Initially, an ad-free Basic subscription was also available, but Netflix scrapped this $10.99/month option in October. It now offers only three levels: Standard with ads, Standard and Premium. Premium is now $22.99 per month for four screens at a time in ultra HD, also an $8 increase since its Australian launch.

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Last year marked Netflix’s password-sharing crackdown, which will continue into 2024. Gone are the days when you can secretly continue using your ex-partner’s account for free because, as of midway through last year, anyone with a Standard or Premium plan who wishes to share their account with someone outside their household must pay an extra $7.99 per month to add an “extra member”.

Exclusive offerings: Squid Game, Beckham, The Crown, etc.

Amazon Prime Video

Following Netflix’s lead, Amazon Prime announced it will roll out its own ad-supported plan across the globe this year. For those who wish to watch Jack Ryan without any pesky interruptions, a more expensive ad-free option will be introduced; however, the price of this plan is not yet known.

The changes will be implemented in the US, UK, Germany and Canada on January 29, costing subscribers an extra US$2.99 a month. A concrete date for Australian subscribers has not yet been confirmed, but it will be later this year.

“We will email Prime members several weeks before ads are introduced into Prime Video with information on how to sign up for the ad-free option if they would like,” Amazon staff wrote in an update to Australian customers in September. If you’re happy watching with ads, your account will automatically update once the roll-out begins and no action will be required.

Amazon Prime is currently $9.99 per month or $79 annually. When it was first introduced to the Australian market in 2018, it was $6.99 per month or $59 annually.

Exclusive offerings: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Deadloch, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, etc.

Binge

This home-grown streaming service also underwent a bit of a remodelling late last year, with its Standard two-screen plan costing $18 per month and its Premium four-screen plan $22 per month. Both of these subscription plans have increased by $4 a month since 2020.

It’s possible to watch shows like Strife and The Real Housewives of Sydney at a cheaper price with the $10 Basic plan. However, as of last year, this is ad-supported and only allows users to watch on one screen at a time in HD.

Exclusive offerings: FBoy Island Australia, Colin from Accounts, The Twelve, etc.

Stan

As of now, Stan* remains one of the few streaming services in Australia that does not include ads in any of its plans. You can subscribe to its Basic plan for $10 a month, which allows you to watch on one screen at a time, its Standard plan for $16 a month (three screens at a time in HD), or its Premium plan for $21 a month (four screens in 4K ultra HD).

For the sports fanatics, it’ll cost you $15 extra per month for the Stan sports add-on.

The Basic plan has remained constant at a monthly cost of $10 since 2016, whereas its Premium plan has increased by $6 a month over the past eight years.

Exclusive offerings: Bump, Totally Completely Fine, Poker Face, etc.

Disney+

Another service that has so far held off ads, Disney+ (which includes offerings from Star, National Geographic, Pixar, Star Wars and Marvel) is available for $13.99 per month or $139.99 per year. This allows you to watch on four screens at once, as well as unlimited downloads.

The monthly price has increased by $4 since its Australian launch in 2019, and the annual price has increased by $50.

Notably, a cheaper ad-supported plan has already been rolled out in the US, with an increase in the price of the ad-free subscription. During an earnings call in May, Disney chief executive Bob Iger suggested the ad-supported plans would probably continue to expand internationally.

“We have only just begun to scratch the surface of what we can do with advertising on Disney+, and I’m incredibly bullish on our longer-term advertising positioning,” he said.

Exclusive offerings: The Mandalorian, The Kardashians, The Bear, etc.

Apple TV+

The cost of an Apple TV+ subscription increased twice last year, bringing it to $12.99 per month (up $3 from the previous rate of $9.99). This subscription can be shared with up to five family members.

For now, Apple TV+ continues to be ad-free. A three-month complimentary subscription is also automatically available upon the purchase of an Apple device, such as an iPhone.

Exclusive offerings: Lessons in Chemistry, Morning Wars, The Crowded Room, etc.

Paramount+

One of the most recent streaming platforms to become available in Australia, Paramount+ followed other services’ suit last year but increasing the cost of its offerings.

Upon its launch in 2021, it cost $8.99 per month and $89.99 per year, allowing you to watch two screens simultaneously in 1080p. Though its annual cost has remained constant over the past three years, its monthly cost increased slightly in August last year to $9.99.

Since it’s still a relatively new platform, Paramount+ does not offer as wide a range of original content as other long-standing services, and it shares a fair deal of its content with Amazon Prime.

Exclusive offerings: Frasier reboot, 1923, Yellowjackets, etc.

*Stan is owned by Nine, which also owns this masthead.

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