A POPULAR streaming service will be hiking up its prices from next month – but here are some tips to save a few pennies.

Netflix users face a price increase of up to £2 per month from February after the streaming giant started informing customers of new subscription fees from this week.

The firm is increasing its standard package – which allows two screens to access an account, as well as HD – by £1 per month, from £8.99 to £9.99.

The premium package – providing four-screen access per account and Ultra HD – is bumped up by £2, from £11.99 to £13.99.

The one-screen non-HD basic plan will remain at £5.99 per month.

A spokesman said: “This year we’re spending over one billion dollars in the UK on new, locally made films, series and documentaries, helping to create thousands of jobs and showcasing British storytelling at its best – with everything from The Crown to Sex Education and Top Boy, plus many, many more.

“Our price change reflects the significant investments we’ve made in new TV shows and films, as well as improvements to our product.

“Our basic membership will remain at the same price, ensuring as many people as possible can enjoy our content.”

They also scrapped their 30-day free trial last year.

While it may not be welcome news to customers new and old, we’ve looked at a few tips which might help:

• If you’re in a family house or a houseshare, you can try splitting the price between the household. The standard £9.99 plan can be split between two people on two separate accounts. This can save at least £59 a year with the bonus of HD quality streaming. A premium £13.99 plan can be split between up to four screens for £3.50 a month.

• You can plan ahead and check the deadline of series or movies you want to follow. Since there’s no minimum contract term, you could dip in for a month, watch what you like, and cancel. You can usually find details on programming online on sites such as Radio Times.

• You can seek out free alternatives for streaming movies and shows. For example, Channel 4 has their own on-demand service called All 4, Channel 5 have My5, and Amazon still have a 30-day free trial for their Amazon Prime service. If you have a TV license already, you can also access BBC iPlayer which hosts exclusive BBC content.

• If you do want to buy a plan, consider which plan you actually need. If you’re the only one using the subscription, a basic plan should definitely be enough if you don’t mind not watching in HD.