Discovery+ Price Increase: Your Bill Rises On or After November 12. Cancel, Drop to the $6.99 Plan, or Rotate? (2026)

Discovery+ is $2 a month more expensive than it was on Monday, if you want it without ads.

The new prices took effect for new sign-ups on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, according to the discovery+ Help Center price-change page. It’s the first increase since Skydance closed its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery a week earlier. Variety reported that a source says the hike was planned months before the deal closed.

You have a few weeks before your own bill changes. That’s enough time to decide whether to keep the plan, drop a tier, or step away for a while. Here’s the math and the exact steps for each billing route.

Contents

• How much is Discovery+ going up?
• When will existing subscribers pay the new Discovery+ price?
• What the Increase Costs You Over a Year
• Who bills your Discovery+ subscription, and why does it matter?
• How do you cancel or downgrade Discovery+ before November 12?
• Is there a cheaper way to watch Discovery+ shows?
• Tips
• Warnings
• FAQ
• Sources

How much is Discovery+ going up?

The U.S. discovery+ plan with ads rose by $1 to $6.99 a month and the discovery+ Ad-Free plan rose by $2 to $11.99 a month, plus applicable taxes, starting October 13, 2026, according to the discovery+ Help Center.

That puts the old prices at $5.99 and $9.99. The ad-free plan takes the bigger hit, about 20%, while the ad plan goes up roughly 17%.

The service is still mostly unscripted TV. The Desk lists Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Investigation Discovery, Animal Planet, and Magnolia Network as its main sources, along with some CNN specials.

The change is U.S.-only. Canadian readers won’t see it at all. The Help Center notes that discovery+ in Canada closed on February 17, 2026, and a separate service from Rogers Sports & Media replaced it.

When will existing subscribers pay the new Discovery+ price?

Existing U.S. discovery+ subscribers billed by discovery+ or an app store renew at the new price on their first billing date on or after November 12, 2026, and anyone on a promotional discount keeps their current price until that promotion ends, per the discovery+ Help Center.

So if you’re billed on the 5th of each month, your November 5 charge is still the old price. Your December 5 charge is the first one at $6.99 or $11.99.

If you’re billed on the 15th, November 15 is your first higher charge. That’s the group with the least time to decide.

The company told reporters that current subscribers get 30 days’ advance notice. Check your email for a message from discovery+ or your app store if you want the exact date for your account.

What the Increase Costs You Over a Year

When I compared the old and new prices across a full year, I found that the bigger story isn’t the $1 or $2. It’s the widening gap between the two tiers.

Prices from the discovery+ Help Center, checked October 14, 2026. Yearly figures are our calculation (monthly price × 12, or × 3 for the rotation row), before taxes.

Paying for ad-free viewing now costs $60 a year over the ad plan. If you mostly have HGTV or a true-crime show running in the background, that’s a lot for skipping ads.

The last row is the one people overlook. Subscribing only when a new season drops, about three months a year, costs $35.97 a year at the new Ad-Free price. That’s about a quarter of the $143.88 full-year bill.

Who bills your Discovery+ subscription, and why does it matter?

Discovery+ subscribers can see who bills them by signing in, choosing a profile, and opening Account, where the Subscription section shows whether discovery+, an app store, or another provider handles billing, according to the discovery+ Help Center.

This step matters more than it sounds. You can only cancel or change your plan through whoever bills you.

• discovery+ directly: the Subscription section shows a cancel option.
• An app store (Apple App Store, Google Play, Amazon Appstore, Roku, or Samsung): changes go through that store, not discovery+.
• Another provider (Amazon Prime Video Channels, DIRECTV, The Roku Channel, or Sling TV): contact them. The Help Center says these providers will tell you about any price changes themselves.

When I checked the Help Center wording closely, I noticed it doesn’t promise that third-party prices will rise on the same date. Those providers set their own timing. So if you watch through Prime Video Channels, don’t assume your bill changes November 12.

How do you cancel or downgrade Discovery+ before November 12?

To cancel or downgrade discovery+ before the November 12, 2026 price change reaches you, use the method that matches your biller: the Account page for direct billing, or your app store or TV provider’s subscription settings otherwise.

