Paramount+ Ad-Supported Tier Is Getting A Price Hike Today

In what seems like an inevitability for every streaming service at some point, Paramount+ announced that it is restructuring its pricing model and raising the cost of its ad-supported tier. The price hike goes into effect today. The ad-supported tier, called Paramount+ Essential, now costs $5.99 per month, a dollar more than its previous price. The option to purchase an annual subscription for Paramount+ Essential is also available at a 16 percent discount for $59.99 per year.

The cost increase is part of a new pricing model for Paramount+ that seeks to streamline its premium content tiers. Previously, there were two premium plans that were ad-free: one with Showtime, and one without. With the restructured tiers, there will no longer be an ad-free option that doesn't include Showtime, which had previously cost $9.99 per month. Moving forward, there will be a single ad-free tier: Paramount+ with Showtime, which costs $11.99 per month or $119.99 per year. This simplifies the streaming service's overall offerings to just two plans, and forces subscribers who wish to skip the ads to pay a little more in exchange for Showtime content.

The ad-free tier will stream Paramount+ content, which comprises over 40,000 episodes and movies, including "Star Trek," "Yellowstone," and "Young Sheldon." It also includes NFL on CBS and UEFA Champions League games. However, the ability to watch your local live CBS station is only available with the Paramount+ with Showtime plan. As its name implies, the premium plan also includes original Showtime content like "Dexter," "Yellowjackets," and "The Chi."

Paramount+ originally launched as CBS All Access in 2014. Since then, it's exploded in subscribers, going from over two million in 2018 to 60 million as of April 2023. But as the streaming market becomes oversaturated and the economy continues to struggle, customers across the board are tightening their belts and limiting how many subscriptions they're willing to pay for. Streamers aren't trying to keep these customers with price drops, however, and are instead trying to keep them — and lure new ones — with alternative strategies like cheaper ad-supported tiers and restricting password sharing.

In general, Paramount+ is following the same trend many of its competitors are. Netflix raised the cost of its tiers last year. Its base plan increased from $8.99 to $9.99 per month, its standard tier from $13.99 to $15.49, and its premium 4K tier from $17.99 to $19.99. Likewise, HBO Max, Hulu, and Disney+ have also instituted recent rate hikes. The trend in price increases isn't limited to video streamers, either. Music services, including Spotify and Apple Music, have raised the cost of their tiers, as has the gaming subscription service Xbox Game Pass, whose base plan recently went up a dollar to $10.99 per month and Ultimate plan up two dollars to $16.99 per month.

If you do want to save some money and haven't yet subscribed to Paramount+, you can get a free one-month trial to the Paramount+ with Showtime plan, which is available to new customers until July 12. Current subscribers to the previous ad-free plan that didn't include Showtime will have access to the premium content starting today, but will also be charged the additional two dollars per month they hadn't been before.