Want to Keep Sharing Your Netflix Password? Here's What It Will Cost You

Most things in life aren't free. But for many people, Netflix has been for a really long time. That's because the streaming service giant has previously been really lax about enforcing rules surrounding password sharing.

But all of that is changing. Netflix has begun warning subscribers that if they want to let others use their passwords, they're going to have to pay the price. And that's a change to gear up for.

Prepare to pay

Netflix currently offers four pricing tiers:

• A standard plan with ads costs $6.99 a month
• A basic plan that's without ads but limits you to one supported device costs $9.99 a month
• A standard ad-free plan that lets you watch content on two supported devices at a time costs $15.49 a month
• A premium ad-free plan that that lets you watch content on four supported devices at a time costs $19.99 a month

If you only have the standard with-ads plan or the basic plan, you won't have the option to share your password with others. But if you have the standard ad-free plan, you can add one more user to your account for $7.99 a month. And if you have a premium ad-free plan, you can add up to two extra members to your account, but each additional user will cost you $7.99. So all told, adding users to your account could result in a much higher credit card bill.

Of course, if you've been letting someone else use your Netflix account for free, you could always pass the new added cost on to them if they want to continue having that option. Another smart move might be to split the total cost. So if, for example, you have a standard ad-free plan costing $15.49 a month, and your cost rises to $23.48 a month for your extra user, you could split that bill and each pay $11.74. And that's still cheaper than some streaming options out there.

Is Netflix worth paying for?

If you get a lot of good use out of Netflix, then it may be worth hanging onto -- even if you've been using it for free thus far and now have to pay for the option to access a friend or family member's account. That said, there are a number of streaming services out there that are cheaper than Netflix. So if money is tight, you may want to explore your alternatives.

Furthermore, if you happen to be a member of Amazon Prime, Prime Video access is included with your account (otherwise, you can pay for it separately). So if you're on the fence about Netflix, you may want to see if you find more content on Prime Video to enjoy and avoid the added fee.

All told, many people are apt to be upset that Netflix is finally cracking down on password sharing. But to be fair, the streaming giant allowed users to share passwords for years without imposing a fee. So if anything, we should be grateful that the option to use other people's accounts for free existed for as long as it did.