Method 1: Billed by discovery+

1. Sign in on the web and pick your profile.
2. Open Account. Find the Subscription section.
3. Choose cancel or change plan. To keep watching for less, switch from Ad-Free to the plan with ads.
4. Save the confirmation email. If you’re charged later, it’s your proof.

Method 2: Billed by Apple or Google

1. On iPhone, open Settings, tap your name, then Subscriptions, then discovery+.
2. On Android, open the Play Store, tap your profile icon, then Payments & subscriptions, then Subscriptions.
3. Cancel or switch the plan there. Deleting the app doesn’t cancel anything.

Method 3: Billed by Amazon, Roku, DIRECTV, or Sling

1. Open that provider’s account page, not discovery+.
2. Find channels or add-ons. On Prime Video it’s under your Prime Video Channels.
3. Remove discovery+ or wait for that provider’s price notice before deciding.

Timing tip: cancel a day or two before your renewal date, not on it. Most subscriptions keep running until the end of the paid period anyway, so canceling early costs you nothing.

Is there a cheaper way to watch Discovery+ shows?

Bundles that include discovery+ had not been affected by the October 13, 2026 price increase, according to The Desk, which cited Philo’s Bundle Plus tier at $33 a month with discovery+, HBO Max, and AMC+ included.

That’s not cheaper on its own. It only makes sense if you’d pay for HBO Max and live cable channels anyway.

Two other routes are worth a look:

• Rotate. Subscribe for the season you want, cancel, and come back later. Unscripted shows tend to drop in batches, so this works better here than for most services.
• Check HBO Max first. Some programming from the Discovery networks also streams on HBO Max, as coverage of the price change noted. If you already pay for HBO Max, look up your show there before renewing discovery+.

As for the future, nobody knows yet. Variety reported that Skydance is keeping its streaming services as they were for now, and executives didn’t address discovery+ at a recent press conference. Skydance CEO David Ellison has talked about eventually combining HBO Max and Paramount+. Don’t prepay for a long stretch on the expectation of a cheaper bundle. It’s not announced.

If you’re trimming several streaming bills this fall, our breakdown of the Disney+ price increase on October 21 walks through the same keep-switch-cancel decision for Disney’s plans.

Tips

• Look at your last bank statement for the exact billing day. That date tells you whether November or December is your first higher charge.
• If you’re on a promo price, write down when it ends. That’s your real price-change date, not November 12.
• Set a calendar reminder three days before renewal. It’s the cheapest tool there is.
• Paying through an app store? Check whether you have store credit or gift card balance. Renewals pull from it first.

Warnings

• Don’t cancel through discovery+ if an app store bills you. The Help Center says changes must be made through that store.
• Deleting the app or signing out doesn’t stop billing. Only cancelling through your biller does.
• Prices above are U.S. prices before tax. Your total depends on your state.
• Be wary of emails with a “confirm your new price” link. Go to your account directly instead of clicking.

FAQ

Is Discovery+ raising prices for Amazon Prime Video Channels subscribers?

The discovery+ Help Center says subscribers billed by Amazon Prime Video Channels, DIRECTV, The Roku Channel, or Sling TV will be told about any price changes by that provider. It does not give a date for those subscribers.

Does Discovery+ have an annual plan to lock in the old price?

The discovery+ price-change page from October 2026 lists only the monthly prices of $6.99 and $11.99 and does not mention an annual plan. Check the plan options in your account before assuming one is available.

Will I lose my watch history if I cancel Discovery+?

Cancelling stops billing at the end of your paid period. Discovery+ does not spell out on its price-change page how long profiles are kept, so if you plan to return, rejoining within a few months is the safer choice.

Sources

• discovery+ Help Center — discovery+ plan price changes
• Variety — Discovery+, now owned by Skydance, hikes prices effective immediately (October 2026)
• The Desk — Discovery Plus gets price hike in U.S., first under Skydance ownership
• Deadline — Discovery+ raising prices after Skydance merger

Fact-checked against the discovery+ Help Center and reporting from Variety, Deadline, and The Desk as of October 14, 2026. Prices are U.S. monthly prices before tax and may change.