In this guide
Before you start.
- Consider pausing instead. Netflix lets you pause for 1 month at a time from the Cancel Membership page, and states accounts can be paused for a total of 3 months. Pausing keeps your profiles, My List and downloads without a charge.
- Netflix states pausing is not available on the Basic plan, and not available for some payment methods including Direct Debit, gift cards and some partner payments.
- If you are moving to a TV or mobile package that includes Netflix, do not cancel. Netflix states you can link your existing account to the package and keep all your preferences, downloads and My List, and that billing on your own payment method stops immediately once linked.
- Check your Payment History to see when the account actually closes if you cancel mid-period.
- If there is a hold on your account, Netflix states it closes immediately when you cancel rather than running to the end of the period.
- A gift card or promotional balance changes the timing. Netflix states you keep using the service for as many months as the remaining balance covers, and it stops when the balance runs out.
FOLLOW THE RIGHT BILLING ROUTE
Cancel Netflix, step by step.
Cancel a Netflix membership billed by Netflix
This is the route for anyone paying Netflix directly with a card or another payment method on file. It is two screens, and both need completing.
- Go to the Manage your membership page, signing in first if you have not already.
- Tap or click Cancel.
- Under Cancel, tap or click Finish Cancellation.
- Check for the confirmation email, which Netflix sends to the email address on the account.
Netflix states this is the only way to cancel, and that signing out of your account or deleting the Netflix app does not cancel it.
Pause the membership instead
Netflix's alternative to cancelling, and it lives on the same page. Useful if you expect to come back, because a paused account keeps everything a cancelled one eventually loses.
- Go to the Cancel Membership page, signing in if needed.
- Select Pause for 1 Month.
- You keep watching until your next billing date. On that date you are not charged and the membership pauses for 1 month.
- To extend, go to your Account page and select Extend Pause from the Ready to watch? banner at the top. Netflix offers this a week before the account unpauses automatically.
- To end the pause early, unpause or cancel at any time from your Account page.
Netflix states an account can be paused for a total of 3 months, and that while paused you cannot stream or download but can still browse and add to My List. If Extend Pause is missing, Netflix states you have either used the 3 months or your primary payment method is no longer a credit or debit card.
Cancel a Netflix membership billed by a payment partner
Netflix is bundled into mobile plans, broadband packages, TV boxes and app stores, and in each case that partner collects the money. Netflix states it cannot end those memberships and the cancel option simply will not appear.
- Go to your Account page and look under the Membership section.
- Netflix states you will see either a link that guides you through the cancellation or instructions to contact your payment partner.
- Follow that link, or sign in to the partner's own account and remove Netflix from your plan or package there.
- Keep whatever confirmation the partner gives you, since Netflix will have no record of a cancellation it did not process.
The Membership section is the authoritative answer to who bills you. It is faster than guessing from a statement, because a partner charge is usually bundled into a larger bill with no Netflix line on it.
Switching to a package that includes Netflix
This is the case where cancelling is the wrong move, and it costs people their watch history. Netflix says so explicitly.
- Do not cancel the existing account.
- Search the Netflix Help Center for the name of your new package.
- Follow the steps under How do I activate Netflix in that article, which links your existing account to the package.
- Netflix states that once linked, it immediately stops billing the payment method on file because the package covers the cost.
Linking keeps your preferences, downloads and My List. Cancelling and signing up again through the package starts a fresh account, and Netflix states the old one's data is only kept for a limited time.
What happens next?
- Netflix states you will not be charged again unless you restart the account, and that if you cancel with time left in the billing period you can keep watching until the account closes automatically at the end of it.
- Netflix states it keeps your viewing history, recommendations, ratings, account details, gameplay history and game saves for 24 months after the account closes. Restarting inside that window brings them back; after it, they are gone.
- Cancelling does not immediately delete profiles or watch history. If removing them is the point rather than stopping the charge, that is a separate request to Netflix about account data.
- An account on hold closes immediately on cancellation rather than at the end of the period, so there is no remaining access to use up.
- Extra member profiles on your plan end with the plan. Anyone you added loses access at the same time you do.
Pausing or freezing Netflix.
Can I pause Netflix instead of cancelling?
Yes. From the Cancel Membership page, select Pause for 1 Month. Netflix states an account can be paused for up to 3 months in total, that you cannot stream while paused, and that Basic plans and some payment methods are excluded.
WHEN IT DOES NOT WORK
If you get stuck.
There is no Cancel option on my Netflix account
Netflix states this means a payment partner bills you. Go to your Account page and read the Membership section: Netflix states it shows either a link that walks you through the cancellation or instructions to contact the partner. This is the usual outcome when Netflix arrived with a mobile plan, a broadband package, a TV box or an app store subscription.
I deleted the Netflix app and I am still being charged
Netflix addresses this directly: signing out of your account or deleting the Netflix app does not cancel it, and the Manage your membership page is the only way. The charge continues until a cancellation is confirmed by email.
I clicked Cancel but the membership is still active
The flow has two steps. Netflix states you click Cancel and then, under Cancel, click Finish Cancellation. Stopping between them leaves the membership running. The confirmation email is the proof, so if one never arrived, go back and finish it.
Netflix will not let me pause
Netflix states pausing is not available on the Basic plan, and not available for some payment methods including Direct Debit, gift cards and some partner payments. If Extend Pause has disappeared instead, Netflix states you have either paused for the full 3 months already or your primary payment method is no longer a credit or debit card.
I cancelled and lost my profiles and watch history
Netflix states it retains viewing history, recommendations, ratings, account details and game saves for 24 months after the account closes, so restarting inside that window restores them. Past 24 months they are gone and a new account starts empty. If you are moving to a package that includes Netflix, link the existing account instead of cancelling, which Netflix states keeps everything.
Still not cancelled?Common reasons a subscription will not cancel
GOOD TO KNOW
Questions, answered.
How do I cancel Netflix?
Go to the Manage your membership page, sign in, tap or click Cancel, then under Cancel tap or click Finish Cancellation. A confirmation email goes to the address on the account.
Can I cancel Netflix anytime?
Yes. Netflix states you can cancel your Netflix account at any time. If you cancel with time left in your billing period, you can keep watching until the account cancels automatically at the end of that period, and you will not be charged again unless you restart. An account on hold is the exception: Netflix states it closes immediately when you cancel.
How long does Netflix keep my profiles and watch history after I cancel?
Netflix states it keeps viewing history, recommendations, ratings, account details, gameplay history and game saves for 24 months after the account closes.
I am switching to a TV or mobile package with Netflix included. Should I cancel first?
No. Netflix states you do not need to cancel: link your existing account to the package following the activation steps for that package, and Netflix immediately stops billing your own payment method while your preferences, downloads and My List stay intact.
Provider resources
Instructions reviewed .
Subex is independent of Netflix. Availability and cancellation terms can vary by plan, billing provider and country.
