Disney is raising prices on Disney+ and Hulu again, the fourth increase in four years. Ad-free plans jump $2.50 to $21.49 each. The ad-free bundle costs just 50 cents more than a single ad-free service.
Disney is raising streaming prices again, because of course they are.
Ad-free Disney+ and ad-free Hulu will each cost $21.49 a month, up $2.50. That’s a 13% jump.
Ad-supported plans are going up much less. Each moves to $12.49 a month, a 50-cent increase, or about 4%.
Every new price
Here’s the full breakdown:
Disney+ ad-free: $21.49, up from $18.99
Hulu ad-free: $21.49, up from $18.99
Disney+ with ads: $12.49, up from $11.99
Hulu with ads: $12.49, up from $11.99
Disney+/Hulu bundle, ad-free: $21.99, up from $19.99
Disney+/Hulu bundle, with ads: $12.99, up from $12.49
The bundle costs 50 cents more than one service
Look at those numbers again.
Ad-free Disney+ by itself is $21.49. The ad-free bundle with both Disney+ and Hulu is $21.99.
That’s a difference of 50 cents.
The ad-supported side works the same way. One service is $12.49. Both together are $12.99.
Buying two services separately would run $42.98 a month for ad-free. The bundle is almost exactly half that.
This is not an accident. Disney has pushed bundling for years for a simple reason: people who subscribe to bundles cancel less often. The pricing is built to make buying a single service look like a mistake.
If you only want Hulu, Disney would very much like you to take Disney+ too.
Ad-free subscribers are taking the hit
Disney really wants more ad revenue on top of making customers pay to subscribe.
Ad-free plans went up 13%. Ad-supported plans went up 4%. Someone paying to avoid commercials is absorbing more than five times the increase of someone who watches them.
That gap points where Disney is headed.
Disney executives said this summer they’re exploring a free ad-supported product on top of the existing paid tiers. And last week the company handed control of Disney+ and Hulu to Adam Smith, a former YouTube executive whose new job explicitly includes overseeing proprietary advertising technology.
Advertising is becoming a bigger part of the business. Pricing that nudges people toward ad tiers fits that plan.
This is the fourth increase in four years
Disney has now raised streaming prices every year since 2022.
The timing is almost exact. This announcement comes a year, nearly to the day, after the last one. The 2025 increase was announced in late September and took effect Oct. 21.
Streaming prices across the industry have climbed roughly three times faster than general inflation since 2022.
For context on where Disney sits, Netflix’s premium plan remains the most expensive individual streaming subscription at $26.99 a month, about four dollars above HBO Max’s top tier.
At $21.49, ad-free Disney+ is no longer a bargain option. It’s a premium one.
When the new prices start
For new customers, the new prices start today, September 23. Existing customers will see the increase on their next billing cycle.
Another year, another increase. At this point it’s less a surprise than a season.
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
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Hat Tips:
Bloomberg (Sept. 23, 2026), the original report on the price increases
The Hollywood Reporter (Sept. 23, 2026), the full pricing breakdown, the percentage increases, the bundle comparison, the streaming inflation figure and the Netflix comparison
Variety (Sept. 23, 2026), the report that surfaced this coverage
Cord Cutters News (Aug. 22, 2026), the legacy bundle increase to $27.99 effective Sept. 17
The Walt Disney Company (Sept. 17, 2026), the Adam Smith appointment and his oversight of advertising technology
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