Netflix has increased the price of all of its plans and for all subscribers, making the streaming service even more expensive. The previous price increase only arrived last year when the cost of the Standard and Premium plans went up. Not only have those same subscriptions tiers increased again this time, but so has the entry-level Basic plan.
Netflix provides good value to consumers thanks to a mixture of shows and movies from other studios as well as its own popular originals. However, the cost of making new shows and licensing others keeps increasing, with Netflix often passing those rising prices onto the consumer. The 2020 price increase resulted in the cost of the Standard and Premium plans rising to $13.99 and $17.99 per month respectively.
Although the Basic Netflix plan was unaffected by the last increase, remaining at $8.99 per month, the latest increase ups the price of the cheapest Netflix subscription by $1 to $9.99 per month. The updated Netflix help page also confirms that the other two plans have encountered an ever greater increase. For example, the Standard plan has now increased by $1.50 taking the monthly cost up to $15.49, while the Premium plan has jumped by $2 in price to $19.99 per month. The higher prices are already being applied to new subscribers, while existing customers can expect the price change to take effect in the near future, and depending on their individual billing cycle.
With the latest round of increases, it might be time for consumers to start considering whether their existing subscription tier is right for them. Unlike some other streaming services, Netflix does not limit content based on the price a subscriber pays. In other words, all of the shows, movies and originals are available to all Netflix subscribers. Instead, these plans mainly differ in terms of the number of screens that can be used to watch on at the same time, the ability to download on a greater number of devices, and the overall resolution.
Put simply, if 4K is wanted, then the Premium plan at the new $19.99 per month price is going to be the best option. However, if HD and two simultaneous streams is enough, then Premium subscribers could downgrade to the Standard plan. For those that are happy to watch in SD and only on one device at a time, the Standard Netflix plan will be the one to switch to.
