If Netflix, Hulu, or another streaming service seems to be showing more commercials, there is data behind that impression. Ad minutes per hour across major US streaming services rose 18% between January and August 2026, according to Ampere Analysis.
That figure describes the major streaming market as a group rather than proving that every service or plan increased its ad load by the same amount. In Ampere's data, Prime Video was the exception, showing fewer ads than earlier in the year, while Netflix had the largest increase but still remained below 2.5 minutes of ads per hour. Paramount+ was highest at about nine minutes per hour, with Disney+ and Hulu around 7.5 to 8.5 minutes.
Ad-supported plans are also becoming a larger part of streaming. Antenna says 48% of US premium SVOD subscriptions among the services it tracks are now ad-supported, up from 39% two years ago. Prime Video is excluded from that comparison because advertising became its default experience rather than a separately selected ad tier.
Deloitte measures the market differently and found that 68% of US households subscribing to SVOD now have at least one ad-supported service. The two figures measure different things, so they are not contradictory.
Here's what is driving the shift, what one hands-on test of seven services found, and what to check before switching plans.
Why streaming services are showing more ads
Ad-supported tiers have become a major source of subscriber growth.
Antenna says they generated 59% of gross additions in the first quarter of 2026 among major services offering an ad tier. More than three-quarters of net additions over the period Antenna measured also came from ad-supported subscriptions.
Among first-time subscribers in the first quarter, 64% chose an ad-supported plan. Another 11% moved from an ad-free plan to a cheaper tier with commercials.
The economics help explain why streaming companies are investing in ads.
Netflix currently charges $8.99 a month for Standard with ads and $19.99 for its ad-free Standard plan. Netflix also says its advertising business remains on track to generate about $3 billion in revenue in 2026, roughly double its 2025 total.
That doesn't prove a service increases its ad load specifically to hit a revenue target. It does show why ad-supported subscribers have become financially important even though they pay lower monthly subscription prices.
Price pressure is pushing viewers toward those tiers at the same time.
Deloitte found that the average subscribing US household still spends about $69 a month on streaming video, unchanged from the previous year. Sixty-one percent said they would cancel their favorite streaming service if its price rose by $5 a month.
Ads give streaming companies another source of revenue without putting the entire increase onto the subscription fee.
How many ads do streaming services show in one movie?
Industry averages don't tell you exactly what an individual viewing session will feel like.
Tom's Guide tested seven major services in July: Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock, and Prime Video. It watched movies of roughly two hours and TV episodes around 55 to 60 minutes, counting both preroll and midroll advertising.
The test is useful as a snapshot, not a permanent service ranking. Different movies, shows, accounts, regions, and ad inventory can produce different results.
For the movie sessions, Tom's Guide recorded:
Prime Video: Four ad breaks adding 8 minutes, 20 seconds.
Disney+: Five breaks adding 7 minutes, 45 seconds.
Hulu: Four breaks adding 7 minutes, 30 seconds.
Netflix: Nine breaks adding 4 minutes, 45 seconds.
Peacock: One preroll adding 3 minutes, 12 seconds.
HBO Max: Five breaks adding 2 minutes.
Paramount+: One preroll adding 2 minutes.
The experience differed even when total ad time was similar.
Netflix interrupted its movie session nine times, more than any other service in the test, but most of those breaks lasted only 30 to 45 seconds.
Prime Video interrupted the movie only four times, but its longer breaks pushed the total above eight minutes.
Paramount+ and Peacock each used a single preroll in the movie sessions Tom's Guide tested, leaving the movie itself uninterrupted.
HBO Max took another approach: five interruptions, but only two minutes of ads in total.
TV ad loads looked different
For television, Tom's Guide watched the first two episodes of a series on each platform and calculated the average added advertising time per episode.
That distinction matters. The figures below are not combined totals for both episodes.
The test found:
Disney+: Five breaks and an average of 8 minutes, 30 seconds of ads per episode.
Paramount+: Five breaks and about 8 minutes per episode.
Prime Video: Four to five breaks and about 6 minutes per episode.
Peacock: Five breaks and about 5 minutes, 45 seconds per episode.
HBO Max: Five breaks and about 4 minutes, 45 seconds per episode.
Hulu: Four breaks and about 4 minutes, 30 seconds per episode.
Netflix: Four breaks and about 2 minutes per episode.
Netflix therefore had the lowest TV ad time in this particular test, even though its movie session had the most individual interruptions.
Disney+ had the highest average added TV time and was also near the top of the movie results.
