Netflix increases monthly subscription fee in Malaysia for users that pay via iTunes

If you’re subscribed to Netflix with iTunes as your billing method, you will have to pay more on your next renewal. They have recently sent out an email to inform users about the new price update.

According to their email, they are updating their prices to “bring you more great entertainment” and the Premium plan will be going for RM54.90/month. This price update is specifically for subscribers that pay via iTunes instead of credit or debit card or through carrier billing.

In case you’re wondering, Netflix isn’t actually increasing their subscription fee as the last price update was made in January 2020 after Malaysia imposed a 6% digital tax last year. Turns out, Netflix appears to have forgotten to revise the subscription fee for users that still pay via iTunes.

As shown above, the monthly Netflix subscription fee on Apple iTunes is still showing RM49.90 for Premium, RM41.90 for standard and RM33.90 for Basic. The iTunes payment option was discontinued in December 2018 for new users but existing users could still continue to use it as their preferred mode of payment. For Premium users who stuck around, that’s a savings of RM5/month for almost two years.

Effective January 2020, Netflix charges RM35/month for Basic, RM45/month for Standard and RM55/month for Premium. Even with the price update, the premium plan is still cheaper by 10 sen via iTunes. For those who want the cheapest plan, there’s the mobile option which provides standard definition streaming on your phone or tablet for RM17/month.

Netflix is currently offering a free plan without ads in Kenya to test how many free plan users will convert to a paid plan. Despite having no ads, there are restrictions that include access to only 25% of the content catalog.