Netflix ended its DVD rental service on September 29, 2023. See Netflix's FAQ for more information. This article remains for archival purposes.
Netflix used to have two separate services: an online streaming platform you access through www.netflix.com and other apps, and also a DVD rental program via dvd.netflix.com, where they sent you DVDs through the mail.
Netflix's DVD program included some TV shows and movies that weren't available through their streaming service. You could watch both DVDs and Blu-rays, and there were a few plans to pick from depending on how many discs you wanted to borrow at once.
Netflix's DVD Plans
There are three DVD Netflix plans. All of them offer unlimited discs per month, no late fees, free shipping and returns, DVDs and Blu-rays, and no long-term commitment (just month-by-month).
The only difference between these plans is the number of discs you can have at once:
Basic: $9.99 /month; one disc at a time
Standard: $14.99 /month; two discs at a time
Premium: $19.99 /month; three discs at a time
How to Sign Up for DVD Netflix
If you’re already subscribed to Netflix’s streaming service, follow these steps, otherwise skip down to the next set of instructions:
These directions are for using a desktop web browser, but you can also sign up with the DVD Netflix mobile app.
Existing Users
Visit DVD Netflix and sign in with your Netflix information.
Choose Add DVD Plan.
Select the plan you want to subscribe to, and then choose Get Started.
Fill out your shipping information, and then select Start.
New Users
If you don’t currently have a Netflix account, follow these steps instead:
Choose the plan you want, and then select Get Started.
Enter your email address, choose a password, and then select Continue.
Enter your shipping information, and then press Continue.
Provide payment details, and then select Start Membership.
How to Choose DVDs
Netflix automatically sends DVDs to you based on what you've added to your personal queue. The order in which you receive them is based on the way they're arranged within the queue.
Once you've returned the DVD, the next title on the list is sent, and so on.
Here's how to add movies to your DVD Netflix queue and then adjust which ones you'll get first:
From a Computer
From DVD Netflix, select Add to Queue or Add, depending on the screen you're looking at, next to any DVD you want.
To add a whole season of a TV show, pick the season you want to rent and choose Add All to Queue.
You can find titles by searching by name, people, or genre. There's also a Browse menu for locating popular movies, new releases, and Netflix's top 100 titles.
Open your queue via the QUEUE menu at the top of the site to manage the DVDs. You can adjust the order by dragging the titles up and down. Delete an item by hovering your mouse over it and selecting the trash icon.
With the Mobile App
Mobile users can manage the DVD Netflix queue as well. Tap the plus sign to add a movie to TV show to the queue, and use the disc icon at the top right to edit the order or remove DVDs.
How to Return Netflix DVDs
You have to return DVDs to Netflix in order to get the next one from your queue.
Returning your rented DVDs to Netflix is easy. Just put the disc into the sleeve and envelope that came with it when you received it, and then put it in your mailbox or drop it off at a local post office.
How to Cancel DVD Netflix
You can leave the DVD Netflix program at any time to stop getting DVDs from Netflix.
If you have a streaming plan with Netflix, ending your DVD plan will not affect it.
When you cancel your Netflix DVD service, your queue will remain for 10 months in case you decide to reopen your account. All DVDs must be returned by the end of your billing cycle to avoid additional charges.
Log in to Netflix at netflix.com or with the Netflix or DVD Netflix mobile app.
Hover your mouse over the profile image at the top right of the screen, and then choose Account. If you're using the app, go to More > Account to open your account information in your browser.
Select Cancel DVD plan from the PLAN DETAILS section.
Check the box next to Proceed to Cancellation, and then select Continue.
Netflix automatically sends DVDs to you based on what you've added to your personal queue. The order in which you receive them is based on the way they're arranged within the queue. Once you've returned the DVD, the next title on the list is sent, and so on.
Netflix shutters its DVD rental business, marking the end of the red envelope era. Netflix will send out its last red envelope on Friday, marking an end to 25 years of mailing DVDs to members.
The company also revealed the contents of the final delivery, with the Netflix DVD account writing on X (formerly Twitter), "Inside the last-ever red envelope that we shipped out was… the Blu-ray disc of True Grit (2010)."
The first DVD that Netflix ever shipped? “Beetlejuice” on March 10, 1998. (Tim Burton's frighteningly fun 1988 comedy starred Michael Keaton, Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Catherine O'Hara and a then-teenaged Winona Ryder, who would star decades later in the original Netflix series “Stranger Things.”)
