ESPN Raises Standalone Prices as Disney Bundle Holds

The first ESPN Unlimited price increase leaves just a $4 gap between buying ESPN alone and getting Disney+ and Hulu with it.

ESPN is raising prices for its standalone streaming plans beginning September 17, just over a year after launching ESPN Unlimited.

One price isn't changing, at least for now: the $35.99 monthly price for the Disney+, Hulu and ESPN Unlimited bundle.

That leaves just a $4 difference between ESPN Unlimited on its own and the three-service bundle.

ESPN Unlimited will increase from $29.99 to $31.99 per month, while the annual plan will rise from $299.99 to $319.99.

ESPN Select, the lower-priced plan that includes ESPN+ content, will move from $12.99 to $13.99 per month and from $129.99 to $139.99 annually.

The Bundle Becomes Harder to Ignore

ESPN Unlimited launched on August 21, 2025, giving consumers access to ESPN's full group of linear networks and ESPN+ content without a traditional pay-TV subscription.

The standalone service launched at $29.99 per month.

Disney also made bundling a major part of the launch. It offered qualifying subscribers Disney+, Hulu and ESPN Unlimited for $29.99 per month for their first 12 months, compared with the bundle's regular $35.99 monthly price.

Early subscriber behavior showed how important those bundles were.

Subscription analytics firm Antenna estimated that four out of five ESPN Unlimited sign-ups during the first 10 days after launch came through a bundle. Looking from launch through September 30, Antenna estimated that roughly two-thirds of ESPN sign-ups came through bundled offers.

Those figures don't represent ESPN's entire subscriber base. Antenna's estimates excluded existing Disney subscribers who switched plans and customers who activated ESPN through a pay-TV provider.

The new pricing makes the comparison even sharper.

A customer considering $31.99 for ESPN Unlimited can get Disney+ and Hulu as well for another $4 per month.

ESPN Is Reaching Subscribers in More Ways

ESPN has also expanded how customers can get Unlimited, including through pay-TV relationships and Disney bundles. Some buy ESPN directly. Others receive it through a Disney bundle or an existing television package.

So the standalone price tells only part of the story.

Insider Take

A $2 monthly increase isn't remarkable by itself.

What makes ESPN's move worth watching is the price sitting next to it.

At $31.99 for ESPN Unlimited and $35.99 for ESPN Unlimited plus Disney+ and Hulu, the standalone option now sits very close to the broader bundle.

Subscribers don't evaluate a price in isolation. They compare what they pay with what else they could get, what they already have and whether spending a little more feels worth it.

For ESPN, that comparison just became much harder to miss.

Sources

• ESPN Fan Support: ESPN Select or Unlimited Plans and Prices

• Disney+: Disney+, Hulu and ESPN Unlimited bundle pricing

• The Walt Disney Company: ESPN's Direct-to-Consumer Service and Enhanced App Launching August 21

• The Walt Disney Company: New ESPN Streaming Service

• Antenna: Antenna's First Look at ESPN and FOX One's Direct-to-Consumer Debut

• Antenna: Checking in on ESPN and FOX One's Direct-to-Consumer Debuts

• ESPN Press Room: ESPN Unlimited product and programming updates