GoKawiilThe arrival of a new year of streaming brims with anticipation for all the great things you'll watch. You could get hooked on an underrated show, binge the return of a favorite or stream a new best-picture Oscar winner from your couch. Envisioning upcoming entertainment is better when you don't factor in how the price to watch it could change -- and already is.
The year has already brought increases to services you might use to stream shows, movies, music and live TV, such as Spotify, Netflix, Sling and Crunchyroll. Streamflation or not, you probably aren't going to take a total break from streaming this year, so we're tracking every price rise in the US from 2025 onward. If you hit your spending limit, you can cancel, rotate services or scout for discounts.
2026 Streaming Price Hikes
YouTube Premium (April 2026)
YouTube Premium got a hike for the first time since 2023. The subscription offers YouTube viewers ad-free videos, downloads and the ability to continue playing videos on their phone while using other apps, plus a subscription to YouTube Music Premium. Individual Premium now costs $16 per month, up $2, and Premium Family now costs $27 per month, $4 more than before.
YouTube's Premium Lite subscription -- another option for people who want to pay for ad-free streaming -- also increased by $1 to $9 per month.
Prime Video (April 2026)
The default version of Prime Video you get with a Prime membership includes ads, and the price to remove them increased from $3 to $5 per month on April 10. Amazon rebranded its existing ad-free offering to Prime Video Ultra, with 4K UHD streaming now exclusive to those paying the extra fee.
Netflix (March 2026)
Netflix costs more as of March 26. The streaming service also raised prices in 2025, updating the price of its ad-supported plan for the first time since its 2022 launch.
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