Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video are quietly pumping the brakes on subscription price increases, according to a new report from Ampere Analysis published Monday.
The average streaming price hike fell from 24% in 2023 and 2024 to just 14% in 2025 and 2026, dropping from roughly $1.67 a month to $1.54. Ampere Analysis said the slowdown signals that streaming giants are running out of room to keep charging subscribers more.
“The decline in price increases comes as streamers diversify how they monetise their audiences,” said Jaanika Juntson, senior research manager at Ampere Analysis.
For the families who read Movieguide®, this counts as good, if modest, news. Movieguide® has tracked the steady creep of “streamflation” for months, watching subscription costs climb well past the pace of everyday inflation even as household budgets tighten.
Netflix’s increases held the steadiest of the three, averaging around $1.73 per hike, according to Advanced Television’s breakdown of the Ampere data. Disney+ shifted toward smaller, more frequent bumps averaging $1.53, while Prime Video made the fewest increases of the three, a reflection of its retail-first subscription model rather than a standalone streaming bet.
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Ad-supported tiers are absorbing most of the industry’s newfound restraint. Ad-free plans rose by $1.62 a month on average, compared with just $1.21 for ad-supported ones, and the gap between the two tiers has widened from $4.53 to $5.35 worldwide. Netflix’s own ad-free-to-ad-tier gap in the US grew from $8.50 to $11, giving budget-minded parents a real incentive to sit through the commercials.
Geography still matters. Western Europe absorbed the steepest hikes at $1.86 a month, or about 16%, followed by North America at $1.79, or 15%, and Central and Eastern Europe at $1.68, or 18%. Ampere Analysis attributes the overall cooling to password-sharing crackdowns and expanding ad businesses, both of which now shoulder revenue growth that price hikes used to carry alone.
The pullback doesn’t erase what families are already paying. Movieguide® reported last month that the average US household juggles four-and-a-half streaming subscriptions and spends roughly $924 a year keeping them active, with monthly bills hovering near $69. Nearly three-quarters of subscribers told researchers they’re frustrated by rising costs, and most said they’d walk away from even a favorite service if it rose another $5.
Disney+ has already learned that lesson the hard way. Movieguide® reported that the service lost 1.3 million subscribers in a single quarter after raising its ad-free price from $10.99 to $13.99 a month, proof that even the House of Mouse isn’t immune to sticker shock. That kind of exodus is likely part of why Disney+, Netflix, and Amazon are now choosing smaller, steadier increases over the bigger jumps that defined the last few years.
Whether the industry’s newfound restraint holds remains an open question, especially as password-sharing enforcement and ad revenue mature into steadier income streams.
Ampere Analysis concluded that streamers “are moving closer to the limits of consumers’ willingness to pay, leaving less headroom for larger price increases in the future,” per Deadline.
For families reviewing their own subscription lineup and asking whether each one still earns its place in the budget, that’s one less hike to plan around this year — for now.
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