NETFLIX is set to hike bills by £24 a year, but millions of customers could avoid the fee increase with four little-known tricks.
Was revealed last week that the streaming service had quietly increased the price of its UK subscription plans by up to £2 per month.
The most expensive premium plan will now cost users £18.99, an extra £1 a month.
And the cheapest ad-supported tier has seen its first price hike too, also going up by £1 from £4.99 to £5.99.
Meanwhile, the standard plan will increase in price by £2 from £10.99 to £12.99.
Those who have added extra accounts outside their households will see bills increase by a further £1 with the price for additional users on the premium plan or the ad-free standard plan, rising from £4.99 to £5.99.
An extra account on the standard plan with adverts will also see the price rise from £3.99 to £4.99.
However there are ways you can avoid the price hike and Martin Lewis’ Money Saving Expert has revealed these top tips.
Firstly, if you’re on a standard or premium plan you can consider downgrading.
The ad-supported plan is significantly cheaper than others, so if you don’t mind the odd commercial break it’s worth considering.
And, by changing, you could end up paying less than you did before the price change came in.
If downgrading doesn’t appeal, you could look at sharing an account with a friend or family member living in the same household.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Three key benefits that YOU could be missing out on, and one even gives you a free TV Licence” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6345562212112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]Netflix’s standard plans allows two users to watch on separate screens at the same time, while the premium plan allows you to watch on four devices at the same time.
If you were to split the cost of the premium plan between four you’d be paying £4.75 a month each, less than even the cheapest, ad-supported tier.
If you don’t have others to share with in your household you can ask a friend or family member to add you as an extra member.
[authenticated-scripts src=”%3Cscript%20class%3D%22palin-poll%22%20src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thesun.co.uk%2Fpollingwidgets%2Fv3%2Fwidget.js%3Fquestion_id%3D106774%26game%3Dpolling%22%3E%3C%2Fscript%3E” type=”embedded” width=”100″ /]This allows you to share an account even if you don’t live in the same house.
Under the new prices it costs £5.99 to add an extra person to an ad-free plan.
If a person was added to the standard plan the total cost would be £18.98 a month – or £9.49 if the price was split between two.
If none of these solutions work for you, then you can always consider ending your subscription.
You can cancel a Netflix subscription at anytime without being penalised.
So, if you’re not desperate to watch Netflix-only programming you could consider one of the cheaper streaming services.
For example Disney + Standard with ads is £4.99 a month, Amazon Prime with ads is £5.99 and Apple+ TV is £8.99 a month.
Remember, you can also use free trials to access services without paying – but remember to cancel before the trial period ends.
Netflix last overhauled prices in the UK in December 2023.
Experts had warned that a price surge was imminent in the UK after new higher fees were announced in the US, Canada, Argentina and Portugal.
Many users were angry to find out about the increase and some threatened to cancel their subscriptions.
“Blimey, another price hike? They must think we’ve all got money trees in the garden!” one person wrote on X.
“That’s my @NetflixUK cancelled…” another commented.
“I dumped Netflix,” a third viewer added.