Netflix UK review (2026): plans, prices and is it worth it?
Netflix's own shows are still a big draw, but prices are up and favourites like Friends have moved on. Here's who should keep it, who should rotate it, and which plan to pick.
Prices checked 20 October 2026.
For most of the last decade, Netflix wasn't really a choice. It was the default. Many smart TVs and their remotes even come with a dedicated Netflix button. You got a TV, you got Netflix, and everything else was an optional extra.
That's no longer a given. On 30 December 2025, Friends left Netflix UK after seven years. The Big Bang Theory went at the end of the same month. Both now stream on HBO Max, which launched in the UK on 26 March 2026. Then, in September 2026, Netflix put up the price of every UK plan.
So the question isn't whether Netflix is good. It is. The question is whether it's still the one subscription every UK household should keep paying for, month after month, without thinking. Our answer: it's still one of the best around. It's just no longer the automatic all-rounder it used to be.
The short version
- Got a big 4K TV and care about picture quality? Premium at £20.99 a month. It's the only plan with 4K and HDR, and you get four screens.
- HD is fine for your screens? Standard at £13.99. No adverts, Full HD, two screens. Good if you're not fussed about 4K or your TV is under about 40 inches.
- On a budget? Standard with adverts at £7.99, if you can live with breaks you can't skip.
- Been subscribed for years? If you've worked through the back catalogue and only come back for the odd big release, rotate it rather than paying all year.
What Netflix still does brilliantly
If you've never had Netflix, or it's been a few years, the back catalogue is the best argument for signing up. There's a huge library of standout shows here, and working through even the big names would take you months.
Start with the originals. Stranger Things, Bridgerton, Squid Game, Wednesday and Adolescence were all made by Netflix, and they're the kind of shows people clear whole weekends for. Black Mirror started life on Channel 4, but Netflix took it over from series 3. Then there's Breaking Bad. It's an AMC show, not a Netflix one, but it became one of the great Netflix binges, and all of it is still there.
Where to start on Netflix
The catch, in our view, is the newer stuff. Lately there have been fewer of those shows that everyone's talking about at work on Monday. Netflix still releases plenty, but if you've been subscribed for years and already worked through the classics, you can end up scrolling more than watching. That's the point where rotating Netflix out for a while, or spending the money elsewhere, starts to make sense.
What's changed: a thinner borrowed library
Netflix built its reputation on two things: its own shows and films, and a deep shelf of other studios' hits. The first is still a real strength. The second has been quietly shrinking.
Studios now have their own streaming services, and they want their best-known shows there. Friends and The Big Bang Theory are the clearest UK examples. Both are Warner Bros. Television series, both left Netflix UK at the end of 2025, and both are now on HBO Max. Neither is back on Netflix.
That doesn't make Netflix worse on its own terms. But if your household's comfort-watch lived there, it may not anymore, and that changes the maths of keeping it all year.
...and a bigger bill
In September 2026 (first reported on 4 September), Netflix raised every UK plan, plus the charge for extra members:
| Plan | Before | Now | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard with adverts | £5.99 | £7.99 | +£2.00 |
| Standard | £12.99 | £13.99 | +£1.00 |
| Premium | £18.99 | £20.99 | +£2.00 |
| Extra member | £4.99 | £5.99 | +£1.00 |
The ad plan took the biggest hit: about a third more than before. New customers paid the new prices straight away. Existing subscribers get a month's notice by email, with the timing set by their billing date. The previous UK rise was in February 2025.
The plans, honestly
| Plan | Price a month | Adverts | Quality | Screens at once | Extra members |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard with adverts | £7.99 | Yes | Full HD (1080p) | 2 | Not available |
| Standard | £13.99 | No | Full HD (1080p) | 2 | 1, at £5.99 |
| Premium | £20.99 | No | 4K (Ultra HD) and HDR | 4 | Up to 2, at £5.99 each |
All plans are billed monthly, on the date you signed up. There are no annual, multi-month or lifetime plans, so no discount for paying upfront.
Standard with adverts: £7.99
The cheapest way in, and it's a decent deal. You get Full HD on two devices at once. Netflix says to expect "a few short ads per hour" in most shows and films. You can pause during an advert, but you can't skip it or fast-forward through it.
You can download on two devices too, so it works for flights and commutes. The catch: a small number of titles aren't available on this plan because of licensing, and they show a lock icon. You also can't add extra members.
Standard: £13.99
No adverts, the full library, Full HD (1080p) on two screens, and downloads on two devices. You can add one extra member who doesn't live with you. The limit is picture quality: it's HD only. That's fine on a smaller TV, a laptop or a phone, and if your TV is under about 40 inches or you're not fussed about 4K, Standard is all you need. On a big 4K set, you'll notice what you're missing.
Premium: £20.99
Premium is the only way to get 4K (Ultra HD) and HDR, and if you've got a big 4K TV and care about picture quality, it's the one to get. It also gives you four screens at once, downloads on up to six devices, Netflix spatial audio and up to two extra members. It costs £7 a month more than Standard. On smaller screens, or if HD looks fine to you, that's money spent on features you won't notice.
Sharing: now a paid extra
Netflix is clear that you can't share an account outside your household. The official workaround is an extra member at £5.99 a month each: one slot on Standard, up to two on Premium, none on the ad plan.
A small tip: Standard plus one extra member costs £19.98 a month, £1.01 less than Premium on its own. If HD is fine for your screens and you want to add one person who lives elsewhere, that's the cheaper route. If you want 4K as well, Premium already has room for up to two extra members.
What it costs over a year
With no annual plan, a year is just twelve monthly payments: £95.88 with adverts, £167.88 for Standard and £251.88 for Premium. So 4K costs you an extra £84 a year over Standard. And if you only watch heavily for a few months of the year, that annual figure is the one to weigh up.
