Netflix’s Ad-Supported Tier Crosses 23 Million Monthly Active Users

Netflix’s ad-supported plan has recently crossed 23 million monthly active users, Netflix’s president of advertising Amy Reinhard told Variety this week. This new milestone comes two months after Netflix announced the cheaper plan had 15 million monthly active users, which was triple the previous 5 million figure from May 2023.

It’s important not to confuse the number of active users with the number of actual subscribers to this ad-supported plan: There can be multiple users in the same household on the same ad-supported plan, and users can watch content on 2 supported devices at a time, just like on the Standard plan with no ads.

Netflix launched its ad-supported plan back in November 2022, and it’s currently priced at $6.99/month in the US. The company also discontinued its ad-free Basic plan in the US and other markets last fall, which made the ad-supported plan the new cheapest option.

Netflix’s ad-supported plan shows ads before or during most TV shows and movies, and some content is also not available due to licensing restrictions. Despite these caveats, Netflix said in a letter to shareholders in October that this new ad-supported plan accounted for 30% of new sign-ups in countries where the plan is available. In the same letter, the company said that it believed it should “be a multi-billion dollar revenue stream over time.”

“The thing we’re really excited about is the engagement,” Reinhard told Variety this week. The exec added that 85% of Netflix users on its ad-supported plan are using the service for more than two hours per day. It’s also worth noting that Netflix is not showing ads on Kids profiles.

In addition to Netflix, Disney+ also introduced an ad-supported tier at $7.99/month back in December 2022. Later this month, Amazon will also ask Prime Video users in select markets to pay an extra $2.99/month to get an ad-free experience. As more TV viewing continues to shift to streaming, ad dollars are likely going to follow.