Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max has raised the price of its monthly streaming service. The Ad-Free and Ultimate Ad-Free tiers will each increase by $1 per month, while the Ad-supported plan will stay at $9.99 per month. The last increase was about a year ago in May, 2023.
What are the new Max subscription fees? The Ad-Free plan is now $16.99 per month (or $169.99 per year). The Ultimate Ad-Free plan is now $20.99 per month (or $209.99 per year). The yearly costs are now $20 or $10 more than last year, respectively.
If you’re a home theater enthusiast or anyone who doesn’t settle for lower-quality audio and video, the Ultimate Ad-Free plan is the plan of choice. The tier includes 4k (2160p) video, Dolby Vision/HDR, and Dolby Atmos audio. The Ad-Free plan taps out at HD (1080p) without the Dolby specs. (See a list of 4k titles on Max.)
Max no longer offers 4k with the Ad-Free plan.
It’s been just over a year since Max launched as a rebrand of HBO Max. At the same time as the rebrand, the service started charging more for 4k resolution, Dolby Vision/HDR, and Dolby Atmos.
But even more frustrating than the price increase is the inability of service providers to upgrade customers to the Ultimate Ad-Free plan even while subscribed to HBO. We dug into this issue last fall when “grandfathered” HBO subscribers were downgraded to the HD-only plan after a 6-month allowance that kept 4k intact.
Other services that charge more for 4k, Dolby Vision/HDR, and Dolby Atmos include Netflix and Prime Video. Amazon’s Prime Video includes 4k resolution with its basic plan, but charges more for both Dolby specs. Disney+ includes 4k/HDR with its Basic plan, but charges more for Dolby Atmos.
Apple TV, Paramount, and Peacock are among the services that don’t currently charge more for higher-quality video and audio specs.
