Netflix Raises Prices (Again): Ditching Ads Will Cost at Least $18 Per Month

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A new year, a new Netflix price hike: The streaming service will start asking US customers to pay even more across every plan.

According to a Netflix spokesperson, the company’s ad-based plan will now cost $7.99 per month, up from $6.99. In addition, the standard plan is increasing to $17.99, a bump up from $15.49. Those on the premium plan can expect to pay $24.99, an increase from $22.99.

Sharing a Netflix account will also cost more. The company’s “extra member” add-on, which is available on the Standard and Premium plans, is now $8.99 per month for up to two people, up from $7.99 per month per extra member.

“We will start notifying members beginning January 21 via email and the price change will go into effect for a members’ next billing cycle,” the company told PCMag. “If you’re a new member signing up on January 21, you will already see the new pricing.”

The company announced the price increases even as Netflix added a record 19 million subscribers in Q4, with nearly 5 million of those based in North America.

In justifying the news, Netflix merely said in a shareholder’s letter: “As we continue to invest in programming and deliver more value for our members, we will occasionally ask our members to pay a little more so that we can re-invest to further improve Netflix. To that end, we are adjusting prices today across most plans in the US, Canada, Portugal, and Argentina.”

The last time Netflix increased its prices was in October 2023 when pricing for the premium plan jumped to $22.99 per month, up from $19.99. A year ago, the company also phased out the basic plan, which cost $11.99, but rendered the video at 720p. Instead, affected subscribers were forced to pay for the pricier standard plan or migrate to the ad-supported tier.

In its shareholder's letter, Netflix also noted: "With over 300M paid memberships (which excludes Extra Member accounts) and multiple people per household, we’re entertaining a massive global audience estimated at over 700M."

About Our Expert

Michael Kan

Principal Reporter

My Experience

I've been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I'm currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country's technology sector.

Since 2020, I've covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I've combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink's cellular service.

I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.

I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I'm now following how the AI-driven memory shortage is impacting the entire consumer electronics market. I'm always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.

The Best Tech I've Had:

My first video game console: a Nintendo Famicom
I loved my Sega Saturn despite PlayStation's popularity.
The iPod Video I received as a gift in college
Xbox 360 FTW
The Galaxy Nexus was the first smartphone I was proud to own.
The PC desktop I built in 2013, which still works to this day.

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