Right on cue, Disney has teed up a price hike for Disney+, Hulu, and most of its Disney bundles, almost a year to the day after last year’s price hikes. That’s the bad news; the good news is there’s something you can do about it.
The Disney+ and Hulu price hikes are set to hit October 21, and while Hulu’s Premium plan will stay put at $18.99 a month, most other Disney+ and Hulu standalone and bundle plans are slated to jump in price.
Both Disney+ with ads and Hulu with ads will get $2-a-month increases to $11.99/month, for example, while the ad-free Disney+ Premium will go up to $18.99 from $15.99. Hulu + Live TV is also getting a price hike ($88.99 starting October 21, up from $81.99/month), as are most Disney Bundles, including the popular Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max bundles (with ads will go up to $19.99 a month, a $3-a-month increase, while the ad-free version will cost $32.99/month, up from $29.99 a month).
So yes, not great—but if you look closely, there are ways to dodge the upcoming Disney+ and Hulu price hikes. Here are a few strategies.
Sign up for a full year of Disney+ Premium
There’s no annual plan for the ad-supported version of Disney+, but there is for the ad-free Disney+ Premium. And while the annual Disney+ Premium plan is due for a price hike just like the monthly Premium plan is, those price increases don’t hit until October 21.
That means you can sign up now for a year’s worth of Disney+ for the current annual rate of $159.99 (it will be $189.99 a year starting next month), effectively locking in the pre-hike rate for 12 months. Yes, you’ll have to fork over the cash up front, but you’ll be saving money in the long run.
Sign up for a full year of Hulu with ads
Hulu’s annual plan situation is the reverse of Disney+’s; there’s no annual Hulu Premium plan, but there is an annual Hulu with ads plan. That actually works out nicely for this year’s price increases, given it’s Hulu with ads that’s getting a price hike and not Hulu Premium (which will remain at $18.99 a month).
For now, you can snag Hulu with ads for its current annual rate of $99.99 a year, a price that’s slated to go up to $119.99 come October 21.
Sign up for the ESPN Unlimited Bundle
Here’s a price hike-dodging strategy that may appeal most to sports fans. As you may know, Disney recently launched a full-on streaming version of ESPN, complete with all ESPN linear channels and ESPN-on-ABC broadcasts, for $29.99 a month.
If you act before January 5, 2026, you can get a special promo rate for an ESPN Unlimited Bundle that includes ESPN Unlimited, Disney+ with ads, and Hulu with ads, all for the same price: $29.99 a month, with the promo rate locked in for 12 months. In other words, you’re getting ESPN Unlimited for the standard $29.99 a month, plus the with-ads versions of Disney+ and Hulu for free. (A premium version of the bundle with ad-free Disney+ and Hulu goes for $38.99, also locked in for 12 months.)
Get free Disney+ and/or Hulu from your internet or wireless carrier
Yet another way to sidestep the Disney+ and Hulu price hikes is to look for deals from your internet or wireless service provider, which might offer free or steeply discounted access to one or both of those streamers as a perk.
For example, Spectrum offers the with-ads versions of Disney+ and Hulu for free to select subscribers, while Verizon Unlimited subscribers can get Disney+ and Hulu as a discounted add-on (the configurations change regularly, so check the fine print). T-Mobile also offers Hulu (with ads) for free on certain plans.
Hulu + Live TV plan is also getting a price increase
The price for Hulu’s live TV streaming service is also getting an price bump effective October 21. The standard bundle that includes live television, Hulu programming with ads, Disney+ with ads, and ESPN Unlimited is increasing from $82.99 to $89.99. Hulu Premium + Live TV, which eliminates the ads in Hulu and Disney+ programming will cost $99.99.
Subscribers who were grandfathered into a Hulu + Live TV plan that included Disney+ without ads and ESPN Select will see a price increase from $87.99 to $89.99, also effective October 21. This plan is no longer offered, so if you have it and cancel it, you can’t get it back.
Hulu doesn’t offer annual plans for Hulu + Live TV, so there’s no way to escape the price increase.
For the time being, Hulu competitor YouTube TV remains priced at $82.99 per month. We’ll see how long that lasts.
