Martin Lewis warns Netflix customers after price hike as you could save £100s

20 October 2023 , 16:57

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Martin Lewis shared his tips on beating the Netflix price hike (Image: ITV)

Earlier this week, Netflix announced it would be hiking the prices of some of its UK subscriptions. The streaming giant raised the price of its most expensive Premium tier - which allows you to watch on four devices - by £2 to £17.99 per month, while its Basic plan has gone up by £1 to £7.99 per month. The price of its Standard and Standard with Adverts plans remains unchanged at £10.99 and £4.99 per month respectively.

The price change means that Brits on a basic plan will spend another £12 a year, while those on a premium tier will have to fork out a further £24 annually. And while this will likely come as a blow to the pockets of many of us, there are some things you can do to save money instead of spending more - according to Martin Lewis, the Money Saving Expert.

Netflix could cost you up to £24 more every year (NurPhoto via Getty Images)

An article posted on his Money Saving Expert website states that if you want to keep your Netflix subscription but are worried about price increases, there are a few things you can try. First of all, consider whether there is a cheaper plan you can switch to.

Netflix offers a Standard plan for new customers which costs £10.99 a month, saving you £7 if you currently pay for a Premium subscription. Or, if you want to pay even less, you can opt for the £4.99 Standard with adverts tier, which does exactly what it says on the tin - you get standard viewing on up to two devices, but you will have to watch adverts.

The MSE website also advocates for sharing your Netflix account with friends or family members who live with you and splitting the cost of the subscription, as this could end up saving you hundreds. They write: "The standard Netflix plan without adverts lets you watch on two screens at once – and you don't have to be watching the same thing. Getting one subscription and splitting the cost with someone else means that you'll both only pay £5.50 a month for ad-free, HD streaming.

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"If you live with two or three others who use Netflix, you can save even more by splitting the premium plan – now £17.99 a month – and paying £6 a month or £4.50 a month each. You'll be able to watch in ultra HD, too."

One person footing the £17.99-a-month bill by themselves would be forking out £215.88 every year on Netflix, but if you have three people to split the costs with, each of you will only spend around £4.50 a month, making your yearly spend just £54. Doing this means you each save around £162 every year compared to the cost of a full subscription per person.

However, this hack only works if you're sharing your plan with people who live in the same household as you. Earlier this year, Netflix decided to clamp down on account sharing by charging users £4.99 a month for "extra member" profiles for those who don't live in the same household. The streaming giant said it would be monitoring fraudulent account sharing by using information such as IP addresses, device IDs and account activity to determine which devices and profiles are (and aren't) part of the account holder's 'Netflix household'.

Of course, if you're unhappy with the Netflix price hikes and wish to cancel your subscription, you can do so at any time before your next billing date, and you will not incur any fees. What's more, you'll still be able to use Netflix until your next billing date, at which point your account will be frozen - although you can restore it at any time.

Zahna Eklund