• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, 10 hours ago

The popularity and expansion of ad-supported premium options has changed the pricing dynamics for streamers versus their ad-free subscriptions.

Higher-priced global ad-free options have seen greater price increases over the last three years versus those for global ad-supported tiers.

This equates to $1.62 per month versus $1.21 per month in actual price hikes -- comparing the 12-month periods of August 2023 and 2024 versus 2025 and 2026, according to Ampere Analysis.

Overall, pricing has come down when looking at all options -- for both total ad-free and ad-supported platforms.

The 24% price hike was the average for 2023-24 versus 14% in 2025-26.

Over the three-year period, looking at individual streaming platforms, Netflix had a 16% gain ($1.73), while Disney+ gained 17% ($1.53) and Amazon Prime was 30% higher ($1.47).

“Netflix’s price increases have remained broadly stable,” say the authors of the research, adding that Disney+ has made “the clearest shift” to the lowest price hikes -- down to 13% ($1.45) from 31% ($1.86).

In terms of pure number of price increases, Amazon has the fewest over the three-year period, “likely reflecting the broader role of the Prime subscription within Amazon’s retail business."

Western Europe has seen the largest price hike over the three-year period -- near $1.80. North America is next, at around $1.70.