The United States will experience a further increase in Netflix subscription prices. But if the anger is very present on social networks, the platform highlights its investments in its programs.
In the space of 13 years, and therefore since the launch of Netflix as an SVOD platform, its prices have increased by 150%. The time when subscriptions started, without advertising for less than 8 dollars for HD content, seems so far away. The United States was entitled to a new price increase to reach 9 dollars for the package with advertising, and up to 27 dollars for the premium package (with 4K, HDR and Dolby Atmos/Vision).
If in France, and more generally in Europe, prices still remain contained, each increase is an opportunity to see thousands of complaints on social networks.
But each time, Netflix denies simply increasing its prices and instead talks about improving the quality of its programs. According to Bloomberg, the platform doesn’t care if you find the prices too high, in particular because it is gradually starting to reach a glass ceiling in number of subscribers. This is particularly the case in the United States, where it seems to have reached a threshold of nearly 90 million customers. Based on this principle, Netflix therefore seeks to increase the average basket of its existing subscribers rather than spending millions to have new ones.
A very loyal subscriber base for Netflix
As demonstrated by a study published on the subject of unsubscription rate, Netflix enjoys a special place. It is the platform which records the least (around 5%) and has a very loyal base. If they find a subscription level too expensive, Netflix intends instead to move them to the offer with advertising, which remains under ten dollars. And as long as they don’t prefer to leave the platform, they might as well continue to increase prices.
In any case, this is what Bloomberg thinks it knows in its latest business-tech newsletter.
The American media also explains that there is a reality which well justifies these successive increases in all markets: when in 2018, Netflix spent 2 to 5 billion dollars per year in content production, in 2021 it reached 17 billion dollars in investments. And it will be 20 billion in 2026. In the meantime, the platform has considerably strengthened its catalog with ultra popular series and programs.
Among the huge boxes, we can cite The Bridgertons Chroniclewhich is expensive in terms of actors, sets and costumes, but also Stranger Thingswhose last season saw its budget explode with the arrival of much longer episodes with elaborate special effects. Production costs have increased for all platforms, even if Netflix produces less than a few years ago.
A little thumb of the advertising market
With this in mind, it is therefore understandable that prices are increasing significantly. We no longer produce a series in 2026 in the same way as in 2018.
At the same time, Netflix’s bet to move those who complain to its offer with advertisements is designed for the long term. With 23 million subscribers on this package in the United States and Canada, this leaves a large pool of people to convince, while the platform seeks to gain credibility in the advertising market.
In 2025, it had generated 1.5 billion dollars thanks to advertisements, and this amount is expected to double in 2026 despite an advertising market in crisis. But to attract the most premium advertisers, it must also ensure that it has a large enough pool of subscribers for them to be seen. The takeover of Warner Bros, ultimately aborted, could have placed the platform at the top of the sector, but this reality is no longer accessible today.
