Roku devices have become one of the most popular ways to access various streaming services as the world moves away from cable television services in the digital age. However, some people have found that Roku is charging them a monthly fee that they didn’t sign up for.
So, does Roku charge a monthly fee, and, if not, why are you being charged on your Roku account?
Roku doesn’t charge monthly fees, and you only pay for your device. Roku’s in-house streaming service, the Roku channel, is completely free. If you’re receiving charges, you’ve signed up for premium services offered on Roku devices such as Netflix or Amazon Prime.
So, if you’ve been receiving mysterious charges on your bank statements from Roku, this article will help you figure out why and how to rectify the issue.
How Much Does Roku Cost Per Month?
Roku’s in-house streaming service, The Roku Channel, is available on your Roku device for free and offers a broad range of content.
Other free channels include YouTube, CBS News, PBS Kids, iHeartRadio, and The CW, among others. However, the free channels will also include advertising.
In addition to this, you will have access to various free trial subscriptions upon purchasing your new Roku device.
However, Roku also offers paid content through several premium streaming subscription services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney+, etc. When you create your Roku account, you will need to provide payment details that you can use to pay the charges on any premium streaming services that you sign up for in the future.
Take note that Roku will not ask for an activation fee, and any communications that inquire about this should be ignored because they are scams.
Furthermore, bear in mind that when you sign up for free trials, you need to cancel your subscription before the end of the trial because Roku will automatically charge you a monthly subscription fee when the trial expires.
If you have been charged for streaming services on Roku and aren’t signed up for any trial offers, the last option to explore would be to check if other household members have signed up for a subscription. This is a common issue that you can avoid by setting up a secret pin.
To sign up for a secret PIN, visit Roku’s website via a smartphone or your computer. Login to your account with your email and password, navigate through the menu, click on the update button before clicking on “PIN preferences” and selecting the appropriate options, such as “always enter PIN to purchase”. This will prevent other people from making purchases on your device without your knowledge.
How To Review Your Roku Purchase History
If you want to know where the Roku charges appearing on your bank statements are coming from, you can access your Roku purchase history on roku.com.
Sign in to your account, scroll to the bottom of the webpage and click on “View Your Purchase History”. You can search through categories such as “Content” or “Products” to filter through the content. You can also click on “Details” to get more information about specific charges on your invoice.
How To Cancel Roku Subscriptions
To avoid incurring further charges on your Roku account, you will need to cancel your subscription to unwanted premium subscriptions.
You can access the menu to cancel your subscription by pressing the home button on your Roku remote, pressing the star button while hovering over the app for the premium subscription that you want to cancel, clicking on “manage subscriptions”, then “cancel subscription” and confirming the cancellation of your subscription.
What Subscriptions Are Available On Roku?
Now that you know how to manage your Roku subscriptions, you may want to know exactly what is available to you as a Roku user. Here are a few examples of the streaming services that Roku has to offer:
Free channels
These are the channels you can enjoy plenty of free content on and won’t cost you a cent. However, you will be encountering advertisements and commercials to make the channels profitable.
- The Roku Channel
- YouTube
- The CW
- CBS News
- PBS Kids
- iHeartRadio
Subscription channels
Subscription channels give you access to premium content for a monthly fee for the same charges you’d pay if you were using them on any other device. Upon purchasing your Roku device, you may receive special offers for free 7-day trial subscriptions that will allow you to see which service has the best content to offer.
However, be aware that you will pay a monthly fee when the trial runs out if you haven’t canceled your subscription.
- The Roku Channel (Premium content)
- Netflix
- Amazon Prime
- Hulu
- HBO Max
- Disney+
- Spectrum TV
- Tubi
- Peacock
- Pluto TV
- Sling
- Apple TV
Cable/Satellite channels
As cable boxes have become unfashionable in recent years, you may feel a sense of nostalgia and would like to keep watching regular TV channels that you’ve grown accustomed to, whether it’s to watch episodes of your favorite shows, sports, news, or other entertainment channels, you will have access to these channels via the “TV Everywhere” option after you purchase a subscription from the provider.
- ABC
- ESPN
- HGTV
- GO
- MTV
- CW
Rent or Buy
The rent or buy option allows you to purchase movies or TV shows for a set single fee, with buying giving you access to that single piece of content forever and renting allows you to view it once.
- Apple TV
- Prime Video
- Vudu
Conclusion
So if you have recently purchased a Roku box, you should not be charged any fees beyond the one-off fee incurred from your purchase. Roku offers plenty of free streaming services, such as The Roku Channel, which will contain commercials and advertisements.
But, if you find that you’ve incurred charges through your account, someone has used your device to purchase a premium subscription without your consent.
You will still have to pay monthly fees for services like Netflix and Amazon Prime like you would if you were accessing content on a different device. You may also have been charged through an auto-renewal of a subscription service that you signed up for with a free trial offer.
To find out where the charges are coming from, review your purchase history on your profile on Roku’s website. And once you’ve identified where the charges are coming from, cancel your subscription on your Roku device.