Disney has announced it’s increasing prices for the ad-free tier of Disney+ on October 12. It’s a story we’ve heard many times before, from streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Max — not to mention Disney+ itself. On the plus side, if you start an annual subscription now at the current price, you’ll strategically lock in the lower price for about a year. That’s just smart planning. To see what the various options mean for your pocketbook, let’s look at the numbers.
Lock in a Year of Disney+ Before the Price Goes Up
Disney+ 1-Year Membership
Scroll down to “Choose Your Plan” and select “Disney+.” Then choose the “Premium” plan and select annual from there.
First, the price increase. On October 12, the monthly price of ad-free Disney+ will increase from $10.99 to $13.99. That’s about a 20% increase, which turns into a lot of money over the span of your subscription. The cost of the with-ads tier will remain the same ($7.99/month), at least for the time being.
But if you want no ads and you want to lock in the current price, now is the time. The current price for 12 months of ad-free Disney+ is $110. (Disney hasn’t announced how much the annual price will be once the increase goes into effect.)
Not only does an annual subscription save you money compared to 12 months of the current monthly price, but it saves way more compared to the increased price going into effect October 12. If you were to pay the post-increase monthly price for 12 months, it would cost you $167.88 total. So locking in the current, lower annual price now saves you a bunch of money.
Alternatively, once the price hike goes into effect, a new bundle option will become available. It will include ad-free Disney+ and ad-free Hulu for $19.99 per month. That may be the best option if you plan to subscribe to the no-ad tiers of both services, because for some reason Hulu currently doesn’t offer an ad-free annual subscription.
Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN’s board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on (long inhale) Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon, and the social network formerly known as Twitter.