Americans are now spending $3,350 annually on internet, TV, streaming and mobile bills, according to Reviews.org‘s 2025 State of Consumer Media Spending Report.
Overall consumer spending rose 2% from last year, driven largely by surging streaming TV subscriptions. Streaming bills jumped 22% while traditional TV costs climbed 13.7%, adding hundreds of dollars to household budgets.
Internet costs have fallen slightly, however most consumers are over-spending on mobile, the report also shows.
To read more, check out the full report: https://www.reviews.org/internet-service/cost-of-internet-streaming-and-cell-phone-bills/
Streaming costs soar
According to the study, the average American is on track to spend $200,980 on internet, mobile, TV and streaming bills over a lifetime, with monthly spending rising 2% from last year to $279.14, and now totalling $3,350 annually. This was driven by traditional TV costs surging 13.7% year-over-year, while streaming costs jumped a massive 22%.
American consumers now subscribe to an average of three streaming platforms – up from two in 2024 – with total streaming spending reaching $51/month or $620/year.
The report points out that It’s hardly a surprise that TV services take up a large share of household media budgets, since streaming platforms implement annual price hikes and push subscribers toward premium tiers or bundled services.
CableTV.com reports the following price increases across popular streaming platforms:
Netflix raised the price of all three of its remaining subscription plans in January 2025. The Premium plan increased from $22.99 to $24.99 per month, and the Standard plan (the cheapest ad-free option) rose from $15.49 to $17.99 per month. Netflix also discontinued its cheapest ad-free Basic option.
ESPN introduced a new high-cost streaming tier, ESPN Unlimited, priced at $29.99 per month. This includes access to ESPN cable channels.
In 2024, Hulu’s ad-supported plan increased from $7.99 to $9.99 per month. Its ad-free plan went up from $17.99 to $18.99 per month.
Internet costs flatten
According to the study, in 2025, the average cost of an internet plan is $68 per month. In a year, this adds up to $820, and $49,218 in a 60-year lifetime. Compared to 2024, the cost dropped by 1.6%.
Internet access continues to grow. The average household has 4.3 people with 4.35 devices connected to home internet—nearly a 1:1 device-to-person ratio. In addition, the number of connected households in the US grew by 1.2% in the latest American Community Survey.
Despite the overall increase in access, ISPs have limited availability as they only offer services in areas they have broadband infrastructure. This may result in households signing up for one of the few providers available in the area, instead of a provider that offers the greatest value or the most reliable service.
Mobile phone over-spend
The report also suggests that US consumers are overspending nearly 40% on mobile plans by choosing “Big 3” carriers (T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon) over more affordable MVNOs.
Switching from a Big Three carrier to an MVNO carrier saves the average consumer $17 per month, $199 per year, or nearly $11,918 over a lifetime. MVNO stands for Mobile Virtual Network Operator, and is a type of carrier that leases network infrastructure from a major carrier. Since MVNOs don’t have the same operating costs, they resell services at a more affordable price.
Overall, the average cost of a cell phone plan from all carriers (Big Three and MVNO carriers) is $44 monthly, $523 in a year, and $31,383 in a lifetime.
Big Three cell carriers maintain their elevated prices by offering unlimited data and extra travel or entertainment features. While unlimited data is often seen as the standard, most people don’t need it. According to our survey, Americans use 15GB of data per month. Only 13% of participants use more than 40GB per month. Some 11% of participants shared that they actually rely on Wi-Fi and don’t use data at all.
