Shudder has an annual plan that results in a cheaper subscription than paying each month for 12 months. As long as the individual subscriber or household is sure that they want access to Shudder throughout the entire year, it is worth considering signing up for the yearly subscription.
Shudder is one of the streaming services that specifically focuses on a genre – horror. While the service also provides access to thrillers as well, horror-themed content is going to be the main reason why an individual or household considers signing up for a Shudder subscription. Speaking of which, the standard Shudder plan costs $5.99 per month when paying on a rolling monthly basis.
However, consumers can save on the cost by opting for the annual plan. Billed yearly, the Shudder annual plan is priced at $56.99, which works out to be around $4.75 per month. To put the price difference into perspective, if paying the standard $5.99 cost each month for 12 consecutive months, the total paid over the course of the year would be $71.88. With the annual plan priced at $56.99 per year, the savings over twelve months work out to be $14.89. This is equivalent to more than two months of free Shudder each year, and that’s a good deal for horror fans.
Is an annual plan the right option?
Simply based on the cost alone, it is better to sign up and pay for the annual Shudder plan with the yearly subscription offering access to a full year for less than the price of ten months. However, whether the yearly subscription is worth it for an individual home will greatly depend on their streaming needs.
For starters, the annual plan only makes sense if a home is absolutely sure that they want all-year access to Shudder. If less sure on how often the service will be used, then it makes more sense to pay monthly and retain the option to cancel at any time. Even if subscribed for nine months of the year, the total cost would be $53.91, and that’s $3 cheaper than the cost of the annual plan.
Another point to consider is there are other deals and promotions that can further help to save on the cost, with or without the need to commit to an entire year. For example, Shudder often runs limited-time promotions which could make either the monthly or annual plan cheaper than usual. Not to mention, AMC Plus actually includes access to Shudder movies and shows. The standard AMC Plus subscription costs $8.99 per month and that might be a better option for some homes due to the greater variety of content that’s available. Similar to Shudder, AMC+ also offers an annual plan which can help to even further lower the cost.
It is worth noting that signing up to AMC Plus doesn’t make it possible to log in to the Shudder website or any of the Shudder apps. With this in mind, for those that mainly want to watch Shudder, including having access to the full app experience, the standalone subscription is likely to be the better option, especially if also taking advantage of the savings provided with the annual plan.
Shudder annual plan summary
An individual or household can sign up to Shudder for as little as $4.75 per month on average when paying for the yearly subscription. At $56.99 per year, the annual Shudder plan works out to be around $15 cheaper than paying the full $5.99 monthly cost for 12 months. For any homes that see value in year-round access to Shudder, the annual plan is definitely worth considering.
For other homes, it might be better to go with the monthly plan, even if it does cost more over the course of the full year. This is all the more true for those that have never tried Shudder before and are unsure of whether the video library is what they are looking for. That said, Shudder does offer a 7-day free trial when signing up and the free trial can be used with either the monthly or annual plan, so it is possible to try the service out before having to decide on which plan is right.
Lastly, for those that do try Shudder out and find the focus on horror and thriller to be too limiting, it might be worth considering an AMC Plus subscription instead. Not only will they gain access to Shudder content, but also content from AMC, Sundance Now, and IFC Films Unlimited as well.
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