Hulu is raising subscription prices in October — here's how you can still save
Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu; Ollie Upton/Hulu
When Disney launched its bundle of Hulu, ESPN+, and Disney+ in November 2019, it became one of the most enticing streaming bundles on the market. The three services combined to offer a massive library filled with legacy content as well as exciting originals, and now, nearly three years later, the Disney+ bundle is still compelling for streamers who want to watch everything from WandaVision to National Geographic documentaries to crowd-pleasing Hulu series like Only Murders in the Building and The Great.
In fact, the case to sign up for the Disney+ bundle just got even stronger: Hulu has announced that it will be raising subscription prices on Friday, Oct. 8. Costs for the ad-supported plan will increase from $5.99 to $6.99 per month, the ad-free plan from $11.99 to $12.99 per month, and the yearly ad-supported plan from $59.99 to $69.99 per year (with no adjustments to the Hulu + Live TV plans). The new prices now make a Hulu-only subscription pale in terms of value compared to the Disney+ bundle, which costs just $13.99 per month with ad-supported Hulu and $19.99 with the no ads plan.
Chuck Zlotnick/Marvel Studios; Alex Lombardi/Hulu
Sign up! The Disney+ bundle with Hulu, Disney+, and Espn+, from $13.99 at disneyplus.com
Disney+ increased its bundle prices by $1 this past spring, but its overall value remains higher compared to having separate Disney+, Hulu, or Espn+ subscriptions (each service comes out to $4.66 per month in the bundle). To break it down, purchasing Hulu and Disney+ separately would cost $14.98 with ad-supported Hulu and $20.98 with ad-free Hulu — in total, $2 more per month than the bundle. Getting the three services individually would cost $21.97 per month with ad-supported Hulu or $27.97 with ad-free Hulu, making the Disney+ bundle a sharp discount by $9 per month.
Hulu subscription prices
Hulu with ads: $6.99 per month or $69.99 per year starting Oct. 8
Hulu without ads: $12.99 per month starting Oct. 8
Hulu with ads + Live TV: $64.99 per month
Hulu without ads + Live TV: $70.99 per month
Disney+ subscription prices
Disney+ alone: $7.99 per month or $79.99 per year
Disney+ bundle with ad-supported Hulu: $13.99 per month
Disney+ bundle with ad-free Hulu: $19.99 per month
The $13.99-per-month bundle price might be higher than $6.99 just to have Hulu alone, but the extra $7 comes with hundreds of thousands of more episodes and movies at your fingertips. Opting in for a Disney+ subscription has also proven to be nearly necessary in the past year and a half, with Disney, Marvel, and Pixar releasing major blockbusters like Mulan, Luca, Cruella, Jungle Cruise, and Black Widow on the platform (albeit at times controversially), either in tandem with in-theater releases or within a shortened theatrical window due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Although Disney plans on debuting most major releases in theaters for the rest of 2021, the Disney+ bundle is, to its core, a better value for subscribers to access a wider variety of content on top of what Hulu already has to offer. Fans will need Disney+ to catch up on major storylines related to Marvel's Phase 4 and Lucasfilm's Star Wars universe, too, with franchise-driving series like Loki, WandaVision, The Mandalorian, and the upcoming Hawkeye and The Book Of Boba Fett all only available on the platform.
Sign up for the Disney+ bundle here before Hulu's new prices come into effect Friday, Oct. 8.
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