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Love a Free Trial? Here’s What All the Most Popular Streaming Services Are Currently Offering

Streaming services are getting more expensive. Get a free trial where you can.

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By Tucker Bowe

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It’s 2024 and most streaming services — for movies/shows and music, alike — have raised prices in the past year. Netflix, Max, Disney+, Paramount+ and Spotify Premium (to name a few) have all done so. Other services have, for the first time, introduced an ad-supported tier that still costs money. Baffled you’re seeing commercials while watching Prime Video, a service you already pay $15/month for? That’s why.

The point is: the streaming services you’ve been using for years are getting more expensive, and it’s more difficult than ever to find a deal. Many of them offer free trials … but you need to be a new subscriber to take advantage.

Of course, if there’s a movie or show you really want to watch and you’ve never subscribed to that service, you can beat the system (for a short time anyway). Below, we’ve rounded up the most popular streaming services — including ones for movies and shows but also music — and what free trials they are currently offering.

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Movies and Shows

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Max (Previously HBO Max)

max streaming serviceHBO

Max

Formerly HBO Max, Max is one of the most popular streaming service with a vast library of exclusive series, including The Last Of Us, The Wire, Game of Thrones, House of Dragon, The Sopranos, Succession and True Detective.

Specs

Cheapest Subscription $10/month
Free Trial? No
Number of Tiers 2

Pros

  • Home to countless hit shows, including White Lotus and True Detective
  • Vast library of classic and newer movies, from Pulp Fiction to Blue Beetle

Cons

  • Weekly episode drops make bingeing difficult
  • No 4K streaming with cheaper subscription plan

The free trial: There is no longer a free trial of Max. When the streaming service launched in May 2020, HBO offered a 7-day free trial, but this offer ended in December 2021.

Normal costs: A subscription (without ads) to Max costs $16/month or $150/year. HBO recently launched a cheaper version of Max, which costs $10/month, but it comes with ads and doesn’t support 4K or offline downloads.

(Need help canceling your subscription? Click here)

Netflix

netflix logoNetflix

Netflix

A Netflix subscription gets you access to wide variety of exclusive movies and shows, including Stranger Things, Wednesday, House of Cards, The Crown, The Queen’s Gambit, Black Mirror, Narcos and Arcane.

Specs

Cheapest Subscription $10/month
Free Trial? No
Number of Tiers 3

Pros

  • Home to an extensive library of original shows including Stranger Things and The Crown
  • Vast Library of classic shows, documentaries and new movies

Cons

  • Standard plan costs $10/month and now has ads
  • No free trial anymore

The free trial: Netflix no longer offers a free trial. It had previously offered a 30-day free trial, but it ended that promotion in October 2020.

Normal costs: Netflix offers three different plans. The Standard (with Ads) plan costs $10/month, allows one person to be signed on at a time and delivers up to an SD quality stream. The Standard plan costs $15.49/month, allows two people to be streaming at once, and delivers up to an HD quality stream. And the Premium plan costs $23/month, allows four people to be streaming at once, and delivers up to an Ultra HD quality stream.

(Need help canceling your subscription? Click here)

YouTube Premium

Youtube logoYoutube

YouTube Premium

A subscription to YouTube Premium allows you to watch videos on YouTube without getting interrupted by ads. You get a subscription to YouTube Music Premium , allowing you to listen to ad-free music. And you get access to YouTube Original content.

Specs

Cheapest Subscription $14/month
Free Trial? Yes
Number of Tiers 1

Pros

  • Watch videos on YouTube without getting interrupted by ads
  • A subscription to YouTube Music Premium is also included

Cons

  • YouTube Premium lacks the extensive library of popular movies and shows
  • You might not need music streaming if you already subscribe to another service

The free trial: YouTube Premium offers a 3-month free trial for first-time subscribers.

Normal costs: YouTube Premium costs $14/month after the free trial is over. Subscribers get ad-free access to all YouTube and YouTube Music content.

