Netflix increased the costs of its subscriptions in the US and UK in 2023, but fresh news from other parts of the globe could suggest that another hike may be on the way.
If you want to know when these new costs kick in, and how much it could cost you, then we have everything you need to know.
Is Netflix increasing its prices?
Netflix has not confirmed that a price hike is coming, but there are strong rumours that one may be on the way.
At the end of January, it released a letter to shareholders that said the following: “As we invest in and improve Netflix, we’ll occasionally ask our members to pay a little extra to reflect those improvements, which in turn helps drive the positive flywheel of additional investment to further improve and grow our service”.
UBS analysis in February (via The Independent) has predicted that another price hike will come later this year. Shortlist also reported that Netflix increased prices in Spain and Italy in October.
If these rumours are true, no information has been given on when this price increase would happen in 2024. We also don’t know if it will affect the US, UK or both.
When could Netflix next increase its prices?
Netflix’s last price increase kicked in on 18 October 2023 for both new and existing subscribers in the US, UK and France. Therefore, if a price increase is on the cards, it would likely be in the last few months of 2024.
Considering that parts of Europe have just seen a price hike, this could make sense. However, we don’t know for sure.
Prior to this, Netflix UK last changed its prices in December 2020, whilst Netflix US had a price shake-up in 2022.
How much could Netflix subscriptions increase?
Again, we don’t know how much Netflix subscriptions will increase by, but we can guess.
Last time there was a price increase, the Standard and Standard with Ads plans in the US or UK remained the same. These prices are $15.49/£11.99 for the Standard plan, and $6.99/£4.99 for the Standard with Ads plan.
Therefore, it’s more likely that these plans will get an increase rather than the Basic or Premium plans. Here’s how they changed in October 2023:
US
- Netflix Basic: Increased from $9.99 per month to $11.99 per month
- Netflix Premium: Increased from $19.99 per month to $22.99 per month
UK
- Netflix Basic: Increased from £6.99 per month to £7.99 per month
- Netflix Premium: Increased from £15.99 per month to £17.99 per month
That’s a $2/£1 increase for Netflix Basic and a $3/£2 price hike for Premium. If Netflix follows a similar pattern, then we’d expect to see a price increase of around $2.50/£1.50 per month for Netflix Standard.
However, in Spain and Italy, the Standard tier went up by one Euro, while the ad-supported tier went up by €1.50 and the Premium plan by two Euros. Therefore, there’s a chance that all plans could be affected by the next hike.
Is there any way to avoid a potential Netflix price hike?
Short of cancelling your Netflix subscription, no. Netflix does not offer annual plans like Disney+ and Amazon Prime do.
The best way to save money is to either downgrade your plan or leave the service and get your streaming needs from a rival platform.
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