The company is notorious for frequent price hikes.
Movie fans of a certain age may vividly remember the sad, somewhat rapid decline of the old video store. Whether your store of choice was the nearest Blockbuster or an independent shop, you probably smile at the nostalgia of heading to the video store on a Friday or Saturday night, anxiously hoping that a copy of the hottest new release was in stock. Or, better yet, just returned by another renter so you could swoop in and snag the last one.
Then streaming came along, and video stores around the world began fading into irrelevance, with locations closing as streaming services continued to grow in popularity. In 2006, Blockbuster — the undisputed king of video rental stores — made a last-ditch effort to stay current by offering Total Access, which allowed customers to exchange their mail-ordered DVD rentals in physical stores.
This perceived competition pushed Netflix to introduce a video streaming plan in 2007. Of course, Blockbuster’s Total Access — and Blockbuster itself — vanished into oblivion (but remained in our hearts) while Netflix grew into the streaming giant we all know and subscribe to today. Of course, streaming Netflix in 2007 cost a fair amount less per month than it does today. Then again, that was nearly 20 years ago, and pricing is always relative.
What Netflix streaming cost in 2007
It’s strange to think that Netflix streaming was introduced, at least partly, to stay one step ahead of Blockbuster in the streaming realm. So Netflix added its first streaming option, called Watch Now, to its DVD rental plans. And subscribers could only access Netflix streaming if they had one of those DVD plans.
In mid-2007, $16.99 per month got you three DVD rentals at a time as well as 18 hours of streaming – almost an afterthought. Netflix also offered options to pay more for more DVDs at a time (four or five), which would give subscribers more streaming hours.
If you’ve only ever known Netflix as a streaming service on your smart TV, tablet or phone, you might find it interesting that, in 2007, Netflix could only be streamed on a Windows PC with Internet Explorer. And the video quality wasn’t great. After all, high-definition (720p and 1080i) was just starting to take off as a mainstream viewing format in 2007. Netflix’s streaming library of roughly 1,000 titles was pretty lean, as well. Its first original series was still five years away, and the first original Netflix movie didn’t debut until 2015. But none of this stopped its prices from increasing — a true Netflix staple.
Unlimited streaming in 2008 and the DVD/streaming split of 2011
To start off 2008, Netflix’s top-tier plan cost $16.99 per month for three DVDs at a time, plus unlimited streaming. Netflix also offered free unlimited instant streaming to any customers who subscribed to a DVD plan costing $8.99 or higher. And there was a budget plan that included two DVD rentals per month, plus two streaming hours, for $4.99. Fortunately, for those with unlimited streaming, Netflix had expanded its library to around 6,000 titles by that point.
Fast-forward a few years, and Netflix finally decided to split its DVD and streaming services into different subscription plans in 2011. Either format cost subscribers $7.99 each month, which didn’t seem bad on the surface. Until subscribers realized that, instead of paying $9.99 per month for a DVD plan plus unlimited streaming as they had been since 2010, they now had to pay $7.99 per month for each service.
For subscribers who wanted access to the whole Netflix library through both DVD rentals and streaming services, Netflix essentially raised the price of those plans by $6 to roughly $16. And that was for just one DVD at a time; subscribers had to fork over another $4 per month if they wanted two DVDs at a time.
Netflix prices in 2026 and heading into 2027
Over the next decade, Netflix added some new plans like Premium, Standard, Basic, Standard-definition-only, Basic with ads, Ad-Free and other iterations. And with those plans typically came annual price hikes, usually ranging from $1 to $3 more per month depending on the plan.
Today, Netflix offers three plans. Standard with ads costs $8.99 per month and includes ad-supported access to most (but not all) shows and movies in the Netflix catalog, with the ability to stream and download in 1080p HD on two supported devices at a time.
The Standard plan is $19.99 per month and includes everything in the Standard with ads package (minus the ads, of course), but with completely unlimited access to Netflix TV shows, movies and games. It also offers the option to add one extra member who doesn’t live with you to the plan for another $7.99 per month to let them endure commercials, or $9.99 a month for the ad-free experience.
Finally, the Premium plan costs $26.99 monthly and offers unlimited access to the entire Netflix library, with video available in 4K Ultra HD + HDR with Netflix spatial audio, the ability to watch Netflix on four supported devices simultaneously and download on six supported devices, and the option to add up to two more members who don’t reside with you for the same respective add-on prices per month as Standard.
Netflix has become notorious for its near-annual price hikes over the past 20 years. But if you really analyze what you get today compared to what you got in 2007, one could argue that today’s plans give you better value for your money. Of course prices have increased since 2007. It’s been 20 years, and our economy has been put through the wringer a number of times during that span.
But consider what was offered as a top plan in 2007 — three DVDs at a time plus 18 hours of streaming that was limited to 1,000 titles, only viewable on a Windows PC in lousy quality, for $16.99 per month. Today, for $10 more per month, subscribers have access to more than 8,000 titles, including hundreds of original series and movies, plus exclusive sporting events, in pristine 4K Ultra HD and premium audio that can be viewed and downloaded on a TV, tablet, phone or computer. Yes, it’s $10 more per month, which is significant. But you also get so much more for the money.
