How does Netflix compare to the other streamers, here and abroad?
Australian streamers were hit with another Netflix price hike this week, the second since May. Angry subscribers are threatening to boycott the service, according to The Nightly, but are they being too hasty?
Mumbrella decided to run the ruler over streaming pricing, with a comparison to other Australian services and where we sit in terms of the world pecking order. Is Netflix still worth it?
Hold fire: Australian Netflix compares well internationally (Midjourney)
Compared to other Australian streamers
This is the bad news. Netflix is the most expensive general streaming service available in Australia.
In order to compare squids with squids, we’ve selected each service’s ‘standard’ plan — usually the middle tier plan available — and the one that most Australians would have initially signed up to, before the introduction of the cheaper ad-supported tiers, or the higher premium tiers with 4K viewing and multiple screens.
Some of the local streamers offer just one tier – which is the one we used. We’ve also opted for the monthly subscription price for each, rather than the yearly ones, which tend to be moderately cheaper, but require an upfront investment. Finally, we’ve excluded the speciality services, such as Stan Sport, Kayo, Crunchyroll, NBA League Pass, Britbox, and the other niche streamers.
Now, the bad news for Netflix subscribers – unless, of course, you’re looking to cut costs and downgrade. Netflix is by far the most expensive service available.
Under the new pricing, a standard Netflix subscription will cost $20.99 a month, a hike of $2 (Netflix premium rose by $3 to $28.99). The next priciest streamers are the local players: Foxtel’s Binge offering, which has a standard price of $19 a month, and Nine’s streamer Stan – at $17.
A Disney+ premium subscription costs the same as a Netflix standard, while its own standard pricing is $15.99 a month.
New entrant HBO Max costs $15.99 for a standard monthly subscription ($21.99 for premium), with Apple TV’s only tier costing $12.99 a month.
The two cheapest available standard streaming offerings are Paramount+ and Amazon Prime, both of which cost $9.99. Paramount’s premium tier is just $13.99 – less than half the cost of Netflix’s $28.99 premium subscription.
Amazon Prime’s streaming service comes as part of its Prime membership, which also includes free package shipping, a music streaming service, a digital book offering, and a gaming platform – making it nominally the best overall deal (especially if you’re a high-volume Amazon buyer, a casual gamer, looking to boycott Spotify, or believe physical books are a bulky waste of space).
Compared to the rest of the world
Here’s the good news. While in Australia, Netflix may be outpacing its competitors in terms of cost – internationally speaking, we have a pretty good deal . We compared the same standard tier pricing with 22 other territories around the world (all amounts are converted into Australian dollars) to see how we fare.
Of these countries, Irish viewers pay the most, shelling out over $30 a month, with Netflix in US, Singapore, the UK, and a number of European countries, all charged over $25 a month.
A standard subscription in the US costs $27.68, just ahead of Singapore’s $27.53 price point, and the UK’s $27.04.
Belgium, France, Italy, Netherlands, and Germany all paid more per month than Australians — all landing between $25 and $27 — while Sweden pays just over $24, New Zealanders $23.68 and Canadians a tad more than Aussies at $21.16/month.
Down the lower end of the pricing, a standard Netflix subscription is just $5.42 in Egypt, $8.76 in India, and $12.29 in Papua New Guinea.
Brazil, South Africa, Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong, Norway, and Poland all enjoy lower pricing than Australia.
Before Netflix suspended its service in Russia in 2022, a standard package cost 799 rubles per month – just $15.43 Australian dollars, while the streamer is yet to launch in China, due to the country’s strict censorship of content.
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Nathan Jolly is the Features Editor at Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
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Platform is garbage now anyway. Library is literally a fraction of what it once was, so all you’re paying for is access to the latest big monthly doco eg. The Last Dance etc.
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It wasn’t a Netflix “price rise” it was a “price update”!
I would guess that subscribers are even more annoyed because of this Orwellian doublespeak. Irritating corporate nonsense.
“Upcoming price update
Thank you for being a valued member since 2021. We hope you’re enjoying everything Netflix has to offer. We’re updating your monthly price to $20.99 on 10 September, 2025.”
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