025 and will offer two Christmas Day NFL games in 2024 as well.