Price Czech: A comparison of streaming service costs in Czechia

This is a new series of articles on the cost of living in the Czech Republic in 2022.

Inflation has driven up everyday prices in Czechia, from food and drink to energy and other utilities. With year-on-year price rises hitting 9.9 percent in January, many necessities have become pricier in the Czech Republic than elsewhere in the EU.

Czech mobile phone tariffs are significantly more expensive than in other countries, for instance, while recent data shows that online streaming services are also costlier in Czechia. In fact, providers entering the local market are set to charge Czech subscribers more than consumers in other EU countries.

This year sees Disney+ (date TBA) and HBO Max (from March 8) launch in the Czech Republic. A cost comparison of prices in countries where HBO Max will newly be available found that Czechs will pay CZK 199 each month, significantly more than in neighboring (EUR 7.00/CZK 179) Slovakia.

The Czech Republic’s high prices aren’t the result of its independent currency either. Hungarian customers will pay even less than Slovaks for HBO Max at the equivalent of HUF 2,414 (CZK 163), while Poles will pay PLN 30.52 (CZK 160).

To a lesser extent, the story is the same for Netflix customers. A standard Czech Netflix subscription costs CZK 259 a month, while it costs the equivalent of CZK 243 (EUR 9.85) in the majority of other European markets. Specific release dates and country prices haven’t yet been made public for the expansion of Disney+ in Europe, but in the European countries where it is currently operating, it costs roughly EUR 7 (CZK 179) per month.

Czech customers pay more for Apple+ as well. The standard EU price for the service is EUR 4.99 (CZK 121) a month but in the Czech Republic a monthly subscription costs CZK 139. This is also more than in Hungary and Poland, where Apple+ costs HUN 1,910 (CZK 129) and PLN 24 (CZK 134) a month respectively.

With Czechs being routinely over-charged for streaming services compared to other countries, should you resist the temptation to take out a subscription for these streaming platforms in the hope that prices will fall closer to the levels seen elsewhere?

The long-running dispute over high Czech mobile tariffs suggests such hopes may be wishful thinking. And with inflation rampant throughout the economy, it would be extremely surprising for companies to lower prices anytime soon.

Rather than waiting for prices to go down, the best way to save money on your streaming subscription will be to make the most of deals and special offers. Those who subscribe to HBO Max by March 31, 2022, will enjoy 33 percent off forever or until they cancel their subscription.

This means a monthly subscription will only cost CZK 132; still significantly more than the equivalent discounted offers in the rest of Europe, but a more affordable price nonetheless.

Netflix offers no similar discount, and buying a subscription for a whole year won’t save you any money. The only variables for Netflix payments are the company’s “basic,” “standard” and “premium” price categories, which scale up in price according to video quality and the number of devices on which they can be installed.

Euro figures via HBO, Netflix, and Apple, conversions valid on Feb. 18, 2022.