How much money do we spend on subscription services?

Picodi.com analysts checked the prices of the most popular entertainment subscription services in 60 countries and calculated what part of the average wage we spend on monthly subscriptions.

Subscription prices worldwide

In our ranking, we included the two most popular video streaming services (Netflix and Prime Video), one music streaming platform (Spotify), an internationally available e-book and audiobook platform (Scribd), and a gaming subscription (Microsoft’s Game Pass), which is available both on PC and on consoles and offers titles from some of the most well-known developers.

Among the countries included in the ranking, after conversion to dollars, the Swiss have to pay the highest price for the bundle of 5 subscriptions – $64.21/month. The second most expensive country in the comparison is the USA ($60.45), followed by the UK in the third place ($51.29). However, after juxtaposing the price of the subscription services with the average net wage, the situation changes diametrically: the bundle of subscriptions will cost an average Swiss only 1.19% of their salary, an American – 1.50% and an average Brit – 2.22%.

The citizens of India, Argentina, and Turkey can enjoy the lowest prices in the world. For the discussed subscription pack, Indians have to pay $23.95, Argentinians – $23.36, and Turkish people – $16.78.

This is how the prices of individual subscriptions from the discussed bundle look like in the United Arab Emirates:

• Netflix – 39.00 AED
• Prime Video – 22.00 AED ($5.99)
• Spotify – 19.99 AED
• Scribd – 36.69 AED ($9.99)
• Xbox Game Pass – 6.99 AED

The bundle of 5 subscriptions costs 124.67 AED or $33.94/month, which is 0.9% of the average monthly wage (13,942.77 AED). This situates the UAE in the 60^th place of the ranking in terms of subscription cost to average wage ratio (the lower the place, the lower the percentage of the salary). In terms of subscription prices, the UAE ranked 45^th.

In the subscription cost to average wage comparison, the most favourable ratio can be found in UAE (0.89%), Australia (1.04%) and aforementioned Switzerland (1.19%). On the other hand, Nigerians, Pakistanis and Indonesians have to face the least favourable ratio – 22.22%, 19.49% and 16.24% respectively.

Where does digital entertainment cost the least?

The prices of subscription services can vary greatly, depending on the country. In the case of Netflix, there is a fivefold price difference between the cheapest and the most expensive country. Here’s the list of countries, where individual subscriptions are the cheapest:

Countries with the cheapest Netflix

• Pakistan ($3.59)
• Turkey ($3.77)
• Argentina ($5.35)

Countries with the cheapest Prime Video

• Turkey ($0.43)
• Egypt ($1.48)
• Hungary ($2.07)

Countries with the cheapest Spotify

• Turkey ($0.97)
• Pakistan ($1.34)
• India ($1.45)

Countries with the cheapest Xbox Game Pass

• Turkey ($1.62)
• UAE ($1.90)
• The Philippines ($2.02)

How to save money on subscriptions?

Among the services included in our study, only Netflix and Game Pass can be bought as a prepaid card. You can buy them in stores Sharaf DG and earn a couple % of cashback. All you have to do is create an account at Picodi.com

Methodology and sources

In our ranking, we included subscription services from a few different categories: video (Netflix, Prime Video), music (Spotify), books (Scribd) and gaming (Xbox Game Pass). The prices of the subscriptions used in the calculations were taken from the official websites of those services. In the case of services, which offer different types of subscriptions, we used the standard option for an individual user. The average wages were taken from the countries’ official statistics office websites or other local institutions. Net wages were calculated with local salary calculators.

For currency conversion, we used the average exchange rate data from Google Finance for the period of October 1–15, 2022.

The list of all the prices from the subscription services included in our ranking is available for download here (.xlsx).

Public use

Both the infographic as well as the statistical data can be used freely for commercial and non-commercial purposes. We only ask you to credit the author of the research (Picodi.com) with a link to this subpage. In case of any questions, please feel free to contact us at research@picodi.com.