Netflix to increase its prices again for Irish subscribers

Although inflation has fallen in recent months, the cost of many bills continues to creep up. And now you can add the cost of your Netflix subscription to the list. 

The American streaming giant is to increase the price of all its plans for Irish subscribers yet again.

Its Basic package is increasing by €2 to €10.99 a month. Its Standard package will also rise by €2 to €16.99 a month while its Premium subscription will increase by €3, to a hefty €23.99 a month.

While these may not seem like huge increases, and you could argue Netflix still provides excellent value for money given its huge bank of content, only a few years ago a Premium subscription cost just €15.99 a month here. So it's an increase of €8 a month or almost €100 a year in a relatively short period of time. 

Netflix is home to some of the world's biggest shows including The Crown, Bridgerton, Stranger Things, and Squid Game and like all streaming services it has been investing heavily in content in recent years to try stay ahead in the battle of the streaming wars. 

The service now has around 1.3 million subscribers in Ireland making it by far the biggest TV service in the country.

*The Extra Member account allows an existing subscriber to add someone outside their household to their Netflix account for an additional fee. The video quality for Extra Member accounts depends on the type of account the primary account holder has.

Why is Netflix increasing its prices?

Netflix continues to invest heavily in new content and now spends billions a year on new TV shows, films, and documentaries. Many of which are award winning. It has also ventured into live sporting action and events in recent years, none of which is cheap.

However subscriber growth, while still strong, has begun to slow in recent years, so Netflix is also focusing on increasing revenue per user to help boost profits and keep investors happy.

Despite the price hikes, Netflix argues that it still offers good value, especially compared to cable TV and other streaming platforms. And a Basic subscription is still less than your annual TV licence for RTE! Indeed there has been no material fall in subscriber numbers after any of Netflix's previous price hikes, so it seems viewers are more than prepared to pay the higher prices for now at least. 

Of course Netflix isn’t the only streaming service increasing its prices. Disney+ and Apple TV+ have both hiked their prices over the past year or so. And another increase probably isn't far off. 

And if you're wondering how Netflix, Disney+ and Apple TV+ measure up, you can read our definitive guide to all the streaming services in Ireland here.

As we continue to invest in programming and deliver more value for our members, we will occasionally ask our members to pay a little more so that we can re-invest to further improve Netflix.

A Netflix spokesperson 

When will the price increase take effect?

The price change will come into effect immediately for all new customers, while existing subscribers will be notified by email 30 days before the change comes into effect.

How can I save?

If you're worried about the price hike, you have a few options.

• You could cancel your subscription for a few months. You can then re-join a few months later when some new shows have caught your interest. You won't be charged a penalty for leaving and there are no sign-up fees for when you re-join either. The warmer summer months are usually a good time to cancel as you'll be out and about more and on holiday so won't miss it as much.
• There may be no need to pay for a Premium subscription for viewing on multiple devices. You could downgrade to a cheaper Basic or Standard subscription.
• Remember that the RTE Player (while much maligned) and the Channel 4 player are both free and have big back catalogues with some great content. So you don’t always have to fork out big money each month to watch some decent TV shows.
• You could swap Netflix for a cheaper service for a few months or a year. Amazon Prime now costs just €6.99 a month, has a big catalogue of movies and shows, and will also give you free priority delivery on a host of products though the newly launched Amazon.ie.