Stan price rise: Which packages are going up?
Two packages have increased in price.
Streaming service Stan has increased the price of 2 of its packages.
There is a nearly 15% increase in the cost of the Standard package while the Premium package is up by 10%.
The only evidence about the price rise that Finder came across is the new pricing structure displayed on Stan's site.
How much is the price increase for Stan Standard and Premium subscriptions?
The standard subscription is increasing to $16 a month, while the Premium package will now be $21 a month. This is an increase of $2 on each package. Stan last increased its price for the Standard package in February 2019 and the Premium package in September 2020.
The price of Stan's Basic package remains the same at $10 a month.
Enquires to Stan about when the price rise came into effect returned a response from customer service simply restating the information on Stan's site: "Customers signing up to Stan's 30-day free trial can sign up for $10 a month for our basic plan, $16 for Standard and $21 for Premium."
The increase in price has come with no official notification as far as Finder can tell beyond the mention on the website.
Existing Stan subscribers within Finder had yet to receive any communication from Stan about these new prices. One Stan subscriber on the Standard plan was only charged $14 as recently as 22 August. This means these new prices have not been in effect for very long.
Even though the response from customer service could be interpreted that these increased prices are only for new customers signing up to Stan, we can speculate that this is likely to roll out to existing customers soon.
Finder has reached out to Stan for further clarification on the price rises, but it's yet to provide the desired answers at the time of publication.
Stan isn't the only streaming service to raise its prices of late. BINGE raised its prices in July, sports streaming service Kayo back in April and Netflix lifted prices in November 2021.
Is Stan still good value for money?
Finder has tracked more than 800 TV shows and over 2,200 movies on Stan. With just over 3,000 titles, that's comparable to the likes of Disney Plus and BINGE, whose catalogues have a similar amount of content.
While the Stan and BINGE Standard plans are similar, Disney Plus allows 4 simultaneous streams on its only plan. It also features viewing in 4K when available. So with Disney Plus, you're getting an extra stream and better picture quality for a lower price than Stan Standard.
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If you look at pure numbers in terms of content, then Prime Video at $6.99 a month with over 11,000 TV shows and movies in its library offers more value than the price of Stan. Some of these titles are available in 4K, which Stan only offers as part of its Premium package.
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What else can I get for the old prices? How to switch and save.
If you in no way can stretch your budget right now and can only afford the $14 or $19 a month for streaming that you were previously paying for Stan Standard or Premium, there are some other options out there for you to switch from Stan but still spend the same per month.
You can subscribe to Disney Plus for only $11.99 a month. For $8.99 a month, you can have access to either Paramount Plus, BritBox or AMC Plus. At $7.99 a month, you can subscribe to Apple TV Plus. The likes of Prime Video, Acorn TV, hayu and Shudder are only $6.99 a month each. MGM is only $4.99 a month while you can get STARZPLAY for $3.99 a month.
If you do the maths right, you could get 2 services for $14. For $19, you could get 3. Some of the above are niche services though, meaning they only focus on a certain style of programming. You'll need to compare what they offer and if they're right for you. You can always give a bunch of services a go with streaming free trials.
Not sure what service is best for you? You can compare every single streaming service in Australia here.
Image: Stan
