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Back in 2022, Netflix announced the price for its upcoming ad-powered plan Basic with ads. For $6.99 per month, Netflix customers would be able to watch most content for a reduced price and with advertising interruptions. The price of the plan with ads differed by region, but it was always cheaper than Netflix's lowest plan without ads, Basic.

Netflix started to crack down on password sharing in some regions at the same time and introduced a new option to buy one or two extra slots. Families could buy extra slots for family members at college, or for sharing with family members who live in another household. These extra options are available for Standard and Premium subscribers only, and they cost more in some regions than the Basic with ads plan.

It looked as if Netflix was making the ad-powered plan more attractive, but these extra member options provided subscribers with higher resolutions and options to download shows and movies to their devices.

In March 2023, Netflix revealed that its ad-supported plan had crossed the 1 million subscriber mark in the United States alone, and that it was earning the company more than the company's Basic plan.

Netflix announced that it made the decision to improve the Basic with ads plan. It would unlock a second simultaneous stream for the plan and increase the supported resolution to full HD. Netflix's Basic plan, the one without ads, supports only only HD streams and streams on one device at a time. It does support downloads, which the ad-supported plan does not support.

All other features resemble that of Netflix's Standard plan now, which is probably the reason why Netflix decided to rename the Basic with ads plan to Standard with ads.

The renaming makes a lot of sense, considering that the ad-supported plans has more in common with the Netflix Standard plan than with the Basic plan. Netflix's Standard plan costs $15.49 per month, which is more than two times the price of the ad-supported plan.

Both plans allow subscribers to stream content on two devices simultaneously and watch in 1080p resolution. The Standard plan comes without advertisement and it allows downloads on up to two devices.

Increasing the attractiveness of the Standard with ads plan could result in more customers subscribing to the plan. Some might switch from Basic or Standard to Standard with ads, and new customers may select the plan instead of the two others.

It is clear that Netflix wants customers on that plan, especially customers who might pick the Basic plan otherwise, as it brings in more revenue than that plan.

Now You: are you a Netflix subscriber? Which plan have you selected or would you select?