The starting price to streaming Netflix ad-free in Canada is about to go up, with Canadian Netflix subscribers learning last week that the streamer’s cheapest ad-free tier is about to go away.
Meanwhile, the Basic plan still exists in the U.S. and other countries, but it’s become harder to find.
As the Toronto Sun reports, Netflix recently announced that it’s scrubbing the $9.99-a-month Basic plan from its menu of options in Canada.
Current Netflix subscribers on the Basic tier in Canada will have their plans grandfathered in, the Toronto Sun says. But new subscribers can no longer select the Basic plan when they sign up, and the tier will disappear as an alternative plan for existing subscribers “in the near future.”
Once the Basic plan is gone, the next cheapest ad-free option for Netflix subscribers in Canada will be the $16.49-a-month Standard tier, which offers two 1080p streams plus the ability to download videos for offline viewing on two supported devices.
The $9.99-a-month Basic plan allows for a single 720p stream along with downloadable videos on a single device, while the $19.99/month Premium plan delivers 4 streams at UHD resolution.
Of course, another option for Canadian streamers will be Netflix’s just-launched ad-supported plan, which costs $5.99 a month (or $6.99/month in the U.S.) for two 1080p streams but no downloads.
Will Netflix’s Basic plan be phased out in other countries too, including the United States? That’s not clear yet, but as Cord Cutters News points out, the Basic plan is now hidden behind a “See All Plans” button during the U.S. signup process for new subscribers.
Netflix’s Basic plan is now hidden behind a “See All Plans” button during the U.S. signup process.
Netflix’s Basic plan is now hidden behind a “See All Plans” button during the U.S. signup process.
Netflix
Netflix’s Basic plan is now hidden behind a “See All Plans” button during the U.S. signup process.
Netflix
Netflix
We’ve reached out to Nefflix for more details.
Netflix launched its ad-supported “Standard with ads” tier last fall following the streaming giant’s first dip in subscriber numbers in a decade.
The arrival of Netflix’s $6.99-a-month ad-supported plan left the streamer’s $9.99/month ad-free Basic plan in an awkward spot. While the Basic tier offers offline downloads and an ad-free streaming experience, it only serves up a single 720p stream, versus two 1080p streams for the cheaper ad-supported plan.
The question marks over Netflix’s ad-free Basic plan come as Netflix continues its crackdown on password sharing, with the streamer announcing last month that Netflix subscribers in the U.S. can share their accounts for $7.99 per “extra member.”
Author: Ben Patterson, Senior Writer
Ben has been writing about technology and consumer electronics for more than 20 years. A PCWorld contributor since 2014, Ben joined TechHive in 2019, where he covers smart speakers, soundbars, and other smart and home-theater devices. You can follow Ben on Twitter.