(Need help canceling your subscription? Click here)

Discovery+

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Discovery+

Discovery+ is a streaming service that gets you access to exclusive content from channels like Discovery, HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Animal Planet, Lifetime, A&E and History. If you’re looking for nature documentaries, cooking shows and reality television.

Specs

Cheapest Subscription $5/month
Free Trial? Yes
Number of Tiers 2

Pros

  • A lot of exclusive content for nature documentaries, reality TV, cooking shows and more
  • 7-day free trial for first-time subscribers

Cons

  • The cheapest subscription still comes with ads

The free trial: First-time subscribers get a 7-day free trial when they sign up for Discovery+.

Normal costs: There are two different tiers for Discovery+ subscribers. A $5/month subscription still comes with ads, while a $9/month subscription is completely ad-free.

(Need help canceling your subscription? Click here)

Hulu

Hulu-logo-gear-patrolHulu

Hulu

Hulu is home to wide variety of original shows including The Bear, The Handmaid’s Tale, Normal People, Only Murders in the Building, Under the Banner of Heaven, Pam & Tommy and Fargo. Since Hulu is owned by Disney, you can also get a good deal on a bundle subscription with ESPN+ and Disney+. There are also bundles for those who want a Live TV package.

Specs

Cheapest Subscription $8/month
Free Trial? Yes
Number of Tiers 4

Pros

  • You can get a great bundle deal with Disney+ and ESPN+, as well as a Live TV package for cord cutters
  • New subscribers can get a pretty substantial free trial

Cons

  • Cheapest subscription still comes with ads

The free trial: Hulu offers a 30-day free trial of its standard service or a 7-day free trial of its Hulu and Live TV package.

Normal costs: Hulu offers two different primary plans: Hulu (Ads) costs $8/month (or $80/year) and gets you access to most of Hulu’s content, but there will of course be ads. Hulu (No Ads) costs $18/month and gets subscribers ad-free content to most of Hulu’s content.

Additionally, there are Hulu + Live TV plans that bundle Hulu’s Live TV package with ESPN+ and Disney+. These plans cost between $77/month and $90/month.

(Need help canceling your subscription? Click here)

Amazon Prime Video

Amazon-Prime-Video-Gear-PatrolAmazon

Amazon Prime Video

Amazon Prime Video is the subscription streaming service you get for free with a Prime membership (which costs $15/month). It has a vast catalog of exclusive shows and movies, including The Boys, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Fleabag, Reacher, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and The Expanse.

Specs

Cheapest Subscription $15/month (with Prime)
Free Trial? Yes
Number of Tiers 2

Pros

  • Membership is a nice perk of a Amazon Prime subscription
  • Free trial for new subscribers

Cons

  • As of January 2024, you need to pay an extra $3/month for ad-free viewing

The free trial: If you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber, you get a free premium subscription of Amazon Prime Video. If you’re not a Prime subscriber, you can sign up for a 30-free trial and that comes with a free trial of Prime Video, too.

Normal costs: As mentioned, Prime Video is free for all Prime subscribers (Prime costs $15/month or $7.49/month for students). However, as of January 29, 2024, Prime Video is an ad-supported service. If you don’t want to see ads, you’ll have to pay an extra $3/month.

If you’re not an Amazon Prime member, an ad-supported subscription to Amazon Prime Video costs $9/month. You can pay $12/month for Prime Video without ads.

(Need help canceling your subscription? Click here)

Disney+

Disney+ logoDisney

Disney+

Disney+ is the premium subscription service that gives access to all the latest shows and movies from Marvel, Star Wars, Disney and Pixar. You’re also able to stream movies and documentaries from National Geographic. You can bundle a subscription with ESPN+ and Hulu to get a good package deal.

Specs

Cheapest Subscription $8/month
Free Trial? No
Number of Tiers 2

Pros

  • Tons of exclusive content from Marvel, Disney, Pixar and Star Wars
  • You can bundle with ESPN+ and Hulu for a pretty good deal

Cons

  • The most affordable plan now comes with ads
  • No free trial available

The free trial: Disney no longer offers a free trial.

