Ad-supported growth, Netflix Standard with Ads pushes deeper into the mainstream

Netflix is quietly turning its cheaper ad-supported tier into a core streaming product. The Standard with Ads plan undercuts the ad-free subscription on price while keeping HD quality and dual-stream viewing, making it a key lever in Netflix’s push for subscriber and revenue growth.

Edited by ad hoc news New Releases & Launches Desk. Reviewed before publication on 06/16/2026 at 2:09 AM ET. Details in the imprint.

Netflix has been steadily elevating its ad-supported tier from a side experiment to a central product, and the current centerpiece is the Standard with Ads plan. Positioned as the company’s primary budget-friendly option, it combines a lower price with HD streaming and two concurrent streams, and in several markets it has effectively replaced the entry-level ad-free tier as Netflix leans harder into advertising revenue. Netflix outlined this shift in an update on changes to its Basic plan.

What Netflix Standard with Ads offers and where it fits

Standard with Ads is currently priced at $6.99 per month in the US, giving subscribers access to most of the Netflix catalog in up to 1080p resolution, with the ability to watch on two devices at the same time, at a steep discount to the ad-free Standard plan, which is listed at $15.49. According to the company’s public-facing plan overview, some titles are unavailable on the ad tier due to licensing, and downloads for offline viewing are not supported, underscoring that this is a distinct, deliberately constrained product. Netflix’s help center describes the price, video quality and key limitations of the Standard with Ads plan.

What sets this plan apart from traditional “budget” tiers in streaming is the balance between cost and quality. Viewers still get HD streaming rather than being capped at 720p, and the ability to stream on two devices simultaneously makes it more viable for couples or small households compared with single-stream entry tiers historically offered by some rivals. The trade-off is exposure to ads, typically a few minutes per hour, with Netflix emphasizing that ad loads remain lower than on linear TV, and that advertisers can target viewers using Netflix’s first-party data across genres and content categories rather than simple demographics.

The product’s importance is reflected in Netflix’s own disclosures about advertising growth. The company has said that its ads membership base surpassed 40 million global monthly active users, up from 15 million just months earlier, and that over 40 percent of all new sign-ups in ads markets are choosing an ad-supported plan. In its most recent update to advertisers, Netflix highlighted Standard with Ads as the primary vehicle for this growth and as a building block for new ad formats, including upcoming shoppable and live-sports integrations. The company’s advertising update details the 40 million MAUs figure and the share of sign-ups choosing ad tiers.

This evolution also explains Netflix’s decision to discontinue the long-standing Basic plan in multiple countries, steering price-sensitive users toward the ad-supported Standard offer. In markets such as Canada and the UK, Netflix has stopped allowing new Basic sign-ups, while existing Basic users are being nudged to switch plans as prices and features diverge. For consumers, the result is a clearer but starker choice: pay less and accept ads, or pay a premium price for the full ad-free experience with downloads and the most flexible sharing options.

Strategically, Netflix is using the Standard with Ads plan as a revenue mix tool at a time when growth in mature markets is harder to find. Management has repeatedly pointed to the combination of subscription fees and advertising as having higher long-term revenue per user potential than ad-free plans alone, particularly in markets where average income and price sensitivity are high. For viewers, that means more frequent tweaks to plan structures and less room for legacy, grandfathered tiers; for Netflix, it means the ad-supported Standard tier is likely to remain a focal point of product development, from targeting capabilities to experimentation with interactive ad formats and sponsorships.

Within Netflix’s broader business, the Standard with Ads plan is becoming an important lever for both subscriber acquisition and margin expansion, especially as licensed content costs rise and the company spends heavily on original series, films and live events to differentiate its catalog. Shares of Netflix (ISIN US64110L1061) traded on NASDAQ at $82.18 on 06/13/2026.

Netflix Standard with Ads at a glance

• Product: Netflix Standard with Ads plan
• Manufacturer: Netflix Inc.
• Category: New Release/Launch (subscription streaming plan)
• Launch date: November 2022 initial ads tier launch; Standard with Ads positioning expanded in 2023-2024
• MSRP / Price: $6.99 per month in the US (as of mid-2026)
• Availability: Available in more than a dozen markets including the US, Canada, UK and key European countries via Netflix.com and supported TV and mobile apps
• Target audience: Price-sensitive streamers and households willing to accept advertising in exchange for lower monthly fees
• Key differentiator / USP: Combines 1080p HD quality and two concurrent streams with a significantly lower price point than Netflix’s ad-free Standard plan

This article was a.i.-assisted and editorially reviewed. Product information without warranty; prices and availability may change at short notice. Not investment advice and not a buy or sell recommendation. Trading involves risk up to and including the total loss of invested capital.