A history of streaming service price rises in Australia

With Netflix's streaming on-demand platform making a splash overseas (and with plenty of Aussies accessing it via a VPN,) Foxtel launches its first ill-fated streaming service, Presto.

• Presto Movies: $19.99 per month

Our first big plan update for streaming services in Australia isn't a price increase at all. No, with Netflix's local launch looming closer, Presto permanently drops the price of Presto Movies to $9.99.

• Presto Movies: $19.99 $9.99 -$10

Presto announces a new plan, Presto TV. Priced the same as Presto Movies at $9.99 per month, Presto TV included a few HBO and Showtime classics, like Entourage, The Sopranos, Dexter and Californication but had one glaring omission, the increasingly popular Game of Thrones, which was still locked to Foxtel. 

At the same time, Presto announced Presto Entertainment, a $14.99 bundle that included both Presto TV and Presto Movies. 

• Presto TV: $9.99 per month
• Presto Entertainment Bundle: $14.99 per month

RIP Presto. After a few unsuccessful attempts to popularise Foxtel's first on-demand service, Presto closes down for good in January 2017. Existing customers are moved over to Foxtel Now which still exists today. 

In March 2015, home entertainment in Australia changes forever with the official arrival of Netflix.

Netflix Australia launches with a comparably smaller library than the US equivalent but its smooth user interface and low monthly price is hard to resist.

Netflix Australia kicks things off with three plans:

• Netflix Basic: $8.99 per month for Standard Definition streaming on one device
• Netflix Standard: $11.99 per month for High Definition streaming on two devices
• Netflix Premium: $14.99 per month for 4K Ultra High Definition streaming on four devices

Netflix held out for its first big price increase in Australia for just over two years. When it finally hits, the sentiment amongst Australian subscribers is fairly understanding. This is about a year after Stranger Things and The Crown debut, and just a few months after Riverdale's first season was released (it was a big deal at the time.)

With Stranger Things Season 2 (and Mindhunter) right around the corner, the price hike felt somewhat warranted. Little did we know it was just the beginning.

• Netflix Basic: $9.99/mth (+$1)
• Netflix Standard: $13.99/mth (+$2)
• Netflix Premium: $17.99/mth (+$3)

One month after the US was hit with a price hike, Netflix Australia introduces a price increase for Premium 4K subscribers in October 2019. 

• Netflix Premium: $19.99/mth (+$2)

Less than a year after the last price increase for Premium subscribers, Netflix raises the price for Basic and Standard Plans. Basic subscribers now pay $10.99 per month (a $1 per month increase) while Standard subscribers now pay $15.99 per month (a $2 per month increase.) Once again, there are no other changes to plans. 

• Netflix Basic: $10.99/mth (+$1)
• Netflix Standard: $15.99/mth (+$2)

Just over a year since the last price hike for Netflix, Standard and Premium subscribers are stung with another increase. Basic plans remain at $10.99 per month. 

• Netflix Standard: $16.99/mth (+$1)
• Netflix Premium: $22.99/mth (+$3)

In November 2022, Netflix introduces one of the worst trends in the streaming market to date: ad-supported plans you pay for. Netflix Basic with Ads starts as a fourth plan option for those looking to save some money. Besides the addition of ad breaks, it includes the same features as the Basic plan; SD streaming on a single device.

Unfortunately, it turns out to be a popular choice. 

• Netflix Basic with Ads: $6.99/mth (+ads)

In May 2024, Netflix drops its biggest round of price hikes yet in Australia. Not only is it charging more for its ad-supported plan (now 'Standard with Ads,' with HD streaming on two devices,) but it also jacks up the price for Standard and Premium subscribers. 

• Netflix Standard with Ads: $7.99/mth (+$1)
• Netflix Standard: $18.99/mth (+$2)
• Netflix Premium: $25.99/mth (+$3)

In February 2025, Netflix officially kills off its cheapest ad-free plan, the $10.99 per month Basic plan, moving all existing subscribers to the $7.99 per month Standard with Ads plan. As a result, the cheapest ad-free plan on Netflix becomes the Standard $18.99 per month plan and subscribers aren't happy about it. 

Just a few months before Netflix's Australian expansion, Nine Entertainment launches its own streaming service, Stan. It launches with a single plan: $10 per month for HD streaming on two devices. At launch, Stan nabs the exclusive rights to Breaking Bad and the premiere season of spin-off Better Call Saul. 