Normal costs: Disney+ has two different subscription plans. The Basic plan (with ads) costs $8/ month or $80/year. The Premium plan (no ads) costs $14/month or $140/year. You can bundle a subscription with ESPN+ and Hulu for around $20/month, here.

(Need help canceling your subscription? Click here)

Apple TV+

apple tv + logoApple

Apple TV+

Apple’s subscription service gets you access to a popular movies and shows that you can’t watch anywhere else, including Ted Lasso, CODA, Severance, Shrinking, Ghosted, Servant, The Morning Show and Foundation.

Specs

Cheapest Subscription $10/month
Free Trial Yes
Number of Tiers 1

Pros

  • It's the only place to access Apple Original films and shows
  • 3-month free trial when you purchase an eligible device

Cons

  • Not as much original content as likes of Netflix or HBO (but that's starting to change)

The free trial: Apple offers a 7-day free trial of Apple TV+ for first time subscribers. You get a 3-month free trial of Apple TV+ when you buy an eligible new Apple device.

Normal costs: Apple TV+ costs $10/month or $99/year, and that includes Family Sharing.

(Need help canceling your subscription? Click here)

Paramount+

paramount plus logoParamount

Paramount+

Paramount+ gets you access to movies and shows from a variety of channels, including CBS, Nickelodeon, MTV, The Smithsonian Channel and BET. It’s also how to variety of original shows, including Yellowstone, 1923, 1883, Tulsa King, Halo, The Stand, Mayor of Kingstown and Star Trek: Picard. For European soccer fans, you need a Paramount+ subscription to watch Champions League and Europe League matches.

Specs

Cheapest Subscription $6/month
Free Trial? Yes
Number of Tiers 2

Pros

  • You get access to original shows like Yellowstone, Halo and Fire Country
  • A premium subscription gets you access to Showtime's extensive catalog of original shows and movies
  • You can watch Champions League and Europa League soccer matches

Cons

  • Cheapest subscription still has ads
  • Catalog of original content isn't as large as rivals

The free trial: Paramount+ offers a 7-day free trial for first time subscribers.

Normal costs: Paramount+ offers two different plans. The Essential plans costs $6/month and, since it’s “ad-supported,” you will see a limited amount of commercials. The Paramount+ with Showtime plan costs $12/month and spares you the ads (unless you’re watching live TV); it also now gives you access to Showtime shows and movies.

(Need help canceling your subscription? Click here)

NFL+ Premium

nfl plus app open on an iphone screenNFL

NFL+ Premium

NFL+ is the NFL’s exclusive streaming service that allows you to stream pretty much any game — whether it’s locally or nationally televised, as well as prime time games (like Thursday Night Football or Monday Night Football). With an NFL+ Premium subscription, you can live stream NFL Red Zone as well as watch a replay of any game (in case you miss it).

Specs

Cheapest Subscription $7/month
Free Trial? Yes
Number of Tiers 2

Pros

  • Allows you to watch pretty much any game you want in real time.
  • Free trial for new subscribers

Cons

  • Need to subscribe to NFL+ Premium to get a more Red Zone-like experience

The free trial: NFL+ is the rebranded name of NFL Game Pass. Like before, it offers a 7-day free trial for whatever plan you decide to subscribe to.

Normal costs: NFL+ costs $7/month (or $50/year). There is also a higher-end tier, called NFL+ Premium, which costs $15/month (or $100/year) and allows you to watch full game replays.

(Need help canceling your subscription? Click here)

ESPN+

espn+ logoESPN

ESPN+

ESPN+ is a streaming service for watching a wide variety of college, professional and international sports games. This includes baseball, soccer, hockey, lacrosse, wrestling, basketball, boxingand more. A subscription also gets you access to ESPN original shows and films, including its 30 for 30 series and shows like The Last Dance, as well as watching live sports and radio shows.

