Juggling Free Streaming TV Offers Can Save You Money
Trial periods will let you stream at no cost, but don't forget to cancel before you get charged
By Octavio Blanco
James K. Willcox contributed to this article.
With inflation at a 40-year record-high, it’s no surprise that many of us want to reduce costs. Where to start? The best place to look is discretionary spending, such as restaurants and shopping.
Entertainment is another area where you might be able to save, including taking advantage of free streaming TV offers. And while free streaming trials are getting rarer, some popular services still offer no-cost introductory memberships.
These free streaming offers range from seven to 30 days. To participate, streaming companies require that you add your credit card when you create your account, and if you don’t cancel the service in time, your credit card will automatically be charged the membership fee.
If you plan to juggle, it’s important to do your research about how to cancel your service. For example, if you signed up through an app store or with Amazon, you’ll need to cancel the service there—and not directly with the streaming service.
“I have some experience with signing up for free trials of streaming services only to cancel them. However, it’s not a perfect strategy and depends on timing—and also on your ability to remember key deadlines,” says Josh Snead, CEO of Rainwalk Pet Insurance, based in Columbia, S.C. “I would recommend this for anyone who’s only interested in a certain movie or series available on a streaming platform and is confident they can finish in a month.”
Sneed says recurring charges can quickly add up if you forget to cancel multiple subscriptions, “so setting a reminder on your phone to cancel can be a helpful step.”
These streaming services still have free introductory offers.
Amazon Prime: Thirty days free, then $15 a month or $139 a year (student plans are $8 a month and qualified government assistance plans are $7 a month.) Besides video streaming, the Amazon Prime service comes with a number of other benefits, including same-day delivery of certain products, access to video games, digital books, music, and generous photo storage.
You can also sign up for Amazon Prime Video-only (no other benefits included) for $9 a month by visting this page, selecting “see more plans” at the bottom of the page, and then clicking the Prime Video tab.
Some streaming services offer free trials through Amazon Prime that aren’t available as stand-alone apps. For example Amazon Prime members can get a free seven-day trial for the Starz channel. After the trial period expires, the service costs $9 a month. As a stand-alone service (outside of Amazon) Starz offers only a discount: $3 a month for six months, after which the service costs $9 a month.
Acorn TV: Fans of British TV fare can get a seven-day free trial before paying $6 a month, or $60 a year, for the service.
Apple TV+: Apple’s subscription service has a seven-day free trial before its $5-a-month subscription kicks in.
BritBox: Like Acorn TV, BritBox caters to fans of British TV. And like that service, it offers a seven-day free trial before you have to pay for $7-a-month, or $70-a-year, subscription.
Discovery+: This new service, which features content from Discovery properties such as HGTV and TLC plus several new original shows, currently has a seven-day free trial. After that, it costs either $5 a month with ads or $7 a month without.
Hulu: Hulu’s 30-day free trial is among the longest; after that, you’ll pay either $6 a month (or $60 a year) for the ad-supported service or $12 a month for the ad-free version.
Paramount+: Right now this service, which has replaced ViacomCBS’ CBS All Access, has a seven-day free trial. After that plans start at $5 a month.
Peacock Premium and Premium Plus: You can get the basic Peacock service free. The ad-supported Premium service is $5-a-month and the ad-free version is $10-a-month. Both provide access to all of Peacock’s content, including original series you don’t get with the free version. Premium Plus also lets you watch certain shows on a mobile device.
Philo: This cable replacement service offers more than 60 cable-style channels, but no local networks, for just $20 a month. It has a seven-day free trial.
YouTube TV: The cable replacement service offers free trials, typically from seven to 14 days, provided you haven’t previously been a subscriber or participated in a free trial. After the trial period, the service costs $65 a month.
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