With Disney+ announcing a price hike starting this month, the prices between one of the most affordable streaming services in the Philippines will have a gap much closer to that of Netflix, arguably one of the more expensive platforms available. With that in mind, which should you get?
Disney+ has announced a huge price hike, greatly increasing its subscription prices starting April 24. Here are the changes in prices, as detailed:
| Old Price | New Price | Change | |
| Basic – Monthly | Php 159 | Php 249 | + Php 90 |
| Basic – Annual | Php 1,150 | Php 1,990 | + Php 840 |
| Premium – Monthly | Php 369 | Php 519 | + Php 150 |
| Premium – Annual | Php 2,950 | Php 4,990 | + Php 2,040 |
With that, we’re wondering: How does it fare now to Netflix, whose prices are almost at par with these? We’re keeping this comparison very simple: we check Disney+ with the closest Netflix plan and deduce which one has the better offer from there. Here’s what we found out.
Starting with the basic plans:
| Disney+ Basic Plan | Netflix Basic Plan | |
| Monthly Plan | Php 249 | Php 249 |
| Annual Plan | Php 1,990 | N/A |
| Number of Users | 7 | 1 |
| Number of Concurrent Devices | 1 | 1 |
| Streaming Quality | Full HD | 720p HD |
| Spatial Audio | Yes, Dolby Atmos 5.1 | No |
| Download Content | Yes, up to 3 devices | Yes, 1 device only |
| Compatible Devices | Phone, Tablet, Laptop, TV | Phone, Tablet, Laptop, TV |
And the more expensive Premium Plans, which can stream up to 4K UHD resolution on content:
| Disney+ Premium Plan | Netflix Premium Plan | |
| Monthly Plan | Php 519 | Php 549 |
| Annual Plan | Php 4,990 | N/A |
| Number of Users | 7 | 4, with additional users at PHP 149 per month |
| Number of Concurrent Devices | 4 | 4 |
| Streaming Quality | 4K UHD | 4K UHD + HDR |
| Spatial Audio | Yes, Dolby Atmos 5.1 | Yes |
| Download Content | Yes, up to 10 devices | Yes, up to 6 devices |
| Compatible Devices | Phone, Tablet, Laptop, TV | Phone, Tablet, Laptop, TV |
Netflix used to offer Annual Plans in the past but has foregone those and cut their prices down last year to compete with the other streaming services available in the country. Disney+, on the other hand, is cheaper if you avail of the annual plan and saving more than 30% compared to paying monthly.
With the basic plans, Disney+ emerges as the winner. Both have the same monthly prices at PHP 249 per month, but more users can enjoy Full HD resolution shows with spatial audio support (as long as the show supports it), and download content for offline viewing to up to three devices.
Disney+ also wins on the Premium Plans. Its monthly prices are cheaper, the annual prices can save you around 20% every year, and can save offline content to up to 10 devices while Netflix can only offer 6. If you value HDR viewing, Netflix supports that, which is its advantage. It’s also worth noting that you can only have 4 users with Netflix, with additional users available for an additional Php 149 a month, compared to the default up to 7 user profiles for Disney+.
Content-wise, it’s just a matter of preference. Netflix has a plethora of original and syndicated series that most have been talking about in town, not to mention the huge promotion the streaming service company dedicates to new titles landing on their platform now and then.
Disney+, on the other hand, has advantages in terms of its content with Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars, and Disney, as well as other channels including National Geographic. They also have a partnership with Hotstar, India’s leading OTT provider with tens of thousands of hours of Indian series and movies, as well as the de facto destination to stream WWE live events and WWE Network shows until these move to Netflix as soon as the current contract is up.
Both also have password-sharing crackdowns as of late, with Netflix implementing theirs last year and Disney+ following this June.
Which one do you like more? Chime in the comments section below.
