Here's How Much It Would Cost To Rent Movies In 1996 Vs. 2026

Renting a movie today is a lot different than it was 10 years ago. In 1996, you could go to the nearest Blockbuster Video and check out a VHS tape for a few days. In 2026, those rental stores are a thing of the past. To rent a film now, you're left with browsing endless archives on streaming services. You'll still pay to rent a movie for timed period, and that's something most people would prefer over going to the theater. But the costs — and how you do so — have changed.

Renting a movie in 1996 from Blockbuster Video would cost anywhere between $1.50 and $10, depending on how recently it released and if you wanted it for a night or a few days. Adjusted for inflation, that ranges from $3.27 to $21.82. Today, a rental for a movie depends on how new it is and where you're renting it from. As an example, choosing a film through Prime Video may cost you anywhere between $3.99 for something older to $19.99 for a new release. You might even say that it's slightly cheaper to rent movies today than it was back then.

There are, however, disadvantages of renting digital movies. In some cases, you may not even be able to rent one at all. "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring — Extended Edition" is available on Prime Video, but if you want to "rent" it, you'll need to subscribe to HBO (although you can rent the standard edition on Prime Video instead).

Renting a movie today comes with many variables that weren't attached to rentals in 1996. For instance, Prime Video offers exclusive movies that are only available through its subscription option. If you want to watch them, you could pay a monthly or annual subscription to Amazon Prime and get Prime Video. This gives you access to those movies for as long as you have the subscription. You could outright rent movies through Prime, as well, but their prices will vary.

The same can be said if you get a Disney+ subscription. Since you can't rent directly on Disney+, your subscription allows you to view movies through it. However, watching movies this way — and on Prime — may come with ads depending on your tier, which is something you didn't have to worry about in 1996. Another way to rent movies today is to go through YouTube; you can rent the latest releases there for around $19.99 while older titles will be about $3.99. YouTube's TV & Movie section offers ways for users to buy and rent movies to watch through the online platform. Whether your buy or rent your movie of choice, actually paying money for it means you won't see ads.

Renting in 2026 can add up in cost if you watch multiple movies a month. You could see every Marvel movie (which accounts for over 30 films) on Disney+ by paying a monthly subscription without ads for $21.99 per month. Or, if you wanted to rent Marvel movies, you could rent six older Marvel films for around $18 through Prime Video. If you continue to rent movies this way, that can be a lot of money to spend for any entire month. 

Subscribing to watch movies is one way to save money, but you could rent movies for free, as well. Kanopy is one example of a service that makes this possible; it will give you tickets that can be spent to rent a movie or TV show. Each month, the tickets reset, allowing you to pick and choose new movies to watch. And there are still places that let you rent discs to be played in a Blu-Ray player at home. However, if you really want to save the most money each month on movie rentals, you can always use free resources. Local libraries may offer more than just book rentals, as many let you rent movies as long as you have a library card.