Who should keep it, and who should rotate
Keep it all year if Netflix is where your household watches most nights, or you're new to it. Its own series and films are still the main draw, the back catalogue will keep a newcomer busy for months, it suits families with mixed tastes, and it's on almost every screen you own. WWE fans have a fresh reason too: UK members get Raw live every week, plus SmackDown, NXT and premium live events.
Rotate it if you've been a member for years, you've worked through the back catalogue and you only really come back for the big releases. Netflix has no contract and you can cancel any time, so there's nothing stopping you joining for a month or two when something you want lands, then cancel and switch to another service.
Pair or replace it if what you actually rewatch has moved elsewhere. If your evenings were Friends and The Big Bang Theory, those now live on HBO Max, which starts from £4.99 a month with adverts.
Not sure which mix makes sense? Compare UK streaming plans side by side, check current UK streaming prices, or use My Build to add up the services you actually use and see your monthly total.
How to get Netflix
Sign up directly with Netflix, pick a plan and pay monthly, with no minimum term. If you pay through another company instead (Netflix calls these payment partners), billing and cancelling go through them. For live plan data, see our Netflix service page.
Devices
Netflix works on pretty much anything with a screen: smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, Panasonic, Philips, Hisense, TCL and others, plus Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, PlayStation, Xbox, phones, tablets and a web browser at netflix.com. It even runs on Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest headsets.
The one exception is very old kit: Netflix has dropped support for some TVs and streaming devices made before 2015. If yours is one of them, a cheap streaming stick sorts it.
Cancelling
This is where Netflix is refreshingly easy. You can cancel at any time. If you cancel partway through a billing period, you keep watching until it ends, then the account closes by itself. No cancel option in your account? Then you're paying through a payment partner, and you cancel with them instead.
Verdict
Netflix is still one of the strongest streaming services in the UK. It's simple, it's on almost every screen, and its own shows are as good a reason to subscribe as ever.
What it isn't any more is the automatic all-rounder. Some of the big shows people came back to have moved to studio-owned services, and after the September 2026 rise even the cheapest plan costs £7.99 a month.
Our advice: if you're new to Netflix, or it's your household's main service, keep it. Pick Standard if HD is fine for your screens, and Premium if you have a big 4K TV. If you've been a member for years and the back catalogue is done, treat it as one to rotate, and pair it with whatever now carries the shows you rewatch.
Pros and cons
Pros
- A huge back catalogue of standout originals, from Stranger Things to Squid Game
- Simple monthly plans with no contract, and easy to cancel
- Ad plan at £7.99 keeps the entry price reasonable
- Full HD on every plan
- Premium adds 4K, HDR, spatial audio and four screens
- Works on almost every TV, stick, console, phone and browser
- Live WWE Raw every week, plus SmackDown and NXT
Cons
- Every plan went up in September 2026, the ad plan by £2
- Fewer big shows from other studios, with Friends and The Big Bang Theory now on HBO Max
- No annual plan or discount for paying upfront
- 4K and HDR only on the most expensive plan
- In our view, fewer recent shows that everyone's talking about
- Ad plan has unskippable adverts, some locked titles and no extra members
- Sharing outside your home costs £5.99 a month per person
Our rating
Overall
One of the best services in the UK, with a superb back catalogue of originals, simple plans and easy cancelling. It drops points for the September 2026 price rise, 4K only on Premium, and a thinner library of other studios' shows.
How we checked
Prices come from the Netflix UK plan page, checked on 20 October 2026, and match UK press reports of the September 2026 rise. Plan features, adverts, sharing, devices and cancellation come from the Netflix Help Centre. Title availability was checked against current UK streaming listings on 22 October 2026. Title moves come from BBC News and Warner Bros. Discovery's HBO Max UK launch announcement. We'll update this review when Netflix changes its UK plans or prices.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is Netflix in the UK?
Netflix UK costs £7.99 a month for Standard with adverts, £13.99 a month for Standard and £20.99 a month for Premium. Extra members cost £5.99 a month each on Standard and Premium. Prices checked 20 October 2026.
Is Friends still on Netflix UK?
No. Friends left Netflix UK on 30 December 2025 and now streams on HBO Max in the UK. The Big Bang Theory also left Netflix UK at the end of 2025 and is now on HBO Max too.
Which Netflix plan should I get?
Standard at £13.99 if HD is fine for your screens, for example if your TV is under about 40 inches or you're not bothered about 4K. Premium at £20.99 if you have a big 4K TV and care about picture quality, because it's the only plan with 4K and HDR. Standard with adverts at £7.99 is the budget pick.
Does Netflix Standard include 4K?
No. Standard and Standard with adverts stream in Full HD (1080p). 4K (Ultra HD) and HDR come only with Premium, which also allows four screens at once.
Can I share my Netflix account with someone who doesn't live with me?
Not for free. Netflix says you can't share your account outside your household. You can add an extra member for £5.99 a month instead: one on Standard, up to two on Premium. The ad plan can't add extra members.
Can I pay for Netflix yearly?
No. Netflix bills monthly on the date you signed up and doesn't offer annual, multi-month or lifetime plans.
When did Netflix last put its UK prices up?
In September 2026, when all three plans and the extra member charge went up. The ad plan rose from £5.99 to £7.99, Standard from £12.99 to £13.99 and Premium from £18.99 to £20.99. The rise before that was in February 2025.
How do I cancel Netflix?
Cancel from your Netflix account at any time, and keep watching until the end of the period you've paid for. If there's no cancel option in your account, you're paying through a payment partner and need to cancel with them.