Bad news for Disney Plus subscribers. The media giant announced that it will increase the price of its streaming service from $7.99/month to $10.99/month. (The annual rate will also increase from $79.99/year to $109.99/year).
The new rates will take effect on December 8. That same day, for those who don’t want to spend more, an ad-supported version of Disney Plus launches at $7.99/month. And the price hike couldn’t come at a worse time, as December feels like a good time to cancel Disney Plus, HBO Max and Hulu — at least based on their upcoming releases. Your mileage, of course, may vary.
However, there’s a trick you can do now to avoid paying the higher rate. If you’re not a member and have been on the fence, simply lock in the $7.99/month ($79.99/year) Disney Plus price by subscribing now(opens in new tab). Otherwise, if you’re a current member your best bet is to opt for the annual Disney Bundle(opens in new tab). The Disney Bundle offers the best value and will only increase $1 from $13.99/month to $14.99/month — savings of around $14 vs their new pricing. It includes ad-free Disney Plus and ad-supported Hulu/ESPN Plus.
For current customers, the Disney+ bundle that includes Hulu and ESPN+ with ads will be $1 more expensive, going from $13.99 to $14.99. Disney will offer Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ with ads for $12.99, and a Disney+ and Hulu ad-supported bundle will be available for $9.99 per month. The current ad-free Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ plan will be priced at $19.99 per month.
Disney announced the pricing changes during its earnings announcement for the third fiscal quarter of 2022 [PDF]. Disney+ gained a total of 14.4 million subscribers during the quarter, and the company now has more than 221 million subscribers across its streaming platforms.
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