The “Netflix tax” used to be something most people just gritted their teeth and accepted as the cost of staying in the cultural loop. But as the streaming giant has been slowly transitioning from a disruptor to a traditional media titan, the goodwill that once fueled its growth is starting to wear thin.
Netflix has raised its prices again. Premium is $26.99 a month now, while Standard is $19.99. Extra member fees have gone up, too.
That’s the second increase in just over a year. The previous one was back in January 2025, when Netflix raised the ad-supported plan by $1, the Standard ad-free plan by $2.50, and the Premium plan by $2.
Subscribers reach their limit
People are canceling subscriptions, with many users on Reddit and X saying this was the final push they needed after putting it off for months.
The complaint making the rounds isn’t just about the money. It’s the value that’s been put to question. Prices for standard users are up around 25% over two years, but the content library, by most subscribers’ accounts, is not even 25% better than what it used to be.
Add to that, the streaming giant’s recent financial decisions keep coming up in the conversation. The company collected a $2.8 billion termination fee from Paramount recently. It also made an $82 billion offer to buy Warner Bros. Subscribers, pointing at those numbers and then at their monthly bill, aren’t feeling particularly sympathetic.
One Redditor summed up the frustration perfectly: “Didn’t they just get like 3 billions dollars for nothing?”
Rotating has become a real strategy for a lot of people now as well. Another Netflix subscriber highlighted his strategy for the coming months: “Welcome to the streaming rotation, Netflix. See you in 3 months.”
Essentially, you subscribe when something worth watching drops and cancel when it doesn’t. Not new, but more people are actually doing it rather than just talking about doing it.
At $26.99 for Premium, Netflix is the most expensive major streaming service running.
Source: Daily Dot