It looks like Netflix's cheapest ad-free plan, Basic, might be getting the axe. It's already gone in Canada.

• Netflix dropped its "Basic" ad-free $9.99 a month membership plan in Canada at the end of June.
• There are signs the streaming giant will sunset its "Basic" plan in the US as well.

Some Canadians may have noticed there are now fewer Netflix's subscription plans to choose from.

In late June, Netflix dropped its "Basic" subscription plan from its Canadian pricing plans for new and returning customers, the company told Insider. At a price of $9.99 per month, the "Basic" plan once gave an ad-free streaming experience to a single user, meaning movies and shows could not be viewed by multiple users at a time.

There are also signs that the streaming giant may be sunsetting its "basic" membership plan for new US customers. An Insider reporter based in New York looked at Netflix's pricing plan page and found that the "Basic" option is still available in the US, though Americans have to click the "see all plans" tab to find it.

Netflix declined to comment on whether the low-tier plan will officially be removed from its membership registrations in the US or other countries.

In turn, Netflix users may soon be limited to three plans: "Standard with ads" for $6.99 a month, "Standard," which allows for up to two simultaneous viewers for $15.49 a month, and "Premium," which can be used by up to four viewers at a time for $19.99 a month, according to the Netflix membership page.

The removal of the "Basic" plan may signal Netflix's move to boost sign-ups for its advertising tier, in part, to rake in ad revenue and stay competitive among streaming services like Apple TV+ and Disney+.

The approach appears to be working in Canada. Since Netflix launched its new plan last November, the overall Canadian subscriber base has expanded, according to the company's first-quarter shareholder letter released in April of this year.

"In Canada, which we believe is a reliable predictor for the US, our paid membership base is now larger than prior to the launch of paid sharing and revenue growth has accelerated and is now growing faster than in the US," Netflix told shareholders.

The changes in Netflix's pricing plans comes just months after Netflix lowered its subscription prices in more than 36 countries in the Middle East, Latin America, Africa, Asia, and parts of Eastern Europe in an effort to expand its international customer base. Before Netflix updated its membership plans, the streaming giant cracked down on account-sharing after it saw two quarters of subscriber loss last year.

Its efforts to stop users from sharing their accounts seem to be paying off not just in Canada. Data from Antenna, an analytics firm, suggests that Netflix reached an average of 73,000 sign-ups during the 60-day period that followed the launch of its ad-tier — a 102% increase from last year's 60-day period.

Only time will tell whether Netflix's removal of its 'Basic' plan will leave a lasting impact on the streaming giant's bottom line.