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Prime Video will incorporate ads at the end of this month—here's how to stay ad-free

What streaming services are ad-free anymore?

An image containing lead images for sixteen Prime Video series, including 'Reacher,' 'Red, White, and Royal Blue,' 'Creed III,' 'Rings of Power,' Wheel of Time,' and more. Credit: Prime Video

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Prime Video subscribers and Amazon Prime users have likely realized by now that a new year offers new changes... and not the fun kind. Late in December, Amazon sent users an email that explained the upcoming addition of advertisements to Prime Video movies and TV series, to be deployed on January 29, 2023.

The move to ad-enabled streaming isn't particularly surprising, given the uptick in ad-enabled plans across the streaming space. If you prefer your viewings of "Wheel of Time" or "Reacher" ad-free, however, you'll have to pay a little extra under the new Prime Video subscription model. We've broken down what the change means for Prime Video subscribers, including what you'll pay to avoid ads, and what services are still ad-free.

How much does Amazon Prime Video cost?

Amazon Prime Video typically costs $8.99 per month, or $107.88 per year. If you pay for Amazon Prime, and access Prime Video that way, you'll be paying $14.99 per month, or $139 annually.

What does the change mean for your Prime Video subscription?

The upcoming change means that the basic tier of Prime Video will be ad-enabled as of January 29. Those who want to watch Prime Video without ads will have the option to pay $2.99 extra each month to avoid them, on top of the monthly Prime Video cost of $8.99. Amazon claims that the ads will be few and far between, incorporating "meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers."

Pre-order Prime Video without ads

It's unclear currently if Prime Video Channels, which can be added on to a Prime Video subscription for an extra fee, will have ads enabled as part of the change. If you subscribe to Prime Video as part of your Amazon Prime membership, you'll still have to pay the additional fee to get ad-free streaming, meaning you'll pay $17.98 per month. If you just subscribe to Prime Video, you'll have to pay $11.98 per month to stream without ads.

Amazon has already been dipping its toe into the ad-enabled streaming space with the advent of Freevee, an arm of Amazon.com that allows viewers to watch a selection of series and films with ads, without having to subscribe to Amazon Prime or Prime Video. Freevee had a breakout hit last year in "Jury Duty."

What streaming services are still ad-free?

The lineup of ad-free streaming services has been steadily dwindling for several years now. Seeming holdouts like Disney+ and Netflix now have ad-enabled tiers as the cheapest option available to subscribers, with more joining the ad-enabled ranks by the day. If you're looking for ad-free streaming, you'll only find a few real options in the space, and some of those will even sneakily incorporate ads from time to time, depending on what you're watching.

Dropout

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Dropout

Dropout is an independent streaming service and is one of the remaining ad-free services available to viewers.

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Dropout is an independent streaming service from the former staff of CollegeHumor. The streaming service costs just $4.99 per month, and while it only features Dropout's array of comedy series, actual play series, and more, it's also one of just a few popular streaming services that don't have ads. The service is paving the way for independent streaming, and aside from being entirely worth the cost, is definitely one to watch as other services homogenize.

Starz

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Starz

You can still sign up to watch Starz content without ads under the service's traditional subscription model.

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If you sign up for a standalone Starz subscription through the Starz website, you'll be able to stream Starz shows and series without ads. Starz is home to series like "Outlander," "Power," and more, and can be accessed for $9.99 per month.

Paramount+ with Showtime

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Paramount+ with Showtime

Paramount+ with Showtime isn't technically ad-free, but it has a lower volume of ads than other services.

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Paramount+ with Showtime has what we would describe as "semi-ad-free streaming." Per an FAQ on Paramount+, you'll only find ads ahead of a small number of shows, including "NCIS" and "Madam Secretary," when you pay the standard subscription cost of $11.99 per month.

You'll also see ads for Paramount+ series ahead of your daily viewing (though the website recommends informing them if the frequency is higher than once per day). Compared to other services' ad-enabled tiers, though, the service is relatively ad-free.

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