If anything is certain about Americans, it’s that we love convenience.
These days, it seems like everything, from underwear to produce, comes in a subscription service. As long as you have a credit card and are willing to pay a little bit more, you can have anything you could ever want brought to your house on a monthly basis. But with all the options for subscription services out there, it can be hard to tell which are worth the up-charge. As a rule, subscription services should either save you money or provide a service that’s worth the cost. Luckily, we’ve made it easy for you never to have to leave your couch again by compiling a list of the best and worst subscription services.
Best Subscription Services
Spotify Premium
Engadget
Cost: $9.99/month, $5 if you’re a student.
What you get: Access to just about any song you can imagine, the ability to make your playlists, see what your friends are listening to, and discover new artists and songs via custom recommendations. Also, with Spotify Premium, you don’t have to worry about annoying ads interrupting your listening experience. Plus, by paying a small monthly fee, your days of battling viruses from illegally downloaded music are behind you!
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Imperfect Produce
The Swirl
Cost: Anywhere from $11 to around $50 per order, depending on which package you choose.
What you get: You’re not perfect, so why does your produce have to be? Approximately 20% of fruits and vegetables in the US never leave the farm just because they look a little different. Imperfect Produce buys that food and delivers it to your door for cheaper-than-grocery-store prices. You get to customize each box you receive so you never get anything you don’t want, or pay for produce that will go bad before you have a chance to eat it. This subscription box is not only convenient and fiscally savvy, it also helps out farmers and limits wasted food!
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Netflix
Mashable
Cost: $8-$15/month, depending on the number of screens.
What you get: Unlimited streaming of tons of movies and TV shows. Measured against other streaming services, we think Netflix has the most bang for your buck. With seemingly endless options, fast streaming speeds, and no pesky commercials; Netflix is a great deal.
Amazon Prime
Variety
Cost: $12.99/month
What you get: If you’re a frequent online shopper, you know how annoying delivery fees can be. With Amazon prime, you can get thousands of items shipped to your house with no extra shipping cost. There are also tons of great deals on Amazon that you can take advantage of without leaving the couch! Plus, your subscription comes with lots of great content available to stream at no extra cost.
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Birchbox
TechCrunch
Cost: $10/month
What you get: If you love trying new beauty products but don’t want to risk investing in a full size bottle of that expensive moisturizer, then birchbox could be your dream come true. With Birchbox, you get a variety of sample size beauty products delivered each month so you can decide which products you like without the monetary risk.
Worst Subscription Services
HBO GO
Cost: Usually around $15 a month, but depends on your cable package.
Why It’s Not Worth it: If you already have Amazon Prime, and don’t need to keep up to date with all of HBO’s new releases, there’s no need to buy into this pricey subscription. Amazon has a deal with HBO that allows Amazon Prime members to watch HBO shows that are no longer on the air. So if you’re mostly interested in watching shows like The Sopranos or The Wire, you can do so in your Amazon Video app without shelling out an extra $15 a month for a service that has way less variety and much slower streaming than Netflix.
Blue Apron
Cost: $9.99 a meal
Why It’s Not Worth It: As far as meal kit delivery subscriptions go, this one is confusing, way pricier than grocery shopping, and pretty labor-intensive. The absence of individual packaging or labeling for multiple recipes makes it difficult, especially when there are sometimes missing and duplicate ingredients.
Apollo Surprise Box
Cost: $30+ a month
Why It’s Not Worth It: This box sends you a monthly haul of useless items, like light-up balls, bedazzled wine glasses, and skull shaped planters. While getting a surprise in the mail is fun, save your money for a subscription service that sends things you’ll like.
Quirky Crate
Cost: $34.99+ a month
Why It’s Not Worth It: This subscription box sends you things like pencil cases, dinosaur socks, and rainbow sticky notes. We’re all for embracing your quirky side, but how many sparkly unicorn pins does a person need? Skip the steep monthly price tag and head to your local Paper Source for all the cute little trinkets your heart desires.
