Five bucks a month for Disney+ and Hulu together sounds like the kind of deal that makes you wonder if someone accidentally added a decimal point in the wrong place. But nope, it’s real – sort of. The catch? You’re going to have to sit through some ads. And honestly, depending on how much you watch TV, that might be totally fine.

This isn’t some random Tuesday sale, either. We’re talking about a Black Friday deal that actually lives up to the hype for once. Instead of the usual “save 10% on something you didn’t want anyway” nonsense, this is a legitimate 50% discount on a bundle that normally runs about $10 a month. Which, when you break it down, means you’re getting a full year of both streaming services for what you’d normally pay for six months.

The math is pretty simple here – $60 for the year, paid upfront. That’s it. You lock in that price for 12 months, and Disney can’t jack it up on you halfway through like they love to do. And considering Disney raised their prices again earlier this year (because of course they did), this actually feels like revenge in subscription form.

What You’re Actually Getting for Your Five Dollars

Let’s be clear about what we’re talking about here. This is the ad-supported tier, which means you’ll be watching commercials. But before you roll your eyes and move on, think about how much regular TV you watched growing up. We all survived commercial breaks for decades, and somehow the human race persevered.

The Disney+ and Hulu combo gives you access to pretty much everything under the Mouse House umbrella. Marvel shows, Star Wars series, all those Pixar movies your kids (or let’s be honest, you) want to watch on repeat, plus the entire back catalog of Hulu originals and network shows. That’s The Bear, Only Murders in the Building, whatever new Marvel thing they’re pumping out this month – all for less than the price of a fancy coffee.

The Ad Situation, Broken Down

Here’s where opinions diverge pretty sharply. Some people treat ads like they’re personally offensive – and I get it, sort of. You’re paying for a service, why should you also donate your eyeballs to advertisers? But counterpoint: you’re paying $5 a month. That’s basically nothing in 2025 dollars.

The ads on Disney+ are relatively tame, actually. We’re not talking about the YouTube experience where you get three unskippable ads before a five-minute video. Disney tends to keep it to one or two commercial breaks per show, maybe 30 seconds to a minute each time. For movies, you might see a few more, but it’s not the chaotic free-for-all you’d expect.

Hulu’s ad load is a bit heavier – it’s been that way since the beginning of time (or at least since 2008). You’re looking at more frequent interruptions, especially during longer shows. But again, we’re talking about paying basically pocket change for access to thousands of hours of content. The trade-off might actually make sense for your situation.

How This Stacks Up Against Other Streaming Deals

The streaming wars have gotten kind of insane, right? Every company and their cousin has launched a platform, and they all want $10-$20 a month from you. Add them all up and you’re basically paying more than cable cost back in the day, which feels like a cosmic joke.

Netflix doesn’t really do deals anymore – they’re too big to care. Their ad-supported tier sits at $6.99 a month regularly, no discounts, take it or leave it. Amazon Prime Video comes with your Prime membership, but let’s not pretend that’s free when you’re paying $139 a year for the privilege of faster shipping. Max (which we’re all still accidentally calling HBO Max) occasionally drops their prices, but they’re usually hovering around $9.99 for ads.

The Bundle Economy

Here’s what’s kind of fascinating about this whole thing. Disney clearly looked at the landscape and realized people are getting subscription fatigue. We’re all doing the math on which services we actually use versus which ones we just keep paying for out of habit. So they’re trying to lock people in with deals that feel like actual value.

And it’s working, probably. Because $5 a month is that magical price point where you don’t really think about it anymore. It’s less than a single sandwich. You’ll spend that much on random stuff you don’t need at Target without blinking. So why not keep the subscription running?

• Disney+ and Hulu (with ads): $5/month for the first year, then likely jumps back to regular pricing
• Netflix (with ads): $6.99/month, no promotional pricing to speak of
• Max (with ads): Around $9.99/month, sometimes lower during promotions
• Paramount+ (with ads): Frequently runs deals around $2.99-$4.99/month

The Fine Print You Should Actually Read

Okay, so here’s where things get slightly less exciting. This is a Black Friday deal, which means it won’t last forever. You’ve got a limited window to jump on this – basically whenever they decide the promotion is over, it’s over. Could be a week, could be through Cyber Monday, could be while supplies last (even though we’re talking about digital subscriptions, which is kind of hilarious when you think about it).

Also worth noting: you’re paying $60 upfront. Not $5 charged monthly – they want the full year paid right now. For most people that’s fine, but if you’re budgeting paycheck to paycheck, that’s a consideration. It’s still a great deal, but it requires having sixty bucks free to drop on entertainment.

What Happens After Year One?

This is the question everyone should be asking but probably isn’t. After your year is up, you’ll automatically roll over to the regular monthly pricing unless you cancel. And Disney’s not exactly known for keeping prices stable. The ad-supported bundle currently runs about $10.99 a month when you’re paying full price, but who knows what it’ll be in twelve months.

Set a reminder on your phone for 11 months from now. Seriously, do it right now. That way you can decide if you want to keep it at whatever the going rate is, or if you want to cancel before they charge you. This is basic streaming service survival strategy at this point.

“The beauty of annual subscriptions is you forget about them completely until your credit card statement reminds you a year later.”

Is This Deal Actually Worth It?

Look, it depends on what you watch and how much you care about ads. If you’ve got kids who want to watch Disney movies constantly, or you’re trying to keep up with Marvel shows, or you genuinely enjoy Hulu’s catalog – yeah, this is a no-brainer. You’d be kind of silly to pass it up.

But if you’re already drowning in streaming subscriptions you don’t use, maybe this isn’t the time to add another one just because it’s cheap. We’ve all got that one service we signed up for during a free trial and haven’t watched in six months but keep paying for anyway. Don’t let this become that.

The ad thing is really the deciding factor for a lot of people. Some folks genuinely can’t stand commercials – they’ll gladly pay extra to avoid them. Others (like me, honestly) have discovered that ads during streaming aren’t nearly as annoying as we thought they’d be. You can check your phone, grab a snack, pet your dog. It’s not the end of the world.

At five bucks a month, though, the barrier to entry is so low that you might as well try it for a year and see how you feel. Worst case scenario, you’re out $60 and you cancel before it renews. Best case, you’ve found your new default streaming option at a price that doesn’t make you wince when you review your monthly expenses. And in today’s economy, that actually counts for something.