HBO Max announces price hike

HBO Max has announced it’s raising prices.

The Warner Bros. Discovery-owned streamer is bumping up its basic ad-supported plan by $1 per month to $10.99, while the standard plan is going up $1.50 to $18.49. The premium tier, meanwhile, is going up $2 to $22.99.

The new pricing takes effect immediately for new subscribers, with existing subscribers getting a reprieve until their first billing date on or after Nov. 20, 2025.

The company said it will send email notifications to existing subscribers with more details.

HBO Max is the latest of the major streamers to announce price increases this year. Apple TV, Disney+ and Netflix have all instituted hikes so far in 2025.

The increase does not come as a surprise. WBD CEO David Zaslav had said price adjustments were coming in September 2025, which follow the streamers last update to prices in the summer of 2024.

Perhaps most notably, HBO Max’s lowest-priced plan has now crossed the $10 per month threshold — albeit by just under a buck — which some use as a sort of benchmark in terms of pricing milestones, though that figure doesn’t necessarily take inflation into account, so it may be fair to say HBO Max’s entry level plan with ads is still at least close to a sweet spot of sorts.

However, it remains unclear how consumers will respond to price increases in a crowded streaming market. 

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Consumers are already facing higher prices on many other products and services, so there may be a point where even small changes to pricing could trigger more users to drop one or more streamer or hop around from service to service based on what shows they are interested in watching at a particular time. 

From WBD’s perspective, the company is likely facing higher production, marketing and other costs related to offering its streaming platform. While some streamers try to absorb some of those costs, eventually a price increase is needed in order to keep the product financially viable to the company and its shareholders.

WBD is also likely facing a spin-off or sale in the near future. It had previously announced plans to split its linear properties into a separate company, with streaming and studio operations in another.

However, recent reports have indicated that the company may explore an outright sale of the company, possibly without any change to the corporate structure. Paramount Skydance, which recently wrapped its mega-merger, is said to be one of the interested parties, though WBD reportedly turned down its offer.