Consumers are feeling fatigued by price increases, with many seeing them across essential products and services over the past couple of years. That makes it harder to pay for extras, especially when those are also seeing price increases. If you're someone who's currently subscribed to Disney+ or Hulu, we've got some bad news — prices are going to go up one more time.
Not again
This report comes from Bloomberg, but you can already see the price increase on the Disney+ support page. This price increase comes a year after the previous one, which can't feel good if you're someone that's subscribed to the service.
The Basic service with ads will now cost $12.49/month, while the Premium will come in at $21.49/month. On the top end, that's a $2.50 increase per month, which is quite a bit. The brand has also increased prices for some of its bundles, along with Hulu subscriptions.
This is something that's just going to continue to happen as the cost of producing exclusive shows and retaining the licenses increases. New subscribers will pay the increased prices as soon as they sign up.
Those that were previously subscribed to the service will see the price increase on or after October 21, 2026. We know that prices can't stay the same, but Disney+ first burst onto the scene back in 2019 with a monthly price of $6.99. A couple of years later, it would again increase the price by a $1.
Disney+ would eventually introduce a tier of its service with ads in order to try and provide a subscription plan that was more affordable. However, over time, that has also seen a price bump, with it now costing $12.49/month. We've pretty much seen a price bump every year after 2022.
Everyone is doing it
Again, it's not surprising, but you really start questioning the value of a service once it reaches a certain point. The only thing to point out is that Disney isn't alone here, with other popular streaming services steadily increasing their prices.
It's just a matter of what you want to watch and how much you want to pay for it. Personally, I just bounce from service to service whenever I want to watch something. I don't think I've had a dedicated subscription to any video service for longer than a few months. Then again, I don't really watch that many TV shows or movies.