Netflix hiding its cheapest ad-free plan

Netflix last month introduced a new ad-based plan in an attempt to attract more subscribers, since this tier is a bit less expensive than the others. And the company seems to be really determined to force users to watch ads or spend more to get rid of them, as the cheapest ad-free plan has been hidden from its website.

Netflix wants to push subscribers to more expensive plans
As noted by Tecnoblog, the Netflix website no longer shows the basic ad-free plan to some users when they try to subscribe to Netflix. Instead, the only options available are the Basic with ads, Standard, and Premium plans. 9to5Mac can also confirm that Netflix is indeed hiding the cheapest ad-free plan from its website.

But that doesn’t mean that Netflix has discontinued the basic ad-free plan. There’s still a way to choose that tier, but it’s now hidden in a really small link on the Netflix subscription page. Some users can still see the four plans in the list without having to click on any links, so it seems that the company is running some sort of A/B test.

Tecnoblog explains that Netflix is probably using dark pattern practices to make users choose between a less advantageous option and other more expensive ones.

In the US, the Basic plan with ads costs $6.99 per month, while the same plan without ads costs $9.99. The Standard plan costs $15.49 per month – $8.50 more than the cheapest plan currently available. There’s also the Premium plan, which costs $19.99 per month, pushing subscribers into a tier $13 more expensive than the cheapest one.

Netflix’s Basic plan only allows streaming on a single device in 720p resolution. The Standard plan works with two devices simultaneously at 1080p resolution, while the Premium plan enables up to four devices simultaneously at 4K resolution. It’s uncertain at this point whether Netflix plans to discontinue the ad-free basic tier. 9to5Mac