Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Netflix increases prices in the U.S. and Canada

Netflix today increased prices in the United States and Canada. The news was first reported by Reuters and simultaneously updated on the company’s pricing help page.

Netflix Home Screen.
Phil Nickinson/Digital Trends

Here’s the breakdown of the new pricing:

  • Basic Plan: Up $1 a month to $9.99. Includes the ability to watch or download on one device at a time, with video only in standard definition.
  • Standard Plan: Up $1.50 a month to $15.49. Includes the ability to watch or download on two devices at once, with video in high definition.
  • Premium: Up $2 a month to $19.99. Includes the ability to watch or download on up to four devices at once, with video available in ultra HD, also known as 4K.
Recommended Videos

Netflix last increased pricing in the United States in October 2020, when it took things up by about the same rate. The Basic plan stayed the same at the time, with the Standard Plan going up $1, and the Premium plan going up $2.

Netflix’s next scheduled earnings call is on January 20, 2022. In the company’s third-quarter letter to shareholders, Netflix said that it anticipated “a more normalized content slate in 2022, with a greater number of originals in 2022 versus 2021 and a release schedule that is more balanced over the course of the year, as compared to 2021.” In other words, it’s going to get back to making more and more shows and movies, and those cost money.

The question remains where the ceiling is at for Netflix subscriptions.

T-Mobile — which features a “Netflix on Us” promotion that gives its subscribers deep discounts to the Netflix service if they run their Netflix billing through T-Mobile — said it’s not dropping the discount for Basic and Standard plans.

“Earlier today,” T-Mobile said on its press site, “Netflix rolled out their new pricing structure. Rest assured, your Netflix is still on us! The Netflix benefit included in your plan remains on us. If you’ve upgraded your Netflix on Us (e.g., to Standard or Premium), you will see Netflix’ price change reflected on your T-Mobile bill starting as their changes go into effect.”

Phil Nickinson
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Phil spent the 2000s making newspapers with the Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal, the 2010s with Android Central and then the…
Another year, another price increase for Paramount+
Mayor of Kingstown on Paramount Plus.

Here we go again. About a year since its last price increase, the Paramount+ streaming service is getting more expensive again.

Here's the bad news:

Read more
Netflix is testing a redesigned TV app to make browsing easier
A screengrab of the Netflix redesign test.

In what would be the first major redesign in 10 years, Netflix has begun testing out a new look and some new features on its TV app that are aimed at making the home page simpler and more streamlined.

The company recently told The Verge that the redesign is aimed at aiding content discovery and helping subscribers decide what to watch. “We often see members doing gymnastics with their eyes as they’re scanning the home experience,” Pat Flemming, Netflix’s senior director of product, told The Verge. “We really wanted members to have an easier time figuring out if a title is right for them.”

Read more
T-Mobile is buying one of the largest carriers in the U.S.
Cell phone tower shooting off pink beams with a 5G logo next to it.

If you were impacted by T-Mobile's latest price hike and were looking for an alternative carrier, we have some bad news — T-Mobile is buying US Cellular. For those unaware, U.S. Cellular is the fifth-largest carrier in the U.S. despite being a regional carrier based mostly in the Chicago area. Unlike mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) like Metro by T-Mobile or Visible, which piggyback on a parent carrier’s network, US Cellular has its own towers and stores.

The deal would see T-Mobile pay $4.4 billion to take over US Cellular’s wireless customers, stores, and 30% of its spectrum assets. It includes a combination of cash and T-Mobile assuming $2 billion of U.S. Cellular’s debt. US Cellular will keep control of 4,400 of its towers and 70% of its spectrum portfolio, but T-Mobile will extend its leases for 600 US Cellular towers and sign new long-term leases on 2,015 more towers. In a conference call about the deal, T-Mobile also committed to hiring a significant number of U.S. Cellular associates.

Read more