FinanceCalcs
Cable & Cord-Cutting Calculator
The average cable TV bill is $120–$180/month — often $1,500–$2,000+ per year. Build your ideal streaming replacement bundle and see exactly how much you’d save by cutting the cord, including what that money could grow to if invested.
Cable bills creep up by $10–$20/year. Most people don’t notice until they add it up.
Cable & Cord-Cutting Calculator
$0/mo cable | $0/mo streaming
Annual Savings: $0
- Cumul. Savings (invested)
- Cable Cost
Cost Comparison
| Item | Cable | Streaming |
|---|
Streaming Bundle Detail
| Service | Plan | $/mo | Annual |
|---|
Year-by-Year Savings (with price increases)
| Year | Cable Cost | Streaming Cost | Annual Savings | Cumul. Invested |
|---|
"The cable company adds $10 to your bill every year and hopes you don’t notice. After 10 years, you’re paying $100/month more than when you started."
— Consumer Finance Awareness
The cord-cutting math
The average US cable TV bill has risen from about $50/month in 2000 to $120–$180/month today, growing at roughly 5–8% per year — far above general inflation. Most cable subscribers who add up their complete bill (base TV, equipment fees, sports tiers, premium channels, taxes) are surprised to find they’re paying more than they thought.
Streaming services have disrupted this economics dramatically. A well-chosen streaming bundle — Netflix, one live TV service for sports and news, and perhaps one or two others — can replicate most cable content at $60–$90/month. The caveat: streaming prices have also risen significantly in recent years, with Netflix alone going from $8 to $15–$23/month. The gap has narrowed, but for most households cutting the cord still saves $500–$1,000/year.
The year-by-year projection matters because cable prices inflate faster than streaming. A $60/month gap today becomes a $98/month gap in 10 years if cable rises 5% annually and streaming rises 3%. The compounding asymmetry favors streaming increasingly over time.
lightbulb Popular Streaming Replacements
| Service | Price/mo | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Netflix (Standard) | $15 | Movies, originals, TV |
| Disney+ Bundle | $14 | Disney, ESPN, Hulu |
| YouTube TV | $73 | Live TV, sports, local channels |
| Hulu (on-demand) | $8 | Next-day TV, movies |
| Apple TV+ | $10 | Apple originals |
| Max (HBO Max) | $16 | HBO, movies, originals |
| Typical bundle | $60–$100 | Replaces most cable |
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