Disney+ to hike prices by up to £36 a year in major shake-up – here's how its new plans work and how they compare

The move by Disney+ comes as the cost of streaming your favourite TV, movies and music is going up: Netflix recently axed its cheapest ad-free plan, Spotify has increased subscription costs by £12 a year and Paramount+ recently increased prices in the US. For tips to cut the cost of streaming, see our Watch movies & TV online guide. 

Disney+ is upping the price of its existing plan by up to £36 a year

Disney+ currently only has one plan available directly, which is £7.99 a month or £79.90 if you pay for the year upfront.

From 1 November 2023, that price will automatically increase to £10.99 a month or £109.90 for the year upfront if you pay Disney directly – though you won't pay the new price until your billing date on or after 6 December 2023. 

This will become known as the Disney+ 'Premium' plan and – unless you downgrade your subscription – you'll have to pay the increased price if you want to keep your current service, which allows you to stream and download on up to four devices and watch content in the highest available quality (4K HDR).

Currently it's unclear how those who subscribe to Disney+ through a third party, such as O2, are to be affected. Disney+ said these customers will be told of any changes to their subscription nearer to 1 November. 

Disney+ last increased prices in February 2021.

Two new cheaper plans will also be introduced – but these will have fewer perks

Disney+ will also launch two plans from 1 November 2023: 'Standard with Ads' and 'Standard'. The content will be the same across all three plans but the picture quality and the number of devices you can stream and download on to will differ by plan.

As the name suggests, the 'Standard with Ads' plan will feature adverts. Disney+ wouldn't tell us how often you can expect to see adverts and whether they will be targeted at users; it says this information won't be available until nearer the plan's launch in November. But it said the addition of this plan would provide "greater choice" for subscribers. It follows a similar move by Netflix, which launched a cheaper ad-based plan in 2022.