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- Netflix is now charging $7.99 rather than $6.99 a month for its cheapest plan.
- The new price is equal to the least expensive plan available from Comcast’s Peacock.
- Most other major streaming services’ plans start at a dollar or two more a month.
Netflix now shares the distinction of offering the least-expensive streaming service in the U.S.
Netflix’s (NFLX) decision to raise rates brings its ad-supported standard plan to $7.99 a month. That matches the cheapest plan available from Comcast’s Peacock (CMCSA), but remains a dollar or two below what’s offered by other major streaming services.
The ad-supported plan has lately fueled Netflix signups and accounts for more than half of new subscribers in areas where it’s offered, the company said. Netflix believes it has enhanced the value of its services to subscribers, and therefore, wants them to pay more, co-CEO Greg Peters said.
Here’s how Netflix’s new prices compare to what its peers currently charge:
- Netflix’s standard plan costs $7.99 a month with ads or $17.99 without them. Its premium plan, which allows more people to simultaneously stream higher-quality media, is $24.99 a month.
- Peacock’s cheapest plan costs $7.99 a month or $79.99 a year. Limiting ads with the “plus” version costs $13.99 a month or $139.99 a year.
- Amazon (AMZN) Prime members get its video included with their fees, but people without Prime can also subscribe for $8.99 per month, or $11.98 a month to avoid ads.
- Hulu charges $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year for its ad-supported plan, and $18.99 a month for its ad-free subscription.
- Apple TV+, which costs $9.99 a month, doesn’t include ads on Apple-produced content.
- Disney+ (DIS) costs $9.99 for its basic package with ads, and $15.99 a month—or $159.99 annually—for the ad-free premium version.
- Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD) Max charges $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year for streaming with ads. Its ad-free alternative is $16.99 a month or $169.99 a year, while a product that can be streamed by more users at once is priced at $20.99 a month or $209.99 a year.
Netflix executives on a conference call Tuesday talked about their content strategy, including their interest in live programming. The stock was higher in trading today.
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