Bye Basic: Netflix drops its cheapest ad-free plan in Australia

From today Netflix is phasing out its $10.99 Basic plan in Australia and other markets including Germany, Spain, Japan, Mexico and Brazil.

A quarterly letter to its shareholders revealed that it saw "boosted adoption" of its Standard with Ads and Standard plans following the removal of the Basic tier in countries such as Canada earlier this year.

With Basic tier removed Netflix's range of plans will look as follows:

What will happen if I'm on the Basic plan?

Customers who are currently subscribed to the Basic plan won't be affected. You're essentially grandfathered in. But new members, rejoiners and existing Netflix subscribers are losing the ability to sign up for the Basic plan.  

It's no secret Netflix has been making a raft of changes in an effort to increase its revenue. The phasing out of the Basic plan has been coming for some time. At least as early as August this year, Netflix added resolution up to 1080p and two simultaneous streams to the Basic with Ads plan while the Basic plan remained limited to 720p and one stream.

Once Basic is gone, the cheapest plan without ads will be Standard at $16.99 a month. Basic plan customers were able to save $72 per year compared to being on the Standard plan.

Other ad-free streaming options

Of course, Netflix isn't a monopoly in the TV streaming space. There are several services such as Prime Video and Disney Plus with hundreds of shows available in Australia.

Compare streaming plans that cost less than Netflix's Standard tier:

	Plan	Inclusions	Price	Details
Hayu	Hayu Plan	Hayu Plan Stream hundreds of reality shows, ad-free Watch on 1 device at once Watch on 1 device Min. cost $6.99 per month Deal: 7-day free trial	$6.99/mth Min. cost $6.99 per month	Link not supplied
BritBox	BritBox Plan	Britbox Plan The ultimate collection of British comedy and drama, direct from the BBC and ITV Watch on 4 devices at once Watch on 4 devices Min. cost $8.99 per month Deal: 7-day free trial	$8.99/mth Min. cost $8.99 per month	Link not supplied
Paramount+	Paramount+ Plan	Paramount+ Plan Includes on-demand and live content from CBS, BET, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and more Watch on 3 devices at once Watch on 3 devices Min. cost $9.99 per month Deal: 7-day free trial	$9.99/mth Min. cost $9.99 per month	View Plan
Prime Video	Prime Video Plan	Prime Video Plan Features exclusive Amazon Originals as well as popular movies and TV shows Watch on 3 devices at once Watch on 3 devices Min. cost $9.99 per month Deal: 1-month free trial	$9.99/mth Min. cost $9.99 per month	View Plan
Apple TV+	Apple TV+ Plan	Apple TV+ Plan Features exclusive Apple Original award-winning series Watch on 6 devices at once with Apple Family Sharing Watch on 6 devices Min. cost $9.99 per month Deal: 7-day free trial	$9.99/mth Min. cost $9.99 per month	View Plan
Binge	Binge Basic Plan	Binge Basic Plan The world's best shows, thousands of hours of shows and movies Ad-free on Demand Watch on 1 device at once Watch on 1 device Min. cost $10 per month Deal: 7-day free trial	$10/mth Min. cost $10 per month	View Plan
Stan	Stan Basic Plan	Stan Basic Plan Unlimited access to thousands of hours of entertainment, first-run exclusives, iconic series & movies Watch on 1 device at once Watch on 1 device Min. cost $10 per month Deal: 30-day free trial	$10/mth Min. cost $10 per month	Link not supplied
Disney+	Disney+ Plan	Disney+ Plan With entertainment from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars™, National Geographic and Star Watch on 4 devices at once Watch on 4 devices Min. cost $13.99 per month Deal: Save over 15% with annual subscription	$13.99/mth Min. cost $13.99 per month	View Plan

Dylan Crismale

Digital Content Editor

Dylan Crismale is a Digital Content Editor at WhistleOut, has been writing for almost a decade across a variety of Australian publications. He previously worked as a writer at Finder covering energy, internet and mobile plans. Dylan is passionate about finding the best deals to save people money and educating people about tech. When he's not sat at his desk Dylan loves working out, bingeing TV and hanging out with friends.​

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