What we know so far
Disney+ has raised the price of its Premium monthly subscription in South Africa from R159 to R179, a 12.6% increase the streaming service confirmed on its local support page and in direct notifications to subscribers.
The new rate already applies to anyone who signed up on or after 30 April 2026. Existing direct-billed subscribers who joined before that date will move to the higher price from their first renewal on or after 4 June 2026.
In an FAQ on its South African support page, Disney+ said: “Starting 30 April 2026, the price of the Disney+ Premium Monthly Plan will be revised from R159 to R179 a month. All new users on or after 30 April 2026 will be charged the revised Monthly Premium subscription price.”
The company added that direct-billed customers who signed up before the cut-off date will be charged the new amount “on the date of renewal if it falls on or after 4 June 2026.”
Disney+ confirmed the change to existing subscribers by SMS, with a link to the local support page. The Annual Plan remains unchanged at R1,590 a year, and the Mobile Plan also stays at R49 a month.
The pricing change applies only to the South African market. Disney+ operates separate pricing structures for each of its regional rollouts and has been adjusting prices in different territories at different points across 2025 and 2026.
Why it matters
The increase lands at a difficult moment for South African streaming subscribers, who have absorbed multiple price changes across major platforms within the past 12 months.
Netflix raised most of its South African plans in mid-2025. Its Standard plan moved from R159 to R179 a month, the Premium plan from R199 to R229, and the Mobile plan from R49 to R59. That was Netflix’s first increase to its cheapest South African tier since launching the option.
The Disney+ change also follows the shutdown of Showmax on 30 April 2026, the same day Disney’s new prices took effect for new subscribers. Showmax was wound down by Canal+, which took control of MultiChoice earlier this year, removing one of the few locally focused streaming services from the market.
MultiChoice has offered displaced Showmax subscribers access to DStv Stream Compact at a promotional R99 a month for 12 months, well below the standard R299 monthly rate. That positions DStv Stream as the most aggressive low-cost alternative for households recalculating their streaming spend.
Streaming has become a meaningful line item in many South African household budgets, with subscribers often holding two or more services at once. A R20 monthly increase compounds across multiple subscriptions, especially for households still paying for a pay-TV package alongside one or more streamers.
For Disney+ specifically, the Premium price rise comes without any new features. The plan still offers 4K resolution, Dolby Atmos audio, downloads, and access on up to four devices at the same time, the same package customers received at the R159 price point.
Key details and figures
At R179 a month, a year of Disney+ Premium now costs R2,148 if billed monthly. The Annual Plan, frozen at R1,590, works out R558 cheaper over the same period, or roughly three months free for subscribers willing to commit upfront.
It is the second price hike Disney+ has applied to its South African Premium plan in less than two years. The previous increase landed in September 2024, when the monthly rate rose from R139 to R159, a 14.4% jump.
Combined, the two adjustments have lifted the monthly Premium price by R40, or just over 28%, since mid-2024. Disney+ launched in South Africa in May 2022.
The R20 monthly increase will apply to all direct-billed Premium customers, including those whose debit orders fail and are retried after 4 June 2026. Disney+ said payment retries processed after that date will be charged at the new amount.
Customers who signed up through a third party, such as a mobile operator or pay-TV partner, may see different billing arrangements depending on the contract held with that provider. Disney+ directed those subscribers to the third party for pricing details.
What happens next
Existing Premium subscribers can keep the older monthly price for the remainder of their current billing cycle but will be moved to R179 at their next renewal from 4 June 2026. Those wanting to avoid the monthly increase can switch to the Annual Plan at R1,590 before their renewal date, though doing so requires a 12-month upfront commitment.
The Mobile tier at R49 a month remains the lowest-cost route to the service for subscribers willing to accept the resolution and feature limits attached to that plan. Disney+ has not indicated whether the Annual or Mobile plans will be reviewed later in 2026.
The structure of the increase, with only the monthly Premium tier affected while the Annual and Mobile plans hold steady, means subscribers who shift to longer-term billing or the cheaper Mobile option can avoid the rise entirely.
A wider question is whether further increases will follow. The pattern over the past two years has been a roughly R20 monthly rise every 18 months for the Premium tier. If that cadence continues, South African subscribers could face another adjustment in 2027 or early 2028, though Disney+ has not signalled any further changes.
The company has not made any broader public statement beyond the support-page notice and subscriber messages. The full impact on Disney+ subscriber numbers, and on how households reshuffle their streaming budgets after the Showmax closure, will likely become clearer in the first full billing cycle after 4 June 2026.
