Which countries pay the most and least for Netflix?

Over the last few years, we’ve regularly analyzed the differences in library sizes and monthly costs of Netflix subscriptions around the world, often finding a huge disparity. And this is no more so than in recent months.

So far, throughout 2022, Netflix has hit the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Turkey, and Denmark with price hikes (most of which saw similar price increases in 2021, too). In sharp contrast, however, Netflix recently announced it was slashing its prices in India in a bid to compete with Disney+ and Prime.

Previously, our study has often found that India is one of the most cost-effective countries to get a Netflix subscription in–and that was before its prices were decreased.

So, is India the place to be to get the most bang for your buck? And where are Netflix prices the least cost-effective?

Please note: the prices included in our study are the base price as advertised by Netflix. They do not include the various taxes and other charges users may face. We are aware that several countries, including Argentina, have these charges but our study focuses on the price charged by Netflix.

Is Netflix in your country good value?

To gather this data, we’ve taken a look at several different factors.

First, we looked at the figures based on the number of TV shows and movies available in 81 countries as per JustWatch and uNoGS. We then divided the total number of titles available by the monthly subscription price to establish each country’s cost per title per month. For the standard and premium plans, we also factored in the number of users for each account (2 and 4, respectively), multiplying the library total by this to give the number of titles available to all users.

Second, we evaluated the cost per month in each country and how these shape up against others (based on current exchange rates at the time of writing).

The results?

Our study shows a massive disparity when cost per title is analyzed between different countries.

Due to their incredibly cheap prices across all three plans, Pakistan, India, and Turkey are the most cost-effective countries to watch Netflix in. But with their above-average library sizes, Pakistan and India offer the best value for money. With library sizes of 5,823 and 5,917 titles respectively (compared to the average of 5,390 and Turkey’s 4,676) these two countries seem to get more while paying less.

This idea that you get more while paying less continues when we look at the countries with the biggest library sizes and their cost per month. The central, eastern, and northern European countries of Slovakia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia have access to the most titles (around 7,000 titles each) at a cost per month of €7.99, €9.99, and €11.99 for basic, standard, and premium plans. This sees them featuring within the top 15 countries for cost-effectiveness across all three plans.

While the UK also has a reasonably large library (6,710 titles in total), its recent price hikes have seen it plummeting through the rankings, especially for standard and premium plans.

TIP – How to access different Netflix catalogs: You can securely access your usual Netflix catalogs from different countries when traveling abroad with a VPN. However, not all VPNs work with all Netflix country catalogs. We recently tested 59 different VPNs with 30 different country catalogs so be sure to pick a VPN that works with the Netflix country version you want access to. You can see our list of recommended Netflix VPN services here.

Top 10 places where Netflix is good value for money

As we have seen, when it comes to value for money, Pakistan, India, and Turkey win hands down on cost-per-title value across all three plans.

The average cost per title for basic plans is $0.00154. Pakistanis, Indians, and Turks pay $0.00042, $0.00044, and $0.00055 respectively. This makes their cost per title 95 to 115 percent cheaper than average. They also pay at least 65 percent less per title for standard and premium plans respectively.

The 10 places where Netflix isn’t good value for money

At the other end of the scale are Croatia and Switzerland where none of their plans are cost-effective.

Croatia is the least cost-effective for basic plans with its cost per title ($0.00294) being almost double the average for basic plans ($0.00154). This is in spite of it having the same cost (€7.99) as Estonia et al. Rather, it is its small library that lets it down. With just 2,957 titles in total, Estonia’s Netflix library is nearly 2,500 titles short of the average.

Switzerland’s cost per title for standard and premium plans are almost double the average, too ($0.00197 compared to $0.00109 for standard plans and $0.00130 compared to $0.00071 for premium plans). This is due to its high costs per month ($20.23 for standard plans and $26.66 for premium plans) and its slightly-below average library size (5,127 titles).

When compared to the cheapest plans, Croatia’s cost per title for basic plans is seven times more expensive, while Switzerland’s standard and premium plans are five times more expensive.

Making up the rest of the bottom 10 across all three plans are mainly European countries. Unlike some of their aforementioned European counterparts, many of these countries, like Croatia, have lower-than-average library sizes (often over 2,000 less than some of the best library totals). But these customers pay an above-average fee for their Netflix subscriptions (or a premium price if you’re Swiss or a Liechtensteiner and have a standard or premium subscription).

The US also features as one of least cost-effective plans for its standard plan, being nearly 20 percent more expensive than average.

The cheapest places to get Netflix

Turkey’s, Pakistan’s, and India’s unbeatable cost-per-title prices are, undoubtedly, due to their incredibly cheap costs per month–and that’s even after Turkey’s price increase this month.

Despite increases of 50 cents to $1 across its plans, Turkey’s plans are up to four times cheaper than average. Turkey’s premium subscription of $5.29 per month is also a whopping $21 cheaper than Switzerland’s and Liechtenstein’s huge cost of $26.66.

On a cost-per-month basis, the US and UK don’t fare well as they both feature well toward the bottom of the table for all three of their plans.

The UK is the 13th, 9th, and 6th most expensive place to have a basic, standard, or premium Netflix subscription respectively. The US is the 7th, 6th, and 7th respectively.

With the average cost per month being $8.16 for basic plans, $11.59 for standard, and $15.15 for premium, the US is nearly $2 more expensive for its basic plans and around $4 more expensive than average for its standard and premium plans.  respectively. The UK is $1 more expensive for its basic plans and $3 more expensive for its standard plans and over $5 more expensive for its premium plans.

Both are $15 more expensive per month than Turkey’s premium plan.

How expensive is Netflix relative to average income?

We’ve analyzed the monthly cost of Netflix relative to the average monthly income in a country to determine where Netflix may “feel” more expensive.

The most expensive places to get Netflix

In contrast to the above, the most expensive monthly subscriptions for Netflix tend to be in European countries and the US.

What’s more, if you live in Liechtenstein or Switzerland, you’re paying at least $4 more than average for a basic plan and around $10 more than average for a standard or premium plan.

If you are looking to securely access your Netflix library from abroad, here are the best VPNs for Netflix currently available on the market.

Sources

Full datasheet for all countries and plans: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1HapU_wC83aJYC0NOfbYPXUePeavNGs1ymQ2doedVqa4/edit?usp=sharing

JustWatch.com

uNoGS.com

https://www.imdb.com

https://data.oecd.org/earnwage/average-wages.htm

https://www.worlddata.info/average-income.php

http://www.salaryexplorer.com/

https://www.worldbank.org