Netflix Australia Is Raising Its Prices (Again)


Netflix Australia has announced an increase to its pricing, effective immediately. The price hike affects new and existing customers on Netflix’s premium plan who will now be slugged an extra $2 per month. Here are the details (and why we think it’s a terrible decision.)

Netflix is fast becoming one of the priciest streaming entertainment services in Australia. Following today’s price hike, here’s how much the monthly plans now costs:

    Basic: $9.99
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    Standard: $13.99
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    Premium: $19.99 (previously $17.99)

For those unfamiliar with Netflix’s plan pricing, a Premium subscription is the only way to get 4K content, which makes it a popular option for people with fast internet and 4K TVs. It also provides four simultaneous streams. Customers on Standard and Basic plans have been spared a price hike (for now.)

For context, here’s how much Australia’s other streaming services charge for their plans:

Australian streaming service pricing

Stan Foxtel Now Amazon Prime Disney+ Apple TV+ Hayu 10 All Access YouTube Premium
$10 – $17 $25 – $104 $6.99 $8.99 $7.99 $6.99 $9.99 $14.99

[referenced url=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2019/09/streaming-hell-it-now-costs-220-a-month-to-join-every-streaming-service-in-australia/” thumb=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2019/09/Riverdale-1-410×231.jpg” title=”Brace Yourselves – TV Streaming Is About To Get Ridiculously Expensive” excerpt=”Australia’s streaming market is about to get a whole lot more crowded. While each service isn’t that expensive individually, once you bundle up all the options, it gets completely ridiculous. For anyone wanting a piece of all the exclusive content, that’s very bad news.

In the interest of public service journalism, we decided to crunch the numbers for you to better understand what the future of streaming is going to cost you. (Spoiler: It’s a lot.)”]

The last time Netflix Australia increased its prices was back in 2017 which saw monthly subscriptions go up by as much as 20 per cent. So its fair to say prices aren’t just keeping up with inflation.

In justifying the increase, a Netflix Australia spokesperson who spoke to News.com.au cited the company’s investment in popular shows like The Politician, Unbelievable, Stranger Things, The Good Place and The Crown (none of which are Australian, funnily enough.)

We think this is a bad decision from Netflix. Very soon, it will be competing with rival streaming services from Disney and Apple; both of which are priced significantly lower than Netflix.

Disney Plus is especially compelling – it will be offering HDR, 4K streaming and four simultaneous streams for $8.99 per month. That’s less than half the price of Netflix’s equivalent plan due to the new price hike.

Of course, Netflix will remain the only place where you can watch its original programming. But very soon, shows like Stranger Things will be competing against new series set in the Star Wars universe. Hmm.

[referenced url=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2019/10/everything-coming-to-stan-netflix-and-foxtel-in-october-2019/” thumb=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2019/10/the-purge-season-2-410×231.jpg” title=”Everything Coming To Stan, Netflix, Foxtel And Amazon In October 2019″ excerpt=”From TV drama to documentaries, original films to stand-up comedy, Australia’s streaming services are getting new content added all the time. Read on to see all the content that will be added to Stan, Netflix, Foxtel and Amazon Prim Video’s libraries in October, 2019.”]

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