Streaming Price Hikes 2026: Netflix, Disney+, Peacock Bills Rise

A year of rising bills

In 2026, nearly every major U.S. streaming service raised its prices. The changes came one after another rather than in one wave, and the effect has added up. One price tracker counted 24 price changes across 11 of the 15 services it follows by mid-October. Twenty-three of those changes were increases. The only cut came from Philo, a live TV service.2 Another analysis counted eight major streamers that raised prices this year and called it one of the busiest years for streaming hikes on record.8

The counts differ for a simple reason: some trackers include live TV bundles and some don't. The direction is the same in every count. A household that pays for the big on-demand services in late 2026 is paying a lot more than it did in January.

The calendar of increases

Paramount+ went first. In January it added a dollar to both plans, so Essential (with ads) now costs $8.99 and Premium costs $13.99.27 Netflix followed in March and raised all three tiers. Standard with ads went from $7.99 to $8.99, Standard from $17.99 to $19.99, and Premium from $24.99 to $26.99.5 Consumer Reports added that Netflix also raised the fee for adding an extra household member to an account.3

In April, Amazon raised the price of Prime Video Ultra, the add-on that removes ads, from $2.99 to $4.99. That took ad-free standalone Prime Video from $11.98 to $13.98.2 In June, fuboTV made the biggest single jump of the year in percentage terms: its Pro plan rose from $73.99 to $88.99, about 20%.2

The second half of the year brought more. In August, Peacock raised all three plans. Select went to $8.99, Premium (with ads) to $12.99, and ad-free Premium Plus from $16.99 to $19.99.57 New and returning subscribers paid the new prices from August 18. Existing customers moved to them at their next billing date on or after September 17.9 Apple TV also raised its monthly price that month, from $12.99 to $14.99, and its annual plan from $99 to $119.5 Apple raised its individual Apple One bundle from $19.95 to $21.95 at the same time.6

Disney went last and hit hardest. On September 23, ad-free Disney+ Premium rose from $18.99 to $21.49 for new subscribers. Existing subscribers start paying it in billing periods from October 21.8 The ad-supported Disney+ and Hulu plans each rose 50 cents to $12.49, and ad-free Hulu also reached $21.49.5 ESPN raised its Select tier to $13.99 and Unlimited from $29.99 to $31.99.2 Hulu + Live TV added $10 to each of its plans, which puts the ad-free version at $109.99.1

Where the numbers stand now

The major price guides agree on current list prices for the leading services:

• Netflix: $8.99 with ads, $19.99 for Standard, $26.99 for Premium with 4K4
• Disney+: $12.49 with ads, $21.49 for Premium, or $214.99 a year4
• Hulu: $12.49 with ads, $21.49 without ads4
• HBO Max: $10.99 for Basic with ads, $18.49 for Standard, $22.99 for Premium4
• Peacock: $8.99 for Select, $12.99 for Premium, $19.99 for Premium Plus4
• Apple TV: $14.99 a month with no ad tier, or $119 a year4
• Paramount+: $8.99 for Essential, $13.99 for Premium4
• Prime Video: $8.99 standalone with ads, $13.98 with the ad-free add-on4

Estimates of the total cost vary depending on what each one includes. One tracker puts all the major services on ad-free plans at $144.41 a month, or about $1,733 a year, not counting ESPN. On their cheapest tiers, the same nine services cost $100.91 a month.4 A separate tracker puts nine on-demand services at $104.91 a month on their cheapest plans and $169.90 on its featured tiers.1 Those figures don't conflict. They show that a household's bill depends mostly on whether it pays to skip ads.

Some consumer guides published this fall still show old prices. One October roundup lists Disney+ at $18.99 and Peacock Premium Plus at $16.99, which are the prices before the hikes. Readers comparing services should check the most recently updated trackers.

The longer view: Disney+ and Apple TV lead the climb

The 2026 increases are steep, but the bigger story shows up over several years. One analysis compared the ad-free plans of six major services from January 2022 to October 2026. Combined, they rose 76%, to $108.94 a month.8 Apple TV tripled from $4.99 to $14.99, the largest percentage increase. Ad-free Disney+ went from $7.99 to $21.49, up $13.50 or 169%, the largest dollar increase.8 Peacock Premium Plus doubled over the same period, and Netflix Standard rose 43%.8

Another tracker measures from each service's launch price and finds an even steeper rise for Disney+. Its ad-free tier is up 207% from the $6.99 it cost at launch.1 Disney's September increase was its fourth year in a row of raising the ad-free price.8

HBO Max is the exception. Its ad-free plan is only 23% above its early-2022 price.8 Its last increase came in October 2025, so it is one of the few major services that skipped 2026 entirely.4 That could change. The merger that put HBO Max and Paramount+ under one owner closed on October 6, 2026. HBO Max said it had no price changes planned for now.8 Based on how the industry has behaved after past consolidations, "for now" seems more likely to mean a delay than a promise.

Why it keeps happening

The usual explanation from analysts is content costs, plus a deliberate effort to move subscribers to ad-supported tiers, which bring in ad revenue on top of the subscription fee.7 The pricing supports that explanation. Since 2022, the ad-free plans have absorbed most of the increases, while the entry-level plans have risen much less. Netflix's cheapest plan now carries ads and costs $8.99, which is what its ad-free Basic plan cost in 2022.8

The gap between ad and ad-free tiers is now large. At Netflix, removing ads costs $11 a month more, from $8.99 to $19.99, and the picture quality is the same 1080p. Hulu's gap is $9. HBO Max's is about $7.50.7 Disney's own pricing follows the same logic. In September it raised the ad-free tiers by $2.50 and the ad tiers by only 50 cents.9 Consumer Reports' rounded figures show the same uneven split for Disney's bundles.3

With every major service charging about $9 for its cheapest plan, ad-supported streaming has become the default, and paying to skip ads now costs extra.7

Free tiers are disappearing at the same time. Peacock dropped its free plan, so its cheapest option is now the $8.99 Select tier.7 A possible exception is Disney+, which PCMag has reported is considering a free tier.8 If that happens, it would be a notable departure from the rest of the industry.

What subscribers can actually do

Consumer guides largely agree on what subscribers can do. Most recommend keeping one $8.99 ad-supported plan on the service a household uses most, and rotating other services month to month instead of paying for four all year.7 Timing also matters. New prices usually reach existing subscribers one billing cycle or more after the announcement, and annual plans and active promotions often lock in the old price until they expire.9

Individually, each increase is small. The Disney+ Premium hike adds $30 a year, and Peacock Premium Plus adds $36.9 Spread across three or four services, though, those increases come close to the cost of an extra subscription.9

The overall picture is consistent across the coverage. In 2026, streamers raised prices for almost everyone, and they charged most to people who pay to skip ads. Paramount+ and HBO Max now have the same owner, Disney is a year into its fourth straight increase, and Netflix has raised prices repeatedly. Subscribers should not expect 2027 to be any cheaper.