I just cancelled Netflix... again.

Tonight I bit the bullet and cancelled Netflix—and honestly I couldn’t be happier.

It actually feels like a tiny little weight that’s been hanging around my neck for the past few years has been lifted. And it’s glorious.

I’ve been a Netflix subscriber for a long time, and much like everyone else I used to absolutely love it. The ability to easily select what I want to watch, simply with the press of a button, and have it streamed into my eyeballs directly was amazing.

No ad breaks.
No disruptions.
No worries.

It was that sublime, heady mix of a cheap enough subscription, instant availability, and the right type of media I wanted to consume right at my fingertips.

That alone is quite a potent, heady mix which would make even the staunchest conservative yell “SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY”.

But if it’s so damn good, then why did I cancel it I hear you loudly ponder…

I’ve come to realise that there is a cost/benefit equation that we’re all acutely aware of—yet can’t always articulate. Because it’s ever so slightly different for each one of us.

When I first joined Netflix it was just a measly AU$11.99 a month for their HD plan with no ads, 2 devices, and the ability to download to device.

A mere pittance compared to the sheer value that I was receiving every single month.

It became a real pleasure to part with almost twelve dollars and gain access to a wide range of movies and television shows that I’d not normally had before.

Even during the Covid-19 pandemic when it’s price had risen another three-whole-dollars a month to AU$15.99 it was more than worth its weight in gold as we were a captive audience craving new content (and more than one season of Bridgerton!) on the regular.

But now, just a mere four years later we have yet another price hike of three dollars a month making the Standard HD service AU$18.99 and the Premium Ultra HD 4K service a whopping AU$25.99 😳.

And look, before you start yelling at me, yes I understand that the cost of living has skyrocketed after the pandemic for numerous reasons right across the board, so why should Netflix be exempt?

Well… they shouldn’t.
But here in lies the problem with all streaming services.

With Netflix raising their rates, Amazon Prime going ad-supported, Disney+ also hiking their price, Spotify rising another two dollars, YouTube Premium seeing a minor rise… you can quickly see how streaming subscription services are rapidly becoming a form of death-by-a-thousand-cuts.

All these tiny incremental bumps along the way which each of the streaming services has imparted over time results in the cost/benefit equation becoming seriously unstable and unbalanced in an attempt to raise revenue, and normalise rate increases.

To combat this I’ve taken stock of the subscription services I have and here’s a quick breakdown that I’ll give as: Service Name, Subscription Reason, and Monthly Cost.

I have to say, that when I reviewed the breakdown I was aware that it would be a fairly high cost… but I never expected AU$74.54 a month! 😱 🤯

And this my friend is where the cost/benefit of multiple streaming services completely falls to pieces.

With the cost of living steadily increasing, it’s not enough for a service like Netflix to simply exist for the convenience of instant viewing—especially with price rises that add no real additional benefits to the service than its continued existence.

While I’ve had wonderful experiences watching the content provided by Netflix over the years, it’s now become both the highest cost and my least used online streaming services.

Netflix simply has to go.