Still Using Netflix’s Cheapest Ad-Free Plan? Not For Much Longer

Last summer, Netflix officially axed its $9.99 “Basic” plan, leaving new subscribers stuck between moving up to the $15.49 Standard plan to enjoy ad-free viewing or opting for the $6.99 ad-supported version.

The move shouldn’t have come as a huge surprise after Netflix upgraded its ad-supported plan to offer the benefits of the pricer Standard plan — including 1080p HD viewing on up to two screens — but it still would have stung a bit for those who just wanted an affordable option without having to sit through ads.

However, the one bit of good news at the time was that Netflix said it wouldn’t be forcing folks to switch away from the Basic plan. If you really wanted to keep paying more to limit yourself to 720p viewing and a single screen just to avoid ads, Netflix was seemingly okay with that.

“Seemingly” being the operative word here. Firstly, Netflix wasn’t about to let you return to the plan if you switched to a different tier. Secondly, it certainly tried to “encourage” people to make the switch when it hiked its prices in October, bringing the Basic plan up to $11.99/month for those who had chosen to stay on it.

Of course, Netflix didn’t come right out and say that, but it was clearly a calculated move on the company’s part, considering the Premium plan was the only other one to get a price increase. Standard with Ads and Standard remained at their $6.99 and $15.49 prices, respectively, and with Basic rising to $11.99, Netflix seemingly hoped that Basic subscribers would get off the fence and opt for one of the two Standard tiers. After all, it was suddenly a much shorter jump to move up to the $15.49 Standard level and even greater savings to move down to the $6.99 Standard with Ads.

Unfortunately, it looks like too few subscribers took the bait, and Netflix has grown tired of letting folks lounge around on the Basic plan.

In its quarterly earnings report, the streaming giant has announced that it’s preparing to “retire” the Basic plan, forcing customers to either switch to another plan or simply go away.

In Q4‘23, like the quarter before, our ads membership increased by nearly 70% quarter over quarter, supported by improvements in our offering (e.g., downloads) and the phasing out of our Basic plan for new and rejoining members in our ads markets. The ads plan now accounts for 40% of all Netflix sign-ups in our ads markets and we’re looking to retire our Basic plan in some of our ads countries, starting with Canada and the UK in Q2 and taking it from there

Netflix

Netflix has long hinted that it makes more money from its ad-supported plan than it does from most of its ad-free subscribers, so it’s likely that even at the higher $11.99 monthly price, the leftover Basic subscribers are actually costing the company money.

For now, Netflix is only “starting with” killing the Basic plan off in Canada and the UK, although if it follows past history, we’ll likely see that change come to the US sooner rather than later. The Great White North has become a proving ground for Netflix, and what happens there almost always expands quickly to subscribers south of the border.

For example, Canada was where Netflix’s password-sharing crackdown began in February 2023 before officially hitting the US in May. Canadian Netflix subscribers also got the “Standard with Ads” plan and saw the Basic plan shut down for new members only a few weeks ahead of those changes in the US.