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If anything is certain about Americans, it's that we love convenience.
These days, it seems like everything, from underwear to produce, comes in a subscription service. As long as you have a credit card and are willing to pay a little bit more, you can have anything you could ever want brought to your house on a monthly basis. But with all the options for subscription services out there, it can be hard to tell which are worth the up-charge. As a rule, subscription services should either save you money or provide a service that's worth the cost. Luckily, we've made it easy for you never to have to leave your couch again by compiling a list of the best and worst subscription services.
Best Subscription Services
Spotify Premium
Engadget
Cost: $9.99/month, $5 if you're a student.
What you get: Access to just about any song you can imagine, the ability to make your playlists, see what your friends are listening to, and discover new artists and songs via custom recommendations. Also, with Spotify Premium, you don't have to worry about annoying ads interrupting your listening experience. Plus, by paying a small monthly fee, your days of battling viruses from illegally downloaded music are behind you!
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
Imperfect Produce
The Swirl
Cost: Anywhere from $11 to around $50 per order, depending on which package you choose.
What you get: You're not perfect, so why does your produce have to be? Approximately 20% of fruits and vegetables in the US never leave the farm just because they look a little different. Imperfect Produce buys that food and delivers it to your door for cheaper-than-grocery-store prices. You get to customize each box you receive so you never get anything you don't want, or pay for produce that will go bad before you have a chance to eat it. This subscription box is not only convenient and fiscally savvy, it also helps out farmers and limits wasted food!
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
Netflix
Mashable
Cost: $8-$15/month, depending on the number of screens.
What you get: Unlimited streaming of tons of movies and TV shows. Measured against other streaming services, we think Netflix has the most bang for your buck. With seemingly endless options, fast streaming speeds, and no pesky commercials; Netflix is a great deal.
Amazon Prime
Variety
Cost: $12.99/month
What you get: If you're a frequent online shopper, you know how annoying delivery fees can be. With Amazon prime, you can get thousands of items shipped to your house with no extra shipping cost. There are also tons of great deals on Amazon that you can take advantage of without leaving the couch! Plus, your subscription comes with lots of great content available to stream at no extra cost.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
Birchbox
TechCrunch
Cost: $10/month
What you get: If you love trying new beauty products but don't want to risk investing in a full size bottle of that expensive moisturizer, then birchbox could be your dream come true. With Birchbox, you get a variety of sample size beauty products delivered each month so you can decide which products you like without the monetary risk.
Worst Subscription Services
HBO GO
Cost: Usually around $15 a month, but depends on your cable package.
Why It's Not Worth it: If you already have Amazon Prime, and don't need to keep up to date with all of HBO's new releases, there's no need to buy into this pricey subscription. Amazon has a deal with HBO that allows Amazon Prime members to watch HBO shows that are no longer on the air. So if you're mostly interested in watching shows like The Sopranos or The Wire, you can do so in your Amazon Video app without shelling out an extra $15 a month for a service that has way less variety and much slower streaming than Netflix.
Blue Apron
Cost: $9.99 a meal
Why It's Not Worth It: As far as meal kit delivery subscriptions go, this one is confusing, way pricier than grocery shopping, and pretty labor-intensive. The absence of individual packaging or labeling for multiple recipes makes it difficult, especially when there are sometimes missing and duplicate ingredients.
Apollo Surprise Box
Cost: $30+ a month
Why It's Not Worth It: This box sends you a monthly haul of useless items, like light-up balls, bedazzled wine glasses, and skull shaped planters. While getting a surprise in the mail is fun, save your money for a subscription service that sends things you'll like.
Quirky Crate
Cost: $34.99+ a month
Why It's Not Worth It: This subscription box sends you things like pencil cases, dinosaur socks, and rainbow sticky notes. We're all for embracing your quirky side, but how many sparkly unicorn pins does a person need? Skip the steep monthly price tag and head to your local Paper Source for all the cute little trinkets your heart desires.
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