In a fresh development, this doesn't affect our editorial independence. When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission.
The report highlights that after 17 uninterrupted years of Netflix membership, I just hit the cancellation button.
According to the latest update, even as we cycled through other services, Netflix was worth keeping because it usually had something we wanted to watch. Netflix was the main reason I was able to cut the cable TV cord way back in 2008, and since then it’s been our home’s streaming staple.
In a fresh development, while looking over my bills this week and seeing Netflix’s $22 monthly charge (that’s $19.99 plus tax), something snapped. I realized that the cost doesn’t make sense for how little I’ve been using the service lately, and at the very least it’s time to take a break. Or at least it used to.
Industry observers note that looking at our family’s watch history has been illuminating. Netflix has a Viewing Activity page on its website where you can see everything you watched in chronological order.
In a fresh development, my wife, who’s usually the bigger Netflix watcher, hasn’t committed to a Netflix show since the most recent Bridgerton season in March. She did start doing the mother-daughter Gilmore Girls thing in the spring, but then Netflix stopped licensing that show at the end of June. The last time I logged a full season of a Netflix show was at the beginning of 2026, when my family binge-watched the entirety of Stranger Things.
According to the latest update, it has more of the prestige TV vibe that Netflix once held (back when Netflix was trying to be HBO instead of cable), and while Apple TV’s Silo and Widow’s Bay have both come up in conversations with friends, I can’t recall the last time someone raved to me about a Netflix exclusive. (We’re pretty invested in Silo already). Lately I’ve gravitated toward Apple TV instead.
In a fresh development, netflix’s top 10 leans more heavily into the latter camp. It doesn’t hurt that Apple TV offers 4K video with Dolby Vision HDR at no additional cost. Netflix won’t stream in 4K without its $27 per month Premium tier, which is $7 more than the Standard ad-free plan. This is tricky to quantify, because everyone’s tastes and algorithms are different, but when I look at Apple’s top 10 shows right now, the mix of genres is more interesting to me, with lots of sci-fi and comedy alongside the requisite dramas and thrillers.
Industry observers note that instead of shuffling through Netflix’s catalog when I’m not sure what to watch, I’ll find some standup comedy clips, live music highlights, or baseball analysis. Meanwhile, I’ve found myself turning to YouTube to play the role of time killer.
As part of the ongoing story, that’s why YouTube is by far the most-watched streaming service on TVs in the United States. Netflix has been making deals with YouTubers in hopes of capturing some of this engagement, but it can’t replicate the breadth of short-form video that YouTube offers.
The report highlights that in the past, I always had reasons to stick with Netflix even if my own usage had temporarily waned.
In a fresh development, and Pokémon. They too have felt the allure of YouTube in recent months, but they’re also just more inclined to play platform releases on their iPads, either alone or with friends. They haven’t watched anything on Netflix by themselves since early June. The big one was my kids, who used to binge-watch shows like Is It Cake?
As part of the ongoing story, that hook went away a few years ago when Netflix waged war on password sharing and put up roadblocks to out-of-home viewing. Even if I paid the “Extra Member” fee, my parents wouldn’t each get to have their own profiles. They wound up just getting their own account, so they’re no longer factor into my subscription plans. I also used to share my Netflix password with my parents, and anytime I thought about cancelling, I realized that I’d be cutting them off too.
According to the latest update, while my Netflix subscription is set to cancel at the end of my next billing cycle, it probably won’t stay that way forever.
Industry observers note that either way, I’ll likely come crawling back for Netflix’s Christmas Day NFL coverage, if only on a temporary ad-supported plan. At some point my wife will open the app and protest, some hit show will lure us both in, or my son will get an inexplicable urge to watch Pokémon again.
In a fresh development, my guess is it’ll buy us at least a couple weeks, and if I replicate this experiment a few more times over the year, the savings will more than offset the last few rounds of Netflix price hikes. But for now, I’m letting the subscription lapse and seeing how long we can get away with it.
The report highlights that there are too many other options, all becoming increasingly expensive, with only finite time to watch what they’re offering. If Netflix is going to become a staple again, it’ll have to earn its place like any other streaming service. No matter what happens next, I’ve realized that Netflix’s place in our home is no longer untouchable.
The report highlights that sign up for Jared’s Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter for more streaming TV advice.
According to the latest update, his Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter has more than 30,000 subscribers, and his Advisorator tech advice newsletter is read by nearly 10,000 people each week. Jared has a master's degree in journalism from NYU and specializes in making complex tech topics easy to understand, from streaming and cord-cutting to neat apps and useful tech tricks. He is based in Cincinnati, OH. Jared has been a freelance technology journalist for more than 15 years and is a regular contributor to PCWorld, Fast Organization, and TechHive, where he's written a weekly cord-cutting column since 2014.