Netflix Announces Higher Prices for the Standard and Premium Plans, Now $14 and $18 respectively

Netflix is ​​now more expensive, at least in the United States. The famous streaming service has indeed decided to adjust the prices of its subscriptions where it hurts the most: the two more affordable plans. The standard plan now costs $14 per month, a dollar more than before, while the premium plan is up by two dollars, reaching $18 per month.

Netflix Announces Higher Prices in the United States for the Standard and Premium Plans

Netflix justifies itself by saying in practice that this increase will serve to guarantee a higher quality of service; so according to them it is for the sake of the users.

Here’s their full statement:

Obviously, producing new shows has its costs, although paying more doesn’t mean some shows will not get cancelled. Additionally, they aren’t offering a specific explanation on what the money is going towards. Will they stop cancelling TV shows after a season or two? Probably not. All we can hope is that they’ll be focusing more on quality, rather than quantity, which could help to keep costs down.

Netflix Announces Higher Prices for the Standard and Premium Plans, Now $14 and $18 respectively

Even assuming that it’s more complex than that (and it is, obviously), it still doesn’t excuse the fact they are increasing their prices in a period where people are more likely stuck at home, using online services like theirs. To be fair, they also never gave free trial periods during the pandemic, but it still stinks that now it’s asking users to pay more for the same service.

That said, according to some insiders the increase in price is something to expect with Netflix as the service is still underpriced. So, in order to keep the company going and growing, the monthly charges will have to increase over time. Let’s also remind that competing services such as HBO Max are still more expensive while arguably bringing less content.

Either way, Netflix price hikes in the United States will be effective immediately and will reflect for existing subscribers starting on their next billing cycle.