Netflix Announces Yet Another Price Hike as it Adds a Record Number of New Subscribers

Netflix Achieves Record Subscriber Growth, Announces Price Increases

Netflix celebrated surpassing 300 million paid subscribers for the second time, reporting a record-breaking 19 million new subscribers in Q4 2024 and a total of 41 million for the year, culminating in 302 million paid memberships. While this marks the last quarter for official subscriber growth reporting, the company promises continued announcements at key milestones.

This impressive growth, however, is accompanied by another price increase across most plans in the US, Canada, Portugal, and Argentina. This marks the latest in a series of price adjustments, following increases in 2023 and 2022, reflecting a pattern of roughly $1-$2 annual increases since 2014.

Netflix justifies the price hike by citing continued investment in programming and a commitment to delivering enhanced value to subscribers. The shareholder letter states that these price adjustments are necessary for reinvestment in improving the Netflix experience. Specific price increases were not detailed in the letter but reports from The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg suggest the following changes:

• Basic with Ads: $6.99 to $7.99 per month
• Standard: $15.49 to $17.99 per month
• Premium: $22.99 to $24.99 per month

A significant addition is a new "extra member with ads" plan, allowing users on the ad-supported tier to add an extra member outside their household for an additional fee. Previously, this feature was restricted to standard and premium plans.

Despite the price adjustments, Netflix reported strong financial results. Q4 revenue increased 16% year-over-year to $10.2 billion, mirroring the annual revenue growth to $39 billion. The company projects 12% to 14% year-over-year revenue growth in 2025.