Streaming Prices in September 2026: What Every Plan Costs Now

Bottom line: four services now start at $8.99 a month with ads, three of the six raised prices during 2026, and the cheapest legal way to watch this week's biggest premieres is under ten dollars.

• Netflix went up in March: $8.99 with ads, $19.99 standard, $26.99 premium.
• Peacock went up on Aug. 18 and existing members see it from Sept. 17.
• HBO Max is the priciest ad-free tier of the group at $22.99.

All rates are US monthly list prices, checked Sept. 7, 2026.

What does each service charge right now?

Read that table sideways and the ad tiers have converged almost exactly. The real spread is at the top, where Netflix premium costs more than double Paramount+ with Showtime.

Which prices went up this year?

Netflix, March 2026. The ad plan added a dollar and both ad-free plans added two, the second increase in roughly a year.

Peacock, Aug. 18, 2026. Premium jumped two dollars to $12.99 and Premium Plus jumped three to $19.99. Anyone who subscribed before that date keeps the old rate until their first bill on or after Sept. 17.

Paramount+, Jan. 15, 2026. A dollar on each tier for new subscribers.

HBO Max's increase actually landed late in 2025 and still holds: $10.99, $18.49 and $22.99. Disney is moving separately, pushing its legacy Disney+, Hulu and ESPN bundle to $27.99 from Sept. 17.

What is the cheapest way to watch this week's big premieres?

Three of the week's most-searched titles sit on three different services, so the answer depends on what you actually want.

• The Paper season 2 needs Peacock — $8.99 on Select. Timing details are on our release-time page.
• The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives season 5 needs Hulu, at $11.99, or the $12.99 Disney+ bundle, which costs a dollar more and adds a second service.
• DANG! and Crew Girl need Netflix at $8.99.

All five episodes of the Hulu show and all ten of the Peacock one land complete, so a single month covers each of them. That is the quiet advantage of the all-at-once model, which we unpack in the weekly-versus-binge guide.

Are the bundles still worth it?

The Disney+ and Hulu pairing at $12.99 with ads is the one clear bargain left: a dollar over Hulu alone for a second full catalogue. Beyond that, the math has gotten worse as each component has been repriced.

Annual plans still beat monthly where they exist. Peacock's yearly Premium is $89.99, which works out cheaper than ten monthly payments.

Which tier actually makes sense?

If you watch a few hours a month: take the ad tier and rotate. At $8.99 there is no argument for paying double to skip commercials on a service you open twice.

If one service does most of your viewing: pay for ad-free there and keep everything else on the cheap tier. Netflix at $19.99 or HBO Max Standard at $18.49 is defensible; paying that on three services at once is how people end up spending more than a cable bill.

If you share a household: check the stream limits before the price. The gap between Netflix standard and premium is largely about simultaneous streams and picture quality, not catalogue.

What changed for existing subscribers?

Peacock's August increase did not hit everyone at once. New and returning members paid the higher rate immediately; anyone already subscribed keeps the old price until their first bill on or after Sept. 17.

Disney's legacy bundle follows the same pattern and the same date. If you are on an old plan, the September statement is the one to read carefully.

FAQ

Does the ad tier get new shows later?

No. Every tier unlocks a premiere at the same instant, and the drop-time chart applies to all of them.

Which service is cheapest overall?

Netflix, Peacock Select, Paramount+ Essential and standalone Prime Video are tied at $8.99. Peacock's Select tier is the most limited of the four in what it includes.

When did Netflix last raise prices?

March 2026, its second increase since January 2025.

Where do I see what each service added today?

Our New This Week section lists it by day, and the Hulu, Max and Peacock hub tracks those three together.

Sources

Netflix rates via CBS News and Variety; Peacock via TVLine and Deadline; HBO Max via TV Guide; Hulu, Paramount+ and Prime Video via Tom's Guide. Prices change often; we recheck this page monthly. Subscribing through some of these links may earn us a commission.