1. the system of renting films on video or DVD for a period of time in exchange for payment. 2. of or relating to the system of renting films on video or DVD for a period of time in exchange for payment.
It's a pricey move to make for physical media, but it could be worth the money if you fall into any of these categories:You want better quality watching. Although streaming is convenient, you usually can't get the video quality of a DVD or Blu-ray because your internet is too slow.
As it shuts down, Netflix still has an estimated 1.1 million to 1.3 million DVD rental subscribers. In announcing the closing of the DVD unit, Netflix said, "Our goal has always been to provide the best service for our members, but as the DVD business continues to shrink, that's going to become increasingly difficult.”
As a parting gift to its loyal DVD-by-mail members, Netflix will let them keep any discs they still have out. The company, which launched as a DVD subscription service 25 years ago, announced this spring that it would wind down the business — which, superseded by streaming, has been dwindling for years.
“Kibble.” Believe it or not, “Kibble” is exactly what Netflix co-founders Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings originally called their company before ultimately — and understandably — switching to “Netflix” a short while later.
Netflix will send 10 extra DVDs to customers, and now says you can keep them. Since this story was first published, Netflix has said its DVD-by-mail customers will not be required to return the 10 DVDs it offered to send them before the service ends in September.
Streaming is a popular way to consume media these days, and DVD sales have declined by 86% since 2008. Curiously, many stores fill their shelves with DVDs and Blu-rays, and Technicolor Home Entertainment Services plans to ship as many as 750 million discs in 2022.
On Friday, Netflix's DVD.com subsidiary will close its doors for good. The end of DVD-by-mail has been a long time coming, to the point where Netflix's April announcement of an impending closure almost felt like a throwback to bygone, pre-streaming times.
It all began in April 1998, when Netflix started renting out DVD's by mail. Only a year later Netflix changed its pay-for-use model into a subscription model.
Netflix started out with the idea to make it easier and less expensive for people to watch movies. But they didn't want to stay in the DVD game forever. They had the foresight to predict that consumer behaviors would continue to shift. And, they wanted to stay ahead of the competition.
Netflix DVD's will most likely be donated or destroyed, after September 2023. So I called up Netflix's DVD department this morning and asked if their stock of DVDs and Blu-rays will be available for purchase after September, and I was told due to licensing, they would not be able to sell.
Most of Netflix's 238 million streaming customers around the world will be unaware that the company first launched 25 years ago as a DVD mailing service.
Introduction: My name is Nathanael Baumbach, I am a fantastic, nice, victorious, brave, healthy, cute, glorious person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/netflix-add-dvd-plan-239476fd7dbc48c398d157361b9b4dba.png "What Was the Netflix DVD Rental Program? (1)")
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/dvd-netflix-prices-30f879c3750545099db9e01e04334ae2.png "What Was the Netflix DVD Rental Program? (2)")
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/dvd-netflix-2b9f1a1370d042f7bbc87dde135db231.png "What Was the Netflix DVD Rental Program? (3)")
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/dvd-netflix-pricing-fa3f2e4b64fa4137ac42d44abc0c8d19.png "What Was the Netflix DVD Rental Program? (4)")
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/dvd-netflix-add-to-queue-d48f9e0f986242f98683ce1ee0581732.png "What Was the Netflix DVD Rental Program? (5)")
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/dvd-netflix-add-all-to-queue-bdfdf210723748faaac13e57e6679b7e.png "What Was the Netflix DVD Rental Program? (6)")
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/dvd-netflix-queue-ab624110eea644f1b0b4d462894431ea.png "What Was the Netflix DVD Rental Program? (7)")
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/dvd-netflix-app-android-7a1276941cdd4127bdefa7be8a7bc832.png "What Was the Netflix DVD Rental Program? (8)")
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/netflix-menu-a50af54ed942494580a71dbfa10aa482.png "What Was the Netflix DVD Rental Program? (9)")
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/netflix-cancel-dvd-plan-1b525410df38448e9513aa48f77c3729.png "What Was the Netflix DVD Rental Program? (10)")
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/dvd-netflix-cancel-fb3a1b5411854a1c8b087c1ea52dc9f4.png "What Was the Netflix DVD Rental Program? (11)")
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/dvd-netflix-confirm-cancel-fc127afe34264138af39754bb77e0c7a.png "What Was the Netflix DVD Rental Program? (12)")
