Netflix’s Cheaper Plan With Ads Is Winning Over Half of New Subscribers
Netflix’s budget-friendly plan that includes ads is turning out to be more popular than many people expected. According to new data from Antenna, reported by Bloomberg, almost half of all people who signed up for Netflix in 2025 chose the ad-supported plan.
This is a big jump compared to previous years. Back in 2024, only about 40% of new users picked the cheaper, ad-based plan. In 2023, that number was even lower, sitting around 20%.
Netflix first introduced this plan, called “Basic with Ads,” in 2022. It was meant to offer a more affordable way for people to subscribe to Netflix, at a price of $7.99 per month. That’s much cheaper than the Standard plan, which costs $17.99, or the Premium plan at $24.99.
Lucas Shaw from Bloomberg shared a chart on social media that clearly shows how this cheaper option is gaining more and more fans. People seem happy to save money, even if it means watching a few ads during their shows.
About half of new Netflix customers in the US are signing up to its advertising tier, per @AntennaData.https://t.co/Px4MvuM4Io pic.twitter.com/VqYkdNgzcD
— Lucas Shaw (@Lucas_Shaw) July 14, 2025
For years, one of the big reasons people loved streaming services like Netflix was that they didn’t have to sit through ads. Unlike cable or regular TV, where commercial breaks were normal, streaming promised uninterrupted viewing. But this has changed a lot in the last few years.
Most big streaming platforms now offer cheaper plans that include ads. Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max all have versions of this kind of subscription. Even Amazon’s Prime Video recently added ads into its standard plan. If people want to avoid commercials on Prime Video, they now have to pay extra for an ad-free upgrade.
What’s interesting is how people are now okay with the idea of ads on streaming. Many customers seem to feel that saving money each month is worth dealing with short ad breaks. And with the price of streaming services going up everywhere, this ad-supported model might become the new normal.
Antenna’s report shows that Netflix’s plan with ads is growing fast, but Netflix itself hasn’t shared exact numbers on how many total subscribers use the cheaper plan. Still, the trend is clear. More people are choosing the “Basic with Ads” option than ever before.
As people try to cut down on how much they spend, even in their entertainment budgets, it’s likely that these lower-priced plans will keep getting more popular. Streaming started as the ad-free alternative to TV, but now it looks like commercials are making a comeback, and viewers don’t seem to mind.
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