Look, I’m not going to tell you Netflix isn’t worth the money. But when Disney and Hulu are basically giving away their streaming bundle for the price of a fancy coffee – and I mean the small size, not even a venti – you’ve got to at least pay attention.

The Black Friday deal that just dropped is kind of absurd. You can get both Disney+ and Hulu (with ads, let’s be real) for $2.99 per month for an entire year. That’s not a typo. Less than three bucks. Per month. For a year.

Now, I know what you’re thinking – there’s got to be a catch, right? Well, sort of. This is for new subscribers or people who’ve let their subscriptions lapse for at least a month. And yeah, you’ll be watching ads. But honestly? At this price point, I’d probably sit through a commercial for timeshare condos in Tampa.

What You’re Actually Getting (And Why It Matters)

Here’s where it gets interesting. This isn’t just Disney+ or just Hulu. It’s both. Which means you’re looking at pretty much everything from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, all the Star Wars content you could want, Pixar’s entire catalog, and then the whole Hulu library on top of that.

The regular price for this bundle? $10.99 a month. So you’re saving something like $96 over the course of a year. That’s nearly a hundred dollars you could spend on, I don’t know, actually leaving your house occasionally.

Breaking Down the Content Library

Let’s talk about what you’re actually getting access to here, because it’s kind of wild when you list it all out:

• Disney+ classics and new releases: Everything from The Mandalorian to Bluey (don’t judge me), plus whatever new Marvel show they’re pushing this month
• Hulu’s current TV lineup: Next-day streaming of shows from ABC, NBC, Fox – basically if it aired on network TV last night, it’s probably here today
• Original content from both platforms: We’re talking The Bear, Only Murders in the Building, Loki, Andor – shows people actually want to watch
• The deep catalog stuff: All 30-something seasons of The Simpsons, every National Geographic documentary ever made (probably), and enough content to keep you busy until 2027

The thing is, this deal makes the math on streaming services get really weird. Netflix’s ad-supported tier runs you $6.99 a month now. Which is fine, whatever. But you’re getting significantly less content variety for more than double the price of this bundle.

The Ads Situation (Let’s Address It)

Okay, so about those commercials. Yeah, they’re there. You’ll see them. But here’s my honest take after using ad-supported streaming for a while now – it’s not 2005 cable TV.

Most of the ad breaks on these platforms run maybe 30 to 90 seconds. Sometimes less. You’re not sitting through five minutes of pharma commercials and local car dealerships. It’s usually pretty quick, and honestly? Sometimes I use the break to check my phone or grab a snack anyway.

How Bad Are We Really Talking?

I tested this out (you know, for science), and here’s what I found: watching a 22-minute episode of something on Hulu with ads added about 5-6 minutes of commercials. For a full-length movie, you might see 10-12 minutes of ads total.

Is it ideal? No. Would I rather have zero commercials? Obviously. But for $2.99 a month, I can live with it. That’s basically the cost of one month of Netflix for an entire year of this bundle.

“The streaming wars have gotten so competitive that these companies are practically paying us to watch at this point.”

The Catch You Actually Need to Know About

Here’s the part where I level with you – this is a promotional rate. After your year is up, it jumps back to the regular price of $10.99 per month. Which, to be fair, is still competitive with other streaming services. But it’s not $2.99.

The deal runs from now through December 2nd, so you’ve got a bit of time to think about it. Though let’s be honest, if you’re interested, you’re probably not going to get a better offer than this.

There’s also the whole “new or returning subscribers only” thing. If you’re currently paying for either Disney+ or Hulu separately, you’d need to cancel, wait a month, and then sign up fresh to get this price. Is that worth the hassle? Depends on how much you value $96, I guess.

What About the Ad-Free Experience?

If you absolutely cannot deal with commercials (and I respect that), there’s a bundle option without ads too. It’s not part of this Black Friday sale, though – that one runs the regular price of $19.99 per month. Still cheaper than buying both services separately, but definitely not the headline-grabbing deal we’re talking about here.

The ad-free bundle includes Disney+ without ads and Hulu without ads. Pretty straightforward. But you’re looking at $240 a year versus $36 a year. That’s a pretty significant difference for what amounts to skipping some commercials.

Is This Actually Better Than Netflix?

Okay, so the headline says this beats Netflix, and I stand by that – at least for this specific deal and this specific price point. But let’s be fair here.

Netflix still has its own exclusive content that you can’t get anywhere else. Stranger Things, Wednesday, whatever true crime documentary everyone’s talking about this week. If you’re deeply invested in Netflix originals, this deal doesn’t replace that.

What this does do is give you a ton of content for way less money. And honestly? Between Disney’s back catalog, Hulu’s current TV offerings, and all the original shows on both platforms, you’re probably not going to run out of things to watch.

I’ve been rotating through streaming services for a while now – subscribing to one for a few months, canceling, moving to another. It’s kind of exhausting, actually. But at $2.99 a month, this is cheap enough to just keep running in the background without feeling like you need to optimize your viewing schedule.

The Bigger Picture on Streaming Costs

Here’s what really gets me about this whole situation. We cut cable because it was expensive and full of ads. Then we all got streaming services because they were cheap and ad-free. Now we’re right back to paying for multiple services with ads, except somehow it feels different?

The average person subscribes to about 4-5 streaming services these days. That adds up fast. Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Max, Prime Video, Apple TV+, Paramount+ – before you know it, you’re paying more than cable cost in the first place.

Which is why deals like this actually matter. Three bucks a month is low enough that it doesn’t really factor into the mental math of “am I spending too much on streaming?” It just kind of exists in the background.

The streaming companies know this, by the way. They’re betting that once you’re locked in for a year at this price, you’ll either forget to cancel when it renews at the regular rate, or you’ll have gotten comfortable enough with the service that the price jump doesn’t bother you. Smart on their part, honestly.

Should You Actually Get This Deal?

Look, I can’t tell you how to spend your money. But if you watch any streaming TV at all, and you don’t currently have both Disney+ and Hulu, this is kind of a no-brainer at $2.99 a month.

Even if you only use it to catch up on one show you’ve been meaning to watch, you’re getting your money’s worth. The entire year costs less than a single month of most other streaming services.

The only real reasons not to jump on this would be if you genuinely don’t watch TV (fair enough), if you already have both services and don’t want to deal with canceling and resubscribing, or if ads are such a dealbreaker that you’d rather pay 7x more to avoid them.

For everyone else? Yeah, this is probably worth it. Set a reminder in your calendar for November 2025 to cancel before it renews at the higher price if you want. Or don’t, and just keep it. Either way, you’re getting a full year of streaming for less than the cost of taking your family to see one movie in theaters.

Black Friday deals come and go, and most of them are kind of whatever. But this one’s legitimately good. Just saying.