Yesterday, Netflix cost $9 per month for most new subscribers. Today, Oct. 8, it costs $10.
“To continue adding more TV shows and movies including many Netflix original titles, we are modestly raising the price for some new members in the US, Canada and Latin America,” a Netflix spokesman told Quartz. “As a thank you to existing Netflix members—who aren’t already benefiting from a previous price guarantee—we will maintain their current price for a year.”
In August, Netflix raised its subscription price in most European markets by one euro.
While most customers will bemoan the minor price hike, they should have seen it coming. Slowly but surely, the monthly cost of Netflix has increased—from $8 in 2011 to $9 in 2014 to $10 today. CEO Reed Hastings told investors in July to expect more gradual increases: “Over the next decade, I think we’ll be able to add more content and have more value and then price that appropriately,” he said.
This increase only affects the “standard” streaming plan. The ”basic” plan, which allows streaming on only one screen at a time and does not include HD, will remain at $8 (for now). The “premium” plan, which allows streaming on up to four screens, will likewise stay at its price of $12. Even with the price increase, standard Netflix is still significantly cheaper than HBO Now and Hulu (without the ads, that is).
As Netflix expands into—literally—hundreds of countries, adds more and more content to its streaming library, and invests millions into producing original shows and movies, it must raise its prices accordingly.