After a long journey, HBO's streaming platform, Max, has officially crash-landed in Australia. Max first launched as HBO Max in the US in May 2020, gathering the TV giant's catalogue and putting it all together in one online streaming space.
The service made its way around the world, reaching audiences in South America, Canada, the UK and Europe in 2021, before expanding to Asian audiences with local content integrations in countries like Japan and New Zealand in late 2024. The platform officially rebranded to Max in 2023 for US audiences, with plans for other regions to fully relaunch under the new moniker by May 2025.
Max is home to all of HBO and Warner Bros. biggest franchises, including Friends, Harry Potter, DC Comics, and Max Originals like The Last of Us, Euphoria and The White Lotus. Up until recently, all of these great shows and movies were found on Aussie streamers Binge and Foxtel Now, but most have now been removed from the latter services since the local Max launch.
However, some may wonder if Max is worth signing up for, especially if you’re in a pinch and can’t afford to pay for multiple streaming services. So if you’re questioning whether you want to subscribe to the Friends reruns hub, we’ve got you sorted.
We’ve put together this complete guide on what Max will cost you in Australia in 2025, plus what’s included in its plans and more. If you’re interested in price comparisons across Australian streaming services, or the best streaming services in Australia, we’ve got you covered too.
So, without further ado, here's what Max is all about.
How much does Max Australia cost?
Right now until April 30, 2025, Max has a promotional launch offer that sees its subscriptions discounted for the first year by AU$4 per month for monthly plans, and AU$40 per annum for yearly plans.
- Basic with Ads (monthly) |
AU$11.99AU$7.99 - Standard (monthly) |
AU$15.99AU$11.99 - Premium (monthly) |
AU$21.99AU$17.99 - Basic with Ads (yearly) |
AU$119.99AU$79.99 - Standard (yearly) |
AU$159.99AU$119.99 - Premium (yearly) |
AU$219.99AU$179.99
After this date, the monthly subscription cost for new subscribers will revert back to the regular prices:
- Basic with Ads | AU$11.99
- Standard | AU$15.99
- Premium | AU$21.99
And likewise, annual subscription plans will revert back to their regular prices:
- Basic with Ads | AU$119.99
- Standard | AU$159.99
- Premium | AU$219.99
Note that these discounts only apply to the first year of your subscription, so for monthly plans you'll get that discounted rate for the first 12 months, while yearly plans will go up in price when you're up for your first renewal in 2026.
Here's what the different tiers get you:
Basic with Ads
The Basic with Ads plan is regularly priced at AU$11.99p/m and AU$119.99 per year, providing users with two simultaneous screens in HD resolution. Of course, as with most streaming plans, this cheaper offering will have users watching ads during their viewings.
Standard
Max's Standard tier includes simultaneous streaming to two screens in full HD resolution. The only differences between Basic and Standard is that the latter lacks ads and lets you download content for offline viewing. The plan allows for up to 30 downloads at a time, which isn't much in comparison to other streamers with unlimited downloads, but it is a definite upgrade if you want to watch your favourite Max shows on the go.
Premium
The Premium plan adds another two screens versus the Basic and Standard offerings, with streaming to four simultaneous screens in up to 4K resolution. This is the only subscription that comes with Dolby Atmos sound on select content, and you can download up to 100 shows or films for offline viewing.
How to pick the right Max plan for your needs
For most Australian streaming services — Max included — plan prices typically revolve around two key factors: number of screens and streaming resolution. Some other factors play into this, like catalogue access and other non-streaming-related benefits, but for the most part, plans are based on the former.
Both Max's Basic with Ads and Standard offerings can stream 1080p HD content on two screens simultaneously. The key difference here is that on the Standard plan, you won't see ads, and you can download content for offline viewing, capped at a maximum of 30 downloads at a time. On the Basic plan, you cannot download content.
With its Premium plan, users can stream on up to four different screens at the same time, in up to 4K resolution. In terms of offline content, users on this plan can access up to 100 downloads.
On sound, the Premium plan can also access Dolby Atmos audio, while the Basic with ads and Standard plans miss out on the higher quality option.
If you’re in a smaller household with one or two screens (a phone and a laptop would count for single users), then a Standard plan should suffice. It also depends on budget, so if you’re willing to watch an ad or two every half hour, it might be worth saving the extra AU$4p/m and opting for Max's entry-level ad-supported plan.