Specs

Cheapest Subscription $11/month
Free Trial No
Number of Tiers 1

Pros

  • Allows you to watch a wide variety of live sporting events
  • Gives you access to ESPN's extensive catalog of original documentaries, series and films
  • You can bundle with Hulu and Disney+ to get a package subscription for less

Cons

  • No free trial

The free trial: ESPN no longer offers a free trial for its ESPN+ service.

Normal costs: ESPN+ costs $11/month or $110/year. (You can bundle a subscription with Hulu and Disney+ for $15/month or $25/month; the more expensive option gets you an ad-free Hulu subscription).

(Need help canceling your subscription? Click here)

Music

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Spotify

are you listening to the high res audio gear patrol spotifySpotify

Spotify

Spotify is one of the most popular music streaming services with a huge music catalog, arguably the best app experience (including integrated podcasts), and a proprietary tech (Spotify Connect) that makes streaming to wireless speakers super easy. The only real downside is that Spotify has yet to launch a lossless tier of its streaming service.

Specs

Cheapest Subscription $11/month
Free Trial? Yes
Number of Tiers 3

Pros

  • Gives you access to a huge catalog of music and podcasts
  • A very intuitive app experience
  • Spotify Connect makes streaming to wireless speakers very easy

Cons

  • Still no tier for listening to lossless tracks

The free trial: Spotify offers a 30-day free trial of Spotify Premium, its ad-free service.

Normal costs: Spotify Premium currently costs $11/month for an individual plan. A Duo plan, two Premium accounts designed for “a couple under one roof,” costs $15/month. A Family plan, which includes up to six Premium accounts for “family members living under one roof,” costs $17/month. There are $6/month plans for students, too.

(Need help canceling your subscription? Click here)

Apple Music

Are-You-Listening-to-the-High-Res-Audio-Gear-Patrol-apple-musicApple

Apple Music

Apple Music really changed the game in 2021 when it introduced a lossless streaming tier at no extra cost. Now, you can get access to lossless and spatial tracks for the relatively price of $11/month. The service has a tight integration with Apple devices, especially its line of HomePod smart speakers.

Specs

Cheapest Subscription $11/month
Free Trial? Yes
Number of Tiers 2

Pros

  • You have access to lossless and spatial tracks
  • You really need an Apple Music subscription if you have a HomePod smart speaker

Cons

  • User experience isn't as great on non-Apple devices
  • You need to use a separate app to listen to podcasts

The free trial: Apple Music offers a 30-day free trial to first-time subscribers.

Normal costs: Apple Music currently costs $11/month for individuals, $17/month for a family plan or $6/month for college students.

As of November 2023, Apple has discontinued its Voice plan that was designed for HomePod owners who just wanted to use Siri voice commands for music control.

(Need help canceling your subscription? Click here)

Tidal

Tidal logoTidal

Tidal

Tidal is the OG music service for lossless listening. It has two lossless tiers. Tidal HiFi gives you access to CD quality tracks (up to 1411kbps) and Tidal HiFi Plus gives you additional access to Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) certified tracks (up to 24bit/96kHz) as well as audio tracks like 360 Reality Audio and Dolby Atmos Music.

Specs

Cheapest Subscription $11/month
Free Trial? Yes
Number of Tiers 2

Pros

  • One of the best and most intuitive apps for music streaming
  • A HiFi Plus subscription allows you to listen to Master Quality tracks
  • A subscription gets you access to artist exclusives, music videos and live concerts.

Cons

  • You need to have a HiFi Plus subscription for highest-quality tracks, and that can be expensive

The free trial: Tidal offers a 30-day free trial to new subscribers of its HiFi and Plus plans.

Normal costs: Tidal offers two plans. Tidal HiFi costs $11/month and allows you to listen to lossless tracks (up to 1411 kbps) without ads. Tidal HiFi Plus is the most premium service, costing $20/month, allowing you to listen to Master Quality tracks (up to 9216 kbps) and giving you audio that supports Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 Reality Audio.

