Cable TV costs the average American household between $80 and $120 per month. Most households that cut the cord save between $600 and $1,200 per year while gaining access to better content, more flexible viewing, and no long-term contracts. This guide walks you through exactly how to do it in 2026 — what to cancel, what to replace it with, and how to make sure you do not miss anything.
Cord cutting works extremely well for households whose TV viewing falls into three categories: on-demand scripted TV, movies, and sports that air on national networks. It works less well for households that watch a lot of local news, regional sports networks, or niche cable channels that have not yet launched streaming equivalents.
Before cutting the cord, spend one week noting what you actually watch and where it airs. If your viewing is primarily Netflix-style content — prestige dramas, comedies, movies, reality TV — you can cut the cord today and not miss a thing. If you are a passionate fan of a regional sports team that airs games on a local sports network, you have a harder problem to solve.
💡 The average cord cutter saves $85/month. Over five years, that is over $5,000 returned to your pocket.
Streaming replaces cable but it runs entirely over your internet connection. Before cutting the cord, make sure your home internet is fast enough to handle the load. Netflix recommends 25 Mbps for HD streaming per device. If you have multiple people streaming simultaneously in different rooms, you want at least 100 Mbps, and ideally 200 Mbps or more.
Most cable companies will try to bundle your internet with cable TV and suggest you need both together. You do not. Internet-only plans exist from every major provider. Call and ask specifically for an internet-only rate — it is almost always cheaper than the bundle once promotional pricing expires.
✅ Tip: When you cancel cable but keep internet, tell your provider you are considering switching to a competitor. They will often offer a retention discount on your internet plan.
This is the most overlooked step in cord cutting and it is completely free. An over-the-air antenna plugged into your TV receives local ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, and PBS broadcasts in high definition at no cost. These are the same channels that cost you money through cable — with an antenna, they are free forever.
A basic indoor antenna costs between $20 and $40 and takes five minutes to set up. In most metropolitan areas, you can receive 20-40 channels. This covers local news, NFL games on CBS and Fox, ABC and NBC programming, and major live events like the Super Bowl and Oscars.
If you live in a rural area with poor antenna reception, a Hulu + Live TV or YouTube TV subscription can replace local channels, though at a cost.
Most cord cutters end up subscribing to two or three streaming services, spending significantly less than their old cable bill. Here is a practical approach to building your streaming stack:
💡 Strategy: Subscribe to one or two services at a time. Binge what you want, then swap to a different service. You do not need all of them simultaneously.
Sports is the hardest part of cord cutting and the main reason some households keep cable. Here is how each major sport can be watched without cable in 2026:
NFL games are spread across multiple platforms. Sunday afternoon games air on CBS (Paramount+) and Fox (free with antenna). Sunday Night Football is on NBC and streams on Peacock. Monday Night Football is on ESPN and requires either a cable login or Hulu + Live TV. Thursday Night Football is exclusively on Prime Video. Playoffs and the Super Bowl rotate between CBS, Fox, and NBC — all receivable free with an antenna.
NBA games air on ABC (free antenna), ESPN (Hulu + Live TV or cable), and TNT/Max. The NBA League Pass streaming service offers out-of-market games if you follow a team not in your local market.
Friday Night Baseball is exclusively on Apple TV+. Peacock carries select Saturday games. Local games are the trickiest — regional sports network rights have been messy since Bally Sports went bankrupt. Check your team specifically.
Premier League is on Peacock. MLS is exclusively on Apple TV+ via the MLS Season Pass. Champions League and Europa League are on Paramount+.
If your TV is not a smart TV — or if your smart TV's built-in apps are slow — a streaming device makes a significant quality of life difference. The main options in 2026 are the Amazon Fire TV Stick (typically under $30), the Roku Streaming Stick (similar price), Apple TV 4K (premium option for Apple households), and Google Chromecast with Google TV. All of these give you a fast, unified interface for all your streaming apps.
Modern smart TVs from Samsung, LG, and Sony come with excellent built-in streaming platforms that do not require a separate device. If you have a TV purchased in 2020 or later, you likely do not need an additional device.
A typical cable TV bill in 2026 runs between $80 and $120 per month, often bundled with internet at a promotional rate that increases after 12 months. A well-constructed streaming stack — Netflix, Hulu, and one additional service — costs approximately $35-45 per month at ad-supported tier prices, or $55-65 per month for ad-free plans.
After accounting for internet costs (which you pay regardless), most cord cutters save between $40 and $80 per month — between $480 and $960 per year. Over five years, that is a substantial amount of money for content that is, by most measures, better than what cable offered.