The Paramount+ figure comes with an important caveat. Tom's Guide encountered an error during the second Halo episode that caused the ads to disappear. The tester then checked other Paramount+ shows and reported similar ad behavior, but the error makes that result less clean than the others rather than automatically invalidating it.
Which streaming services had fewer ads in the test?
There isn't one useful definition of "fewest ads."
If you hate interruptions, the number of breaks may matter more than total minutes.
If you mainly want the shortest possible runtime, total added ad time matters more.
If you don't mind a preroll but dislike a movie being interrupted halfway through, placement matters most.
Based strictly on Tom's Guide's July sessions:
For movie interruption frequency: Paramount+ and Peacock each showed a single preroll and no midrolls during the tested movie.
For total movie ad time: Paramount+ and HBO Max both added two minutes.
For TV ad time: Netflix averaged two minutes per episode, the lowest figure in the test.
For the heaviest movie ad time: Prime Video added 8 minutes, 20 seconds, followed by Disney+ at 7 minutes, 45 seconds.
For the heaviest average TV ad time: Disney+ averaged 8 minutes, 30 seconds per episode.
Those results describe specific viewing sessions, not a promise that the next title you play will follow the same pattern.
Ampere's broader data reinforces that caution. Its January-to-August measurement puts Paramount+ at the highest overall ad load among the major services it tracked, while Netflix remained the lowest despite increasing its ad minutes substantially during 2026.
Current prices have already changed since the test
The Tom's Guide test was published July 28, and at least one of its listed prices is already outdated.
Peacock raised prices on Aug. 18. Peacock Select now costs $8.99 a month, up from $7.99, while Peacock Premium costs $12.99 and Premium Plus costs $19.99.
That distinction matters because Peacock Select does not include movies, live sports, or Peacock Originals. Anyone choosing Peacock specifically because the movie test showed only one preroll would need the broader Premium plan rather than the cheaper Select tier.
Other current US starting prices include:
Netflix Standard with ads: $8.99 a month.
Paramount+ Essential: $8.99 a month.
HBO Max Basic with Ads: $10.99 a month.
Disney+ and Hulu Bundle with ads: $12.99 a month.
Peacock Premium with ads: $12.99 a month.
Prime Video works differently. Amazon's current US consumer page emphasizes Prime Video as part of the $14.99-a-month or $139-a-year Prime membership, with limited ads included by default. Its Prime Video Ultra option costs an additional $4.99 a month to remove most ads and add other features.
Streaming prices change frequently, so check the service's current plan page immediately before subscribing or switching tiers.
Feature restrictions matter as much as ad minutes
A cheaper ad-supported plan can differ from the next tier in more ways than commercials.
Before switching, check:
Whether downloads are included.
Whether live sports are available.
Whether movies or originals are excluded.
The maximum video resolution.
How many devices can stream at once.
Whether the plan is sold by itself or only through a bundle.
Whether live and linear programming still carries commercials on a nominally ad-free plan.
For example, Netflix currently includes downloads on Standard with ads, while Peacock Select excludes movies, sports, and Peacock Originals entirely. HBO Max Basic with Ads streams in Full HD on two devices, while Paramount+ reserves downloads and 4K playback for its Premium tier.
A lower monthly price isn't automatically a better value if the tier removes the content or feature you use most.
What to check before changing your plan
Start with how you actually watch.
Mostly movies: Look at both total ad time and whether the service inserts midrolls. The July test found preroll-only sessions on Paramount+ and Peacock, but current Peacock movie access requires Premium rather than Select.
Mostly TV series: Netflix had the lowest average ad time per episode in the Tom's Guide test at two minutes, while Disney+ averaged more than eight.
Sensitive to interruptions: Count breaks, not just minutes. Netflix's movie total was moderate, but its nine breaks were the most in the test.
Sensitive to long commercial blocks: Prime Video had fewer movie interruptions than Netflix but added more total time.
Watching sports or downloading offline: Check the actual plan features before changing tiers. Ad load alone won't tell you whether a cheaper subscription still includes what you need.
What the results mean now
Streaming services are carrying more advertising overall. Ampere measured an 18% increase in ad minutes per hour across leading US services between January and August 2026, while Antenna and Deloitte both show ad-supported subscriptions becoming a much larger part of the market.
The seven-service Tom's Guide test shows how different that can feel in practice.
A platform can have short but frequent interruptions, fewer long breaks, or a heavy TV ad load while treating movies differently.
That makes the useful comparison more specific than asking which streaming service has the fewest ads. Check the kind of content you watch, whether midrolls bother you more than total runtime, and what the current plan actually includes.
Then verify the current price before switching. The Peacock increase between Tom's Guide's July test and September is a good example of how quickly the subscription side of the comparison can change.
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