Your Netflix Account Is About to Get More Expensive

ByElizabeth Licata

Our Netflix subscriptions are about to get more expensive. Now that Netflix really has us and we can’t possibly quit, the company is raising its prices on mid- and top-tier plans by $1 or $2 a month, starting next month.

There are three Netflix streaming plans. The “basic” plan is $7.99 and allows streaming in standard definition on one screen at a time and lets you download videos to one phone or tablet. The “standard” plan costs $9.99 and lets people watch in HD on two screens at a time and download videos to two phones or tablets. The fancypants plan costs $11.99 and lets you watch on four screens at a time in HD or Ultra HD and download onto four phones or tablets. (Though I just checked my account, and it says the fancypants plan costs $13.99 right now. I have the standard.)

In November, the standard plan will go up to $10.99 a month, and the fancypants plan will reportedly go up to $13.99 a month. The basic plan will stay $7.99 for the time being.

Nobody likes a price hike, but it’s not like most of us are going to give up our streaming services. I visited my parents last month and had to watch regular cable. After years of only streaming television, having to look at the TV Guide channel was a fresh new Hell. “Wait, what do you mean I have to watch stuff when it’s on? Can’t I just watch whatever I want whenever I want it, all at once?”

All these subscriptions add up

It’s only $12 or $24 more per year, but it’s still a bummer. All these different subscription services really add up. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime. And it seems like all the special, premium things you don’t really need have at least one or two really good shows you want. (I never thought I’d want to pay for Starz, but they have American Gods, and I’m just getting into Outlander, so …)

And new streaming services are popping up every day. I keep getting ads for BritBox, a streaming service of just British shows. It’s $6.99 a month, but they have all the Jane Austen period dramas a person could want, and also Absolutely Fabulous and Doctor Who and weird reality shows where they go into fancy people’s houses and everything. They’re absolutely killing me. (I haven’t signed up yet, but it’s only a matter of time.)

Netflix says it’s raising prices so it will be able to “add more exclusive TV shows and movies, introduce new product features and improve the overall Netflix experience to help members find something great to watch even faster.”

Well, they sure know how to spin a price increase to make it sound like a good thing. If an extra $1 a month will let them buy even fancier costumes for The Crown and allow them to break some more set pieces on Jessica Jones, I could be OK with that.

What should we be watching on Netflix right now? Let us know in the comments.

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