Disney is done pretending standalone Disney+ or Hulu is a bargain next to the bundle. On September 23, 2026—exactly one year after the last bump—the company raised several Disney+ and Hulu plans again, and the math now all but screams: buy the duo or overpay on purpose.
MacRumors (with Bloomberg first on the wire and Hollywood Reporter filling in the strategy) lays out the new menu. The loudest jump is ad-free: Disney+ Premium and Hulu (No Ads) each climb $2.50 to $21.49 a month. Ad-supported standalones rise a softer 50 cents to $12.49. The ad-free Disney+/Hulu bundle moves $2 to $21.99. The ad-supported bundle? Still $12.99—unchanged, and suddenly the adult in the room.
The $0.50 trap
Here is the sting Hollywood Reporter underlined: after the hike, a standalone Disney+ or Hulu plan is only about fifty cents cheaper than the matching Disney+/Hulu bundle—with or without ads. Two standalones at ad-free rates would run about $42.98. The ad-free bundle is $21.99. That is not a gentle nudge. That is a billboard saying the company would rather you live in one app ecosystem with lower churn.
Disney has spent years merging Hulu into the Disney+ experience—linked profiles, watch history, the “unified app” talk on earnings calls—so the price sheet and the product roadmap finally rhyme. Bundle customers cancel less. Solo Premium customers just got a reason to stop being solo.
What else moved
Bundles that tack on ESPN or HBO Max also got $2–$3 bumps in several tiers. MacRumors lists Disney+/ESPN/Hulu (ads) at $21.99 (was $19.99) and a no-ads Disney+/Hulu plus ESPN Select (ads) stack at $32.99 (was $29.99). Disney+/Hulu/HBO Max Basic mixes rose similarly. Some Unlimited ESPN stacks stayed put at the top end.
New subscribers pay the new rates immediately. Existing customers see them on the next billing cycle. If you were waiting for a “maybe they won’t,” that window closed Wednesday.
Streaming inflation, fourth verse
Hollywood Reporter notes this is the fourth hike in as many years for the pair, and that streaming prices since 2022 have risen roughly three times faster than broader inflation. Context for the sticker shock: Disney+ launched in November 2019 at $6.99 with no ads. The no-ads tier is now more than 200% higher. Netflix’s premium plan still sits at the summit of individual streamers at $26.99, about four dollars above HBO Max’s top tier in the same reporting.
Apple TV+—same launch-era cohort—now runs $14.99, also about a 200% climb from its original $4.99. Everyone is playing the same game; Disney just made the bundle the only rational move on its own scoreboard.
Geeknewz take
This is not mysterious. Disney wants one login, one bill, and a Hulu library that feels native inside Disney+. The price hike is the stick; the unified app is the carrot; the frozen $12.99 ad bundle is the on-ramp. If you still pay for both standalones ad-free, you are basically tipping the company for the privilege of two icons on the home screen. Audit the bill before the next cycle—and decide whether ads at $12.99 annoy you less than Premium math at $21.49 × 2.
Source: MacRumors (Juli Clover); additional context via The Hollywood Reporter