Have you cut the cord recently?
By this point in 2026, it feels like most Americans have either already cut the cord from the cable company or at least seriously considered it at one point or another.
And during that process, we’ve all faced a similar set of questions before taking the leap:
Which streaming services are best?
Are they really a cost-effective cable replacement?
Which ones will allow me access to my favorite TV shows, movies or sports?
Those of you who are full-time streamers or have been shopping around to ditch cable likely know that live TV streaming services, such as YouTube TV and Fubo, are not much cheaper than a standard cable TV subscription anymore.
So many people cutting the cord for financial reasons opt for video streaming services (VOD) as their cable replacements. This category is a blend of on-demand and live content for much cheaper monthly subscriptions. It features many names you’ve heard of, like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+.
But which ones can you rely on to both save you money and entertain you enough to stay away from cable/live TV streaming? In this article, we’ll take a look at the subscription choices of 2026 cord cutters.
Study Reveals Which Streaming Services New Cord Cutters Prefer
A new study from Antenna has measured where recent cord cutters are shopping first for their video streaming needs.
According to the research: “Within a month of canceling pay TV, 31% of Cord Cutters sign-up for a new streaming service.”
But where are recent cord-cutters taking their business? Antenna’s latest data for Quarter 1 of 2026 (January-March) reveals some interesting names for those subscription choices:
If you’re like me, you’re probably surprised to see Paramount+ at the top of this list. Perhaps that’s because it’s included at no extra cost with a Walmart+ subscription. Another driving factor may be Paramount’s recent acquisition of UFC Fight Night streaming rights.
If you tally up the different tiers of streaming services, Netflix is actually the most-used VOD service among recent cord-cutters. That makes sense, as it is inarguably the most popular streaming service in this category.
Another thing I found surprising was the absence of HBO Max or Amazon’s Prime Video on this list. These two high-end VOD streamers offer popular original series and also include exclusive live sports in their subscriptions.
Team Clark Reminder: Don’t Forget About Free Streaming TV!
If you’re new to the cord-cutting game, or even cutting out your expensive live TV streaming service, we want to make sure you know there are some FREE options worth checking out.
Money expert Clark Howard recommends that you first check out the options available to you over-the-air via antenna.
This may sound like an “old-school” move, but it can give you free access to high-definition broadcasts of your local ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, and PBS affiliates, with a surprising menu of additional channels available in select markets. And you’ll never owe a monthly subscription fee to access them this way.
Once you have that in place, you can supplement it with a large menu of free streaming TV services!
This is another Clark-approved way to save money on in-home entertainment. We’ve spent a significant amount of time vetting these services for legitimacy and testing them for you.
Some of my top recommendations for getting started in the free streaming space are:
Tubi TV
Pluto TV
The Roku Channel
Xumo Play
What was your go-to streaming service when you first cut the cord? Would you make the same choice now? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the Clark.com community.
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