25 Cheapest Streaming Services in the UK

uk-tv › cheapest streaming services • August 13, 2024 • Staff

The cheapest streaming services are the ones that come free. That could be services like My5 and Channel 4, which depend on ads to stream free content. The BBC iPlayer counts as well if you already have a TV licence on hand. Now, if you're already subscribed to these, the next cheapest options are those that don't go beyond the £10 monthly price point. That would mean a lot of on-demand streaming services like Britbox (£5.99) and Apple TV+ (£6.99) as well as affordable live TV streamers like Discovery+ (£3.99) and Now (£9.99 for the entertainment pass).

Below is a full list of the cheapest streaming services in the UK, as well as relevant details about each one of them.

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Eurosport

Home to various international sporting events, including the Olympic Games in some areas, Eurosport is one of the premier sports networks in the UK. Its coverage is vast and includes the Grand Slam tennis tournaments, as well as snooker, cycling, and motorsports competitions.

For cord-cutters, Eurosport is available as an add-on to Discovery Plus, Amazon Prime Video, BT Sports, Sky Sports, and Virgin Media. If your streaming device is already linked to either of these platforms, then Eurosport comes as a convenient option for you. Across platforms, the price is a consistent £6.99/month, but yearly costs may vary and reach up to £59.99/year. It's worth checking out if you're a sports fanatic who can't get enough of the games.

DocuBay

Based in Mumbai, DocuBay is an on-demand streaming service that features documentaries from around the world. Like Mubi, it spotlights a different film each day to save you the trouble of endless scrolling. The films span multiple genres, from health and wellness to news and politics, and some of them are actually free to watch. But most titles are locked and available via a subscription.

The plans start at £3.99/month, but they don't automatically renew so you can test it first within the allotted time to see whether it's for you. If you're not too keen on adding yet another streaming service to your lineup, you can purchase DocuBay as a channel add-on to your existing Amazon Prime membership.

docsville

Docsville is a great resource for global documentaries. Founded in London, it's an on-demand streaming service set up by former BBC executives who wanted to bring together eye-opening stories from around the world.

What sets Docsville apart is it gives a special emphasis on up-and-coming filmmakers, so in addition to learning from their content, you get to support emerging storytellers as well.

Docsville is accessible via multiple streaming devices and it costs £3.99/month or £39.99/ year after a seven-day free trial. It's also available as an Amazon Prime add-on for the same price.

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DocAlliance Films

DocAlliance Films is a streaming service that works together with film festivals around Europe to bring together remarkable movies in one place. Along with traditional documentaries (its forte), DocAlliance mainly features festival hits, indie darlings, and arthouse films.

What's interesting about the platform is that you don't need to subscribe to access it. You can rent or download some of its titles for a one-time fee ranging from £1.50 for shorts to £4.00 for full-length features. A limited number of films are also free to watch.

But if you decide you want to make the most out of DocAlliance's selective and curated lineup, then you can subscribe and pay £6.99/month or £60/year. This gives you access to more than 2,000 films, constant discounts, and download privileges. If you're looking to go beyond mainstream cinema and engage in thoughtful narratives, then DocAlliance is certainly worth considering.

Disney Plus

When it comes to content, Disney is pretty hard to beat. As the media parent of American studios like Marvel, Lucasfilm, 20th Century, and Searchlight Pictures, it’s home to everything from intimate sitcoms to major blockbusters. British TV aficionados will also be glad to know that the best properties from Hulu (that exclusively American streaming service) can also be found here. That’s right, on this side of the pond, titles like The Dropout, Atlanta, and Abbott Elementary belong to the House of Mouse.

For all this, Disney+ charges £7.99/month or £79.90/year. Given this wealth of content, plus the option to watch offline, stream on four screens at once, and set up parental controls, it seems like a worthy service to add to your streaming lineup.

Discovery Plus

Discovery Plus is a streaming service that offers a mix of on-demand content and live TV channels. With its reserve of documentaries, educational programs, reality shows, and competitive games, as well as its lineup of channels like TLC, Quest, and Animal Planet, it's the go-to streaming service for non-fiction aficionados.

Discovery Plus has a free tier that gives users access to some of its channels (namely Quest, Quest Red, Really, HGTV, Food Network, and DMAX), but if you're after the true-blue Discovery Plus experience, then you might want to look at its Entertainment pass, which costs £3.99/month, and its Entertainment & Sports Pass, which costs £ 6.99/month. Apart from having more channels on your lineup (including Eurosport 1 and 2 on the Sports Pass) you also get access to Discovery Plus originals with these paid subscriptions.

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Dekkoo

There's no shortage of queer-centric streaming services out there, but Dekkoo stands out by centering exclusively on gay men. Boasting the largest collection of gay content online, Dekkoo is a subscription-based streaming service that carries hundreds of queer films, TV shows, and documentaries, a number of which happen to be Dekkoo originals. Most of these titles are American, but there are some sourced from different parts of the world. Along with its international collection, Dekkoo has other curated lists that span all sorts of genres and formats.

Dekkoo is available on most streaming devices, and plans start at £7.28/month or £61.09/year.f

CuriosityStream

True to its name, CuriosityStream is an on-demand streaming service made for curious viewers with a thirst for knowledge. It has thousands of documentaries about science, nature, history, and the arts, many of which are originals on the platform.

If you already have an Amazon Prime Video subscription, CuriosityStream is available as an add-on channel for £2.79/month. You can also subscribe to it as a standalone, although do note that it charges USD on your card. A standalone subscription costs $2.99 (more or less £2.50) a month for HD streaming or $9.99 (more or less £8.30) a month for 4k viewing. CuriosityStream accepts Mastercard, Visa, Discover, and American Express debit and credit cards.

Crunchyroll

Ever since it merged with its closest competitor, Funimation, Crunchyroll has been the ultimate streaming service for anime fans. It has over a thousand shows, many episodes of which are available to stream just an hour after they’re released in Japan, as well as a manga collection and an apparel store you can browse through. Oh, and bonus, all of its subscription plans offer HD viewing.

Crunchyroll has two main tiers, both of which offer a 14-day trial: £4.99/month and £5.99/month. The main difference between the two is that the latter plan allows you to stream on four devices, not just one, and gives you access to offline viewing. If you're a "mega-fan," as the streamer puts it, you can also choose to pay £59.99/year, which essentially shaves 16% off the monthly £5.99 payment.

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Channel 4

Previously known as All 4, Channel 4 is the official streaming service of the TV channel it names. Here you'll find everything the channel offers, including local gems that have skyrocketed to international fame like Derry Girls and Skins as well as Hollywood hits like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and 10 Cloverfield Lane.

You can watch all these either for free (with ads) or for a fee (without ads). The premium, ad-free subscription starts at £3.99, but if you're not so sure yet about subscribing, you can test the platform with a 14-day free trial. Channel 4 is also available on most devices, including PC, TVs, and smartphones.

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Eurosport

DocuBay

docsville

DocAlliance Films

Disney Plus

Discovery Plus

Dekkoo

CuriosityStream

Crunchyroll

Channel 4

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