If you buy through our links, we may earn money from affiliate partners. Learn more.
Disney Plus features a growing library of on-demand shows and movies from names we’re all well familiar with: Walt Disney Studios and Walt Disney Television. That makes Disney Plus the streaming home for Disney-owned studios like Pixar and Marvel, as well as iconic franchises like “Star Wars” and “The Simpsons.”
The streaming service includes a mix of classic titles from Disney’s vault and new programs developed exclusively for subscribers. The monthly plan costs $8 a month and annual plans cost $80. The service can even be bundled with Hulu and ESPN+ for prices starting at $14 a month.
Disney Plus has welcomed more than 100 million subscribers since launching in November 2019, greatly outperforming the company’s expectations for growth. Disney originally set a goal of 90 million subscribers by 2024.
Below, we’ve detailed everything you need to know about how the Disney Plus streaming service works, including what shows and movies are included, how much every plan costs, and more.
Disney Plus is an on-demand, ad-free streaming service created by The Walt Disney Company.
With Disney Plus, subscribers can watch thousands of Disney movies and series on their devices (smart TVs, phones, laptops, tablets, and gaming consoles). The service includes unlimited downloads so you can watch anywhere, anytime.
Disney Plus content comes from Walt Disney Studios’ and Walt Disney Television’s biggest names: Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, and 20th Century Fox.
Disney Plus costs $8 a month or $80 per year in the US. With a subscription, you get ad-free access to all of the service’s streaming titles. Though the service initially offered a free seven-day trial for new subscribers, the trial is no longer available.
There’s also an option to buy a bundled package with Hulu and ESPN+, which costs $14 a month for all three services. Individually, ESPN+ and the ad-supported version of
Hulu
each cost $6 a month. Subscribing to the bundle, rather than signing up for each service individually, saves you about $6 a month.
You can read more about how to get the Disney Plus bundle with ESPN+ and the different versions of Hulu here.
Disney Plus is now live and available to stream in the US, Canada, the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, France, India, Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, United Kingdom, Ireland, Isle of Man, Monaco, Wallis and Futuna, French West Indies, French Guiana, New Caledonia, Japan, Indonesia, Latin America, Réunion, Mayotte, and Mauritius.
The service is set to expand to Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Korea later this year.
Yes. If you’re looking for a great gift for that special Disney fan in your life, you can get them a Disney Plus gift subscription for $80. The gift subscription is available for new members only, and includes one year of the streaming service.
Learn more about how to buy a Disney Plus gift subscription.
What features and formats are supported on Disney Plus?
Disney Plus includes several features that make using the service more convenient.
The platform supports up to seven profiles per subscription. A special kids profile can also be used. This feature restricts Disney Plus streaming to titles that are rated TV-7FV and G.
Disney Plus also allows simultaneous streaming on up to four different devices. Unlimited downloads are provided as well via the Disney Plus app on up to 10 different smartphones and tablets.
When it comes to video formats, Disney Plus supports up to
4K
resolution. High Dynamic Range (HDR), using the HDR10 or Dolby Vision format, is also available on some titles. Dolby Digital surround sound and Dolby Atmos audio formats are supported on several programs as well.
You can watch Disney Plus with up to six friends using the GroupWatch feature, but everyone watching needs to have their own subscription. This option syncs playback to create a shared viewing session, enabling friends and families to watch shows and movies together remotely.
You can watch Disney Plus through many connected devices:
- Desktop web browsers
- Mobile devices and tablets (Android and Apple).
- Smart TVs (LG WebOS, Samsung Tizen, Android TV, Vizio SmartCast, Roku TV)
- Game consoles (PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
- Streaming devices (Apple TV 4th Gen and later, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku)
Disney Plus is an ideal service for Disney fans, whether they’re Marvel geeks or animation aficionados. It’s especially suitable for families with children who want to watch recent Disney movies and older Disney titles from the studio’s vault.
Though the current lineup of original programming is a bit limited, popular exclusives like “The Mandalorian,” “WandaVision,” and “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” continue to add value. Disney is also removing its content from a lot of other streaming services, including
Netflix
, so Disney Plus will soon become the only subscription streaming platform with access to many of its titles.
You can read our full Disney Plus review here for detailed impressions, as well as our Disney Plus review from a parent’s perspective for specific thoughts on the platform’s family-centric features.
What shows and movies can I watch on Disney Plus?
Disney Plus
Virtually any Disney show or movie that has already been released is available to watch on Disney Plus. From classics like “Snow White” to recent hits like “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” the service features a huge library of titles to choose from across Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, and 20th Century Fox brands.
Disney Plus also includes exclusive original programming, such as a Star Wars series focused on a Mandalorian bounty hunter, and Marvel series like “Loki” and “The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.”
Disney Plus has exclusive musical content as well, including the Taylor Swift concert-movie “Folklore,” a film version of the hit Broadway show “Hamilton,” and “Black is King,” a visual album from Beyonce.
In addition to everything that comes included with your subscription, Disney Plus also offers “Premier Access” releases. Premier Access titles cost extra to unlock, granting buyers early access to films originally intended for theatrical release.
You can find more information about specific Disney Plus shows and movies below:
While services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video cast a wide net over movie and TV, Disney Plus is more focused in scope by revolving entirely around Disney content. Luckily, it doesn’t actually feel that limited since Walt Disney Studios and Walt Disney Television cover a lot of genres.
At $8 a month, it’s very affordable compared to major competitors, and the discounted bundle option with Hulu and ESPN+ adds even more streaming value.
Of all the major streaming services, it’s also one of the most generous in the areas of multiple-device streaming, profile additions, and downloads. Disney Plus also offers 4K HDR streaming and Dolby Atmos audio on select titles for no additional cost. This is in contrast to Netflix, which requires subscribers to pay for its most expensive plan in order to receive 4K support.
You can sign up for Disney Plus directly through the Disney Plus website. To start streaming, you simply need to create an account by entering in an email address and payment method.