Western Europe Streaming Prices Rise Most Globally

Research from Ampere Analysis shows that subscribers to Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video in western Europe experienced the highest average price increases globally over the past three years, averaging $1.86. This figure exceeds the average increases seen in North America at $1.70 and Central and Eastern Europe at $1.68.

Streaming platforms aggressively raised costs to fund content and drive profits, though the rate of these increases is now declining. Average price hikes fell from 24% in 2023-24 to 14% in 2025-26 as consumers reached their limits of willingness to pay. To maintain growth, services are diversifying monetization by introducing lower-priced advertising tiers while increasing costs for premium ad-free packages. Ad-free tiers saw average increases of $1.62, compared to $1.21 for ad-supported tiers.

Individual platforms have implemented various pricing shifts. Amazon Prime Video introduced a £2.99 monthly fee to avoid ads in February 2024, and The Walt Disney Company raised Disney+ prices in the UK and US in late 2023 before shifting toward more modest increases by 2025-26. Netflix increased UK subscription prices in February 2025 and subsequently reported record annual revenues of £2.06bn in the UK, an 11% increase over 2024.