The quiet tax on your monthly budget

When Netflix launched its streaming service in 2010, a standard plan cost $7.99/month. As of 2025, the same standard plan costs $22.99/month — a 188% price increase over 15 years. The US Consumer Price Index rose roughly 58% over the same period. Subscription inflation is running at more than 3x general inflation.

The price history

Netflix has raised prices 5 times since 2019 alone:

January 2019: Standard $12.99 → $13.99
October 2020: Standard $13.99 → $15.49
January 2022: Standard $15.49 → $19.99
July 2023: Elimination of basic plan, ad-free standard → $22.99
2025: Premium 4K plan → $29.99

Netflix isn't alone. Spotify raised prices in 2023 for the first time in 12 years. Apple Music, Disney+, Hulu, Max, Peacock, YouTube Premium — all have increased prices within the last 3 years.

Why it keeps happening

Several structural forces drive subscription price inflation:

Content cost escalation. Streaming services compete for exclusive content rights. Sports rights, in particular, have become an arms race. The NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV costs more than most cable packages.

Password sharing crackdowns. As platforms crack down on account sharing, household costs rise for families that previously split one account.

Market maturation. When user growth slows, platforms extract more revenue per existing subscriber rather than acquiring new ones.

Ad-tier migration pressure. Removing cheaper ad-free options effectively forces price increases on price-sensitive users.

The bundle trap

A popular response to rising prices is the bundle (Disney+/Hulu/ESPN+, Apple One, etc.). Bundles are marketed as savings — and they are, relative to buying each service individually. But they're traps if you primarily use only one of the included services. The perceived discount anchors you to a higher absolute spend.

What to do about it

Three practical responses:

Rotate, don't accumulate. Treat streaming services like library cards. Subscribe to one, binge what you want, cancel, repeat. Most content stays available for months.
Set a subscription budget ceiling. Decide the maximum you'll spend across all subscriptions — $50/month is a reasonable target for most households — and hold the line.
Get renewal alerts. The best defense against price creep is knowing when each service renews. Winnowfi sends you a 7-day warning before every charge, so you can decide whether to keep or cancel before the money leaves your account.

subscription inflation

Netflix Raised Prices 5 Times in 6 Years. You're Not Imagining It.