Netflix prices to rise for existing customers from February

Customers taking Netflix's Standard plan will pay £9.99 per month while those on the Premium plan will pay £13.99 per month.

The increased charges have been active for new customers since 10 December 2020, but existing customers will see their payments increase from February.

All customers will be contacted before the increase takes place on the account, and they will be given a month's notice of the rise.

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Price increases

The prices of both Netflix's Standard and Premium plans are increasing, with the Standard plan rising from £8.99 to £9.99. This amounts to an increase of 11% every year.

Premium customers will see prices rise from £11.99 to £13.99, an increase of £24 per year or 17%.

The date customers will see the increase applied to their bills depends on their Netflix billing cycle, but Netflix will let customers know a month in advance of their bill increasing.

Avoiding the increase

Because Netflix is contract-free, customers unhappy with the price increases can exit their subscription immediately with no penalty.

However, if customers don't wish to leave, they could also consider downgrading their subscription to the Basic plan.

For £5.99 a month, customers can watch Netflix in standard definition on one device at a time. In addition, the service can only be downloaded onto a single mobile or tablet.

There are downsides to this for larger households or customers who enjoy streaming in high definition as their options will be limited.

Currently, customers on Standard plans can watch in high definition on two devices at a time while they can download on up to two devices.

Premium plan customers can watch on four devices at once and download on up to four phones or tablets with content available in ultra-high definition.

So, customers looking for those features will have little choice but to soak up the increase.

The last time Netflix increased their prices was back in mid-2019 when Standard and Premium plans again rose by £1 and £2 respectively.

Over the course of two years, then, loyal customers will have seen increases of 25% and 40%.

Streaming competition

Netflix are still the major player in the streaming sector, although there are now more streaming services emerging and adding customers.

An Ofcom snapshot published in August 2020 found 45% of UK adults were signed up to Netflix in July as households took out extra streaming subscriptions to cope with coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

The major beneficiary of the restrictions was Disney+, with families signing up to the new streaming service in droves after its launch on the week the first lockdown was announced.

Ofcom's snapshot found Disney+ had attracted 16% of UK adults to the platform by July 2020, just three months after launch.

However, Disney+ will also increase their prices this year from £5.99 to £7.99 per month from February onwards, less than a year after their launch in the UK and 16 months after their initial launch in the US.

These increases from Netflix and Disney+ are unlikely to be the last we see from streaming services this year.

For instance, Now TV raised the price of their flagship Entertainment Pass in July 2020, less a year after previously increasing it. Overall, the cost of that pass has risen by 25% in less than two years.

Our comparison guide to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Now TV looks at what the different streaming services offer.