Disney to Increase Prices on Hulu & ESPN+ in October 2024

Yes, it's true that Disney is increasing prices pretty much across the board. Here's what you need to know.
Updated
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It's the news no streaming subscriber wants to hear — prices are going up. In this case, we're talking about the Disney Plus price increase in 2024, and it's just one among other streaming companies taking this step. But while the Disney Plus price hike is just the latest, it's also one of the furthest-reaching changes. That's because there's much more than just Disney under the Disney Plus umbrella. If you subscribe to Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus in any combo, then you're about to experience the Disney Plus cost increase. Keep reading for all the info you need, including if Disney plans are still worth it and if there's a way to avoid the higher price tags.

Top Disney Plus Subscription Discounts

Disney+, Hulu, Max Bundle

From $17 per month

Interested in the Disney+, Hulu, and Max streaming services? Get them bundled together at a discount. Opt for the ad-free tier, and you'll be saving $19 per month compared to paying for the services separately. Alternatively, the tier with ads saves you $9 in comparison. Besides the streaming services themselves, both plans get you access to select Hulu content via the Disney+ app, along with access to select HBO content in the Hulu app. Learn more about Disney+ bundles here.

Disney+ Bundle Trio W/ ESPN+

Basic for $15 per month; Premium for $25 per month

Get the ad-supported tier (Trio Basic) for $12 less than you'd pay for Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ separately. Or you can opt for the ad-free Trio Premium option for $24.99 month, which is $18 less than buying each service separately. (You can also sign up for bundles with just Hulu and Disney+, as well as bundles with Max instead of ESPN+.) ESPN+ gets you access to originals, live sports, daily studio shows, as well as exclusive articles on ESPN.com.

Disney+ Premium 6-Month Subscription

Free with select Verizon Unlimited plans

You'll need to be a subscriber to select Unlimited plans (the eligible ones are no longer available for new customers), but if you are, you can get six months of Disney+ Premium at no additional charge. Note that if you've previously redeemed a Disney+ promotion with Verizon, you won't be eligible for this one. And there are other requirements to meet, as well.

Disney+ Bundle With Hulu and ESPN+

$10 per month with Verizon Fios Home Internet

Choose a Verizon Fios Home Internet plan — with prices from $35 a month — and tack on a Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ bundle for just $10 per month. Streaming plans with these three services bundled together cost at least $15 a month on their own.

Disney Prices Are Going Up

How Much Is Disney Plus in 2024?

Currently, subscribers can get Disney Plus Basic for $7.99 per month or Disney Plus Premium for $13.99 per month. If you're looking at Disney Plus bundles, you can get the following prices by subscribing now:

  • Disney Bundle Duo Basic for $9.99 per month
  • Disney Bundle Duo Premium for $19.99 per month
  • Disney Bundle Trio Basic for $14.99 per month
  • Disney Bundle Trio Premium for $24.99 per month
  • Disney Plus, Hulu, Max Bundle (With Ads) for $16.99 per month
  • Disney Plus, Hulu, Max Bundle (No Ads) for $29.99 per month

How Are Disney Prices Changing?

Now that you know what Disney prices are like currently, it's time to talk about Disney Plus raising prices and what that will look like. We've laid it out in the handy chart below for a quick overview.

Plans Current Monthly Price Monthly Price Starting 10/17
Disney+ Basic (With Ads) $7.99 $9.99
Disney+ Premium (No Ads) $13.99 $15.99
Hulu (With Ads) $7.99 $9.99
Hulu (No Ads) $17.99 $18.99
ESPN+ $10.99 $11.99
Disney Duo Basic (Disney+, Hulu with ads) $9.99 $10.99
Disney Duo Premium (Disney+, Hulu without ads) $19.99 $19.99
Disney Bundle Trio Basic (Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ with ads) $14.99 $16.99
Disney Bundle Trio Premium (Disney+ and Hulu without ads, ESPN+) $24.99 $26.99
Hulu + Live TV (With SVOD Ads) $76.99 $82.99
Hulu + Live TV (No SVOD Ads) $89.99 $95.99

You may notice that this chart doesn't include the Disney Plus, Hulu, and Max bundles that were just introduced in July 2024; that's likely because they set the prices for those upon their introduction, and it's too early to raise prices and retain goodwill from subscribers. But those price hikes will likely come sooner rather than later — maybe even by sometime next year.

