Last chance: Disney+ to raise prices from this week – check NOW if you can beat the hikes and save up to £46 a year

It comes just weeks after the streaming service announced a crackdown on password sharing, which means you now have to pay £4.99 extra a month to share your account with someone outside of your household.

Beat the hikes – save up to £46 by grabbing a Disney+ annual plan now

If you're a Disney+ newbie, or an existing monthly subscriber, you can sign up or switch to an annual Disney+ Standard or Premium subscription at the current price until 11.59pm on Wednesday 16 October.

Depending on the plan you choose, this will save you either £10 or £20 upfront as a newbie (versus signing up after the deadline); or £27.98 or £45.98 over the year as an existing member (versus staying on the equivalent monthly plan).

But before you sign up or switch plans:

• Check your debit or credit card for Disney+ cashback offers. For example, MSE Petar spotted an offer for 15% cashback on his Monzo debit card and the same on his American Express credit card. Using either of these now would get you a year on the Standard plan for £68 (saving £22 versus the new annual cost) or a year on the Premium plan for £94 (saving £36). These offers are often personalised, so there are no guarantees – but it's worth checking and opting in if you spot them on your account.
  
  If you're new to Disney+, you can also combine a debit/credit card offer with a separate cashback deal from Topcashback or Quidco (worth up to £11.55) to maximise the saving.

• See if you can get Disney+ for FREE (plus £200 cash on top). Lloyds Bank's Club Lloyds current account gives you the Standard with Ads Disney+ plan free for 12 months. Plus, if you're thinking of switching banks, you can currently get a free £200 on top (though we wouldn't switch just for Disney).
  
  The account is fee-free as long as you meet its £2,000 a month minimum pay-in – there's a £3 a month fee if you don't – and you'll need to pass a not-too-harsh credit check to open it. See our Club Lloyds analysis for full info.

• Check for discounts from third-party providers. For example, you can currently save £20 on a Standard annual subscription by signing up to Uber One for £59.99. Beware that both memberships will renew at full-price after 12 months, so make sure you cancel them both separately if you don't want to continue. This offer could end at any time – for full info and more options, see our Disney+ deals round-up.

Disney+ plans compared

Here's how Disney+ prices are changing and how its plans compare:

More ways to save on Disney+

If you can't or don't want to sign up for an annual Disney+ plan, here are some other options:

• Consider downgrading your plan. Compare the plans using our table above to see if a cheaper plan would work for you – switching could save you up to £96 a year (based on going from the monthly Premium plan the Standard with Ads plan).
  
  To change plans, log into your Disney+ account and select 'Manage Account', or select the profile picture in the top right and then the 'Account' option. From the 'Your Plans and Billing' section, select your subscription. Click 'Change' to select a new plan.

• Don't pay for more than one Disney+ subscription in a single household (unless you really need to). Disney+ has cracked down on password sharing, but all plans still allow you to stream on between two and four devices, which may be enough for your household.

• Unhappy about the changes? You can cancel penalty-free. Select 'Manage Account' or select the profile picture in the top right and then the 'Account' option. From the 'Your Plans and Billing' section, select your subscription. Select 'Cancel Subscription' and follow the remaining steps to confirm.
  
  If you cancel midway through your billing cycle, you'll be able to carry on using your account until the next billing date, but you won't get a refund on any portion unused.

How to save on streaming costs

You can read our TV MoneySaving tricks guide for full info on how to stream as cheaply as possible, but below are a few of our top tips:

• Check for cheaper alternatives. Other big streaming services offer cheaper monthly ad-free subscriptions. For example, Paramount+ costs £6.99 a month and Channel 4+ is £3.99 a month. See our top streaming services comparison.

• Streaming newbie? Watch over two months of top shows and movies for free. Some streaming services give free trials, including 30 days of Amazon Prime Video and seven days of Apple TV+ and Paramount+ – but always remember to cancel before you're charged if you don't want to keep it. See free streaming trials.

• Rotate between streaming services so you're not paying for more than one at a time. If you subscribe to Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and Now Entertainment, it's at least £26 a month. Yet it's easy to pay £5 to £10 a month and still watch the top shows by paying for just one service, then when you've seen what you want, cancel it, move on to the next one, and do the same. We've tips on how best to jump between streaming services.