Which countries are the most expensive and cheapest 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. The problem seems to be getting worse rather than better.

In February 2023, Netflix slashed its prices across more than 100 countries, especially for basic plans in African and Asian countries. This coincided with its announcement that it was starting to crack down on password sharing outside of one household.

Fast-forward to October 2023, and many countries, including the UK, US, France, and two of the most cost-effective countries in previous years–Argentina and Turkey–have seen further price hikes. In the UK, for example, the cost of a premium HD Ultra subscription with four users is now up to £17.99 per month.

Netflix is now making basic plans unavailable to new customers in several countries, including the UK and US. Basic plans in those countries have now been replaced with standard subscriptions with ads. Ad-supported plans are much more affordable, costing £4.99 per month in the UK, and $6.99 per month in the US.

The big question is, have these price hikes and restrictions affected Netflix’s value for money? And, where in the world do you get the best bang for your buck with a Netflix subscription? Keep reading to find out!

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 looked at several factors.

First, we looked at the figures based on the number of TV shows and movies available in 104 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). We have also analyzed the 12 countries with ad-based subscriptions (Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, South Korea, UK, and US) separately to see how these plans compare.

The results?

Our study shows a massive disparity when cost per title is analyzed between different countries–regardless of the plan you choose.

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

Due to their incredibly cheap prices across all three plans (without ads), Pakistan, India, Egypt, and Turkey are the most cost-effective countries to watch Netflix. And with above-average library sizes (at least 500 more than the average of 5,824), they seem to get more while paying less.

The average cost per title for basic plans is $0.00124. Pakistanis, Egyptians, and Indians pay $0.00025, $0.00036, and $0.00037 respectively while enjoying libraries with over 6,200 titles each. This makes their cost per title as much as five times cheaper than average, and a whopping 20 times cheaper than the least cost-effective country, Guernsey, where titles are $0.00507 each (due to a well below-average library of 1,912 titles).

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

At the other end of the scale are a number of African and European countries and Fiji where none of their plans are cost-effective, despite recent price reductions across the majority of these countries. This is due to extortionate monthly costs (Liechtenstein and Switzerland) or library sizes that are nearly three times below average.

Guernsey, Uganda, and Seychelles are in the bottom three across all of the plans. For example, their cost per title across basic plans are $0.00507, $0.00323, and $0.00285 respectively. This is up to four times more than the average cost per title ($0.00124).

If we remove these countries with library sizes of less than 2,000 titles, Liechtenstein and Switzerland are the least cost-effective countries. It’s Liechtenstein’s and Switzerland’s vast costs per month that hamper their cost-effectiveness. At 11.90 CHF ($13.34 USD) per month for a basic plan (more than double the average of $6.59), these two countries are certainly paying more to get a little bit more than average (Switzerland has a total library size of 6,870 titles and Liechtenstein has 6,513).

The US also features as one of the least cost-effective countries across all of its plans. This is due to its average library size and above-average monthly costs. It ranks as the twentieth, eighteenth, and twenty-first least cost-effective country for its basic, standard, and premium plans respectively.

France’s recent price hikes on its basic and premium plans also mean it’s one of the least cost-effective countries for these two subscriptions (19th and 24th least cost-effective for basic and premium plans respectively).

The UK hovers around mid-table for its basic and standard plans but is the 26th least cost-effective country for its premium plan thanks to a recent £2 increase (rising from £15.99 to £17.99).

Are Netflix plans with ads worth it?

One of the biggest advantages of streaming platforms over standard TV channels is their lack of adverts. So are the cheaper plans with ads on Netflix worth it? And do they offer the best value for money when we compare them to basic plans without ads from around the world?

Interestingly, in this update, there have been some changes to the ad-based plans as these are now based on standard plans rather than basic plans–but prices remain the same. This effectively means that you can have more users on one plan, which will add to their cost-effectiveness. As with the above analysis, we’ve multiplied the library sizes by two to get a cost per title for each country.

It probably goes without saying that all 12 countries save a reasonable amount of money per title when opting for the standard plan with ads. But as the above table demonstrates, some get a better deal than others.

The US, Germany, Canada, and Italy save the most per title when choosing the basic with ads plan (saving over $0.0005 per title), while Brazil (which boasts the most cost-effective basic with ads plan) saves less than half the US per title.

But none of these countries get a better deal per title than the seven most cost-effective countries for basic plans without ads–Pakistan, India, Egypt, Morocco, Turkey, the Philippines, and Indonesia. All of these countries pay less than $0.00062 per title, with Pakistanis paying as little as $0.00025 per title. And they all enjoy an above-average library size.

The cheapest places to get Netflix

Here we can compare all of the countries Netflix is available in (245 in total) to see which countries pay the most and least for their subscriptions on a cost-per-month basis. We can also see just how the recent price hikes and cuts have affected these costs.

As well as being the most cost-effective country on a cost-per-title basis, Pakistan is also the most cost-effective country on a cost-per-month basis. At just $1.63, $2.90, and $3.98 per month for a basic, standard, and premium subscription, Pakistan’s prices win hands down. And when we consider its great library selection, Pakistanis get a great deal for their Netflix streaming service.

On average, users are now paying $6.59, $10.12, and $13.46 per month for their basic, standard, and premium Netflix subscriptions. This means Pakistanis are paying as much as $9.48 less than average for their subscriptions.

The UK’s and US’s recent price hikes mean users there are paying more than average for their subscriptions.

UK users pay up to $8.37 more than average with monthly prices of £7.99 ($9.70), £10.99 ($13.34), and £17.99 ($21.83) for basic, standard, and premium plans. US users pay up to $9.53 more than average with plan prices of $11.99, $15.49, and $22.99.

But this is nothing compared to the two most expensive countries–Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Users in these countries pay $6.70 more than average for basic plans ($13.34 compared to $6.59), over $11 more than average for standard plans ($21.19 compared to $10.12), and nearly $14.50 more than average for premium plans ($27.92 compared to $13.46).

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

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