In the past few years, Netflix has been slowly increasing its price. In the past month, prices went up again. The basic plan is unchanged, but the standard plan went up from $12.99 to $13.99 per month. The premium plan increased from $15.99 to $17.99.

One reason for this price change could be because Netflix announced that starting this year, they will feature a new movie each week, particularly ones from prominent actors like Chris Hemsworth, Dwayne Johnson, and Ryan Reynolds. 

“For me, a lot of the fun in Netflix it’s just scrolling through and clicking on random things to watch hoping that they work out. To All the Boys: Always and Forever is supposed to come out on February 12 and that’s really exciting because I love when Netflix continues a story so we can see more of the characters. Beyond movies, season two of a Spanish TV show called Hache came out and I can’t wait to see it because it seems exciting and action packed,” said Simmy Mukherjee (‘21).

Additionally, since the quarantine that started last year forced more people to stay home, people have been watching more TV and in the first half of 2020, millions of people bought a subscription.

“I’ve always been an avid Netflix watcher and I think before the shelter in place order was stated I wasn’t able to watch it more than 10 to 15 hours a week because of other commitments like athletics and extracurriculars. Ever since the pandemic started, my TV watching time has definitely increased to about 30 to 40 hours a week,” said Mukherjee.

However, Netflix is facing increasing competition from other streaming services such as Disney+ ($6.99/month), Hulu ($5.99/month), Amazon Prime video ($12.99/month), and HBO Max ($15.00/month). 

“The increasing price is definitely something that we have to be more omniscient of. Even though I love Netflix, I have other subscriptions like Amazon Prime and Disney+ where I can find similarly engaging TV shows. Once I leave my parents’ plan, I’m going to have to pay for Netflix with my own money and I’m not sure about these higher prices,” says Mukherjee.

Since movie theaters shut down, many people have turned to streaming platforms to keep up with movies. Evidently, Netflix appears to be taking advantage of this influx of subscriptions by increasing the price. If viewers are unwilling to pay a little extra each month, there are definitely cheaper options they can turn to.