April is in full swing, and there's never been a better time to subscribe to homegrown streamer, Binge. After launching in mid-2020 in Hubbl bubble, the platform scored exclusive rights to HBO's catalogue. And now, through an integration with sister site, Kayo Sports, Binge subscribers can stream live and on-demand sporting events, too.
Not only that, Binge has become a surefire way to stream the latest and greatest reality TV shows, including the likes of the Real Housewives franchise and Vanderpump Rules.
That said, thanks to the arrival of Max late last month, Binge has unfortunately lost all HBO content on the platform, meaning some may be debating whether or not to ditch Binge completely in favour of a different service. You may even be wondering how much the service will cost you this month or over the year, and that’s where we step in.
We’ve compiled this extensive guide on Binge, with details on what’s included in its monthly plans and more below. If you’re interested in price comparisons across streaming services available in Australia or finding out what the best streaming services in Australia are, we’ve got you covered with our localised Aussie streaming guides. Or if you're looking for recommendations of what to watch this month, we've got you sorted, too.
Binge Australia plans and prices
Binge currently offers three monthly subscription plans at different price points:
Basic | AU$10
Standard | AU$19
Premium | AU$22
Starting at AU$10 p/m for a Basic plan, Binge offers a 7-day free trial for new users, which you can cancel at any time.
Basic
Similar to Stan's Basic offering, with Binge’s basic plan you can stream in HD on one screen at a time. According to the platform, this plan is ad-supported, with ads clocking in up to five minutes every hour.
Standard and Premium
The mid-level plan will cost you AU$19 p/m for two screens at the same time and 4K/HDR viewing without ads. The only difference between Binge's Standard and Premium plans is the extra $3 p/m and two additional screens.
How to pick the right plan for your needs
With most streaming services — Binge included — plan prices tend to revolve around the number of screens and streaming resolution on offer. Obviously, there are other factors that may go into this, like catalogue access and non-streaming benefits, but for the most part it comes down to this: more screens = higher subscription costs.
Binge’s prices very much reflect this, with each plan based around screens and resolution. The key difference is the inclusion of ads on Binge’s cheapest plan, which could detract some away from the basic offering.
The basic plan could be a great choice for a smaller household or single user, with one device to stream the service on (e.g. a smart TV or laptop) and you don’t mind watching an ad or two every 30 minutes. However, if you want more flexibility between screens (and no ads), then you may be better off investing in the standard plan.
We wouldn’t necessarily recommend the Premium plan unless you require two additional screens. We feel the standard plan would suit larger households with multiple devices and you can set up user profiles to differentiate between kids and grown-up content. Also, there’s no difference in audio or streaming quality between the standard and premium plans, so you might be better off saving your extra dollars every month.
Are there ways to save on subscription costs?
At the time of writing, there are a few ways to save on Binge subscription costs. For starters, you can sign up for or switch to an annual plan on your chosen tier to save some extra pennies.
The annual Basic plan will save you AU$40 per year, whereas the annual Standard plan will save you AU$79 and the premium yearly plan will save you AU$85.
The platform does offer a 7-day free trial for new customers, so you can give it a go and see if it’s worth your money.
If you’re an Optus customer you have the option to get a Binge subscription through select home internet or mobile phone plans, so you may be able to maximise savings by bundling your services.
How does Binge pricing compare to other streaming services?
Binge's AU$22p/m premium offering is cheaper compared to Foxtel’s essentials plan and Netflix's premium plan, both priced at AU$25p/m. Currently, premium streaming plans average at AU$19.99p/m and AU$239.90p/y.
In terms of basic and standard plans, Binge is on the higher end compared to other services. Binge's basic ad-supported plan is AU$10p/m, costing above the AU$9.79p/m average. Meanwhile, Binge's standard plan costs more than the AU$14.55p/m average, totalling AU$19p/m and AU$228p/y.
How does Binge's content catalogue compare?
In terms of content, Binge ranks below most streaming services, only offering 2,095 titles. Those titles consist of 953 movies and 1,142 television shows. While that does seem like a lot, it pales in comparison to competitors like Prime Video and Netflix, which have over 9k titles and 7,334 titles, respectively.
Binge has suffered a devastating blow as of late, with Max's launch in Australia taking away HBO shows and movies from the platform. This means a good portion — around 315 entries — have been stripped from the streamer.
That said, Binge has a slate of new and recent releases that are still worth tuning in for, including new original series, The Last Anniversary, based on the Liane Moriarty novel of the same name. And the platform increased its lifestyle content by adding a live channel of global franchises and local adaptations of hit shows such as Selling Houses Australia, Great Australian Bake-Off and Love It or List It Australia.
Binge also welcomed live sports and news channels to its platform, through integrations with sister sites, Kayo Sports and Flash News, with no ad breaks during play for selected games.
Have Binge prices increased over time?
This homegrown streaming platform was one of the services that introduced ad-supported plans and price hikes last year. As of October 2023, its standard subscription increased by AU$4 to AU$18 p/m, and its premium plan rose by AU$4 to AU$22 p/m.
The platform first upped its prices in 2022, just two years after its first launch. Originally, a standard plan in 2020 would have set you back a mere AU$14 per month, and a premium plan would have cost just AU$18 per month. These current hikes total a 22% increase for standard and 18% for premium in the past two years alone.
Meanwhile, the basic plan remains unchanged since 2020 at AU$10 p/m.
Is a Binge subscription worth it?
If you’ve gotten this far, you’re probably still thinking about whether a Binge subscription is worth your time and money. Here’s where we step in and give you some advice.
With the loss of HBO originals and content catalogue, we struggle to wholeheartedly recommend a subscription to the Aussie streamer. That's tough for us to admit — we've been big fans of Binge for some time now at Tom's Guide — but the major drawcards for the platform can be found on an entirely different service in Max.
That's not to say you should cancel your subscription, though, as there are still plenty of great titles and originals you can find on Binge, including Foxtel Now content for a fraction of the price.
If you're keen on saving big on a Kayo Sports subscription, and only tune in to watch seasonal sports, Binge could be the cheaper alternative for sports fans. With plans starting from AU$10p/m, it could be a surefire way to watch the BBL, NRL and AFL games with little ad breaks. If you’re interested in what it has to offer, we’d suggest giving the free trial a go.
If you’re thinking of cancelling your subscription, we have a guide on how to cancel Binge that you may want to check out.
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