Netflix raises prices for standard ad-supported plans

Netflix is increasing the price of most of its US plans.

The streaming giant announced Tuesday that its standard ad-free plan will rise from $15.49 a month to $17.99. Its cheaper ad-supported plan, which was recently introduced to attract more subscribers, will rise from $6.99 a month to $7.99.

In addition, the monthly cost of Netflix’s premium plan will increase from $22.99 to $24.99.

A company that reported in the fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday, said it would also raise prices in Canada, Portugal and Argentina.

Consumers faced with numerous price increases in recent years through major streaming services including Netflix and its competitors, among others Disney applications and Warner Bros. Discovery Max. Streamers are increasingly turning to higher prices and ad-supported plans in an effort to achieve profitability.

“If you’re going to ask for a price increase, you better make sure you have the merchandise and the engagement to back it up,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandas said on a call with investors on Tuesday, noting the upcoming series and movies coming out in 2025 .

On Tuesday’s call, co-CEO Greg Peters said the recent price increase in international markets has gone “smoothly.”

Last time Netflix increased cost its standard ad-free plan in 2022, while its premium plan last increased in 2023. Meanwhile, in 2023 the company has discontinued the cheapest basic version without ads. While the plan is no longer available to new customers, Netflix did increase cost of this later in the year.

Netflix dropped its basic ad-free tier shortly after introducing a cheaper ad-supported plan in November 2022 in response to slowing down subscriber growth at that time. Netflix in November said it has reached 70 million global monthly active users on its advertising plans. This is the first time Netflix has changed the price of an ad-supported plan.

The company is also cracking down on password sharing in an effort to get more customers to pay for its services.

As part of these changes, Netflix has given subscribers the ability to add “additional members” to their accounts. On Tuesday, the streamer said the cost of additional members on standard, ad-free plans will rise from $7.99 a month to $8.99. The price will not change for additional members of tariff plans with advertising support.

The crackdown appears to be paying off, with Netflix reporting Tuesday that it added a record 19 million paid memberships in the fourth quarter and surpassed 300 million subscribers.