Why is Disney Raising Prices?

So, you may be wondering "why did my Disney Plus go up"? After all, the last time Disney Plus raised prices was in 2023 when it further launched its ad-supported tiers in Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Sweden, Italy, and other European countries.

And before that? Well, that was in 2022, when Disney initially introduced the ad-supported tiers of the service. Essentially, it seems that any time a significant change is made, a Disney Plus price hike is sure to follow. With the introduction of of the Disney Plus bundles that include Max — as well as added features like live streaming of ABC News Live plus Streams — it's no surprise Disney is once again pushing the cost up.

Can You Share Your Disney Streaming Plan?

While streaming services initially wanted to crack down on password sharing by punishing accounts that did so, it seems they're starting to provide a solution — albeit, a paid one — for users to do so on the up-and-up. In the case of Disney, that means the relatively new Paid Sharing Program. And when we say new, we mean it — Disney just released an announcement about this feature on September 25, 2024.

So what is the Paid Sharing Program? In short, it's a way for you to add someone outside your physical household to your Disney Plus subscription for an added fee. They're known as Extra Members and there's only one slot available per account. You're also limited in that currently you can only add Extra Members to your Disney Plus subscription, but not any of the Disney Bundles (this may change down the road based on the success of this initial step, though). So if you have a Disney Plus Basic or Disney Plus Premium subscription, you can add an Extra Member for $6.99 or $9.99 per month, respectively.

Can You Avoid the Disney Price Increases?

Hearing that prices are increasing for your favorite streaming services is never going to be fun, especially this close to the holiday season and with customers still battling things like inflation and a higher cost of living in general. And no one wants to make a tough call on whether to keep a service or not just because of a price jump. But is there a way to smooth things out and even potentially avoid the higher cost?

There are a few ways to keep costs low — at least temporarily. And that could mean more money in your wallet right now which can help you get through the expensive season ahead.

Opt for an annual subscription. Yes, the price is more up front, but by choosing to pay for an annual subscription when you can, you'll actually be getting 12 months for the price of 10. That means paying $159.99 for a year of the service after the price increase instead of $191.88, which is a 16% savings. That might not sound like much, but saving nearly $32 on your yearly sub is nothing to scoff at right now.

Consider gifting yourself a Disney Plus subscription. This one might be a bit on the tricky side, but theoretically you can buy a gift subscription for a different email address than the one you're currently using for your plan. Buy the gift subscription now before prices go up, then when the gift card is emailed to you, don't active it until you're ready. Should this work, you'll get another year of Disney Plus at the current lower rate and deal with price hikes this time next year. Kick that can down the road!

Consider a Disney Plus bundle instead. This is really only going to be worth considering if you tend to swap between different streaming services. If you're already subscribed to a Disney Plus bundle, you know about what you can get and the overall savings for them compared to buying each service individually.

Look for other bundles. While Disney Plus offers its own set of bundles, you may be able to get the service for less if you look to other companies and their plans. For instance, if you have select Verizon Fios internet plans, you may be able to get Disney Plus bundled with Hulu and ESPN Plus for just $10 per month. That's currently a $5 savings per month and will be a $7 savings per month once the new prices kick in. Verizon has also offered a six month Disney Plus Premium subscription for those with select Unlimited plans. While it's not long-term, six months is a good chunk of time to decide if you want to keep the service and also to save up some cash to pay for it if you're on a tighter budget.

Downgrade your subscription. If you're subscribed to one of the no-ad plans, you're paying a significant amount more than if you were to opt for those that include ads. And while ads can definitely be a pain, the savings may be worth the throwback feeling of watching live TV, when bathroom breaks and refilling snacks had to be done during commercials before we could pause anything and everything we were watching.

