Apple is raising prices for its streaming service again, just over a year after the last increase. The price hike affects the US, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico – and explicitly no other markets. In Germany, the monthly fee remains unchanged.
Apple TV now costs $14.99 per month in the United States, up from $12.99, and the annual subscription has increased from $99 to $119. The Apple One bundle for individuals is also becoming more expensive there. Six weeks earlier, Apple had already raised prices for Apple Music, including in Germany. This time, the price adjustment will only affect four markets, as Variety reports, citing Apple.
Key Facts at a Glance
- Apple TV now costs $14.99 per month in the US, down from $12.99.
- Besides the USA, only Brazil, Chile and Mexico are affected.
- The US annual subscription price increases from $99 to $119.
- Apple One for individuals in the US will increase in price from $19.95 to $21.95.
- In Germany, Apple TV remains at €9.99 and Apple One at €19.95.
What's changing and where
The higher prices apply to new customers immediately. According to Apple, existing customers will be notified approximately one month before their first higher charge.
The bundle only affects the single-tier plan. The family and Premier plans remain unchanged – unlike in July, when Apple did the exact opposite, sparing the single-tier plan but raising the family and Premier plans.
The selection of markets is not subject to any regulations or currency limits, but is purely a price-based decision: the USA plus three Latin American countries. Europe, Great Britain, Switzerland, and the entire Asian region are excluded.
| Subscription | USA so far | USA new | Germany |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple TV, monthly | 12,99 $ | 14,99 $ | 9,99 € |
| Apple TV, annually | 99 $ | 119 $ | not a regular annual subscription |
| Apple One Individual | 19,95 $ | 21,95 $ | 19,95 € |
| Apple One family | 27,95 $ | 27,95 $ | 25,95 € |
The current bundle prices are listed on the German page for Apple One.
An annual subscription that not everyone sees
A regularly advertised annual subscription is not available in this country. However, some accounts show additional options in their subscription settings: an annual subscription for a one-time fee of 79 euros and a monthly plan for 6.99 euros with a twelve-month term.
It's unclear what criteria Apple uses to display the alternatives; existing customers, returning customers, or accounts after an expired trial subscription are likely candidates. Those who subscribe to the service via an Apple One bundle won't see the selection anyway – Apple TV is already included, so a separate subscription isn't necessary.
For everyone else, taking a look costs nothing: in your Apple account, go to Subscriptions, then Apple TV, and view all subscriptions there. Those offered the annual plan pay a good 40 euros less than with twelve regular monthly payments, which total 119.88 euros.
Why the annual subscription is the real leap forward
In the US, the monthly increase of two dollars is modest. More noteworthy is the annual version: for years it remained at 99 dollars and was even untouched last summer when the monthly price rose by three dollars. At 119 dollars, it loses some of its advantage and now corresponds to just under eight monthly payments.
Four increases in four years
Apple TV launched in 2019 at $4.99. Since then, the price has increased in stages: to $6.99 in 2022, $9.99 in 2023, $12.99 last year, and now to $14.99. The monthly price has thus tripled since its launch.
The German price trend was identical until 2023: €4.99 at launch, €6.99 in 2022, and €9.99 since October 2023. From then on, the paths diverged. While the US price increased twice within twelve months, the German price remained unchanged for almost three years.
The gap between the markets
For a long time, a simple rule applied: what cost $9.99 in the US cost €9.99 here. This equivalence of numerical values is now history. In the US, the bill now shows $14.99, while here it costs €9.99.
For subscribers in Germany, this is a positive aspect. They pay significantly less for the same catalog than American customers. One reason for this lies in the offering itself: In the USA, all Formula 1 races and Major League Soccer are now included in the regular subscription, but not here.
Whether Germany follows suit depends on the pattern of the last few rounds
Recent history provides arguments for both sides. With Apple Music, Apple followed suit in Germany in July, simultaneously with the US: the individual subscription now costs €11.99 instead of €10.99, and the family subscription €19.99 instead of €16.99. With Apple TV, it was the other way around – the US price increase last year was never replicated in Germany, and this time Apple is explicitly excluding other countries.
Our expectation: The price gap widens, but Apple is clearly linking the prices for this service to the respective offer in each country. As long as the sports rights block remains limited to the US, there's no justification for the same surcharge. Anyone who still wants to secure the current price for longer should check if a term option is offered in their account.
Apple recently described how it makes such decisions internally – you can read about it in our compilation on how Apple decides on price increases.
What this means for the reckoning with the competition
At €9.99, Apple TV remains significantly cheaper in Germany than the ad-free standard plans of its major competitors, and one subscription covers up to six people via Family Sharing. Those who combine multiple services still benefit from the bundle than from individual subscriptions – the same calculation that determines the price difference between Apple Music and Spotify.
For Apple itself, the model is already paying off: The company recently reported 1.5 billion paid subscriptions across all services.
The price difference is unlikely to last forever
For now, nothing changes for you here in Germany: The monthly fee remains the same, family sharing remains, and the catalog remains the same. The only question is how long Apple will allow two such different prices for the same offer to coexist.
Does your account show the annual subscription for €79 – or do you still only see the monthly price? Let us know in the comments which options appear for you, so we can get a better idea of how widely Apple is rolling this out.
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