Netflix is once again exploring the age old question, “how much is too much?” The streaming service is again hiking the prices on all of its subscription plans. As of today, the cheapest Netflix plan will cost $7.99 per month, while its top tier 4K streaming plan will take a $24.99 sized chuck out of your credit card each month.
The new pricing is as follows:
- Standard with ads: $7.99 (up from $6.99) per month
- Standard without ads: $17.99 (up from $15.49) per month
- Premium: $24.99 (up from $22.99) per month
The price increases affect users in the United States, Canada, Portugal and Argentina.
In a letter to shareholders today, Netflix said the price increase is “so that we can re-invest to further improve Netflix”:
As we continue to invest in programming and deliver more value for our members, we will occasionally ask our members to pay a little more so that we can re-invest to further improve Netflix. To that end, we are adjusting prices today across most plans in the US, Canada, Portugal and Argentina.
It sounds as if Netflix was doing fairly well before the price increase as the streamer also reported monster earnings for Q4 2024. The service reported revenue of $10.25 billion, beating estimates of $10.11 billion. Earnings-per-share came in at $4.28, compared to estimates of $4.20. It also announced a $15 billion share buyback program.
The streamer also says it added 18.9 million new subscribers in the quarter, nearly doubling analyst expectations of 9.6 million additions. It now has 302 million paid subscribers around the world.