Netflix discreetly discontinues its entry-level ad-free plan in Canada

It seems like Netflix often tests its new policies on Canadian users. In early 2023, the company ended its password-sharing policy outside the premises of a household. As of now, the company has dropped its basic plan for Canadian users.

Canadian users can no longer access Netflix’s basic ad-free plan

According to a report from TechRadar, the company has secretly abandoned the cheap ad-free basic tier in Canada. Well, the new policy implies that “the Basic plan is no longer accessible to new or returning members,” according to Netflix Canada’s help website. Although the current customers are unaffected (until or unless they change plans).

Currently, the users are presented with the following choices: access the standard plan with ads for $5.99 CAD, the standard plan without ads for $16.49, or access the premium plan for $20.99 CAD. One thing to notice here is that this is not a recent development, the company abandoned the basic ad-free tier a while ago. However, it did not grab anyone’s attention. The first mention comes from a Twitter user who expressed dissatisfaction about Netflix’s basic plan being discontinued on June 10.

Time will tell whether Canadian users will upgrade to a higher tier, despite their perception of loss. After all, the company’s contentious crackdown on password sharing actually brought in more users to the network. TechRadar adds that it doesn’t appear that any other nations have experienced comparable changes. For instance, the basic ad-free package is still listed at $9.99 on the American Netflix Plans and Pricing page. It follows that users outside of Canada are secure.

There is a possibility that things might change in the future. There is currently no information on whether the company expands the abolishment of the basic ad-free tier to other regions or not.