HBO Max is going up in price once again. Not long after its rebrand from just “Max,” the service is increasing monthly plans by $1-2 per month, and annual plans by $10-20 per year. The price change is already in effect.
HBO Max Basic With Ads, the cheapest plan, is going from $10/month to $11/month. If you pay annually, it’s going from $100/year to $110/year. HBO Max Standard is now $18.49 per month, an increase of $1.50, while the annual plan increased by $15 to $184.99/year. Finally, HBO Max Premium is going up by $2 to $23/month, with the annual version increasing by $20 to $230/year.
The last price increase for Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming service happened in June 2024, when the ad-free plan jumped from $16/month to $17/month, and the ultimate plan increased from $20/month to $21/month. The standard $10/month plan with ads was left alone that time, but not this time around.
If you get HBO Max through a bundle package, like your mobile carrier or the Disney/Hulu/HBO Max bundle, nothing changes for you right now. Those bundles will eventually change in availability or go up in price for the same reason as today’s change—maximizing profit from people who remain subscribed. The new prices are effective immediately for new subscribers, and existing customers will be charged on the next billing date on or after November 20, 2025.
Streaming continues to get more expensive: HBO Max now starts at $11/month, Netflix’s cheapest plan is $8/month, Disney+ starts at $12/month, and Hulu is $12/month. It’s a better idea than ever to cancel the services you aren’t using frequently, or you can stick to one service at a time and switch when you run out of movies and shows you care about.
This news also comes on the same day Warner Bros Discovery announced it could be open to a corporate acquisition, and it is “receiving increased recognition by others in the market.” The company previously said it would split into two divisions, with one part keeping HBO Max and its connected production studios, and another part with Discovery+ and legacy TV networks. That might not happen, or could happen differently, depending on how successful Warner Bros. Discovery is at selling itself to the highest bidder.
Either way, the price increase for HBO Max is going into effect right now.
Source: Variety, Warner Bros. Discovery