On Oct. 29, Netflix announced a price increase for its standard and premium subscription plans. The standard plan increased by $1, now $13.99/month, while the premium plan increased by $2 to $17.99/month. The basic plan remains unchanged at $8.99/month. The three prices are based on the number of perks customers get, changes based on the plan such as video quality, and the number of devices that can be logged on at the same time.

Netflix says the purpose of its price increase is to allow them to produce more original and high-quality TV and movies. According to The Verge, Netflix spent $18.5 billion on content in 2020 alone. According to CNBC, their reasoning for raising the price in 2019 was similar, Netflix wanted to fund its original shows and movies. By the end of 2020, Netflix will have released over 200 original shows and films.

With COVID-19 forcing people to stay home, more people depend on Netflix to keep them entertained. According to the LA Times, Netflix said, “We’re updating our prices so that we can continue to offer more variety of TV shows and films.” All current customers will be notified of the price change about a month before it goes into effect.