Max starts charging extra to share your streaming account
Image: Warner Bros. Discovery
The other shoe just dropped for Max password sharers, with the streaming service announcing Tuesday that it’s making good on its promise to charge extra for those who want to share access to their accounts.
Starting now, you can buy an “Extra Member Add-On” that lets you invite family or friends outside your household to create their own sub-accounts under your primary Max subscription.
Each “extra member” add-on slot will cost $7.99 a month, the same amount that Netflix charges its own members to share their accounts. The price for extra members will be the same regardless of which Max tier you subscribe to.
At the same time, Max is launching a tool that allows former password sharers to transfer their profiles details to an “extra member” account—again, a feature similar to one that Netflix had previously rolled out.
Max has long signaled its password-sharing crackdown intentions, including its plan to selling sub-accounts to subscribers.
Last December, Max execs announced that it would begin serving up “early, gentle messaging” to suspected password sharers, while also improving its ability to detect possible account freeloaders.
Password sharing has been a thorny issue for the big streamers. Initially, major streamers like Netflix looked the other way, hoping that the extra eyeballs would eventually lead to more paying subscribers.
But after the pandemic hit, Wall Street demanded profits rather than just large subscriber bases, and streaming services began to get serious about cracking down on password sharing.
Netflix led the way, imposing its $7.99/month fee for sub-accounts in late 2023. Disney+ followed suit last year, charging $6.99 a month for Disney+ Basic (the with-ads tier) users to share their accounts, while Disney+ Premium users must pay $9.99 a month for each extra member.
The password crackdowns appear to be working, with Netflix reporting revenue growth of 13 percent in the first quarter of 2025, a “major earnings beat” for the company.
Author: Ben Patterson, Senior Writer, TechHive
Ben has been writing about technology and consumer electronics for more than 20 years. A PCWorld contributor since 2014, Ben joined TechHive in 2019, where he has covered everything from smart speakers and soundbars to smart lights and security cameras. Ben’s articles have also appeared in PC Magazine, TIME, Wired, CNET, Men’s Fitness, Mobile Magazine, and more. Ben holds a master’s degree in English literature.
