Cheaper Netflix with ads is now available: Is it worth it?

Netflix ad plan is now live, but it's missing some devices and hit shows.

Netflix has now launched its new lower-priced, ad-supported plan.

It means Netflix will be available for a cheaper price, but you'll have to watch ads, among some other changes to your viewing experience.

How much does Netflix's ad-supported plan cost?

In Australia, the Basic with Ads plan costs $6.99 a month.

That's a 36% discount on the existing Netflix Basic plan, which is $10.99 a month.

You will only be able to view 1 stream at a time, which is the same as the current Basic plan.

How is the Basic with Ads plan different?

Aside from the cheaper price and the ads when you're viewing Netflix, this new plan will also be different in a few ways.

For one, a limited number of movies and TV shows will not be available due to licensing restrictions.

Netflix said it was planning to reduce the number of unavailable titles over time.

Titles unavailable at the launch of the tier include The Office (US), Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Below Deck, Keeping Up With the Kardashians and The Good Place.

When asked about how much of the Netflix catalogue would not be available in the plan, Netflix COO Greg Peters said in a video presentation accompanying the announcement, "In some countries, you can think about it in the 5–10% range".

Australia has come out better than the prediction listed by Peters. Just 4.43% of the Netflix library isn't available via the ad-tier plan in Australia.

You also cannot download titles on Basic with Ads, which is a feature of all other Netflix plans.

Some devices do not work with the Basic with Ads plan either, such as Apple TV.

How many ads will be screened?

Netflix said that ads will be 15 or 30 seconds long and will play before and during shows and movies.

It's expected to average around 4–5 minutes of ads per hour of viewing.

There will also be "some tight frequency caps so members don't see the same ad repeatedly," Peters said.

This is to avoid a common complaint with ads on streaming services, where the same ad plays over and over.

Netflix plans to not disrupt the viewing experience too much with ads during shows and movies.

"We'll find those natural break points that we can deliver the ad in the least obtrusive point," Peters said about where ads will appear during programs.

Peters highlighted that the latest-release movies on Netflix will likely only have ads screened before they play, which is called a pre-roll.

"The new movies, for example, will just have a pre-roll ad experience, so we'll try to preserve that cinematic model there," he said.

There will be ads screened during older movies but expect the ad breaks to be more spaced out yet playing for a longer time in those breaks.

"Those breaks will be less frequent essentially, but with slightly longer ads in them," Peters said.

I'm already a Netflix subscriber, how does this affect me?

Existing subscribers will not be impacted unless they choose to switch plans.

If you already subscribe to Netflix, you will remain on your current plan at the same price and it will remain ad-free.

However you may now switch to the cheaper, ad-supported plan if you want to.

Is anything else changing with Netflix?

As part of this new plan, the video quality increased to 720p/HD for the existing Basic plan, which was previously only in 480p/SD.

The Basic with Ads package is also in 720p/HD, which means the entire Netflix library is now in either HD or ultra HD.

Is it worth getting the new plan?

On face value, a 36% saving on your Netflix subscription and only paying $6.99 a month is a positive.

But you have to weigh this up with the other changes and how you feel about them.

If you're okay with ads during viewing, you're fine and could totally take up this option.

However, this approach contrasts with the initial lure of streaming, which was watching content without ads.

If you download a lot of titles to watch on the go, then you can't do this on the Basic with Ads plan.

The loss of some content might be an issue too if it happens to be one of your favourites.

For example, if you like the comfort binge classic shows such as The Office (US) and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, you will be unable to do this on the Basic with Ads package.

A lot of titles missing are ones Netflix has licensed from other studios, so many a landmark title is missing from this tier.

If you do all your viewing of Netflix through an Apple TV, this new plan is not for you, as currently the tier does not work on the streaming device, even though there are plans to change this in the near future.

Netflix still doesn't offer a free trial, but there are plenty of other streaming services that let you try for free, which can save you even more money.

For example, BINGE has a 14-day free trial, Paramount Plus offers a 7-day free trial and Prime Video allows a 30-day free trial.

Update: We updated this article at 3:00pm AEDT on 4 November 2022 following the launch of Netflix's new ad-supported tier with the library and new device information.

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