Paramount+ price: both plans, monthly vs annual, and which one the sport is on
Essential is $8.99/month or $89.99/year. Premium is $13.99/month or $139.99/year. The annual plans save two months; the tier difference is Showtime and your local CBS feed.
Paramount+ sells two plans. The names do not make the difference obvious, so here it is plainly.
The two plans
| Plan | Monthly | Annual | Annual works out at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essential | $8.99 | $89.99 | $7.50/month |
| Premium | $13.99 | $139.99 | $11.67/month |
Paying annually costs the equivalent of ten months rather than twelve on both plans — a saving of $17.89 on Essential and $27.89 on Premium, provided you actually keep it for the year.
What the extra $5 buys
Essential carries ads and includes the on-demand catalogue — CBS shows, Paramount+ originals and a selection of Showtime titles — plus live sport: UFC, Zuffa Boxing, the UEFA Champions League and NFL on CBS games.
Premium adds two things that matter more than the marketing suggests:
- Showtime, ad-free — the full film and series catalogue, not the selection Essential gets.
- Your local live CBS station. This is the one people miss. If you want CBS as a live channel rather than catching shows the next day, it is Premium or nothing.
Note the asymmetry: Essential is "has ads", Premium is "ad-free on originals, movies and Showtime". Live sport carries its broadcast advertising on both — no streaming tier removes ads from a live feed.
Which one you actually want
Buy Essential if you are here for NFL on CBS, UFC or the on-demand catalogue and you do not care about Showtime.
Buy Premium if you want Showtime, or if live CBS is the point. On the UFC question specifically: both plans carry it, so do not upgrade for that alone.
Before you commit to a year
The annual saving is real but it is a bet on twelve months of use. Sport is seasonal — if you are subscribing for one league's season, monthly and cancelling is usually cheaper than the annual plan, even at the higher per-month rate.
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Prices are US dollars, read from the Paramount+ help centre on the date shown at the top of this page. Streaming prices move; check the official page before you buy.