• Stan: $10 per month for HD streaming on two devices

Two months after introducing content downloads, Stan introduces a Premium plan with 4K Ultra High Definition streaming on four devices. Stan's original plan is now referred to as Stan Standard, but the price stays the same.  

• Stan Standard: $10 per month
• Stan Premium: $15 per month

Just two months after introducing Stan Premium, Stan gets its first official price hike. Stan Standard subscribers now pay $12 per month but can stream on three devices instead of two. At the same time, Stan adds a $10 Basic plan with SD streaming on one device. 

• Stan Basic:$10/mth
• Stan Standard: $12/mth (+$2)

Just a few months after Stan secures the streaming rights to Disney's back catalogue of movies in December 2018, Stan moves to raise its prices again. Stan Standard increases to $14 per month and Stan Premium to $17 per month.  

• Stan Standard: $14/mth (+$2)
• Stan Premium: $17/mth (+$2)

Just under a year after Stan nabbed the local streaming rights for Disney movies and TV shows (and spent a lot of money advertising it,) Disney asks for its toys back in November 2019 ahead of the launch of its own streaming service, Disney Plus. 

A year after Disney exits Stan, the local streamer stays afloat with a few decent original productions like The Gloaming and other imported hits like Normal People, Your Honor, Power and The Great. Stan ups the cost of its Premium plan before going quiet on price hikes for a few years. Instead shifting focus to Stan Sport.

• Stan Premium: $19/mth (+$2)

Stan introduces Stan Sport. A $10 per month add-on that includes live and on-demand sports streaming for a small selection of sports, most notably Super Rugby. Stan Sport requires an existing Stan subscription (minimum $10 per month.)

• Stan Sport: $10/mth (+$10 min. for Stan Basic)

Two years after Stan Sport launches, it gets a significant price increase, going from $10 to $15 per month. Required Stan subscription included, the minimum price for Stan goes up to $25 per month. 

• Stan Sport: $15/mth (+$5)

For the first time since the Basic plan was introduced in 2017, the entry-level plan gets a price increase. 

• Stan Basic: $12/mth (+$2)

In June 2024, Stan follows in the footsteps of Netflix and Disney Plus and completely removes its 30-day free trial and its 7-day free trial for Stan Sport. This decision was made just a month before Stan's extensive Paris Olympics coverage. 

For the second time in a single calendar year, Stan plans get another price increase. This time, its Standard and Premium plans both get a $3 per month increase.

• Stan Standard: $17/mth (+$3)
• Stan Premium: $22/mth (+$3)

By 2016, Amazon Prime Video was already becoming a popular alternative to Netflix in the US. Not only because of some early hits like Bosch, The Man in the High Castle, Transparent and Mozart in the Jungle but also because it was simply an additional perk to existing Amazon Prime subscribers.

Prime Video actually launched in Australia a few years ahead of the online shopping giant's official local presence and in those early days, there weren't many reasons to join except the previously mentioned original productions and low monthly cost (the standalone Prime Video subscription launched at just $3.99 per month for the first six months.) But it wouldn't take long for Prime Video to prove its worth Down Under.

• Prime Video: $5.99/mth for HD for three devices ($3.99 for first six months)

When Amazon Prime's shopping subscription officially launched in Australia with free two-day delivery (and the rest of the perks that come with a Prime membership,) existing Prime Video users in Australia were automatically transitioned to a standard Prime subscription. At the same time, the monthly cost went up from $5.99 per month to $6.99 per month. It was a reasonable ask considering all the extras that came with it. 

• Amazon Prime Video: $6.99/mth (+$1)

After the official launch of Amazon Prime in Australia, the subscription service managed to maintain its cheap $6.99 per month asking price for the next five years without any changes. During that time, Prime Video has a few big hits with The Boys first season debuting in 2019, and the highly-anticipated revival of sci-fi epic The Expanse landing the same year. Thus begins a solid run of (very expensive) original programming from Prime Video that includes Reacher, The Wheel of Time and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power all leading to the inevitable: Amazon Prime's first significant price hike. 

• Amazon Prime Video: $9.99/mth (+$3)

Just a year after the first big price hike for Prime, Amazon makes the move to quietly introduce ad breaks to its streaming service. Rather than segmenting the single plan, every Prime Video subscriber is hit with ad breaks. Removing ads will cost an additional $3 per month. 

• Amazon Prime Video with ads: $9.99/mth (+ads)
• Ad-free Amazon Prime Video: $12.99/mth (+$3)

Three and a half years after Netflix officially launched in Australia, one of our free-to-air networks finally takes a stab at the whole streaming video-on-demand thing with Ten's 10 All Access subscription. It doesn't go so well. Backed by its new American owners at CBS, 10 All Access is a stripped-back version of the US service CBS All Access that launches at $9.99 per month locally.

