Are you an Apple TV+ subscriber?
Prepare for the video streaming service to take more of your money each month.
Apple announced a significant price hike for the exclusive streaming home of popular shows like “Ted Lasso,” “Dickinson,” and “Severance” on October 25, 2023.
Let’s take a look at the new details.
Apple TV+ Price Hike Is Substantial and Immediate
There’s no way to sugarcoat this: You’re going to have to pay significantly more for your Apple TV+ subscription and you’re going to have to do it very soon.
Apple announced that the streaming service now will cost $9.99 per month. That’s up from the previous price of $6.99 per month, but is now double the original launch price of $4.99 per month.
Annual subscription costs will jump from $69 per year to $99.
Here’s a look at the pricing changes:
| Pricing | Old Price | New Price (effective October 25, 2023) |
| Monthly Subscription | $6.99 | $9.99 |
| Annual Subscription | $69.99 | $99.99 |
The changes are immediate for new customers. Apple says existing subscribers “will see these price increases 30 days later, on their next renewal date.”
A quick check of the Apple TV+ website revealed that new pricing is already in place:
Why Is This Price Increase Happening?
If it feels like you recently experienced another Apple TV+ price increase … it’s because you did.
Apple TV+, which launched in 2019, announced its first-ever price increase from $4.99 per month to $6.99 in October 2022.
Make it two Octobers in a row, I guess.
That first increase was understandable, as the price for Apple TV+ was perhaps artificially low in the beginning as a strategy to get early adapters as long-term customers.
But this year’s jump from $6.99 per month to $9.99 is much more drastic. After all, that’s a 43% price increase practically overnight.
Apple also raised the price on its Apple News, Apple One and Apple Arcade products. The tech giant sent out a press release that attempted to justify these moves. That included this note on Apple TV+:
“We are focused on delivering the best experiences possible for our customers by consistently adding high-quality entertainment, content, and innovative features to our services. Since launching four years ago, Apple TV+ has made history for streaming services by crossing major milestones in a short span of time, thanks to its extensive selection of award-winning and broadly acclaimed series, feature films, documentaries, and kids and family entertainment.”
To its credit, Apple has made significant additions to its menu of Apple TV+ originals and also bought the rights to live sports content from leagues like MLS and MLB.
Is Apple TV+ Still Worth It?
Does this price increase make Apple TV+ overpriced in 2023? Since content tastes vary from person to person, I’ve found that the value of a streaming service is largely in the eye of the beholder.
But we can do some value comparison.
While other streaming services like Netflix and Disney+ have shifted to ad-supported subscription tiers as a way to generate additional revenue, Apple TV+ appears to be committed to the commercial-free experience.
Many streamers will find value in that. And if you compare its pricing to the ad-free tiers of its video streaming service competitors, Apple still presents itself as a potential value at $9.99:
| Streaming Service | Ad-Supported Monthly Price | Ad-Free Monthly Price |
| Disney+ | $7.99 | $13.99 |
| Netflix | $6.99 | $15.49 |
| Max | $9.99 | $15.99 |
| Peacock | $5.99 | $11.99 |
| Discovery+ | $4.99 | $8.99 |
| Paramount+ | $5.99 | $11.99 |
| Hulu | $7.99 | $17.99 |
However, its growing content library still falls short of the volume of content you can find on many of these other services.
And you’ll find that you’re able to get most of them cheaper than $9.99 per month if you’re willing to watch commercials with your content.
Will this latest price increase make you think twice about your subscription? We’d love to hear your thoughts on keeping your streaming bills under control in the Clark.com community.
