Believe it or not, some of the best things in life are still free—including streaming services, if but for a fleeting moment (like a few days—or even weeks).
Some of the biggest players—like Netflix and Disney+—don’t offer any free trials, but we’ve rounded up some of the best on-demand and live TV streaming services that will give you a taste for nada.
On-demand streaming services with free trials
There are a ton of on-demand streaming service free trials to choose from, so we wouldn’t blame you for not knowing which streaming services to try first.
We highly recommend trying out Paramount+ With SHOWTIME free for seven days for classic shows like Frasier and Beavis and Butthead and Hulu free for 30 days for top-notch originals like The Bear.
Amazon Prime Video
Our favorite streaming service in 2024 is Amazon Prime Video, one of the best perks of having an Amazon Prime membership. Unfortunately, it’s a little pricier than it used to be—the price went up at the end of January 2024 for ad-free plans—but it still has a great library that balances licensed titles with original content.
Prime Video offers a 30-day trial period on its own, plus 7-day free trial periods for Hulu, Max, SHOWTIME, and STARZ when subscribed through their storefront.
AMC Plus
AMC+ is best for fans who want on-demand access to AMC content, including select titles from BBC America and Shudder. It doesn’t have a ton of its own exclusives, although it does have a few notable titles like Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire and Kevin Can F**k Himself.
It’s a glitchy app (we’ve certainly run into troubles with it in the past), but you can try it free for seven days and see for yourself.
Apple TV Plus
Our expert reviewers think that Apple TV+ has some of the best original content out there. And with its relatively low price and whopping six simultaneous streams, there’s a lot to like about the service.
Apple TV+’s standard free trial period is seven days, but you’ll get three free months with the purchase of an Apple device.
BritBox
It’s not always clear where to find British television when you live in the U.S. Overseas, you can find pretty much everything you’d want on BBC’s iPlayer, but it’s region-locked and can’t be fooled by a VPN. Enter BritBox: it’s not a totally comprehensive library of British TV, but it comes closer than anything else. And hey, it’s got classic Doctor Who, Merlin, and Downton Abbey, so that’s an incredible amount of content right there.
If you’re not totally sure about diving into the strange and wonderful world of British television, you can try the service for free for seven days.
Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll is by far the best streaming service for anime fans, with its ginormous library of new and popular titles.
You can try Crunchyroll for free for an unlimited amount of time, but you’ll only get access to a small portion of its collection. Its premium plans, which unlock every show on the platform, come with a 14-day free trial, which is still pretty sweet.
Discovery Plus
Discovery+ currently offers one of the cheapest ad-supported streaming plans on the market, but you don’t have to pay a dime to access its huge library of reality TV for the first seven days of your trial.
Discovery+ carries Discovery content, but is also great for fans of HGTV, the Food Network, TLC, HISTORY, and Animal Planet. If you’re looking for more than just reality TV, you can also find Discovery+’s entire library on Max. Just know Max’s free trial is only available through Hulu and Amazon Prime.
HIDIVE
The anime streaming service HIDIVE isn’t as well-known as its main competitor, Crunchyroll, but it provides a small amount of anime simulcasts you won’t find anywhere else.
If you’re unsure whether HIDIVE’s particular brand of anime is for you (its titles can be a lot more niche than Crunchyroll’s), you have seven days to try it for free.
Hulu
Hulu’s generated a lot of buzz lately with its award-winning original shows, including The Bear and Only Murders in the Building.
But Hulu is following in Netflix’s footsteps and ending password sharing, so you might be looking for a way to watch your favorite Hulu shows for free.
Luckily, Hulu offers a 30-day free trial period, which should give you some more time to check out its vast library of content.
Max
Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming service Max is pretty expensive, so you’d be smart to try it before you commit to its ever-increasing monthly fee. Unfortunately, Max doesn’t offer a free trial unless you sign up through Hulu or Amazon Prime. You’ll get seven days to try it before your first billing cycle.
In addition to Max’s library of Warner Bros., HBO, and Discovery content, you can watch sports through the B/R Sports Add-On—which is free until February 29, 2024, regardless of your trial status.
Pro tip: Some streaming services, like Max, don’t offer free trials outright. However, you can still get a sort-of-free taste of their service by subscribing through a third party like Hulu or Amazon. You’ll also get the added bonus of bundling multiple bills together into one log-in if you continue your subscription after the trial period.
