Disney Plus Price Increase UK: Standard Now £11.99, Premium £15.99

The Disney Plus price increase in the UK took effect for new and returning subscribers on Oct. 14: Standard with Ads rises from £5.99 to £6.99 a month (about US$9.37), Standard from £9.99 to £11.99 (about US$16.07) and Premium from £14.99 to £15.99 (about US$21.43), Cordbusters reported. Existing monthly subscribers pay the new price from their first billing date on or after 18 November, and annual subscribers from their next billing date on or after 2 December, which means an annual plan that renews before 2 December gets one more year at the old price.

Disney had not updated its UK website when ISPreview and Cordbusters published on Oct. 14, and neither quoted a Disney statement. The figures below come from that trade press reporting, which agrees on every monthly price.

Disney Plus price increase UK: old vs new prices

Standard takes the biggest hit. It is the cheapest way to watch Disney+ without adverts, and it now costs £2 a month more. Over a year on monthly billing that is £24 extra. Premium and the ad tier each add £12 a year.

The Extra Member add-on, which adds someone outside your household to your account, stays at £4.99 a month on Standard with Ads and £5.99 on Standard or Premium. Cordbusters notes it is always billed monthly, even if your own plan is annual. T3 reported the same Extra Member prices.

One discrepancy, for the record: T3 described the Standard annual rise as £10. Its own new figure of £119.90 matches Cordbusters’ table, and the £99.90 old price makes it a £20 rise.

When existing subscribers pay the new Disney+ price

If you already subscribe, nothing changes on your next bill unless it falls on or after the dates below.

• Monthly plans: the new price applies from your first billing date on or after 18 November. If you are billed on the 17th, your November payment is at the old price and December’s is not.
• Annual plans: the new price applies from your next billing date on or after 2 December, according to Cordbusters. T3 puts it as 2 December or when your current plan expires, if that is later.
• Six-month saver customers: existing savers keep their rate until their six months end, Cordbusters says.

Disney’s UK Subscriber Agreement commits it to emailing subscribers at least 28 days before a price change takes effect, Cordbusters reported. If you haven’t had that email yet, check your spam folder before assuming you’ve been spared.

How to avoid the Disney Plus price rise

There are four honest options. None of them is free.

1. Let an annual plan renew before 2 December

This is the cleanest saving and it needs no action from you if your renewal date already falls before 2 December. A Standard annual subscriber renewing at £99.90 rather than £119.90 keeps £20. On Premium the gap is £10 (£149.90 against £159.90). Check your renewal date in your account before you do anything else.

2. Switch from monthly to annual

Even at the new prices, annual billing is far cheaper. Standard annual at £119.90 works out at £9.99 a month, the old monthly price. Twelve months of Standard at £11.99 is £143.88, so annual saves £23.98. On Premium, twelve monthly payments come to £191.88 against £159.90 annual, a £31.98 saving. What we couldn’t confirm is whether a monthly subscriber switching now pays the old or new annual rate; the trade reports don’t say, so check the price shown before you confirm.

3. The six-month saver, if you are new or returning

Disney’s six-month saver went up on Oct. 14 too. Standard with Ads is now £5.99 a month (was £4.99), Standard £9.99 (was £7.99) and Premium £11.99 (was £10.99), with a six-month minimum before it moves to full price, Cordbusters reported. Riding the Magic found the ad tier change in Disney’s small print on Sept. 25: “The price of Standard With Ads 6-month saver will increase to £5.99/mo from 14/10/26.”

T3 says the offer is open to new and returning customers. Six months of Premium on the saver costs £71.94, against £95.94 at the new monthly rate. The catch is that you have to be a returning customer, which means cancelling first and letting the subscription lapse. We couldn’t verify how long Disney requires you to be away to count as returning.

4. Downgrade, bundle or cancel

Monthly plans can be cancelled at any time, Cordbusters notes, and you can switch to a cheaper plan; Disney’s help centre has a page on changing your plan. If you pay through a TV provider or app store, Disney has a separate help page for third-party subscriptions, and changes go through that provider.

Bundles are the other route. T3 points to Sky Ultimate TV, from £24 a month, which includes Disney+ Standard with Ads plus Netflix and HBO Max and needs a Sky Stream box or Sky Glass TV. T3 said no plans by bundle providers to pass on Disney’s rise had been reported.

Disney+ vs Netflix, HBO Max and Paramount+ on price

After the rise, Disney+ is still not the most expensive streamer in Britain. Cordbusters’ comparison puts the main plans like this:

Disney’s ad tier is still £1 cheaper than Netflix’s. Its 4K Premium plan is £5 a month cheaper than Netflix’s top tier. The pressure point is the middle: Disney+ Standard at £11.99 is now £2 dearer than ad-free HBO Max, Paramount+ and Apple TV.

For how UK prices compare with what Americans pay for the same product, see our breakdown of the Surface Laptop Ultra’s British markup; for the fees app stores take from subscriptions, our report on the £1.2bn Google Play class action. More on consumer apps here.

The number that will decide most households is the £23.98. That is what a monthly Standard subscriber gives up each year by not switching to annual, two pence short of the £24 the rise itself adds.