Highlights
- Monthly costs rise across all Netflix plans, with increases of up to 12.5 per cent
- Ad-supported tier now £9, while premium plan climbs to £27
- Company points to content investment and platform upgrades as key reasons
Price rise across all tiers
Netflix has increased prices across its entire subscription range, marking its second hike in just over a year.
The ad-supported plan has risen from £8 to £9 per month, while the standard ad-free tier has increased from £18 to £20. The premium plan, which includes 4K streaming, support for four devices and spatial audio, now costs £27, up from £25.
The last price revision came in January 2025, when some subscriptions rose by as much as 16 per cent, following an earlier increase in 2023.
Justifying higher costs
Netflix said the latest changes reflect continued investment in its content and overall service. The company has recently introduced features such as HDR10+ support and updated subtitle options that focus solely on dialogue.
It has also redesigned its TV interface and signalled plans for a refreshed mobile app, alongside ambitions to stream traditional broadcast channels and introduce AI-generated advertising.
Strong financial performance
The price rise comes despite a period of strong financial growth. Netflix reported net income of around $11 billion for 2025, up from $8.7 billion the previous year.
Company executives have identified pricing, subscriber growth and a sharp rise in advertising revenue as central to its financial outlook for 2026.
Price increase despite shelved expansion plans
The move may frustrate some users given that a proposed deal involving Warner Bros. Discovery did not go ahead. The acquisition, which could have expanded Netflix’s content library, was abandoned in February.
However, Netflix leadership had already indicated that the potential deal would not influence pricing decisions.
Even so, the latest increase underlines a familiar pattern in the streaming sector, where rising costs are often passed on to subscribers as platforms compete to expand their libraries and features.
