Disney and Hulu Just Raised Their Prices — But the Bundle Math Has Never Been Better

On 25 September 2026, Disney raised prices on both Disney+ and Hulu. It was the fourth time in four years. Most households shrugged, absorbed the higher charge, and moved on. But buried in the announcement is something genuinely useful: the bundle pricing went up far less than the individual plans — and for families who subscribe to both services separately, the maths are now impossible to ignore.

What the New Prices Actually Are

Here's what Disney+ and Hulu cost since 25 September 2026, according to reporting from local US stations carrying Disney's announcement:

That last column is worth reading twice. The bundle with ads didn't go up at all — it stayed at $12.99. The bundle without ads rose just $2, far less than either individual plan.

The Maths Most Families Are Missing

If your household subscribes to Disney+ and Hulu separately — which is more common than you'd think — here's what you're now paying versus what you could be paying:

With ads tier:

• Separate: $12.49 + $12.49 = $24.98/month
• Bundle: $12.99/month
• Overpayment: $12.00 per month ($144 per year)

No ads tier:

• Separate: $21.49 + $21.49 = $42.98/month
• Bundle: $21.99/month
• Overpayment: $21.00 per month ($252 per year)

The bundle is, for practical purposes, a buy-one-get-one arrangement. You're paying for one service and getting the second for either $0.50 more (with ads) or $0.50 more (no ads). There is almost no financial case for keeping the two subscriptions separate.

Why Families End Up Paying Twice

It happens gradually. Someone in the household signs up for Disney+ for the kids — Pixar films, Marvel series, Star Wars. Months later, someone else adds Hulu for a show they want to watch. Nobody notices both services are now running on the same account, charged separately. By the time anyone looks, it's been two years.

This is one of the most common patterns SubManager users discover when they first log everything: not a hidden subscription they'd forgotten, but a familiar one they're paying for twice because it also exists as part of something else.

What to Do This Week

If you're a US subscriber and you have both Disney+ and Hulu active, the steps are straightforward:

1. Check your billing. Look at your bank statement or SubManager's breakdown. Are Disney+ and Hulu showing as separate charges?

2. If yes, cancel both individual plans and subscribe to the Disney+/Hulu Bundle. You keep access to exactly the same content — you're just switching to the combined billing.

3. Pick your tier. The with-ads bundle ($12.99/mo) is reasonable for most families who don't mind a handful of ads per hour. The no-ads bundle ($21.99/mo) makes sense if uninterrupted viewing matters.

4. Note the renewal date. SubManager's renewal alerts can ping you before the next billing cycle, so you're not surprised if Disney raises prices again — which, based on the four-hike-in-four-years pattern, feels likely.

A Note on US Pricing

The figures in this article are US prices confirmed from Disney's September 2026 announcement. If you're a subscriber in the UK, Europe, or elsewhere, your pricing and bundle options will differ — check your account settings or Disney's local pricing page directly.

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The irony of this particular price hike is that it's made the bundle more attractive than it's ever been. Disney clearly wanted to nudge subscribers toward combined billing — and the maths now do most of that work. If your family is paying for both separately, this week is genuinely a good moment to fix it.

SubManager can show you exactly what's active and what you're spending, which makes spotting this kind of duplicate easy. A ten-minute check could put over $100 back into your family's annual budget — without losing access to anything.