Swedes are spending record amounts on streaming – here's how to cut the cost

Streaming has gone from a cheap complement to the TV into one of the fastest-growing items in the household budget. According to the analysis firm Mediavision, Sweden passed 11 million paid streaming subscriptions in the first quarter of 2026 – a record, and almost 2 million more than at the same time the year before. At the same time, their figures show that Swedish households spend an average of over 500 kronor a month on video and streaming, a cost that keeps rising.

It doesn't have to be that way. In this guide we work out what streaming actually costs a typical household, explain why the bill has grown – and go through five concrete ways to cut it without giving up the content you want to watch. Want to go straight to the prices? You can compare streaming services at Wipick.

What streaming costs a typical household

It's easy to underestimate what you actually pay, because the cost is spread across several small monthly amounts. Here's an example for a household with five common services:

That's over 9,500 kronor a year – on a par with what many households pay for their broadband. And the example isn't extreme: Mediavision's statistics show that Swedish households hold several subscriptions at once, and for families with sport in the mix the monthly cost can pass a thousand kronor.

The prices above are examples and change continuously – always check current prices with each service.

Why the costs keep rising

Three forces are pushing in the same direction.

More services with exclusive content. A service or two used to go a long way. Today almost every major film studio has its own platform – Netflix, Disney+, Max, TV4 Play, Viaplay, Prime Video, Apple TV+ – and many series and films are only available on one of them. If you want to see everything, you need several subscriptions.

Higher prices. Almost all the major services have raised prices several times in recent years. At the same time, the range of subscription types has grown – ad-funded plans, premium tiers, different picture qualities – making it harder to see which option is actually the best value.

More subscriptions per household. Many households have one service for films, one for sport, one for the children and one for Swedish content. Individually they feel cheap; together they become one of the month's bigger expenses.

An interesting counter-trend in Mediavision's figures: over 4 million subscriptions were cancelled in the past year. Many Swedes, in other words, have already discovered the most effective savings trick – not keeping everything all the time.

Five ways to cut your streaming costs

1. Cancel services you don't use. Go through your bank account or subscription list. Many people find subscriptions they'd forgotten about – services signed up for a single series that have kept rolling for months. It's the easiest money you'll save this year.

2. Rotate your subscriptions. You don't need all the services at once. Finish what you want to watch on one service, cancel it and switch to the next one the following month. Almost all services are contract-free, so all it costs is a few minutes of admin. If you'd rather skip the switching itself, there are packages built on exactly that flexibility – such as Allente Stream Flex 2, where you pick two services and switch freely every month, which we cover in our comparison of the streaming packages.

3. Choose ad-funded plans. The ad-funded tiers are today the fastest-growing subscription type in Sweden according to Mediavision – for a simple reason: they cost considerably less. If the ads don't bother you, you can save several hundred kronor a year per service.

4. Share family plans where the rules allow. Several services offer family or household plans where the cost per person is clearly lower. Always check each service's terms – the rules on sharing outside the household have been tightened by several providers.

5. Bundle streaming with your operator. Signing up for streaming via your mobile or broadband operator is the fastest-growing route to streaming in Sweden – that type of package grew by 25 per cent in the spring alone, according to Mediavision. In some cases the total cost is lower than buying the services separately, but not always: we go through when it pays off and when it doesn't in our guide on bundling broadband, mobile and streaming with the same operator.

Is a package with broadband and streaming cheaper?

It depends – and the answer is in the maths, not the marketing. With several operators, services like Netflix, Max, Disney+ or TV4 Play are included in TV and broadband packages, or offered at a discount. For households that need broadband or a mobile plan anyway, the package can well be cheaper than signing up for each service separately – especially if the package contains exactly the services you actually use.

The trap is paying for a big package where half the content never gets used. So always count backwards: what do the services you genuinely watch cost separately, and what does the package cost? If the package wins on the total, it's a good buy. If it doesn't, cherry-pick yourself.

How to compare streaming services

When you compare streaming, price is only one of the factors. Also look at which films and series are actually included (the catalogues differ more than many think), how many devices can be used at once, the picture quality (HD or 4K), the option to download content for offline viewing, and the contract and cancellation terms.

Start from what your household watches today – sport, films and series, or children's content – rather than what you think you ought to watch. At Wipick you can compare streaming services and TV packages side by side, and among our current favourites under Wipick best right now we've picked out the strongest packages for sport, films and families.

Frequently asked questions

How much does streaming cost per month?

A household with five common services pays around 800 kronor a month, or over 9,500 kronor a year. According to Mediavision, Swedish households spend an average of over 500 kronor a month on video and streaming in total – a figure that has risen with price increases and more subscriptions per household.

Why has streaming become so expensive?

Three reasons: more services with exclusive content that require their own subscriptions, repeated price rises at almost all the major providers, and households signing up for more subscriptions in parallel. Sweden passed 11 million paid streaming subscriptions in the first quarter of 2026 – a record.

What's the easiest way to cut streaming costs?

Cancel services you don't actively use and rotate the rest – finish one service, switch to the next. Since the services are contract-free, switching costs nothing, and you can halve the monthly cost without missing the content you actually want to see.

Are ad-funded plans worth it?

For many, yes. The ad-funded tiers cost considerably less and are today the fastest-growing subscription type in Sweden. If the ads don't bother you, it's one of the simplest savings there is.

Does it pay to get streaming via your operator?

Sometimes. Packages where streaming is included in a broadband or mobile plan can be cheaper than separate services – but only if the package contains what you actually watch. Always compare the total cost against the best separate alternatives before you choose.

More questions and answers can be found in our main FAQ. Want to see what your household could save? You can compare streaming services now.