Netflix's pricing has jumped quite significantly since its arrival Down Under back in 2015, with the streaming giant having implemented multiple price hikes in the years since.
At launch, Netflix's Aussie streaming tiers were quite reasonably priced, starting at just AU$8.99 per month for a single SD stream, before moving up to AU$11.99 per month for two HD streams and AU$14.99 per month for four 4K streams.
Of course, the growing number of expensive Netflix Original TV shows and movies has led the streaming giant to pass the buck onto subscribers — that means higher subscription prices across the board, particularly for customers on the two top tiers.
We suppose that's a small price to pay to remain signed up to one of the best streaming services in Australia, though it might be a little harder to swallow for users subscribed to multiple services.
And while some users have made the most of their monthly payment by sharing their account across multiple households, it now appears that Netflix is testing a new pricing option that would add a small additional fee for people outside of your home, though we don't know if or when that system will be available locally.
That said, the news that Netflix's cheaper ad-supported tier will be available to Australian subscribers from November 4 should help alleviate those pricing woes. So without further delay, here's a complete rundown of Netflix's pricing in Australia for 2022.
Netflix prices (per month)
| Netflix plan | Streams / Quality | Launch price | Current price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic (ads) | 1 stream / 720p | n/a | AU$6.99 |
| Basic | 1 stream / 720p | AU$8.99 | AU$10.99 |
| Standard | 2 streams / 1080p | AU$10.99 | AU$16.99 |
| Premium | 4 streams / 4K UHD | AU$14.99 | AU$22.99 |
Netflix price tiers: what you get
As we mentioned earlier, Australians will soon be able to sign up to Netflix's new 'Basic with ads' tier from November 4, 2022. The new tier will come in at the reasonably affordable price of AU$6.99 per month, which is AU$4 cheaper than its ad-free Basic tier, which now costs AU$10.99 per month.
That puts Netflix's ad-supported, single stream tier at the exact same price point as Amazon Prime Video's one and only streaming plan, which offers three concurrent streams at resolutions up to 4K with HDR thrown in for good measure.
Both of Netflix's Basic tiers are limited to 720p (HD) quality, which is admittedly a long-overdue upgrade over the previous entry-level resolution of 480p (SD).
It's also worth noting that Amazon's service is generally ad-free, outside of some pre-roll trailers for other exclusive Prime shows.
Next up is Netflix's popular Standard plan, which offers two concurrent 1080p (Full HD) streams for AU$16.99 per month. It's likely that Netflix's Standard tier will be enough for most households.
Having said that, videophiles and those with families of three or more people will probably want to upgrade to Netflix's Premium tier, which is priced at a hefty AU$22.99 per month. For that money, you get four simultaneous streams at resolutions up to 4K, along with support for HDR10 and Dolby Vision.
Netflix price outlook
Given that Netflix has been forced to launch a cheaper, ad-supported tier of its service to combat its immense subscriber loss during the start of 2022, we think the streaming giant will likely hold off on further price hikes for the foreseeable future.
That said, nothing would surprise us at this point — Netflix may eventually use the new ad-supported tier to justify charging more for its higher tiers, though hopefully not. Either way, we wouldn't expect a Netflix pricing increase until at least the middle of 2023.
- See how Netflix compares to the other best streaming services in Australia for 2022
