While it as soon as scoffed at the opportunity of providing an ad-supported tier, Netflix has since embraced the concept, with hundreds of thousands of customers snapping up its “Standard with Ads” plan, garnering loads of curiosity from Madison Avenue alongside the way in which.
Since its arrival greater than two years in the past, Netflix has added quite a lot of options to its ad-supported tier to set it other than the streaming crowd–and for now, its value stays a fraction of Netflix’s priciest 4K streaming plan.
So, how a lot does Netflix with adverts value, what’s included, and is something neglected? Here’s what you should know.
How a lot does Netflix with adverts value?
Netflix Standard with Ads prices $7.99 a month, which reflects a buck-a-month price hike that Netflix imposed again in January 2025.
For some context, ad-supported Hulu costs $9.99/month, as does Disney+ Basic, whereas Paramount+ Essential and Peacock Premium (which, confusingly, is ad-supported) each value $7.99 a month.
Finally, Max Basic with Ads goes for $9.99 a month.
As it stands, Netflix’s most cost-effective obtainable ad-free tier (following the demise of Netflix’s Basic plan) is the Standard plan, which presently prices $17.99 a month.
How many streams do you get with the Netflix Standard with Ads plan?
At launch, Netflix’s ad-supported plan (which was initially known as “Basic with Ads”) solely provided a single stream.
But final yr, Netflix upped the number of concurrent streams available on the Standard with Ads plan to 2.
Does Netflix with adverts supply 4K HDR video decision?
No, however the video high quality of Netflix Standard with Ads has improved because the tier was first launched.
While ad-supported Netflix as soon as provided solely 720p video high quality, it has since been boosted to 1080p, similar as Netflix’s ad-free Standard plan.
Currently, only Netflix’s priciest plan–Premium ($24.99 a month)–offers 4K HDR streaming, with 4 concurrent streams per family.
Same as Netflix, most different streamers reserve their 4K HDR streams for his or her ad-free subscribers, though that’s not a common coverage; Paramount+, for one, does allow ad-supported subscribers to stream in 4K.
Does ad-supported Netflix supply downloads for offline viewing?
One of one of the best perks provided by the massive streamers is the power to obtain movies for offline viewing, good for binge-watching your favourite sequence throughout a protracted flight or while you don’t need to bust by means of your ISP’s (or provider’s) knowledge cap.
Until not too long ago, Netflix didn’t permit its with-ads subscribers to obtain movies for offline viewing, a restriction shared by the opposite large streamers.
But in November 2023, Netflix reversed course, changing into the primary large streaming service to allow offline downloads for subscribers to its ad-supported tier.
There is a month-to-month restrict to downloads for Standard with Ads subscribers, nonetheless: 15 downloads per system, resetting on the primary of the month.
How many business breaks does Netflix with adverts have?
Netflix Standard with Ads subscribers must sit by means of 4- to 5 minutes of commercials per hour, with the adverts working firstly and through movies (ideally throughout “natural plot breaks”). Each advert will probably be both 15 or 30 seconds.
That 4- to 5-minute-per-hour determine is just about in keeping with Netflix’s opponents. For instance, the “with ads” model of Max averages about four minutes an hour, whereas Peacock tops out at about five minutes per hour.
You will get some ad-free episodes as a bonus for binge-watching, nonetheless. Netflix previously announced a new “binge” ad unit that enables advertisers to sponsor an ad-free episode for viewers who simply binge-watched a number of episodes in a row. Of course, you’ll want to look at a 30- to 60-second “cinematic” advert from the sponsor earlier than you get to look at your ad-free episode.
Is Netflix with adverts obtainable on all streaming units?
Most units that work with ad-free Netflix also needs to help Netflix Standard with Ads, though a “small percentage” of streaming players and TVs won’t work as a result of its Netflix software program can’t be up to date anymore.
And whereas the ad-supported Netflix plan wasn’t initially supported on Apple TV streaming devices, it’s now (on Apple TV HD units and later) following an update of the Netflix tvOS app in March 2023.
Netflix with adverts can also be obtainable on most different streaming platforms, together with Amazon’s Fire TV, Android and iOS units, most sensible TVs, Mac and Windows computer systems, and Google TV gamers.
Does Netflix with adverts supply the identical content material as ad-free Netflix?
Almost, however not fairly every thing. While the “vast majority” of TV exhibits and flicks on Netflix can be found for “with ads” viewers, a “small number” are lacking due to “licensing issues,” Netflix says.
If you do run throughout a video that’s unavailable on the Netflix Standard with Ads plan, you’ll see a padlock on the title, or a “Change plan to watch” banner instead of the usual “Play” button.
Why did Netflix launch an ad-supported plan?
Netflix lost subscribers during the first and second quarters of 2022, ending a decade of progress and sending Netflix’s inventory value right into a tailspin. And whereas Netflix is ubiquitous in North America, it’s having trouble gaining traction in the rest of the world, the place it’s going through powerful competitors from cheaper streaming providers.
Meanwhile, Netflix’s quickly rising opponents, together with Max, Disney+, Paramount+, Peacock, and Hulu, have rolled their very own cheaper ad-supported plans, all of which undercut Netflix’s most cost-effective ad-free plans.
So whereas it wasn’t all that way back that Netflix executives scoffed at the idea of cheaper ad-supported plans, the corporate abruptly modified course when it grew to become clear that its as soon as seemingly unstoppable progress had stalled.
In May 2024, Netflix reported that its Standard with Ads tier had roughly 40 million global active monthly users, up from simply 5 million customers in May 2023. (Netflix has since ceased tallying its month-to-month person base for the general public.)