Netflix price rise: Cost to go up for users in the US, company announces

Company says the extra money will be used to pay for more original programming

The cost of using Netflix is about to rise.

The company is putting up the cost of a subscription by $1 or $2 per month for users in the US, it has said. Most subscriptions will go up by $2, pushing the most expensive package to $16 per month.

The price increases were announced in January, but are now making their way to at least some customers, according to emails sent out by the company.

The exact amount of the price hike depends on what kind of subscription users are currently on. Netflix offers a range of tiers, and paying more adds features like 4K content and the ability to have more people watching at once.

Those on the basic plan will see the cost rise from $8 to $9 per month. The standard plan – which people have to pay for to watch in HD – will see the cost go from $11 to $13. And the price of the premium plan required for Ultra HD will rise from $14 to $16.

Members who joined since the price rise was first announced at the beginning of the year have already been paying the more expensive price rises, but they had been delayed for older members until now.

Netflix says that it needs the extra money to fund its wide array of original content, which it is attempting to make into the streaming service's calling card. It has made a major effort in recent years to create more and more shows for its own network, and has suggested it will spend even more in the future.

The increase comes as Netflix faces increasing pressure from competitors in streaming video.

It goes into effect just days after Apple unveiled a new streaming service called Apple TV+, for instance. The company has not yet revealed a price or a release date for that new service, though it is expected later this year.