08 March 2024

Streaming Price Guide: Navigating the Surge In Subscription Fees

From pocket change to pricey plans: The rising cost of monthly subscription services

Bill Reath
Bill Reath @tracksubHQ

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In the beginning, streaming services like Netflix and Spotify changed the game. They shook up the old ways of cable TV & the music industry and gave us the power to watch or listen to whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted. They were a big win for consumers because they were easier and much cheaper than what existed before.

But, fast forward to today, and things have started to shift. If you’re someone who likes to use a few different streaming services to catch all your favorite shows and tunes, you might have noticed your bills creeping up in recent times. Let’s say you love watching superhero movies on one service, cooking shows on another, and listening to your favorite bands on a third. Add all those monthly subscription fees together, and suddenly, it’s not so cheap after all.

In this post, we’re going to look at the price changes over the last 4–8 years for some of the popular streaming services. So, you can easily see just how much more you’re paying nowadays.

Note: The below information is focused on the US market. But, many of the service providers below also hiked prices in other countries at around similar times.

There’s two main sections to the post. They are:

  1. Video Streaming Services
  2. Music Streaming Services

 

Video Streaming Services

The logo of Netflix

Netflix

Basic

Year Price Change Source
2014 $7.99 - Variety
2019 $8.99 $1.00 + Variety
2022 $9.99 $1.00 + Forbes
2023 $11.99 $2.00 + Verge

Total increase =  $4.00

Standard

Year Price Change Source
2010 $7.99 - Variety
2014 $8.99 $1.00 + Variety
2015 $9.99 $1.00 + Variety
2017 $10.99 $1.00 + Variety
2019 $12.99 $2.00 + Variety
2020 $13.99 $1.00 + Verge
2022 $15.49 $1.50 + Forbes

Total increase =  $7.50

Standard (with ads)

Year Price Change Source
2023 $6.99 - Verge

Premium

Year Price Change Source
2013 $11.99 - Variety
2017 $13.99 $2.00 + Variety
2019 $15.99 $2.00 + Variety
2020 $17.99 $2.00 + Verge
2022 $19.99 $2.00 + Forbes
2023 $22.99 $3.00 + Verge

Total increase =  $11.00

The logo of Hulu

Hulu

Hulu + Live TV (with ads)

Year Price Change Source
2018 $39.99 - StreamTV
2019 $44.99 $5.00 + StreamTV
2019 $54.99 $10.00 + ARS
2020 $64.99 $10.00 + ARS
2021 $69.99 $5.00 + StreamTV
2023 $76.99 $7.00 + Verge
2024 $82.99 $6.00 + Hulu

Total increase =  $43.00

Hulu + Live TV (ad-free)

Year Price Change Source
2019 $60.99 - ARS
2020 $70.99 $10.00 + ARS
2021 $74.99 $4.00 + StreamTV
2023 $89.99 $15.00 + Verge
2024 $95.99 $6.00 + Hulu

Total increase =  $35.00

Live TV only

Year Price Change Source
2019 $53.99 - ARS
2020 $63.99 $10.00 + ARS
2021 $68.99 $5.00 + StreamTV
2023 $75.99 $7.00 + Hulu
2024 $81.99 $6.00 + Hulu

Total increase =  $28.00

Hulu only (with ads)

Year Price Change Source
2018 $7.99 - StreamTV
2019 $5.99 $2.00 - StreamTV
2021 $6.99 $1.00 + Verge
2022 $7.99 $1.00 + Verge
2024 $9.99 $2.00 + Hulu

Total increase =  $2.00

Hulu only (ad-free)

Year Price Change Source
2020 $11.99 - ARS
2021 $12.99 $1.00 + Verge
2022 $14.99 $2.00 + Verge
2023 $17.99 $3.00 + BI
2024 $18.99 $1.00 + Hulu

Total increase =  $7.00

The logo of Disney Plus

Disney Plus

Disney+ Basic

Year Price Change Source
2022 $7.99 - Variety
2024 $9.99 $2.00 + Verge

Total increase =  $2.00

Disney+ Premium

Year Price Change Source
2020 $6.99 - Verge
2021 $7.99 $1.00 + Verge
2022 $10.99 $3.00 + Variety
2023 $13.99 $3.00 + Verge
2024 $15.99 $2.00 + Verge

Total increase =  $9.00

The logo of Max (also known as HBO Max)

Max (formerly known as HBO Max)

