Netflix quietly increases prices in South Africa

Netflix has quietly increased the prices of its Mobile, Standard, and Premium plans in South Africa.

Anyone in South Africa who signs up for a new Netflix account and takes up one of the affected plans will pay between 13% and 20% more than at the end of April 2025.

Some existing subscribers have been informed by email that their monthly price is going up from June. However, several have not received the notice.

Based on the emails MyBroadband has seen, Netflix is notifying customers a month in advance that their fees are increasing.

It appears that Netflix has staggered the price increases according to billing date. Netflix subscribers are charged monthly on the date they signed up.

Customers whose next billing date is before 7 June have not received an email, suggesting they will enjoy an additional month at the old price.

Those whose billing date is after the cutoff will start paying the new prices from next month on their billing date. The changes are as follows:

• Netflix Premium is increasing by R30 per month from R199 to R229 — a 15% increase.
• Netflix Standard is going up by R20 per month from R159 to R179 — a 13% increase.
• Netflix Mobile is receiving its first-ever price increase from R49 to R59, which is a 20% increase.

This is the second time Netflix has increased its prices in South Africa since its global launch in January 2016.

Netflix last increased its South African prices in October 2021. At the time, it explained the price changes were necessary to reflect improvements in the quality of its service.

This time round, Netflix provided no explanation ahead of the price change. Instead, its website only provides the following general statement.

“Plans and pricing may change as we continue to improve our service and add more TV shows and movies,” Netflix said.

“Adjustments can also happen in response to local market changes, such as changes to local taxes or inflation.”

The table below summarises the price change for Netflix in South Africa, effective immediately.

Global price increase

When Netflix first launched in South Africa, a Basic plan cost $7.99 (R126 at the time), Standard was $9.99 (R158 at the time), and Premium was $11.99 (about R190 at the time).

Netflix started billing South Africans in rands in August 2018, which effectively decreased the monthly fee for Basic and Standard, while Premium remained about the same.

At the new prices, Netflix Basic remains cheaper than at launch, whereas Standard and Premium have become more expensive.

These price increases are not unique to South Africa. In fact, Netflix subscribers in South Africa have seen fewer price hikes than those in the U.S.

Netflix announced with its quarterly results in January 2025 that it was increasing prices in the US, Canada, Argentina and Portugal.

It announced a price increase for the UK in February, and New Zealanders saw their prices go up in April.

MyBroadband contacted Netflix for comment, and a spokesperson was not immediately available to provide feedback.