If Disney had a little more respect for their customers, they would simply end this charade and combine Disney+ and Hulu already. Instead, the cynical calculation has been made that the appearance of an agreement is better for business.
Disney’s latest price hikes
See if you can spot the pattern in Disney’s price increases in September 2026:
- Disney+ (with ads): $11.99 → $12.49/month.
- Hulu (with ads): $11.99 → $12.49/month.
- Disney+ and Hulu bundle (with ads): Still $12.99/month.
- Disney+ (no ads): $18.99 → $21.49/month.
- Hulu (no ads): $18.99 → $21.49/month.
- Disney+ and Hulu bundle (no ads): $19.99 → $21.99/month.
(If you combine Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max, those prices also quietly rose this week. The trio rose from $19.99 to $21.99 per month with ads, or from $32.99 to $34.99 without ads. The cost of Hulu + Live TV also rose from $90 to $100 per month when bundled with Disney+, Hulu on-demand, and ESPN Unlimited.)
With the new pricing, paying just for Disney+ or Hulu is just 50 cents per month cheaper than combining them, down from a savings of $1 per month previously. While Disney has obviously been pushing customers toward bundles for some time, the latest price increases reduce a la carte savings to ridiculous levels.
The Hulu-Disney+ merger plan
Disney has already made clear its intention to combine Disney+ and Hulu into a single app. If you subscribe to both services, you can now access most of Hulu’s catalog through Disney+, with the option to sync your Hulu profile to transfer your watchlist and viewing history.
And while Disney hasn’t committed to a timeline for discontinuing the Hulu app, it has become an afterthought as the company pushes people toward the Disney+ experience. An employee said Insider business informationJames Faris said the Hulu app is now “on life support, with no active development.”
