15 Streaming Services That Offer Free Trials: Live and On Demand
Want to take it for a free spin before committing? These streaming services offer tantalizing test drives.
Tons of services still have streaming free trials
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, Disney+, and now Hulu (boo!)—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 over a dozen on-demand streaming service free trials to choose from, so we wouldn’t blame you for not knowing which streaming services to try first. Keep scrolling to learn about every streaming service that’s got a free trial, and how to sign up.
Amazon Prime Video free trial
Prime Video is one of the best perks of having an Amazon Prime membership. Unfortunately, it’s a little pricier than it used to be, 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 sometimes offers 7-day free trial periods for Cinemax, STARZ, HBO Max, Paramount+, and other premium channels when subscribed through their storefront.
AMC+ free trial
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 trouble with it in the past), but you can try it free for seven days and see for yourself.
Apple TV free trial
Our expert reviewers think that Apple TV is the best on-demand streaming service on the market, with its incredible original content and whopping six simultaneous streams.
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 free trial
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,” “Agatha Christie’s Poirot,” 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 free trial
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 seven days. This deal includes its premium plans, which unlock every show on the platform, which is pretty sweet.
Discovery Plus free trial
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 a lot of the Discovery+ library on HBO Max.
HIDIVE free trial
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.
MGM+ free trial
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.
Shudder free trial
Our editors say Shudder is the best streaming service for horror fans. Shudder’s standard free trial is seven days long, but you can sometimes extend it to 30 days with a promo code. The most recent one we’ve found is ‘BEDTIME30.’
Sundance Now free trial
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 five days for regional sports and soccer coverage and Philo free for seven days for Hallmark, Lifetime, and other lifestyle channels.
DIRECTV free trial
DIRECTV 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.
Its free trial period only lasts a measly five days, but new subscribers on select plans get three free months of HBO Max, SHOWTIME, STARZ, CINEMAX, and MGM+, which is a sweet deal.
Frndly TV free trial
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–$11.99/mo.
You can try Frndly free for seven days, and we think it’s worth a try for households looking to save money.
Fubo free trial
Fubo is good for sports fans looking for a beefy live TV streaming service with over 26–296+ 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 network 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 five days. But before you dive in, check out our Fubo free trial guide for details on signing up and canceling without paying.
Philo free trial
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.
YouTube TV free trial
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.
