• 3 in 5 Brits (58%) pay for the ad-free version of at least one streaming platform, equivalent to 31.2 million people
• Someone paying to skip adverts on the UK’s 4 biggest streaming platforms would shell out £312 per year
• Brits are spending around £3 million per month for each minute of ads skipped on 4 major streaming services
• Netflix is the most popular option, with Brits spending almost £150 million extra each month for the ad-free version

27 May, 2025, LONDON –

Brits are forking out more than £4.8 billion a year – £439 million every month – to avoid watching or listening to adverts on 5 of the UK’s most popular streaming platforms*, according to new research by the finance comparison site Finder.

The research reveals that almost 3 in 5 (58%) UK adults – 31.2 million people – are paying for an ad-free version of at least one streaming service. Of these, Netflix is the most popular, with around 2 in 5 Brits (39%) paying a premium price for no adverts.

Overall, the UK spends an estimated £3 million a month for each minute of ads they avoid on the 4 most popular streamers – Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+ and Spotify.

If someone were to avoid adverts on all of these platforms, they would be paying £312 per year, or £26 per month.

While some of the streaming platforms include additional benefits with the more expensive subscriptions, skipping adverts is the major selling point for all of them.

Brits are spending almost £150 million extra each month on ad-free Netflix

Netflix charges an extra £7 a month for their ad-free plan. Around 21 million Brits (39%) are subscribed, meaning the country spends an estimated £150 million each month to access this premium service.

Amazon Prime’s ad-free upgrade costs £2.99 per month, with approximately 13.5 million subscribers opting in, for a total monthly spend of £40.5 million.

Meanwhile, Disney+ users are spending around £44.8 million per month, with an estimated 11.2 million Brits spending £4 extra each for ad-free.

Spotify Premium costs £11.99 per month, whereas the basic version is free. With an estimated 10.6 million UK subscribers, Brits are spending £127.7 million monthly to skip ads interrupting their music streaming.

However, ad-tier streaming use is on the rise

While an uninterrupted service is important to a lot of Brits, more people are embracing ad-supported tiers to try and cut costs. The number of households on Netflix’s ad-tier increased by 24% between September and December 2024, rising from 3.8 million to 4.7 million.

The number of households on the Disney+ ad-supported tier has increased at a similar pace, up 25% from 1.5 million to 1.2 million between September and December 2024.

Louise Bastock, personal finance expert at Finder, commented:

“We all love a bit of binge-watching without interruption, but the UK spending over £400 million a month to skip ads is pretty wild! Streaming subscriptions can really add up, especially when you’re paying extra for the premium versions across multiple platforms.

“If you’re looking to save a bit, it’s worth taking five minutes to review what you’re actually using. Could you drop down to the ad-supported version for the services you only dip into now and then? Or even swap between streaming services every few months? Budgeting apps like Emma can also help flag where you’re duplicating or overspending on your subscription services.

“Keep an eye out for instances where you can get your TV streaming subscription as part of another service or product – for example, you can get 12 months of Disney+ with a Club Lloyd’s current account (account fees may apply). Free trials, student discounts or shared family plans can make a big difference, too. A quick subscription spring clean could leave you with more money in your pocket and maybe a few less hours lost to TV!”

Methodology:

*The 5 most popular ad-free streaming platforms in our survey (that also had a version with ads) were Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Spotify and YouTube Premium.

Finder commissioned Censuswide to carry out a nationally representative survey of adults aged 18+. A total of 2,000 people were questioned throughout Great Britain between 4 April and 7 April 2025, with representative quotas for gender, age and region.

For the ‘£3 million a month for each minute of ads’ figure, we calculated the price per minute of ads skipped based on the average monthly view time for each streaming platform, which was included in the Censuswide survey. It was not possible to calculate this for YouTube Premium.

The data on the number of people on Netflix and Disney+ ad tiers is taken from Barb subscriptions data.