10 All Access launches with a small selection of originals (Tell Me a Story, Strange Angel, One Dollar and two seasons of The Good Wife spin-off The Good Fight.) Alongside those new series, there are CBS classics like NCIS, Survivor, Hawaii Five-0 and Macgyver, plus Channel Ten classics like Neighbours, The Bachelor Australia, I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!

There is just one problem, while the all-new Star Trek: Discovery is the service's biggest drawcard overseas, it's locked to Netflix in Australia. Oh, and even though the single plan offering caps out at 720p HD, most legacy shows still only stream in SD. 

• 10 All Access: $9.99 per month

Even with its fair share of outdoor advertising, 10 All Access fails to become a household name in streaming almost three years after launch. Enter Paramount Plus. 

After a 2019 merger between Viacom and CBS resulted in the creatively named ViacomCBS (now Paramount Global,) the new entity makes it a top priority to overhaul its streaming offering. This begins with a rebrand of CBS All Access, a strategy that is replicated in Australia for 10 All Access, officially launching Paramount Plus Down Under. Even with the comparatively slim library of TV shows and movies, Paramount Plus still manages to find purchase thanks to a reduced monthly price, a few hot offerings in the near future (such as Yellowjackets,) and a formidable collection of classic films like Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, The Godfather and more. 

Paramount Plus replaces 10 All Access with one cheaper plan: $8.99 per month for HD streaming on two devices. 

• Paramount Plus: $8.99/mth (-$1)

Two years after it launched, Paramount Plus increases its prices for the first time, attributing the uptick to its growing content library. This price rise paves the way for future hits like Landman, Knuckles (of Sonic the Hedgehog fame,) and NCIS: Sydney to name a few. Paramount Plus subscriptions go up from $8.99 to $9.99 per month. 

• Paramount Plus: $9.99/mth (+$1)

Just a few months after its very first price hike, Paramount Plus announces a 4K Premium plan. Paying the $13.99 per month premium gives subscribers 4K Ultra High Definition streaming options, as well as HDR 10 and Dolby Vision support on four devices.

Paramount Plus also teases an upcoming third plan, a cheaper ad-supported offer.

• Paramount Plus Premium: $13.99/mth 

As promised, Paramount Plus Australia follows in the footsteps of Netflix and Binge by introducing an ad-supported plan. The major difference is that Paramount's ad-supported plan doesn't replace an existing plan tier, making it cheaper than ever to access Paramount Plus. Paramount Plus with Basic delivers ad-supported HD streams on one device.

• Paramount Plus Basic with Ads: $6.99/mth (+ads)

A few years after Foxtel subsidiary Streamotion (now Hubbl) launches its successful sports streaming service Kayo, the team is tasked with working its magic on a new app for Foxtel's television series and movie library. The Binge app launches in May 2020 with a few key features held back (like 4K streaming,) but comes at a reasonable enough price that many are willing to give it a chance.  Binge launches with three plans: Basic with SD streaming on one device for $10 per month, Standard with HD streaming on two devices for $14 per month, and Premium with HD streaming on four devices for $18 per month. 

• Binge Basic: $10/mth
• Binge Standard: $14/mth
• Binge Premium: $18/mth

Two years go by and Binge has become an established part of the streaming landscape in Australia, thanks in part to a great selection of premium drama and comedy from HBO and FX, such as Euphoria, What We Do in the Shadows, Succession and The White Lotus. 

Halfway through 2022, Binge subscribers get their first price update when the Standard plan goes up from $14 to $16 per month. 

• Binge Standard: $16 per month (+$2)

One year after Netflix introduces ads, Binge follows in its footsteps, adding ad breaks for all Basic subscribers. As an olive branch, Binge upgrades all Basic subscribers from SD to HD streaming. This makes the $16 per month Standard plan the cheapest option for streaming Binge ad-free. 

• Binge Basic with Ads: $10 per month (+ads and HD upgrade)

Just a few months after introducing ad breaks for Basic subscribers, Binge is back again with a price hike for Standard and Premium subscribers. Those on a Premium plan finally get upgraded to 4K streaming in the process.

• Binge Standard: $18 per month (+$2)
• Binge Premium (now with 4K): $22 per month (+$4)

One year later Binge introduces the option for annual subscriptions, offering customers who commit an overall discount.