(Need help canceling your subscription? Click here)

Pandora

pandora music logoPandora

Pandora

Pandora is one of the most affordable music streaming services. There are two tiers. Pandora Plus ($5/month) allows you to listen to ad-free music stations, but if you search for a specific song you’ll have to listen to an ad. Pandora Premium ($10/month) is completely ad-free. Neither can play lossless quality tracks.

Specs

Cheapest Subscription $5/month
Free Trial? Yes
Number of Tiers 2

Pros

  • One of the most affordable music streaming services
  • 30-day and 60-day free trials depending on which tier service you're interested in trying

Cons

  • Cheaper-tier subscription isn't completely ad-free
  • No option for listening to lossless-quality tracks

The free trial: Pandora offers a 30-day free trial of Pandora Plus and a 60-day free trial of Pandora Premium to first-time subscribers.

Normal costs: Pandora Plus costs $5/month and users can skip unlimited songs and download some songs for offline listening. Pandora Premium costs $10/month and allows subscribers to have everything the Plus plan offers, but they can download unlimited songs and they can also create and share playlists.

(Need help canceling your subscription? Click here)

Amazon Music Unlimited

Amazon-Music-Gear-PatrolAmazon

Amazon Music Unlimited

Amazon Music Unlimited is a music streaming service that’s extra affordable for Prime members — and it supports lossless and Dolby Atmos tracks at no extra charge. Prime members can join for $10/month, while non-Prime members can join for $11/month.

Specs

Cheapest Subscription $10/month (for Prime members)
Free Trial? Yes
Number of Tiers 2

Pros

  • Extra long free trial period
  • Subscribers have access to an extensive catalog of lossless audio tracks, as well as tracks that support Dolby Atmos
  • One of the more affordable lossless music services

Cons

  • App experience isn't as intuitive as other music services
  • More expensive for non-Prime members

The free trial: Amazon Music Unlimited offers a 3-month free trial to new subscribers who also purchase an eligible device (like an Echo smart speaker). Other new subscribers can get a 30-day free trial.

Normal costs: Amazon Music Unlimited costs $10/month (or $99/year) for Prime members or $11/month for non-members.

(Need help canceling your subscription? Click here)

Deezer

Deezer music logoDeezer

Deezer

Deezer is another OG lossless music streaming service. A Premium subscription costs $12/month and gives you access to lossless CD-quality FLAC files. It’s more affordable than other lossless services, but it doesn’t support Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) tracks.

Specs

Cheapest Subscription $12/month
Free Trial? Yes
Number of Tiers 1

Pros

  • Premium plan is one of the more affordable options for lossless quality listening
  • Gives you the ability to play CD-quality FLAC files

Cons

  • Free plan doesn't support lossless streaming and has ads
  • Doesn't support as high-resolution tracks as other lossless services

The free trial: Deezer offers a 30-day free trial.

Normal costs: Deezer Premium costs $12/month and allows you to listen to FLAC tracks in lossless quality. There is a Free plan for non-lossless audio.

(Need help canceling your subscription? Click here)

Qobuz

Quobuz logoQobuz

Qobuz

Qobuz is a great lossless music streaming services with an intuitive app and a large catalog of lossless and ultra-high-resolution tracks. (If you’re looking for the best quality audio, Qobuz and Amazon Music HD are your two best options.) The only real downside of Qobuz is that it lacks some of the additional features — like auto-generated radio stations, a karaoke mode and music videos — that other lossless streaming services have.

Specs

Cheapest Subscription $11/month
Free Trial? Yes
Number of Tiers 2

Pros

  • Extensive catalog of lossless quality tracks
  • You can purchase high-resolution audio tracks

Cons

  • Along with Tidal, it's one of the more expensive options for lossless listening
  • Lacks some features that other music streaming services have

The free trail: Qobuz offers a 30-day free trial to new users of its standard subscription plan, Qobuz Studio.

Normal costs: A subscription to Qobuz Studio costs $11/month. Qobuz Sublime, which allows you to purchase high-resolution audio tracks for up to 60% off, costs $15/month.

(Need help canceling your subscription? Click here)

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