MGM Plus
MGM+, previously EPIX, is perfect for anyone looking for a decent movie library to replace their old DVD collection. (Remember DVDs?) It’s also a pretty inexpensive service, comparatively, and you can try it free for seven days before you commit.
Paramount Plus
Paramount+ is home to most CBS content and is a great choice for families with kids thanks to its library of Nickelodeon shows.
Paramount+ traditionally offers a seven-day free trial but often cycles through promo codes to extend that trial up to 30 days. For this month’s codes, check out our Paramount+ deals page.
Paramount+ with SHOWTIME
SHOWTIME no longer exists as a standalone service, so if you’re looking for a free trial of SHOWTIME, you’ll have to start a Paramount+ with SHOWTIME trial.
Like the name implies, Paramount+ with SHOWTIME combines everything from the “Essential” Paramount+ subscription with all of the prestige TV and movies that SHOWTIME used to offer. It’s also got the added bonus of being ad-free.
Shudder
Shudder is the best streaming service for horror fans. It’s dominated our customer satisfaction survey for two years running, and we think this praise is well-deserved.
Shudder’s standard free trial is seven days long, but like Paramount+, you can extend it to 30 days with a promo code. The most recent one we’ve found is ‘SHUTIN.’
STARZ
STARZ surprised us this year by placing second in the Best Original Content category of our 2024 Customer Satisfaction Survey. The service doesn’t have quite as big of a library to pull from as its competitors, but what originals it does have are usually high quality.
Like many other services, STARZ offers a seven-day free trial.
Sundance Now
Sundance Now is one of AMC’s niche streaming services, along with BritBox, HIDIVE, and Shudder. Rather than British TV, anime, or horror, Sundance Now focuses on political thrillers, prestige drama, and true crime. Its library is full of original series and award-winning films.
Since it’s more of a niche service, you’ll probably want to try it before you buy, which you can do with its seven-day free trial.
Time’s up: Unless you want to commit to a monthly subscription, don’t forget to cancel before your trial period is over. Some services will send you a reminder, but all will start charging you the regular monthly rate if you don’t cancel—that’s why they require payment info first.
Live TV streaming services with free trials
While there are not as many live TV streaming service free trials, the available free trials will give you access to lots of sports action and lifestyle networks for less than you would pay for cable.
We recommend getting Fubo free for seven days for regional sports and soccer coverage and Philo free for seven days for Hallmark, Lifetime, and other lifestyle channels.
DIRECTV STREAM
DIRECTV STREAM is the streaming service for people who want satellite TV without the physical satellite. It’s pretty pricey but comes with a hefty channel count comparable to DIRECTV’s satellite plans.
Its free trial period only lasts a measly five days, but new subscribers on select plans get three free months of Max, SHOWTIME, STARZ, CINEMAX, and MGM+, which is a sweet deal.
Frndly TV
Frndly TV is a great budget option for those looking to replace their pricey cable bill. It’s got a strong core of cable channels, including HISTORY, Lifetime, Hallmark Channel, and The Weather Channel, all for $6.99–$10.99/mo.
You can try Frndly free for seven days, and we think it’s worth a try for older viewers and families looking to save money.
Fubo
Fubo is best for sports fans looking for a beefy live TV streaming service with over 150 channels. It doesn’t exactly carry everything that a traditional satellite or cable lineup would, but it does have a decent lineup of sports networks, with optional regional sports networks add-ons for an additional fee.
If you’re not sure whether Fubo carries your favorite cable channels, you can try the service free for seven days.
Philo
For viewers who don’t want sports, Philo is a good alternative, with plenty of entertainment and lifestyle networks for a wide audience. It’s not as cheap as Frndly TV, but it’s still significantly cheaper than most competitors and comes with a full year of unlimited DVR.
Philo’s free trial lasts seven days, but you can also save 50% off your first month of service with the code “NODUNKS.”
YouTube TV
YouTube TV is our favorite live TV streaming service, and we think it’s absolutely worth trying out. It’s got the same YouTube interface you might already be familiar with if you’ve watched any video content on the internet in the last 20 years, but it also has a hefty channel lineup that rivals cable plans.
Unfortunately, YouTube TV’s free trial often varies in length—we’ve seen 7-, 14-, and 21-day trial offers at different times of the year. You’ll have to go through the signup process to see today’s offer.