• Binge Basic with Ads: $79/yr (-$41/yr)
• Binge Standard: $149/yr (-$67/yr)
• Binge Basic with Ads: $179/yr (-$85/yr)

One year after introducing annual plans, Binge tweaks its Standard plan pricing again, upping the monthly charge from $18 to $19 per month. No other changes are made and Binge Standard annual pricing remains the same. 

• Binge Standard: $19 per month (+$1)

In February 2025, Warner Bros. Discovery makes it official: its streaming app Max (formerly known as HBO Max) will launch in Australia on the 31st of March 2025 ahead of The Last of Us Season 2. As part of the announcement, Foxtel announces that all HBO content will leave Binge the same day Max launches, though currently airing seasons (like The White Lotus Season 3) will finish their run on Binge.

In late 2019, Disney sends shockwaves through the entertainment industry when it announces it is launching its very own streaming service, Disney Plus. Despite a rocky launch, the service has two things going for it: a future merchandising cash cow known colloquially as Baby Yoda, and an impending global pandemic that would force people inside for the better part of the next two years. Disney Plus launches in November 2019 with a single plan at a decent price. It offers 4K streaming on three devices. 

• Disney Plus: $8.99/mth

Earlier in 2019, Disney had finalised one of the biggest media mergers of all time when it paid a monumental $71.3 billion for the film and television properties held by 21st Century Fox. As Fox's existing distribution deals slowly dried up over the next two years, Disney makes the move to drop a Titanic-sized boatload of movies and TV shows from the Fox and Hulu stable, labelling the mix of more mature content as Disney Plus Star. This overnight library expansion, which includes franchises like Alien, Bob's Burgers, and Deadpool, results in the first local price increase for Disney Plus. New subscribers pay $13.99 per month from day dot, while existing subscribers get a six-month grace period.  

• Disney Plus: $11.99 per month (+$3)

After a mixed bag of original Marvel and Star Wars TV shows, from the great (Andor,) the good (Loki,) and the fairly terrible (The Book of Boba Fett,) Disney Plus announces its second price hike in Australia, increasing the single plan from $11.99 to $13.99 per month. 

• Disney Plus: $13.99 per month (+$2)

By the time 2024 rolls around Disney Plus has had a rough run of expensive but forgettable original productions (Secret Invasion and The Acolyte for example,) but that doesn't stop it from shifting around plan pricing again. This time, it's a little sneakier than a regular price hike, however. Instead of simply raising prices, Disney Plus introduces a two-plan structure: Disney Plus Standard costs the same as the old plan at $13.99 per month, except now it's capped at 1080p HD on two devices (previously 4K on three devices.) Disney Plus Premium is now the only way to get 4K and it will cost you $17.99 to run on four devices. 

• Disney Plus Standard: $13.99 per month
• Disney Plus Premium: $17.99 per month

Less than a year later, Disney delivers another regular price hike to its two plans: Standard increases from $13.99 per month to $15.99 per month, while 4K Premium now goes up from $17.99 to $20.99 per month. Forgetting the additional device that Disney Plus Premium gets you, Disney Plus has essentially gone from $8.99 per month to $20.99 per month in under five years. 

• Disney Plus Standard: $15.99 per month (+$2)
• Disney Plus Premium: $20.99 per month (+$3)

In the very same month that Disney Plus launches, tech giant Apple beats it to market with its own streaming service by a hair. Apple TV Plus isn't like most streamers, in that it exclusively hosts original content and therefore a much smaller library. Still, with a modest launch price and some outrageously generous free trial offers for Apple product users, the service manages to stick.

• Apple TV Plus: $7.99 per month

Over the next few years, Apple TV Plus plods along at a steady pace with a few original hits like Morning Wars (known as The Morning Show internationally,) slowly appreciated sci-fi For All Mankind, feelgood football comedy Ted Lasso, Mythic Quest, and finally its biggest breakout shows to date in 2022, Severance and the award-winning spy drama Slow Horses. Its original film CODA also takes out Best Picture at the 94th Academy Awards. It didn't happen overnight, but with a healthy range of original shows and movies, Apple ups the price of TV Plus in October 2022. 

• Apple TV Plus: $9.99 per month (+$2)

Just over a year after its first price hike, Apple ups the price for its streaming service once again. It wasn't the only Apple service to get a price increase, either. Apple TV Plus, Apple Arcade, Apple News Plus and every Apple One bundle went up in price. 

• Apple TV Plus: $12.99 per month (+$3)