How to Get 10 Streaming Services for Free
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At a Glance: The Best Streaming Services with Free Trials
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EDITOR’S PICK: DirecTV Stream
BEST FOR ORIGINALS: Hulu
BEST FOR SPORTS: Fubo
BEST FOR SCI-FI & ACTION: Paramount+
BEST FOR BIG PRODUCTIONS: Apple TV+
BEST FOR ANIME: Crunchyroll
BEST FOR BASIC LIVE TV: Philo
BEST FOR ADDITIONAL PERKS: Prime Video
BEST FOR BRITISH TV: BritBox
BEST FOR NEWS: Sling Freestream (no free trial required)
What’s the old saying? The best things in life are free. Well, in 2024, it may be tough to find something high quality that’s free, but in the case of these streaming services, they really are free (for at least a limited time).
Although Netflix, Disney+, and Max don’t offer free trials anymore, there’s still quite a few top-tier streaming services that do. We rounded up the best streaming services with free trials to access popular movies, TV shows, and in some cases, live TV channels.
Moreover, all of the streaming services are compatible to watch on iPhones, iPads, Android smartphones and tablets, Google Chromecast, Roku devices, Amazon Fire TV devices and sets, Google TV, web browsers, and smart TVs. The streamers listed below include free trials that varies in time period from five days to 30 days — that’s one whole month of service for free. Here are our top choices.
In This Article
What Are the Best Streaming Services with Free Trials?
Buying Guide; How to Pick the Best Streaming Service with a Free Trial
What Are the Best Streaming Services with Free Trials?
Below are the best streaming services with free trials to consider in 2024. All picks are streamers we’ve watched and tested ourselves, are from reputable companies, have high customer reviews, and offer free trials.
1. How To Get DirecTV Stream For Free
DirecTV Stream is a cable alternative streamer. Instead of traditional cable that physically comes to your TV with a cable, DirecTV Stream is streamable through an app or the company’s own Gemini and Gemini Air devices. But, it’s also compatible with other devices, including Apple iPhone, Apple iPad, Apple TV, Roku, Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
Starting at $69.99 per month for the “Entertainment” package, DirecTV Stream comes with dozens of broadcast and cable networks — including NBC, ESPN, Fox, CBS, AMC, Bravo, CNBC, TNT, Disney Channel and others. The streamer has a free five-day trial available, which you can either cancel the service or keep watching. Other plans has more than 105-150 channels, with prices ranging from $84.99 to $159.99 per month.
2. How To Get Hulu For Free
Hulu is one of the most popular streaming service, thanks to its low entry-level price at $7.99 per month; near-universal compatibility with Android, Roku, and Apple devices; and wide range of original movies and TV shows — including Shōgun, Fleishman Is in Trouble, Prey, The Bear, Solar Opposites, Only Murders in the Building, and others. The service also has a robust streaming library with classic and new movies and TV shows, like Poor Things, The Creator, The Big Lebowski, ER, Freaks and Geeks, Living Single, and more.
Meanwhile, Hulu has a number of add-ons, like Disney+ for Disney originals, ESPN+ for sports coverage and originals, and Hulu Live + TV for live TV channels. The streaming service has a very generous 30-day free trial available, so you can try out the service for yourself.
3. How To Get Fubo For Free
Fubo is another cable alternative stream that starts at $79.99 per month for the “Pro” plan with more than 170 news, entertainment, and sports channels, such as ABC, CBS, FX, MSNBC, Fox News, Nickelodeon, HGTV, and others. The service also comes with a cloud DVR with more than 1,000 hours to record, while Fubo is available to watch on your smartphone, tablet or smart TV too.
However, one of the main draws for Fubo is its top tier sports offerings, including ESPN, NFL Network, Fox Sports, Big Ten Network, Boxing TV, GolTV, MLB Network, NBA TV, NBA League Pass, MotorTrend, NHL Network, ACL Cornhole TV, and much more.
Other plans include the “Elite” package with more than 260 channels for $89.99 per month and the “Premier” plan that comes with nearly 300 channels, like NFL RedZone, Showtime and 4K quality for $99.99 per month. If you want to watch for free, Fubo has a seven-day free trial available for new subscribers.
4. How To Get Paramount+ For Free
If you’re fan of thrilling action movies and in-depth sci-fi, then Paramount+ just might be the streaming service for you. Starting at $5.99 for the basic ad-supported plan, Paramount+ has the entire Mission: Impossible franchise, all of the Transformers movies, Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick, and more on-demand. On top of that, the streamer has some of the best sci-fi movies and TV shows, like the entire Star Trek franchise, Arrival, Halo, Jericho, Sonic the Hedgehog, and others.
In addition, you can go ad-free with the Paramount+ with Showtime package, which goes for $11.99 per month. This plan includes everything Paramount+ has to offer — including programming from CBS, Nickelodeon, MTV, BET, Comedy Central, Smithsonian Channel, and more — as well as originals from Showtime, like Yellowjackets, The Chi, Dexter, Billions, The Curse, and a wide range of A24 movies, like Talk To Me, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Past Lives, and Beau Is Afraid.
It also has live news from CBS News and live sports from pro leagues, including NFL, UEFA Champions League, NWSL, CONCACAF, and others. Both Paramount+ and Paramount+ with Showtime have seven-day free trials available, so you can give the service a spin.
5. How To Get Apple TV+ For Free
Apple dipped its toe into streaming with the launch of Apple TV+ in 2019. Its the tech company’s very own streaming app that’s available across Apple devices, as well as Android, Samsung, Roku, and Sony devices too.
