Netflix Australia has hiked its prices yet again, floating out emails notifying subscribers this week that its three subscription tiers will all be increasing in price, by varying amounts, depending on the tier you’re signed up to. Standard (with ads) will get a AU$1 increase; Standard (without ads) goes up by AU$2 and the Premium tier will see a AU$3 rise.
Despite some valiant competition from Binge, Stan, Prime Video and even Disney Plus and Apple TV Plus, Netflix arguably remains the streaming service to beat. So, it might not seem like the biggest deal – I mean, it's just one or two dollars a month, right?
That depends on whether you perceive Netflix to offer good value. We’re still on the fence, especially when you consider the percentage change in costs. The AU$3 increase to the premium tier takes it up to AU$25.99, making it the most expensive premium tier available in Australia. The standard tier changes from AU$16.99 to AU$18.99 and the standard (with ads) subscription is now AU$7.99. While the dollar amount makes them sound like tiny changes, these are massive increases of 13%, 12% and over 14%, respectively, that over the course of 12 months, add up to more than an entire month's subscription at the previous price.
Netflix has updated its website to match these changes, so you can assume that your next billing cycle landing in June will reflect the increases – though subscribers will be made aware of the changes well in advance of their next charge.
When will it stop?
This continues a worrying trend for Netflix and streaming services broadly. It's easy to forget that once upon a time the standard Netflix subscription was only AU$10.99, and you could snag the premium tier for only AU$14.99. Of course, some of that change is inflation-related, but it's not purely currency-related changes that have us in a huff.
It was only last year that Netflix cracked down on password-sharing, taking away the ability for friends and family to share the one account unless they live in the same household. Then, of course, they added the ability to be able to add non-household members to your account… for an extra AU$7.99 per month.
It's not just Netflix, though. Disney Plus only recently added a premium subscription that locked 4K and Dolby Audio behind the more expensive tier, Stan added AU$2 to its basic subscription, late last year Binge added AU$4 to its premium plan and just this week Prime Video Australia announced they'd be running ads during movies and TV shows.
While streaming services started off as a cheaper alternative to cable television, the price of subscribing to just a few of them is quickly adding up. And while Netflix is the latest service to increase its prices, it's an easy bet to say it won't be the last.
Like Thanos, it's inevitable.
Unfortunately, there's only one way to show your distaste, and that's to stop giving them your money. If you'd like to vote with your wallet, but understandably don't want to miss out on any tasty new content, we provide a monthly overview of each streaming service to ensure you're subscribing to the best streaming service for you each month.
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