8 Subscription Services That Are the Best Deal in 2023
Subscription services are profitable for businesses and cost-effective for individual users. The bottom line is always that you get more for your money. After all, paying a few books to access thousands of books, games, and TV shows sounds like a pretty sweet deal. After all, just try to calculate how much something like this would cost in the pre-subscription service era.
Nonetheless, just because something is a subscription service, this doesn’t automatically make it worth your time and money. With that in mind, here are eight subscription services that are definitely worth it.
Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime costs $139 per year, but for this, you get free one-day and two-hour grocery deliveries. You also get access to Prime Video, where you can watch exclusive content like Slender Man or The Boys. Amazon Kids+ will ensure that the youngest members of your household never get bored, and Amazon Music Unlimited gives you a whole new way to enjoy music.
You also get exclusive deals during shopping events. Generally speaking, a chance to get numerous shopping discounts is the most important reason to get Amazon Prime. You can save money on prescriptions by getting a RxPass and most of your meds for just $5 per month.
So, you get access to top-notch digital entertainment and a chance to save money on groceries; what more could you ask for? Thousands of books, games, videos? You have that as well!
Netflix
Blockbuster had a chance to buy Netflix at a bargain price earlier in this century and missed an opportunity to do so, which is today one of the biggest business world blunders. Soon, Netflix took the world by storm, and many people realized that paying for a few bucks is a simpler way to enjoy content than pirating it.
However, Netflix has seen better days. With so many platforms, the show you may want to watch might be someone else’s exclusive content. Also, there are so many geo-restrictions you’ll have to deal with to access all the content, even just on this network. Still, with a VPN app which unblocks Netflix, you can overcome this obstacle in the simplest way possible.
Walmart+
Even people who bulk-buy groceries sometimes underestimate their costs. This is mostly because some of these groceries are perishable, and buying them up-front makes no sense. In other words, saving money on groceries can revolutionize your household budget. Member prices will make some of these groceries a lot cheaper.
Not only that, but with a Walmart+ subscription, you can also save up to ten cents per gallon at Walmart and Murphy gas stations. This is a massive saving over the year, especially for someone who commutes to work or spends a lot of time behind the wheel.
You can also access free delivery options for some items and same-day delivery for others. This is great when you remember you need something at the last minute.
Lastly, the Mobile Scan & Go feature is so handy and helps you pay with your phone, making the checking out process more convenient than ever.
EA Play
The equation behind this is simple:
- Go to EA Play and look at the games you want.
- Then, open Google Sheets, go to Steam/GOG/Epic, and try to insert the price of each of these games into the table.
- Finally, calculate the costs of all these games and divide the number by the EA Play monthly subscription cost.
This is how many months it would take you to pay off all the games if you decided to buy them directly, and with EA Play, you can get access to them immediately.
Aside from this, there are numerous member rewards game trials, and you get a discount on the games you play (on platforms like Steam). This means you can try out the game, and if it gets off the EA Play’s list later, you can buy it at a lower price. Both economical and convenient.
Audible
Listening to audiobooks is incredible. You get to “read” while doing other things like driving around, doing household chores, or even working. If you’re handling data entry or responding to emails, you can focus on the book while still performing the task.
Remember that while Audible allows you to keep a title in your library and listen to it until you return it, Audible Plus offers a standard streaming service experience. This means you get to listen to as many books as possible. The difference in cost is significant, but even the more expensive variant is just $14.95, which is minuscule for someone passionate about reading.
Remember that there are roughly 200,000 audiobooks on Audible, meaning you get hours upon hours of content.
Lastly, if you use your credits to purchase books, you still get to keep them even after you cancel your subscription.
Scribd
Scribd is another great digital library, with a slight difference in that its book selection in a digital format is almost as great as its collection of audiobooks. Other than this, on Scribd, you can find a lot of e-books, magazines, news, podcasts, and much more.
It’s also worth mentioning that Scribd is cheaper than Audible Plus at just $9,99 monthly. There are no upsells, credit systems, or anything similar. One more thing to keep in mind is that the majority of users of both Scribd and Audible agree that the former has a far superior recommendation algorithm.
Sure, not all books are available on Scribd, but you must work hard to find one that isn’t.
It’s also worth mentioning that the platform is completely DMCA compliant, which means it’s safe to register. Since you have to pay, this means sharing financial information with the platform; fortunately, this shouldn’t be a problem.
MasterClass
Microlearning is huge in the modern world, but one of the things you need to understand is that not all of this educational content is available for free. This is especially the case when it comes to lectures from people in positions of authority like Anna Wintour or Gordon Ramsay.
The membership of $10 per month is billed annually ($120 in total), but it includes access to the full library of classes and sessions. In other words, it’s well worth it, and it’s highly unlikely that you would find its equivalent.
The production level and the quality of content are designed so carefully that there’s no room in anyone’s mind if paying for this premium service is worth it. After just a minute of learning on MasterClass, you’ll no longer have any doubt if it’s worth it.
Noom
Getting in shape requires a lot of willpower, but what if you had some help? With Noom, you can take a psychology-based approach to dieting and losing weight. This platform acknowledges all the stages you’re going through in your transformation process and provides what you need. In other words, it’s a cheat code for getting in shape.
Now, you can either get a monthly auto-renewal plan, which is $70 per month, or an annual auto-renewing plan, which is $209 per year. In other words, a long-term commitment is far more cost-effective. Also, if you compare the cost of either of these plans to that of a personal trainer or a custom-made diet, the numbers will be in your favor.
Subscriptions are a cost-effective way for you to access invaluable services.
In the end, it all comes down to your personal preferences. Just think about it; sure, Audible is worth it for someone who reads audiobooks, but what if this is something that you never do? What if you don’t want a fitness app or have no interest in online courses? In other words, you must rank the usefulness and usability of these platforms to your own needs and preferences.