While the streaming service doesn’t have as many originals or legacy titles as other streamers, Apple TV+ focuses more on quality instead of quantity. Apple Originals are known for their big production values, epic scope, heartfelt storytelling, and gigantic special effects with titles, like The Morning Show, For All Mankind, Ted Lasso, Long Way Up, The New Look, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Masters of the Air, CODA, Severance, and more. It also has big budget movies from world-renowned directors, like Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon and Ridley Scott’s Napoleon.
The streaming service also offers live sports for pro leagues like Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer. Apple TV+ starts at $9.99 per month, while it has a seven-day free trial available for new subscribers. Additionally, you can get a three-month free trial when you buy a new Apple device, such as iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4K, or Apple MacBook.
6. How To Get Crunchyroll For Free
Fans of anime, rejoice! Crunchyroll is a streaming service that’s completely caters to fans of all things anime. In fact, the service’s collection is so up-to-date that new episodes (which are dubbed and subtitled in English) of a series are ready to stream shortly after they premiere in Japan. It doesn’t get more current and new unless you actually live in Japan. For anime fans living in the United States, this is a blessing and a treat.
Crunchyroll even has a 14-day free trial available for new subscribers to check out what the streaming service has to offer, including One Piece, Hunter × Hunter, My Hero Academia, The Rising of the Shield Hero, My Dress-Up Darling, Fruits Basket, and much more. After the free trial is over, you can just keep watching with prices starting at $7.99 per month or just cancel the service altogether. No harm. No foul.
7. How To Get Philo For Free
If live sports, news, and broadcast channels aren’t your thing, then Philo might be a very good and simple streaming service for you. It has a more than 70 of the most popular networks, such as AMC, A&E, BBC America, Comedy Central, Hallmark Channel, IFC MTV, Discovery, HGTV, and others, but it doesn’t include any sports, news, or broadcast networks, like ESPN, CNN, or CBS. Without sports, news, or broadcast TV, Philo is very wallet-friendly with a monthly price of just $25.
It’s offers an unlimited 12-month DVR and over 70,000 on-demand titles in the streamer’s content library. Philo also has a seven-day free trial, so you can give the steamer a shot before you decide to keep or cancel the service.
8. How To Get Prime Video For Free
Although Prime Video is one of the best streaming services out there — with high-quality and critically-acclaimed originals, like Mr. and Mrs. Smith, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Fleabag, Jury Duty, Sound of Metal, and Manchester by the Sea — it’s actually just an add-on to the larger Amazon Prime subscription service.
For $14.99 per month or $139 per year, Amazon Prime includes access to Prime Video, Amazon Music, and Prime Gaming; fast free shipping in less than two days with Prime Delivery; in-store discounts at Whole Foods Market across the U.S., access to exclusive shopping — like Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday — and more. Learn more about Amazon Prime perks and benefits here.
You can sign up for a 30-day free trial to take advantage of all that Amazon Prime has to offer.
9. How To Get BritBox For Free
If you’re a fan of British TV, then BritBox is a must. With pricing starting at $8.99 per month, the streaming service features new and classic movies, TV shows, and originals straight from the United Kingdom, including Gavin & Stacey, Toast of London, Staged, Luther, Time, Agatha Christie’s Murder Is Easy, and others.
BritBox is also available to stream on just about any device, such as Apple iPhone, Apple iPad, Google Chromecast 4K, Roku, Android, Samsung smartphones and tablets, various web browsers, smart TVs, and Amazon Fire TV. Check out a complete list of all compatible devices here.
The streaming service has a seven-day free trial for new subscribers to try BritBox to see if it’s a good fit.
10. How To Get Sling Freestream For Free
Although live TV streaming services, like DirecTV Stream and Fubo, are great, if you forget to cancel your free trial, you’re on the hook for a hefty amount of cheddar month after month. However with Sling Freestream, you’ll actually get live TV streaming for free, no trial period necessary.
Sling Freestream offers 100% free live TV streaming for up-to-the-minute news reports and programming from popular networks, like ABC News Live, CBS News, Live Now From Fox, Cheddar News, USA Today, BBC News, Scripps News, and more. It even offers local news from your area’s broadcast affiliates.
Sling Freestream also features on-demand ad-supported talk shows, select TV show episodes, and even movies. Just go to Sling Freestream and start watching for free.
Buying Guide; How to Pick the Best Streaming Service with Free Trial
There are many factors to think about when choosing the best streaming service for yourself. Below, you’ll find a few important factors that we considered when putting this roundup together.
Titles: In the digital age, content is king. Choosing the best streaming service comes down to the titles. The reason why anyone would subscribe to a service is the catalog of movies and TV shows to watch. If you like anime, give Crunchyroll a shot. If you like action movies, Paramount+ with Showtime has a wide collection of genre movies. For live TV, DirecTV Stream might be a good fit. For live TV with sports, then Fubo could be the answer. You have to consider your tastes and whether a streaming service lines up with them.
Price: Although all of the streaming service listed above offer free trials, you’re going to have to either cancel it or start paying a monthly fee, if you enjoy the access to countless movies, TV shows, or live TV. Prices range from $5.99 per month with the ad-supported version of Paramount+ all the way up to $159.99 per month with DirecTV Stream’s “Ultimate” package, which comes with all of the entertainment you can handle.
However, one of the best things about streaming services is you’re not tied to a long-term contract. You only have to commit to one month at a time. If you want to subscribe one month and then cancel the next, only to re-subscribe again the following month, that’s your prerogative.
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