HBO Max in the UK: prices, plans and what is actually on it

HBO Max launched in the UK and Ireland on 26 March 2026, ending years of speculation about when Warner Bros. Discovery would bring the service back to a market it left when Sky's HBO content deal continued. The streamer arrived with four pricing tiers and the full HBO library that had previously sat behind Sky's paywall, according to Variety.

Six weeks in, the launch lineup has settled and the access routes are clearer than they were on day one. Here is the state of HBO Max UK as of May 2026.

The four UK plans

Warner Bros. Discovery brought HBO Max to the UK with the same tiered structure it uses in the United States, priced as follows:

• Basic with Ads: GBP 4.99 a month. Two streams, Full HD, 5.1 audio, ads in most content.
• Standard with Ads: GBP 5.99 a month. Adds 30 offline downloads.
• Standard: GBP 9.99 a month. Ad-free, Full HD, two streams, 30 downloads.
• Premium: GBP 14.99 a month. 4K Ultra HD with Dolby Atmos where available, four streams.

Annual billing, which knocks roughly two months off the headline cost, is offered on each tier. There is currently no free trial in the UK -- a notable break from how HBO Max has launched in some other regions.

Three ways to subscribe

You can take HBO Max in the UK via three different routes:

1. Direct through hbomax.com or the HBO Max apps on Sky, Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku, smart TVs and consoles.
2. As a Sky or NOW add-on, where the existing TNT Sports and selected HBO programming sat before launch.
3. As a Prime Video Channel, sharing the same subscription experience Amazon already runs for Paramount+, Discovery+ and others.

Existing TNT Sports subscribers continue to access live sport at GBP 30.99 a month, with TNT Sports now sitting alongside HBO Max in the same wider Warner Bros. Discovery app on Sky and NOW.

What's on it

The launch catalogue carries the high-end drama HBO is known for -- The Last of Us, Succession, The White Lotus, House of the Dragon, True Detective, Hacks, The Penguin -- plus the wider Warner Bros. Discovery slate that includes DC films, Studio Ghibli's UK-licensed Warner releases, Cartoon Network library titles and the Discovery+ documentary catalogue.

Specific licensing differences from the US version exist: certain back-catalogue HBO titles are still tied to legacy Sky deals, and a few prestige Warner films have separate UK windows. The Sky deal that licensed HBO content in the UK ran for two decades; some titles are migrating across the launch period rather than appearing on day one.

What this means for WhereToStream users

HBO Max is now part of the UK paid-streaming mix, and we are adding it to the WhereToStream service catalogue so its titles show up in availability checks alongside Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and the rest. Until that work lands, compare existing UK services for like-for-like cost and content, and use /browse to see what is free on the services you already pay for.

The pricing structure is worth noting. At GBP 4.99 a month, Basic with Ads undercuts Netflix Standard with Ads (GBP 5.99) and matches the cheapest paid tiers in the UK market. For households already paying Sky or NOW, the Sky add-on route avoids managing a fourth direct billing relationship. For everyone else, direct via the HBO Max app is now the simplest and cheapest way to watch The Last of Us season three when it arrives.