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Mckenzie Witting
With a vast library of TV shows, movies, and original programming, Netflix is one of our picks for the best streaming services you can sign up for. But like its competitors, the price of Netflix varies depending on which subscription tier and features you choose.
Netflix pricing starts at $7 a month, but following a Netflix price hike in October 2023, you now have to pay $23 a month to get the best video quality without ads. And due to Netflix's recent crackdown on password sharing, it now costs an additional $8 a month to add an extra user to your account in the US. The fee will only apply to users who live outside of an account holder's household.
It also costs more to add another user to a subscription plan. Standard and Premium subscriptions are the only plans that offer extra member additions. Standard allows one extra member slot for $8 a month. Premium offers up to two extra member slots for $8 each monthly.
Quick tip: If you're interested in other streaming options, check out our guides to the best music streaming services and the top services to watch free movies online. And if you need a new media player to access your favorite services with, check out our guide to the best streaming devices.
The basic plan is not displayed as an option for U.S. subscribers on its Plan and Pricing page for U.S. customers. The company quit offering the basic plan for new subscribers in July 2023, but allowed basic plan customers to remain on the subscription so long as they didn't cancel or change plans.
Netflix, which began offering a "standard with ads" tier in November 2022, said the plan's "attractiveness" led to a 34% increase in ad-supported subscriptions from the prior quarter. The company reported a record 277.65 million subscribers across all tiers in the second quarter, up 16.5% year-over-year.
Netflix subscribers in the U.S. and in France who are currently on the Basic plan will have to choose a new plan, the company said in a statement to USA TODAY. Those members impacted will get an email starting today, the company said.
Even without the basic, ad-free offering, Netflix represents "a very strong offering for our members," when you consider the $6.99 monthly ad-supported option, said co-CEO Greg Peters, during a videoconference about the company's second quarter performance Thursday.
"Essentially, we're providing them a better experience: two streams versus one. We've got higher definition. We got downloads. And, of course, all at a lower price," he said. "And for members who don't want that ads experience, they, of course, can choose our ad-free Standard or Premium plans."
Netflix added more than 8 million subscribers in the second quarter, benefiting from the return of series such as "Bridgerton," and "Baby Reindeer" and the live event "The Roast of Tom Brady," as well as a password-sharing crackdown.
Total number of subscribers grew to more than 277.6 million, an increase of 16.5%, the company said. Netflix forecast lower subscriber additions in the current quarter (July-Sept.) than in the same period last year, when the streaming company added more than 8.7 million.
New data from CivicScience find that among all current Netflix users and those likely to subscribe, 29% would subscribe to an ad-free plan (either by continuing to subscribe or starting a new subscription), such as Netflix Standard or Premium plans. However, 39% say they would cancel their subscription if a price hike took effect.
Continued inflation is taking a toll on the financial health and economic confidence of consumers, which has been reflected in the volatility of the streaming market this year. Consumers are cutting down on the number of services they use due to cost, according to CivicScience data. Ongoing monthly tracking shows that 33% of U.S. adults have reduced or plan to reduce spending on streaming subscriptions, up from 28% in January. Additionally, the monthly percentage of those with four or more streaming subscriptions fell from September to October, continuing a decline seen throughout the year.
Price concerns are certainly top-of-mind for current Netflix ad-free plan subscribers. More than a third express increased price sensitivity over the last year, more so than those who subscribe to the ads-based plan.
Depending on your subscription plan, the price hike adds up to an extra $24 or $36 you pay each year to the streaming service. Below, CNBC Select shares some ways to save on (and even benefit from) your Netflix subscription.
While you're unlikely to be happy about paying a higher monthly Netflix bill, it does mean you earn a bit more from that 6% cash back. Amex's cash back is earned in the form of Reward Dollars, which cardholders can then use as a statement credit to lower their credit card balance.
And with the U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card, cardholders can choose to earn 5% cash back on two bonus categories each quarter, on their first $2,000 in combined eligible net purchases, then 1%. Television, internet and streaming services are counted as a bonus category and U.S. Bank's website lists Netflix as a sample qualifying merchant. Again, you can use this cash back to essentially lower your credit card bill.
T-Mobile has a "Netflix On Us" deal where qualifying cell phone plans get a free Netflix subscription. Those who aren't happy with their current cell phone provider should consider this benefit, which not only makes Netflix complimentary but also consolidates your streaming and cell phone bill.
Netflix allows you to pause your membership and come back to it. This can give you a break from the monthly subscription if you're looking to cut costs or if you're just not watching a particular show at the moment.
You just have to connect the bank account you use to pay your Netflix subscription to Experian Boost, and Experian will add your payments to your Experian credit file. Consumers can link positive payment data as far back as 24 months. Experian Boost also includes access to your FICO Score and Experian free credit monitoring that alerts you to changes on your credit report, such as new account openings in your name and balance updates.
Basic and Premium plan Netflix subscribers will now pay a little more each month for the streaming service. To help save on this cost, get a credit card that rewards streaming purchases, switch your phone plan to T-Mobile or take a pause on your subscription. And, while you're paying more for it, make sure that monthly Netflix bill is helping your credit with Experian Boost.
At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every personal finance article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of personal finance products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.
Netflix is also making basic plans unavailable to new customers in several countries, including the UK and US. Basic plans in those countries have now been replaced with standard subscriptions with ads. Ad-supported plans are much more affordable, costing 4.99 per month in the UK and $6.99 per month in the US.
Please note: the prices included in our study are the base price as advertised by Netflix. They do not include the various taxes and other charges users may face. We are aware that several countries, including Argentina, have these charges but our study focuses on the price charged by Netflix.
Second, we evaluated the cost per month in each country and how these shape up against others (based on current exchange rates at the time of writing). We have also analyzed the 13 countries with ad-based subscriptions (Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Guernsey, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, South Korea, UK, and US) separately to see how these plans compare.
At the other end of the scale are a number of African and European countries and Fiji where none of their plans are cost-effective, despite recent library growth across the majority of these countries. This is due to extortionate monthly costs (Liechtenstein and Switzerland) or library sizes that are more than three times below average (Zambia, Seychelles, Uganda).
The homeland of Netflix itself, the US, also features as one of the least cost-effective countries across all of its plans. This is, again, due to its average library size and above-average monthly costs. It ranks as the eleventh, twenty-first, and seventeenth least cost-effective country for its basic, standard, and premium plans respectively.
One of the biggest advantages of streaming platforms over standard TV channels is their lack of adverts. So are the cheaper plans with ads on Netflix worth it? And do they offer the best value for money when we compare them to basic plans without ads from around the world?
It probably goes without saying that all 13 countries save a reasonable amount of money per title when opting for the standard plan with ads. But as the above table demonstrates, some get a better deal than others.
One of the most expensive countries, Guernsey, saves the most per title when choosing the standard with ads plan (saving nearly $0.0018 per title), while Brazil (which boasts the most cost-effective standard with ads plan) saves a fourth of what Guernsey users do.
Here we can compare all of the countries Netflix is available in (245 in total) to see which countries pay the most and least for their subscriptions on a cost-per-month basis. We can also see just how the recent price hikes and cuts have affected these costs.
The basic subscription tier lets you stream content in 720p HD on one device at a time. Both standard plans (with ads and ad-free) support 1080p full HD streaming and up to two devices at once. Only a premium subscription allows you to watch Netflix in 4K UHD on four supported devices at a time.
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