Paramount+ price: both plans, monthly vs annual, and which one the sport is on

Paramount+ sells two plans. The names do not make the difference obvious, so here it is plainly.

The two plans

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.