Theme Park Scope

Disney+ and Hulu are both getting more expensive starting today, marking the fourth price increase for the two services in four years.

If you’ve gotten used to your Disney+ bill creeping up every fall like clockwork, today’s news won’t come as much of a shock, but the numbers are still worth breaking down.

Effective September 23, Disney+ Premium and Hulu Premium, the ad-free versions of each service, are both rising from $18.99 to $21.49 per month, a 13% jump. The ad-supported standalone plans are increasing too, from $11.99 to $12.49 per month, a smaller bump by comparison. The bundle pricing tells a more interesting story: the Disney+/Hulu Premium bundle is only increasing by two dollars, from $19.99 to $21.99 per month, while the Disney+ and Hulu bundle with ads is staying completely flat at $12.99. New subscribers see the new pricing immediately, while existing subscribers will see it reflected on their next monthly billing cycle.

Doing the math on that bundle pricing and the strategy becomes pretty obvious. Paying for ad-free Disney+ and ad-free Hulu separately now costs $42.98 a month combined, while the bundled version runs $21.99, which is close to half off compared to buying both individually. That gap has been widening with every price increase Disney’s made over the past few years, and it’s clearly intentional. Subscribers who bundle tend to stick around longer than those on standalone plans, so making the bundle look like an obvious no-brainer next to two separate subscriptions is a pretty straightforward way to reduce cancellations.

This is also just the latest entry in a pattern that’s been building since Disney+ launched back in 2019 at $6.99 a month. Prices went up in October 2023, October 2024, and October 2025 before this latest increase, making today’s hike the fourth in four years. Reporting on the increase points out that streaming prices industry-wide have climbed roughly three times faster than general inflation since 2022, so while a 13% jump feels steep, it’s part of a broader trend across every major streamer, not something unique to Disney. For context, Netflix’s premium ad-free plan currently runs $26.99 a month, still the priciest individual streaming subscription out there, so Disney+ Premium at $21.49 remains a bit cheaper than the category leader even after today’s increase.

If you’re on one of Disney’s older legacy plans, this isn’t even the only increase you’ve seen this year. The legacy Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN Select bundle, no longer available to new subscribers but still active for longtime customers who’ve kept it continuously, already jumped from $24.99 to $27.99 back on September 17, just days before this latest round of changes.

If you’re trying to figure out where you actually land in all this, it really comes down to whether you’re currently paying for Disney+ and Hulu separately or already bundled. If you’re paying separately, this is a good moment to actually switch to the bundle, since the math has never favored standalone plans less than it does right now. If you’re already bundled, the increase is modest enough that it’s probably not worth losing sleep over, though it’s still a real cost creeping up year after year.

We’ll keep tracking streaming pricing changes as they roll out, so check back with Theme Park Scope for updates, and follow us on social so you don’t miss it.

Are YOU sticking with Disney+ and Hulu at the new price, or is this the hike that finally pushes you to reconsider your subscription?