Netflix is following in the footsteps of Disney Plus and is raising its subscription prices for existing UK customers from February 2021. The price hikes apply only to the Standard and Premium plans and have been in effect for brand new customers since December 2020.
Standard plans will be changing from £8.99 per month to £9.99 per month, whilst Premium plans will be changing from £11.99 per month to £13.99 per month. That equates to an extra £12 per year for Standard members, and £24 per year for Premium account holders.
If you don’t want to pay any extra for your account and aren’t prepared to switch to the Basic plan, then there are a few options you can try to keep costs down. You can also read up on how Netflix is cracking down on password sharing .
Switch to the Netflix Basic plan
You can still keep your Netflix and pay even less than what you were before by switching to Basic, which costs just £5.99 per month. You’ll still get all the same TV shows and films that you did on the Standard and Premium plans.
There are a few drawbacks of the Basic plan. There’s no simultaneous streams, you’re only allowed to download content on one mobile device, and you can only stream in standard definition (SD), which is 480p.
You can see how Netflix Basic stacks up against the other plans in our breakdowns of the the best Netflix plans .
Cancel your Netflix account
If you want to cancel your Netflix account altogether, ensure that you cancel before your next billing cycle when the price hike becomes effective. Here’s the steps you need to take:
- Head to the Netflix website and click on ‘Account’ in the top right-hand corner
- Under ‘Membership & Billing’ select ‘Cancel Account’
- Confirm your choice by selecting ‘Finish Subscription’
There’s no penalty charge for cancelling your account, and you can always rejoin at a later date if you change your mind.
Share the cost of an account
You can also consider sharing your account with friends or family. Standard offers two simultaneous streams, whilst Premium offers four. You can also create multiple profiles which are tailored towards your viewing tastes.
You can only register one set of bank details on your Netflix account, but you can easily split the cost by setting up a standing order, or by using accounts such as Monzo to pay each other.
Bundle in Netflix with another subscription
If you’re searching for another subscription – such as a new TV plan – it may be worth checking to see if Netflix is included with the plan you’re purchasing.
Sky has a Netflix bundle available at the moment for £25 per month, and you can always try calling up the sales team to see if you can haggle the price down even further.
Use the free Netflix website
You can watch a limited library from Netflix entirely for free, which you can access here . There’s a handful of movies, plus the first episodes of Netflix Originals available. You can see the full list of what’s available in our guide on how to get Netflix for free .
Author: Hannah Cowton-Barnes, Entertainment Editor, Tech Advisor
As Tech Advisor’s Entertainment Editor, Hannah is the resident expert in all things streaming, film and TV. Before joining Tech Advisor in 2019, she studied Theatre and Performance at the University of Leeds and created a website dedicated to geek culture and lifestyle. She’s also reviewed a whole range of gadgets including flagship smartphones, wearables and styling tools. Outside of Foundry, she’s written freelance pieces for Polygon, Metro and Den of Geek, and is proud to be a Women Techmakers Ambassador for Google.
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