Effective today, Netflix’s two most expensive plans are getting a price hike. The most popular “Standard” plan moves from $13 a month to $14 a month. And the “Premium Ultra HD” plan jumped from $16 to $18. Existing subscribers get a short reprieve as the pricing rolls out to the next bill cycle.
At $13 a month, the “Standard” Netflix plan is still less expensive than HBO Max, but competition is getting fierce. You can get a subscription to Disney+, ESPN, and Hulu rolled into one $13 package, for instance.
But price hikes seem inevitable as more and more subscriptions services debut and the companies shift to original programming. Creating shows and movies isn’t a cheap affair, and Netflix hasn’t raised prices since January 2019.
Researchers estimate that Netflix spent over $17 billion in 2020 alone on original programming, and it’s not alone. Disney famously paid $75 million for Hamilton alone, a musical it premiered to much acclaim last July.
Ultimately, streaming services prices aren’t going down. So if you want to get as much content as possible for as little money as possible, it might be time to consider rotating your subscriptions.
via The Verge