The headline says it all. Get ready for the cost of your Max subscription to go up, because the player is about to see another price hike. With one of the streamer's biggest hits, House of the Dragonthe second season will air on June 16, we suppose we would have expected that. But still, we can't say we like the news of a price hike, especially for the already expensive Max platform. (Although, these days, other previously less expensive streamers are quickly catching up.) While not all plans are seeing price hikes, some monthly and annual subscription plans, meaning those without ads, are getting a price increase starting today, June 4th. This is what is happening.
Max's ad-free plans are seeing a price hike
In a statement, Max revealed that some Max monthly and annual plans are increasing their prices. It turns out that the plans with increased costs are the “ad-free” plans offered by Max. You can check out the changes below.
- No ads | The ad-free monthly plan will increase by $1 per month, bringing the new price to $16.99/month. The ad-free annual plan will increase by $20 per year, to $169.99 per year.
- Ultimate without ads | The Ultimate Ad-Free monthly plan will increase by $1 per month, bringing the new price to $20.99/month. The Ultimate Ad-Free annual plan will increase by $10 per year, to $209.99 per year.
As we often say, $1 a month and $20 a year seem like small amounts of money. But it also seems that these small increases are happening more and more often. Also, basically all streamers, not just Max, are raising their prices. And that makes the streaming model less and less sustainable.
When will you see a price increase on your maximum subscription?
The price increase for ad-free Max plans is effective immediately. This means new Max subscribers will see the cost increase reflected on their bill immediately. However, “Existing subscribers will be notified 30 days prior to their plan renewal and will see price increases beginning with their next billing cycle on or after Thursday, July 4, 2024. Current annual subscribers will not see any increases until to renewal”.
The maximum plan with ads remains the same price
For now, the Max With Ads plan will not increase in price and remains at $9.99/month or $99.99/year.
Current subscription levels of Max
Max currently offers three pricing options. They are the following:
- With Ads | Stream on 2 devices at once, Full HD video resolution
- No ads | Play on 2 devices at once, Full HD video resolution, 30 downloads to watch on the go
- Ultimate without ads | Play on 4 devices at once, 4K Ultra HD video quality available, immersive Dolby Atmos audio available, 100 downloads to watch on the go (limits apply)
These prices are increasing Max appears to continue the current streaming trend of pushing users to select ad-based options. And so, we keep coming back to the cable.
