• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechNetflix

Despite price hike, Netflix is still a steal at $9.99 per month

By
Rick Broida
Rick Broida
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Rick Broida
Rick Broida
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 9, 2015, 3:07 PM ET
Photograph by Getty Images

Want more Netflix (NFLX) in your life? It’ll cost you an extra buck.

The streaming service announced yesterday that it was raising the price of its most popular subscription plan, from $8.99 to $9.99 per month for customers in the U.S., Canada and parts of Latin America. The price hike comes shortly after a similar increase in Europe earlier this year.

Despite the hike, the online video service is totally worth it. Although competitors like Amazon Prime and Hulu have stepped up their streaming game in recent months—with features like offline-video downloads and commercial-free viewing—Netflix continues to offer the best bang for your buck.

Consider this: Your extra $10 per month nets you unlimited access to Netflix’s massive library of movies and TV shows. This isn’t pay-per-view; it’s pay-view-all. Sure, you could rent the creepy Jake Gyllenhaal flick “Nightcrawler” for $3.99 from Google Play or iTunes, but why would you? It’s available as part of your Netflix subscription. The same goes for full seasons of “Breaking Bad,” “Sherlock,” and “Friday Night Lights,” all of which would cost considerably more à la carte.

Let’s not also forget about original Netflix shows like “Daredevil,” “House of Cards,” and “Orange is the New Black.” Although you can pay to watch some of these series elsewhere (Amazon charges $24.99 for the first season of “‘Black,” for example), all of them are included with your Netflix subscription. Many have one or more Emmys under their belt.

All of Netflix’s shows and movies arrive commercial-free, in HD, on just about every connected device you own: phones, tablets, streaming-media boxes and sticks, smart TVs, and so on. The $9.99-per-month tier does limit you to two simultaneous streams, but for just two dollars more you can watch videos on four screens at once. (For the moment, Netflix’s premium $11.99-per-month option remains the same price.)

However, not everything about Netflix is ideal. The service’s user interface can look dramatically different depending on the app or device you’re using, and its movie library continues to consist mostly of older titles. In fact, movies can disappear without warning, like when Netflix lost its distribution deal with Epix last month.

Netflix also continues to require a live Internet connection. Recently, Amazon (AMZN) made it possible for Prime subscribers to download movies and TV shows for offline viewing, an excellent perk for phone and tablet users. Netflix has declined to match that offer; anyone hoping to stock a season’s worth of, say, “BoJack Horseman” for their next flight is out of luck.

No matter. Netflix was a steal back in 2014, when subscribers were still paying $7.99 monthly, and it remained a steal when the price jumped to $8.99 in May of that year. It’s still a remarkably good deal at $9.99—a price that, incidentally, is for new customers only. Existing subscribers are grandfathered in at $8.99 for the next year.

So, for the price of a single movie-theater ticket, two venti mocha lattes, or lunch at just about any sandwich shop, you can get an entire month’s worth of viewing pleasure. The only real surprise is that Netflix didn’t raise the rate to $19.99. Even then, I must admit: still worth it.

Sign up for Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter about the business of technology.

For more on Netflix, check out the following Fortune video:

About the Author
By Rick Broida
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

musk
EconomyIPOs
Elon Musk, world’s first trillionaire: one implication of the massive SpaceX IPO
By Bernard Condon, Ken Sweet and The Associated PressApril 2, 2026
9 minutes ago
farley
Future of WorkInfrastructure
Ford CEO Jim Farley says America is sleepwalking past its ‘essential economy’ crisis. Goldman Sachs just showed how big it really is
By Nick LichtenbergApril 2, 2026
3 hours ago
Nima Ghamsari smiles
NewslettersTerm Sheet
Blend’s post-IPO reset: CEO Nima Ghamsari bets that AI can turn it all around
By Lily Mae LazarusApril 2, 2026
4 hours ago
Photo: President Trump
Big TechMarkets
Trump hails ‘tremendous progress’ in Iran but all Wall Street heard was ‘back to escalation’
By Jim EdwardsApril 2, 2026
5 hours ago
Can Elon Musk take SpaceX IPO to infinity and beyond?
NewslettersFortune Tech
Can Elon Musk take SpaceX IPO to infinity and beyond?
By Alexei OreskovicApril 2, 2026
5 hours ago
Asia’s AI playbook gets a reality check as the Iran war sends energy prices higher and snarls supply chains
AsiaTech
Asia’s AI playbook gets a reality check as the Iran war sends energy prices higher and snarls supply chains
By Angelica AngApril 2, 2026
6 hours ago

Most Popular

Gen Z fled San Francisco for Texas and Florida. Now they’re turning ‘welcomer cities’ into the next big tech towns
Real Estate
Gen Z fled San Francisco for Texas and Florida. Now they’re turning ‘welcomer cities’ into the next big tech towns
By Fortune EditorsApril 2, 2026
8 hours ago
Current price of gold as of April 1, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of April 1, 2026
By Fortune EditorsApril 1, 2026
1 day ago
Two-thirds of parents say their adult Gen Z kids still rely on them financially  for support—even though it's putting them under strain
Success
Two-thirds of parents say their adult Gen Z kids still rely on them financially  for support—even though it's putting them under strain
By Fortune EditorsMarch 31, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of April 1, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of April 1, 2026
By Fortune EditorsApril 1, 2026
1 day ago
Jerome Powell says the $39 trillion national debt is ‘not unsustainable,’ but warns the trajectory ‘will not end well’
Economy
Jerome Powell says the $39 trillion national debt is ‘not unsustainable,’ but warns the trajectory ‘will not end well’
By Fortune EditorsMarch 30, 2026
3 days ago
2 years after Musk challenged Zuckerberg to a cage match, they were texting about DOGE and a joint OpenAI bid, court records reveal
Law
2 years after Musk challenged Zuckerberg to a cage match, they were texting about DOGE and a joint OpenAI bid, court records reveal
By Fortune EditorsMarch 31, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.