The Netgem Pleio has changed its price again – and this time, at least, it’s moving in the right direction.
After a chaotic few months of stock shortages, ownership model changes, and a somewhat surprising price increase, Netgem has quietly reduced the Pleio’s asking price on Amazon.
The new price – £109.89 – gives you 12 months of Pleio Extra (the gaming and extra channels subscription) for the price of 11 (with the device included).
The timing is interesting: the price drop comes just days after Manhattan announced a competing Freely box launching in February for £69.99, undercutting the Pleio significantly.
Whether Netgem is responding to competition or simply trying to shake off Amazon’s “Price higher than typical” warning (which has now disappeared from the product listing), the result is the same – the Pleio is more affordable than it was last week.
And unlike the chaos of recent months when the device was perpetually out of stock, there’s actually inventory available right now for immediate delivery.
But as always – keep in mind that this discounted price might be temporary, and could change back at any moment.
So is the new reduced price enough to make the Pleio worth buying? Let’s break down what’s changed – and how it compares to the upcoming Aero Freely box.
What Is The Pleio, Again?
The Netgem Pleio is the first standalone device that brings Freely streaming to any existing TV without requiring you to buy new hardware.
It’s a tiny puck – seriously tiny, at just 64mm across – that delivers live TV channels through your broadband instead of an aerial.
You get BBC, ITV, Channel 4, 5, and around 55 other channels through Freely, Everyone TV’s streaming platform designed to eventually replace traditional Freeview by delivering everything over the internet.
On top of Freely, the Pleio runs Android TV 14 with access to the Google Play Store, giving you Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, and hundreds of other apps alongside your live TV channels (but the system is locked, so you can’t sideload unsupported apps).
You also get 250+ cloud games with a wireless gamepad included, plus 150+ extra FAST channels.
When I reviewed the Pleio in November, I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. It’s a capable device that solves real problems – particularly for anyone with terrible aerial reception – but it has some rough edges.
The interface can be confusing, with three separate search functions that don’t talk to each other. The dual architecture (Freely on one side, Android TV on the other) creates friction that shouldn’t exist.
And ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5 stream at 25fps rather than 50fps, which causes some judder during fast motion, such as sports (but that’s a global Freely issue and isn’t unique to the Pleio).
For households battling dodgy Freeview signals, or anyone adding Freely to a second room without aerial access, those compromises are often worth making. The device works well for what it does, even if it’s not quite as polished as you’d hope.
The bigger issues have been everything surrounding the device rather than the device itself.
The Pleio’s Pricing Rollercoaster
The Pleio launched in November 2025 at £99, which felt expensive but somewhat justifiable given you were getting hardware plus 3 months of gaming and extra channels.
Demand was immediate and overwhelming – the device sold out on Amazon within hours and remained difficult to find throughout December.
By early December, Netgem extended the included trial from 3 months to 12 months, significantly improving the value proposition without changing the price.
Then in January, Netgem updated the terms so that you don’t actually own the device for the first year – it remains their property until those 12 months are complete.
It’s an unusual structure for consumer electronics, though the practical impact is minimal for most buyers (the main restriction is you can’t sell or gift it during that first year).
Just as buyers were wrapping their heads around that, the price jumped to £119.88 – a 21% increase barely two months after launch.
That price hike triggered Amazon’s “Price higher than typical” warning on the product page, which remained visible until this latest reduction.
That warning isn’t just cosmetic – it also caused the standard purchase buttons to disappear, replaced with “See more buying options,” making it harder for customers to actually buy the thing even when stock was available.
Now we’re at £109.89, which Netgem is positioning as “12 months for the price of 11” – but we don’t know how long this new price is going to last.
The Freely Market Heats Up
Just days ago, Manhattan announced the Aero 4K TV Streamer – a £69.99 Freely box launching in February through major retailers including Currys, John Lewis, and Amazon.
The Aero runs TiVo OS rather than Android TV, includes both WiFi and Ethernet connectivity (the Pleio is WiFi only), and costs £40 less than the Pleio at its new reduced price.
What the Aero doesn’t include is gaming. There’s no bundled gamepad, no cloud gaming subscription, and gaming isn’t really part of the pitch at all (though it does support Netflix Games if you have a Netflix subscription).
The Aero also won’t have the same app selection as the Pleio’s Google Play Store.
TiVo OS supports major services like Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, and YouTube, plus TiVo+’s 400+ free FAST channels – but some popular apps like Apple TV and Sky’s NOW may be missing at launch (they’re not currently available on other TiVo OS devices).
So it’s not a direct comparison. The Pleio is a more feature-rich device targeting people who want gaming alongside Freely and a wider app selection.
The Aero is a straightforward Freely box with some streaming apps for people who just want live TV without paying extra for features they won’t use.
But for buyers who don’t care about gaming – which is probably quite a lot of people who bought the Pleio purely for Freely – that £40 price difference is significant.
And the Aero isn’t the only competition on the horizon. Humax discontinued their Aura Freeview recorder just weeks ago, confirming “exciting new products” with announcements coming “in the next few weeks.”
We know a Humax Freely recorder is under development – likely a hybrid device combining Freely streaming with an aerial port for traditional Freeview channels and recording capability.
When that launches (and we genuinely don’t know when), it’ll appeal to viewers who aren’t ready to ditch recording entirely.
The standalone Freely box market went from zero devices to multiple options within just a few months. Competition is arriving, and Netgem is responding with pricing adjustments.
Is The Pleio Worth It At £109.89?
That depends entirely on what you actually want from a Freely box.
If you’re interested in cloud gaming, the Pleio still makes sense. You’re getting a full year of access to 250+ games plus the hardware for £109.89, which works out less than £10 per month.
The gamepad is included, the games stream instantly without downloads, and it’s a useful entertainment option for visiting family members or casual gaming sessions.
After that year, continuing the gaming subscription costs £9.99 monthly – but you’re not forced to pay it. Freely keeps working forever, whether you subscribe or not, and you can use the device for streaming apps without any ongoing costs.
If you want the flexibility of Google TV with access to a wide range of apps beyond the major services, the Pleio delivers that.
But if price is your main concern and you mainly just want Freely channels plus a few major apps, waiting for the Aero launch makes more sense.
Keep in mind, I haven’t reviewed the Aero yet, so I can’t make definitive comparisons. But on paper, Manhattan has positioned themselves well – undercutting the Pleio whilst leveraging their reputation for reliable, well-designed TV devices.
The Aero should be launching in the next couple of weeks through Currys, John Lewis, and Amazon – though exact availability dates haven’t been confirmed yet.
The Pleio is available now on Amazon, with stock currently showing for immediate delivery.
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I think that the Pleio puck needs to be marketed on its own at £59.99 or for the gamers at £99.99 including joystick and 12 months subscription. Anything above this I think is overpriced especially if you add in the £9.99 per month gamers plan. I really do think that the Manhattan Aura 4K at £69.99 will do very well. I want to buy one just as soon as it’s released.
I completely agree. I’m not interested in the games so the joystick is just another piece of junk to store or get rid of.
I think Netgem maybe thinking about selling without joypad. Has I’ve just recently done a Netgem survey & it “asked what price would you pay without joypad” or something along those lines.
I have the Pleio puck but also have never used the joypad.
It’s still overpriced, imho.
That doesn’t make sense to me, it’s mrp at release was £99, it went up triggering the higher price warning, the price has reduced but is still higher than the original mrp. Surely the warning still applies. If not as appears to be the case any product can increase it’s price then drop it by a small amount and the customer has no idea it was ever at a lower price.