Cancel your subscription. Of course, the easiest way to avoid the latest Disney Plus price hike is by cancelling your plan (whatever it may be) altogether. After all, this solution will net you a 100% savings over having the plan, and for some users, the cost increases may no longer be justified no matter what kind of features Disney introduces.

What Else to Know About Disney's Price Increases

Are You Getting More With the Price Jump?

As mentioned above, it seems like any time Disney makes a significant change to their plans, it's accompanied by a price hike. So what are you getting with the latest round of Disney Plus price increases in 2024?

Well, the biggest new feature is probably Streams. Recently, Disney introduced Streams on Disney Plus, which are basically channels that are always on and curated to provide a "continuous viewing experience." Whether you subscribe to Disney Plus Basic or Disney Plus Premium, you'll receive ABC News, which is a 24/7 streaming news channel, as well as Disney Plus Playtime, which is a curated kid-friendly stream of TV series and shorts. And if you're a Disney Plus Premium subscriber, you'll also get access to four new streams that were recently introduced including seasonal content, Hits & Heroes, Throwbacks, and Real Life. It's worth noting that all Streams except for the ABC News one will be refreshed periodically, so you won't be stuck watching the same lineup indefinitely.

Note that if you've been keeping up with Disney Plus-related news, you may have also seen this feature referred to as "Continuous Playlists" or some variation thereof. As far as we can tell, it's the exact same thing, just under a new name. So Streams equal Playlists and vice versa, it seems.

The other new feature that was recently introduced is the Paid Sharing Program. But given that you're already having to pay extra to add, well, an Extra Member to your plan, this seems like not the best feature to highlight when trying to decide if Disney subscribers are going to be getting more that warrants a higher price after October 17.

Is Disney Streaming Still Worth It?

Really, this is a question that only you can answer for yourself. Given that Disney doesn't directly offer a free trial to its service, you're already going to be limited on the "try before you buy" aspect of deciding. And if you're new to Disney Plus and its partners, this can make the choice even tougher. You may be able to cut costs by taking advantage of student discounts that bundle Disney Plus with other services, but if you aren't eligible, then what?

Peruse any Reddit thread about the price increases, and you're bound to see the top comments revolving around users who are fed up with the price hikes and no longer find the service valuable. Even with the most recent announcement, some reddit users are complaining the platform features mostly old stuff instead of a majority of new, fresh content, while others note that Disney is a billion dollar company and raising prices every year is akin to robbing the users.

But if you're not sold on cutting yourself off from streaming, then it's time to consider other options. If you aren't able to qualify for the Disney Plus deals outlined above it may be time to look outside of Disney and consider other streaming bundle deals. Unfortunately it comes down to how much you'll use the Disney services and whether or not they fit into your budget. And that's a decision only you can make.

How to Cancel Your Disney Streaming Plan

If you've decided keeping your Disney Plus plan or bundle just isn't worth it amid the latest cost increases, then here are the steps you'll need to take to cancel your plan:

  1. Log in to your Disney Plus account
  2. Select your Profile
  3. Select "Account"
  4. Select your Disney Plus subscription under "Subscription"
  5. Select "Cancel Subscription"
  6. Select "Cancel Subscription" again
Note that if you signed up through a third-party, you'll need to cancel your subscription through that site rather than Disney Plus. Have a bundle? You can cancel your bundle through Disney Plus following the same steps above, but if you have it through another site, you'll find further instructions in the Disney Plus Help Center on how to do so.

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Julie Ramhold
Senior Editor

Julie's work has been featured on CNBC, GoBankingRates, Kiplinger, Marketwatch, Money, The New York Times, Real Simple, US News, WaPo, WSJ, Yahoo!, and more. She's extolled the virtues of DealNews in interviews with Cheddar TV, GMA, various podcasts, and affiliates across the United States, plus one in Canada.

DealNews may be compensated by companies mentioned in this article. Please note that, although prices sometimes fluctuate or expire unexpectedly, all products and deals mentioned in this feature were available at the lowest total price we could find at the time of publication (unless otherwise specified).

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