Raising Prices Without Losing the AudienceWide moat

Netflix (NFLX) — moat facet

Netflix has raised prices, charged password borrowers and added an ads tier without losing its audience, but it no longer reports the member count that proved it.

Pricing power is the test of any moat, and Netflix has passed it repeatedly. Revenue per American membership rose from $15.86 to $17.20 a month between 2022 and 20241 while UCAN memberships grew by 15 million2. When it told password borrowers to pay, net additions rose to 41.4 million in 20243. Its plans now run from $1 to $37 a month4.

Revenue per paying membership, global ($ a month)11.76202211.64202311.702024Netflix Form 10-K FY2024, last year disclosed
Flat globally, because growth is abroad at lower prices.

The mechanism is simple. Members watch a great deal for a monthly fee, so a price rise of a dollar or two has rarely outweighed the value they get. A ladder of plans, including a cheaper tier with advertising, catches those who would otherwise leave.

The limits are growing clearer. UCAN revenue growth slowed from 18% to 10% in two quarters5. The newest members, in Asia-Pacific and Latin America, pay less than half of what Americans pay6. Currency swings take a large bite from the dollar value of foreign price rises. And since 2025 Netflix has stopped reporting the membership numbers that proved prices could rise without losses7.

The ads tier made the price rises easier. By the fourth quarter of 2023 the ad-supported plan took 40% of sign-ups in its markets8, and by the fourth quarter of 2024 more than 55%9. Each price rise on the ad-free plans therefore had a cheaper option beneath it, which kept price-sensitive members inside the service rather than sending them to rivals.

The global average hides the regional story. Worldwide revenue per paying membership was $11.76 in 2022, $11.64 in 2023 and $11.70 in 202410, essentially flat, even though the American figure rose 8.4%. That is because growth came mostly from regions where members pay less, so the company's pricing power shows up in North America and its volume in Asia and Latin America.

The verdict is a wide but maturing pricing moat. Revenue growth was 13.4% in the second quarter of 202611. If a full year of the latest UCAN price change leaves that region growing below 10%, prices will have started to cost members faster than they add revenue.

Moat trajectory: Holding steady

Prices rising; growth slowing; memberships no longer reported.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
UCAN revenue per membership, last reported year
$17.20 a month (2024), from $15.86 in 2022

Pricing power in the home market; the last disclosed figure before reporting stopped.

Source: Netflix Form 10-K, FY2024 ↗
Aspects of the moat
DIG DEEPER 01
Paid Sharing: 41 Million Net Additions in 2024
Netflix told password borrowers to pay and added 41 million memberships in a year, the clearest proof of its pricing power.
DIG DEEPER 02
UCAN: $15.86 to $17.20 a Month
Netflix raised what an American member pays from $15.86 to $17.20 a month in two years and added 15 million UCAN members while doing it.
DIG DEEPER 03
The $1 to $37 Price Ladder
Netflix now sells plans from $1 to $37 a month, so a price rise at the top sends members down the ladder rather than out the door.
DIG DEEPER 04
Membership Numbers Are No Longer Reported
Netflix stopped reporting its member count in 2025, so its pricing power can now be judged only by revenue.
⚠ Threats to the moat
⚠ THREAT 01
Price Rises Meet Flat Engagement
Netflix is charging more for about the same amount of viewing, which works until members decide the extra dollar is not worth it.
⚠ THREAT 02
Argentina and the $1.4 Billion Currency Hit
Netflix can raise prices in pesos faster than inflation and still lose revenue in dollars, as Argentina showed in 2024.
References
  1. ReportedRevenue per American membership rose from $15.86 to $17.20 a month between 2022 and 2024 while UCAN memberships grew by 15 million.
    Netflix Form 10-K for fiscal 2024 - paid memberships and average monthly revenue per paying membership by region for 2022-2024, regional revenue for 2022, and the 2024 currency impact. — FY2024 · publ. January 2025 · source ↗
  2. ReportedRevenue per American membership rose from $15.86 to $17.20 a month between 2022 and 2024 while UCAN memberships grew by 15 million.
    Netflix Form 10-K for fiscal 2024 - paid memberships and average monthly revenue per paying membership by region for 2022-2024, regional revenue for 2022, and the 2024 currency impact. — FY2024 · publ. January 2025 · source ↗
  3. ReportedWhen it told password borrowers to pay, net additions rose to 41.4 million in 2024.
    Netflix Form 10-K for fiscal 2024 - paid memberships and average monthly revenue per paying membership by region for 2022-2024, regional revenue for 2022, and the 2024 currency impact. — FY2024 · publ. January 2025 · source ↗
  4. ReportedIts plans now run from $1 to $37 a month.
    Netflix Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - Item 1 business and Item 7 overview: the single segment, pricing plans, Open Connect, employees and the end of membership reporting. — FY2025 · publ. 23 January 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedUCAN revenue growth slowed from 18% to 10% in two quarters.
    Netflix second-quarter 2026 shareholder letter, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - quarterly results, regional revenue, 2026 guidance, view hours, live programming and advertising - financial results, regional revenue and 2026 guidance. — Q2 2026 · publ. 16 July 2026 · source ↗
  6. ReportedThe newest members, in Asia-Pacific and Latin America, pay less than half of what Americans pay.
    Netflix Form 10-K for fiscal 2024 - paid memberships and average monthly revenue per paying membership by region for 2022-2024, regional revenue for 2022, and the 2024 currency impact. — FY2024 · publ. January 2025 · source ↗
  7. ReportedAnd since 2025 Netflix has stopped reporting the membership numbers that proved prices could rise without losses.
    Netflix Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - Item 1 business and Item 7 overview: the single segment, pricing plans, Open Connect, employees and the end of membership reporting. — FY2025 · publ. 23 January 2026 · source ↗
  8. ReportedBy the fourth quarter of 2023 the ad-supported plan took 40% of sign-ups in its markets, and by the fourth quarter of 2024 more than 55%.
    Netflix fourth-quarter 2023 shareholder letter, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - the WWE Raw agreement and ads-plan sign-ups. — Q4 2023 · publ. 23 January 2024 · source ↗
  9. ReportedBy the fourth quarter of 2023 the ad-supported plan took 40% of sign-ups in its markets, and by the fourth quarter of 2024 more than 55%.
    Netflix fourth-quarter 2024 shareholder letter, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - record net additions and ads-plan sign-ups. — Q4 2024 · publ. 21 January 2025 · source ↗
  10. ReportedWorldwide revenue per paying membership was $11.76 in 2022, $11.64 in 2023 and $11.70 in 2024, essentially flat, even though the American figure rose 8.4%.
    Netflix Form 10-K for fiscal 2024 - paid memberships and average monthly revenue per paying membership by region for 2022-2024, regional revenue for 2022, and the 2024 currency impact. — FY2024 · publ. January 2025 · source ↗
  11. ReportedRevenue growth was 13.4% in the second quarter of 2026.
    Netflix second-quarter 2026 shareholder letter, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - quarterly results, regional revenue, 2026 guidance, view hours, live programming and advertising - financial results, regional revenue and 2026 guidance. — Q2 2026 · publ. 16 July 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 26, 2026