Netflix has raised its subscription fees in the UK, following similar price increases in the US, Canada, Argentina, and Portugal last month.
The cost of a Standard subscription without adverts, the platform’s most popular plan, has risen by £2 to £12.99 per month, alongside increases across other packages.
A company spokesperson stated that the price adjustments would enable Netflix to “continue investing in programming and provide greater value to members.”
The streaming giant reported record-breaking global subscriber numbers at the end of 2024, fuelled in part by its expanding sports content.
This marks the first Netflix price increase in the UK since October 2023, affecting all subscription tiers. The Standard plan with adverts has risen by £1 to £5.99 per month, while the top-tier Premium subscription has also increased by £1 to £18.99 per month.
Additionally, Netflix has raised the cost of its Extra Member add-ons by £1. For a Standard plan with adverts, the fee to add an extra member has risen from £3.99 to £4.99, whereas for a Standard plan without adverts, it has increased from £4.99 to £5.99.
The platform has already updated its website to reflect these changes, which apply to both new and existing subscribers.
“We periodically ask our members to contribute a little more so we can reinvest in further improving Netflix,” the company stated.
Technology analyst Paolo Pescatore from PP Foresight said the subscription hikes were “widely anticipated,” adding that “the streaming sector is mirroring traditional television with price increases, and consumers should expect this trend to continue.”
However, he cautioned, “Netflix must be careful… there is a threshold at which customers will become increasingly frustrated by rising costs.”
Netflix is not alone in its price adjustments, with rivals such as Disney+, Spotify, and Paramount+ also implementing subscription increases globally throughout 2024.
In May 2023, Netflix began enforcing a password-sharing crackdown in the UK and the US, a move that drove millions of new sign-ups over the following year. By the end of 2024, the company reported over 300 million subscribers worldwide.
Netflix had initially projected 9.6 million new subscribers between October and December but far exceeded expectations, gaining nearly 19 million in the final quarter of the year.
The surge in subscribers was partly attributed to the release of the second season of the South Korean hit drama Squid Game and the platform’s expanded sports coverage.
Netflix streamed two NFL games on Christmas Day and hosted a high-profile boxing match featuring influencer-turned-fighter Jake Paul against former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson.
The company’s net profit for the final quarter of 2024 doubled year-on-year to $1.8 billion, with revenue climbing from $8.8 billion to $10.2 billion.
