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This week, Disney+ and the Disney-controlled Hulu became the latest streaming video services to increase prices. Starting in October, the ad-free tier of Disney+ will rise from $11 to $14 a month, while ad-free Hulu will increase from $14 to $18 a month. Both services will also be offered together for $20 a month, and the ad-supported tiers will maintain their current pricing; both strategies seem intended to drive viewers to either sign up for multiple services or drop down to an ad-supported tier.
This is the second price hike for both services in the last calendar year, and most subscription services have been doing the same thing recently. Here are the big-name video streaming services that have increased their prices in the last 12 months (not counting bundles or other discounts or add-ons, all prices monthly):
| Netflix | Hulu | (HBO) Max | Disney+ | Amazon Prime Video | Apple TV+ | Paramount+ | Peacock | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ad-free (before) | $13.99 | $12.99 | $14.99 | $7.99 | $8.99 standalone, $12.99 with Prime | $4.99 | $9.99 | $9.99 |
| Ad-free (after) | $15.49 | $17.99 | $15.99 | $13.99 | $8.99 standalone, $14.99 with Prime | $6.99 | $11.99 | $11.99 |
| With ads (before) | N/A (launched November 2022) | $6.99 | $9.99 | N/A (launched December 2022) | N/A, but "in talks" | N/A, but hiring personnel | $4.99 | $4.99 |
| With ads (after) | $6.99 | $7.99 | $9.99 | $7.99 | N/A | N/A | $5.99 | $5.99 |
And that's just capturing price increases from the last year or so; many of these services have increased prices steadily over the last two or three years, as subscriber growth has slowed or declined. If you pay for more than a couple of these services (and especially if you pay for music, games, or other software on top of your streaming apps), your prices have either gone up a lot in the last year, or you've decided to let TV advertising back into your life.
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