If you’re in a larger household with multiple devices or multiple users with different interests, then the Premium plan will likely be the best choice. Users with higher-end televisions may also want to opt for the resolution and sound quality boost alone.
Are there ways to save on a Max subscription?
Excluding the aforementioned introductory discounts, at the time of writing there's only one other way to save on a Max subscription — and that's by having an existing Foxtel account. Through a partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery, Foxtel subscribers are entitled to a free Max Basic with Ads subscription that can be accessed through the Foxtel UI. This does arguably come at an exorbitant cost, though, as prices for Foxtel plans start at AU$73p/m for the Foxtel Plus starter channel package.
It's important to point out that Foxtel Now subscribers can't access Max for free, and almost all Max and HBO content has been removed from the platform. Recent releases like season 3 of The White Lotus will, however, complete their run on Foxtel Now.
But if you're keen to save big on Max without a Foxtel subscription, we'd recommend signing up for the current introductory offer, which will see your monthly or annual fees discounted for the first year of your subscription. For all plans, you'll save AU$48 on your monthly sub, whereas annual subs will see a total saving of AU$40. If you're keen to jump onto Max, there's no better time to save than between now and when the offer ends on April 30, 2025.
You can cancel your Max subscription at any time, and you can access Max until your subscription expires at the end of your current monthly or yearly billing period.
How does Max pricing compare to other services?
Somewhat to our surprise, Max's plans are well within range of most Aussie streaming services, although its Basic with Ads offering is at the higher end of the spectrum. Compared to Netflix's ad-supported plan, Max's subscription is AU$4p/m more, at AU$11.99p/m. The average for the ad-supported tier on other Aussie services is currently AU$9.79p/m, and AU$117.53p/y.
As for its Standard plan, Max's offering is in the dead middle of the tier at AU$15.99p/m, but still costs more than the average of AU$14.55p/m. Its Premium tier is the closest to the average, costing AU$21.99p/m compared to the median of AU$19.99p/m.
How does Max's content catalogue compare?
Max is well known for being the global streaming home for HBO, the US TV giant, and the television series and films that come with it. In recent years, Max has also produced an array of smash hit productions under the Max Originals umbrella. Max's content has previously been accessible in Australia for quite some time via Binge and Foxtel Now, but almost all of Max's shows and films have now been stripped from both platforms, with Max now being the exclusive Aussie HBO hub.
Max is home to the very best and biggest HBO franchises and Warner Bros. Discovery brands, including Harry Potter, DC Comics, Sex And The City, Friends and more. As of its launch date, Max has also debuted with films like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Bullitt, Casablanca, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and The Wizard Of Oz.
Max also premieres with recent 2024 films, including Max original The Parenting, Twisters, Trap, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and Joker: Folie à Deux. In terms of television shows, Max is home to popular originals like Euphoria, The Last of Us, Sex Lives of College Girls, And Just Like That, and Rescue: Hi Surf.
Throughout April, Max will debut existing franchises like Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Dune, Batman and other DC films, and television series like 90 Day Fiancé, Aussie Gold Hunters, and Ghost Adventures.
Max's new releases in April include the highly anticipated second season of The Last Of Us, premiering on April 14, the second season of The Rehearsal, and Fast Friends, a game show dedicated to the beloved series Friends.
If you're worried about missing the final episodes of your favourite HBO show that just premiered — i.e. The Pitt or The White Lotus season three — you'll find them on Max, with all episodes releasing concurrently on the platform, alongside previous seasons.
Has the Australian Max price increased over time?
For right now, Max's subscription price hasn't changed. However, based on our experience in the past 12 months, we could reasonably expect a price uptick in the next year or so for the new streamer, considering all streaming services in Australia underwent an increase in 2024 and early 2025.
Is a Max subscription worth it?
If you've gotten this far, you're probably still wondering if a Max subscription is right for you, so let's break it down.
Max is a new streamer in the Australian market, and is home to the best HBO shows and franchises. Stripping streamers Binge and Foxtel Now of almost all of their HBO catalogues, the upcoming seasons of shows like House of the Dragon, Euphoria and The Last of Us will be exclusive to Max. So, if tuning into these major shows appeals to you, it may act as a major drawcard to the platform.
Even if you aren't overly interested in Max's new releases, the streamer is now the exclusive home of big brands like Friends, Harry Potter and DC, with films and TV shows stripped from similar platforms, and so, perhaps your comfort rewatches could be a driver to subscribe.
Either way, it's up to you to decide if a subscription to Max is worth your hard-earned cash.
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