With Ads

Year Price Change Source
2020 $9.99 - Verge

Ad-Free

Year Price Change Source
2020 $14.99 - Verge
2023 $15.99 $1.00 + Verge
2024 $16.99 $1.00 + Verge

Total increase =  $2.00

Ultimate Ad-Free

Year Price Change Source
2023 $19.99 - Variety
2024 $20.99 $1.00 + Verge

Total increase =  $1.00

The logo of Apple TV

Apple TV

Monthly Plan

Year Price Change Source
2019 $4.99 - MacRumors
2022 $6.99 $2.00 + MacRumors
2023 $9.99 $3.00 + MacRumors

Total increase =  $5.00

The logo of Peacock TV

Peacock TV

Peacock Premium

Year Price Change Source
2020 $4.99 - Verge
2023 $5.99 $1.00 + Verge
2024 $7.99 $2.00 + Variety

Total increase =  $3.00

Peacock Premium Plus

Year Price Change Source
2020 $9.99 - Verge
2023 $11.99 $2.00 + Verge
2024 $13.99 $2.00 + Variety

Total increase =  $4.00

The logo of Paramount Plus

Paramount Plus

Paramount+ Essential

Year Price Change Source
2021 $4.99 - Verge
2023 $5.99 $1.00 + Verge
2024 $7.99 $2.00 + Verge

Total increase =  $3.00

Paramount+ with SHOWTIME

Year Price Change Source
2021 $9.99 - Verge
2023 $11.99 $2.00 + Verge
2024 $12.99 $1.00 + Verge

Total increase =  $3.00

The logo of YouTube Premium

YouTube Premium

Individual

Year Price Change Source
2015 $9.99 - ARS
2018 $11.99 $2.00 + ARS
2023 $13.99 $2.00 + TG

Total increase =  $4.00

Family

Year Price Change Source
2018 $17.99 - Forbes
2022 $22.99 $5.00 + TG

Total increase =  $5.00

Student

Year Price Change Source
2018 $6.99 - TG
2022 $7.99 $1.00 + TG

Total increase =  $1.00

 

Music Streaming Services

The logo of Spotify

Spotify

Spotify Premium Individual

Year Price Change Source
2011 $9.99 - EDM
2023 $10.99 $1.00 + Spotify
2024 $11.99 $1.00 + Spotify

Total increase =  $2.00

Spotify Premium Duo

Year Price Change Source
2020 $12.99 - Verge
2023 $14.99 $2.00 + Spotify
2024 $16.99 $2.00 + Spotify

Total increase =  $4.00

Spotify Premium Family

Year Price Change Source
2014 $14.99 - Verge
2021 $15.99 $1.00 + Verge
2023 $16.99 $1.00 + Spotify
2024 $19.99 $3.00 + Spotify

Total increase =  $5.00

Spotify Premium Student

Year Price Change Source
2014 $4.99 - Verge
2023 $5.99 $1.00 + Spotify

Total increase =  $1.00

The logo of Apple Music

Apple Music

Individual

Year Price Change Source
2015 $9.99 - Engadget
2022 $10.99 $1.00 + Engadget

Total increase =  $1.00

Family

Year Price Change Source
2015 $14.99 - Engadget
2022 $16.99 $2.00 + Engadget

Total increase =  $2.00

Student

Year Price Change Source
2016 $4.99 - DMN
2022 $5.99 $1.00 + DMN

Total increase =  $1.00

The logo of YouTube Music

YouTube Music Premium

Individual

Year Price Change Source
2018 $9.99 - TG
2023 $10.99 $1.00 + TG

Total increase =  $1.00

Family

Year Price Change Source
2018 $14.99 - TG
2023 $16.99 $2.00 + TG

Total increase =  $2.00

Student

Year Price Change Source
2018 $4.99 - TG
2023 $5.49 $0.50 + TG

Total increase =  $0.50

The logo of Amazon Music

Amazon Music

Amazon Music Unlimited (Prime subscribers)

Year Price Change Source
2016 $7.99 - TechHive
2022 $8.99 $1.00 + TechHive
2023 $9.99 $1.00 + TechHive

Total increase =  $2.00

Amazon Music Unlimited

Year Price Change Source
2016 $9.99 - Variety
2023 $10.99 $1.00 + Variety

Total increase =  $1.00

Amazon Music Family

Year Price Change Source
2016 $14.99 - TechHive
2022 $15.99 $1.00 + Engadget
2023 $16.99 $1.00 + TechHive

Total increase =  $2.00

Categories

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