Before You Cut the Cord: A Checklist

Most cord-cutting regrets come from skipping the math. Work through the watch list, the speed check, and the cable company questions before you call to cancel.

Canceling cable is one of those projects where the savings depend on preparation. Households that run the numbers before the cancellation call usually end up with a setup that fits; households that cancel first and figure it out after often pay twice. Work through this checklist before you pick up the phone.

List What Your Household Actually Watches

The whole decision rests on this list, so make it specific before you look at a single service.

• Write down every show, channel, and event your household watches in a typical month, including network series, news, and awards shows. The list is how you find out what you would actually miss.
• Mark live events, especially sports, separately. Live games are the hardest part of cable to replace, and the workarounds differ from anything on demand.
• Use a streaming search site to check which services carry each title. Some shows have earlier seasons on one service and newer seasons on another, which can quietly double what you pay.
• Accept that some waste comes with you. Cutting the cord does not eliminate bundling; most households end up subscribing to several services and paying for shows that go unwatched, just as they did with cable.

Check Whether Your Internet Plan Can Handle It

Once the TV signal arrives over the internet, your connection is the delivery system. If it stalls, the whole plan stalls with it.

• Run a speed test during the hours your household actually watches. Netflix recommends 3 Mb/s per stream for standard definition and at least 25 Mb/s for 4K; its 0.5 Mb/s minimum produces a picture most people would not tolerate.
• Plan for simultaneous use. Two or three people streaming at once, plus video calls and gaming, adds up faster than a single-stream test suggests.
• Confirm your equipment can run the apps. An older TV may need a streaming device, and a tired router can bottleneck every stream in the house at once.
• Read your internet plan’s terms for usage limits or speed policies that would matter once all of your TV traffic runs through the connection.

Add Up the Real Cost of Replacing Each Channel

The math is where cord-cutting plans fall apart. Do it line by line before you call.

• List each service your must-watch list requires at the tier you would actually choose. Ad tiers matter here: the cheaper plans include ads, and the upgrades change the total. Our comparison of ad-supported and ad-free streaming covers how the tiers differ.
• Add hardware: a streaming device for each TV, an antenna if you go that route, and recording capability if you want to save shows from live TV.
• Compare the total against your full cable bill, not the advertised rate. Equipment rentals, broadcast surcharges, and taxes are where cable’s real cost hides.
• Be honest about savings. Live TV streaming packages can cost close to what cable costs once you match the channel lineup.
• If the total looks bloated, audit what you already pay for first. Our guide to a streaming subscription audit can show whether the cheaper fix is dropping a service rather than replacing one.

Decide If You Need Live TV or Just On-Demand

This choice drives most of the monthly cost, so settle it before comparing plans.

• On-demand services need no DVR and no schedule; you pick a title and press play.
• Live TV streaming services carry cable-style channels over the internet, usually with no contract and month-to-month billing you can cancel anytime. The flexibility is real, but so is the price; some now charge about what cable charges.
• Check each live TV lineup against your must-watch list. Some packages leave out major sports networks and regional sports channels entirely.
• Expect prices and lineups to change often in this market, so recheck the details before any renewal.

Figure Out Local Channels and Sports

Antennas are the quiet bargain here: the broadcasts are free once you own the hardware.

• Over-the-air TV costs nothing after the antenna. ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, PBS, and The CW have affiliates in every major US city, and 95 of the 100 most-watched shows air over the air.
• Local news and live events such as the Super Bowl and the Olympics broadcast free as well.
• Whether an indoor antenna works depends on your distance from the broadcast tower; homes farther out generally need an outdoor model.
• One antenna can be split to feed multiple televisions, and major networks broadcast in HD that can look better than the same channels delivered by cable or streaming.
• Sports are the sticking point. Regional sports networks are largely absent from live TV streaming packages, and local team games may take an antenna or a package that carries your local affiliates. Out-of-market games are easier, sold through league-run packages.
• One caution before spending heavily on antenna gear: the FCC is weighing a broadcaster-pushed switch to a new over-the-air standard whose proposal includes encrypting signals, which consumer groups argue could complicate antenna use down the road.

Ask Your Cable Company the Right Questions

Very few cable companies let you cancel online or by mail, so plan for a phone call and know your terms going in.

• Find the cancellation number on your bill or by logging into your account. When the phone menu asks what you want, saying “cancel service” is the direct route to the retention department.
• Ask directly whether an early termination fee applies to your account. Surprise fees charged to departing customers are the kind of practice the FTC has pursued; the phone company Vonage paid $100 million in a settlement that included fees imposed on people who were leaving and charges billed after they had already canceled.
• Ask what the bill becomes with TV removed, including equipment fees and when any promotional internet rate expires, and get it in writing.
• Expect a retention offer, and decide in advance what would actually change your mind. If the answer is nothing, say so and keep repeating it.
• Check the auto-renewal terms on your account so the TV plan does not quietly continue after you think it is done. Our guide to canceling online subscriptions explains what the law requires.

One Last Look Before You Cancel

• Read the terms of any free trial before you enter a card: how to cancel, when the trial ends, and what happens after. If something is free but requires a payment to get it, walk away.
• Put the trial’s end date on your calendar a few days ahead of time, so the renewal becomes a decision you make rather than one that happens to you.
• If a trial rolls into a paid plan and the business refuses to shut off the charges, the FTC advises calling your card issuer and asking it to block the payments.
• Do not plan on borrowing a friend’s cable login. Providers forbid it in their terms, can track multiple logins, and can cancel accounts over it.
• Watch the next two statements after you cancel to confirm the billing actually stopped.

If the cost section showed you are already paying for services you barely open, trimming what you have may beat replacing cable one for one. And when you do start comparing replacements, it helps to know what to compare before buying a streaming bundle so the new setup does not recreate the old bill.

Reader questions

Will streaming actually save money compared to cable?

It depends on how many services it takes to cover your shows and whether you need live TV. Live TV streaming packages can cost about as much as cable once you match the channel lineup, while a small on-demand setup can cost far less.

Do I need a new TV to cut the cord?

Not necessarily. Many TVs run streaming apps directly, but older sets may need a streaming device. For local channels, you may also need an indoor or outdoor antenna depending on your distance from the broadcast tower.

How do I cancel cable if the company makes it hard?

Most cable companies require a phone call, and the number is on your bill or in your account. Saying "cancel service" is the direct route to the retention department, and you should check for early termination fees before you call.

What if a replacement service keeps charging me after a trial?

If the business will not end the billing, the FTC recommends contacting your credit card issuer and asking it to halt the charges. Marking the trial’s end date on a calendar in advance is the simplest way to avoid the situation altogether.

We describe how services generally work; features, settings and terms change often, and they differ between companies. This is general information, not legal advice. Check the provider’s current policies and official sources such as FTC.gov.