You just heard about a new show on Amazon, but paying for another streaming service makes you uneasy. Will it be worth it? Luckily, Prime Video is one of at least nine streaming services that still offers a free trial. While some giants (ahem, Netflix) don’t offer a trial period, you can give the following platforms a try before you buy.
9 Apps and Platforms with Trial Periods
Whether you want to cut your cable and switch to a live TV streaming platform or just get your hands on a video-on-demand app, there are options out there with a free trial period. You may want to act fast if you see a trial offer because they can be fleeting. For instance, Max brought back a free trial for a few months but eliminated the offer again in late June 2024.
Keep in mind that these platforms collect credit card information at the start of your free trial and will charge you automatically unless you cancel before the end of the trial. That’s all the more reason to be familiar with the time period of your free access.
1 Fubo
Fubo is a cable replacement with more than 180 channels, even in its base plan. The platform is especially good for sports fans because it has a lot of regional sports networks, including Bally Sports channels. If you don’t have cable but want to watch your local team’s basketball series, getting a Fubo free trial may be the answer. This service also has a lot of add-ons for sports and news to create a custom experience based on your favorite channels.
- Trial period: 7 days
- Regular price: $79.99
2 DIRECTV STREAM
DIRECTV STREAM is also a live TV streaming platform. Unlike regular DIRECTV, you don’t need a satellite to sign up and use it. Like Fubo, this platform has a lot of regional sports networks and all local channels like NBC and ABC. You can try it free for almost a week, which is a good idea if you’re thinking about cutting cable, or you just want access to some of its 90+ channels for a sporting event.
- Trial period: 5 days
- Regular price: $79.99
3 Paramount Plus
Paramount Plus is CBS’s streaming service, so it prioritizes content from CBS channels. However, you can also find some movies and sports on the platform. If you pay for the Paramount Plus with SHOWTIME, you also get all SHOWTIME content. In fact, this is now the only way to get the premium channel now since SHOWTIME stopped operating independently in May 2024. The Paramount Plus with SHOWTIME upgrade also comes with access to live streaming from your local CBS affiliate.
- Trial period: 7 days
- Regular price: $5.99
4 Apple TV Plus
You can get a week-long trial for the Apple TV Plus app, which unlocks original series and movies, plus some blockbuster movies. While the content catalog is small, it still has some popular shows not available elsewhere. One week might be just enough time to binge the latest water-cooler show like “Presumed Innocent” and see if the platform is for you. If you get a new Apple product like an iPhone, you can watch the app free for three whole months.
- Trial period: 7 days
- Regular price: $9.99
5 AMC Plus
If you’re up for a “Mad Men” rewatch, AMC Plus is a good investment. The week-long free trial gives you enough time also to check out the service’s Shudder, Sundance Now, and IFC Films Unlimited content. Plus, you get six live channels, including AMC and BBC America. AMC Plus has begun to create original content, which includes TV shows “Kin” and “Gangs of London.”
- Trial period: 7 days
- Regular price: $4.99
6 Hulu
Hulu doesn’t always offer a free trial at all, so the fact that new customers can now get a full month for free is a big deal. That’s more than enough time to watch all of “The Bear” and still see what other shows you like in their huge video-on-demand library. It’s worth noting that this trial doesn’t apply to Hulu + Live TV plans. However, Hulu has more than 7,000 titles in its massive content library, and you can watch a lot of currently airing network shows the next day.
- Trial period: 30 days
- Regular price: $7.99
7 Philo
Philo doesn’t always get brought up in the live TV streaming conversation, which is surprising because it has more than 70 channels and a very cheap price tag. Take the cable alternative for a spin for a week and see if you can live without local channels — which are unavailable. It does have big networks like AMC and Discovery and you can take advantage of unlimited DVR with recording times up to a year.
- Trial period: 7 days
- Regular price: $28
8 Amazon Video
Amazon Prime Video is available for free with an Amazon Prime account for $14.99, but you can also get the video service alone for cheaper. You can currently try either plan for free for a full month. Prime Video has more movies than any other service, plus original series like “The Boys” and “Upload.”
- Trial period: 30 days
- Regular price: $8.99
9 Discovery Plus
You can get Discovery Plus content with Max, but that app doesn’t currently have a free trial option. Meanwhile, you can get Discovery Plus by itself for a cheaper price tag and a 7-day free trial. This app includes shows from a variety of channels, including TLC, ID, HGTV, History Channel, and more. The ad-free version at $8.99 per month also has a week-long free trial.
- Trial period: 7 days
- Regular price: $4.99
Getting a free trial is a savvy way to get your eyes and ears on your favorite shows, movies, and sports without having to invest money in an app you may hate. Just remember that most trials are only available to new customers. In other words, you can’t keep signing up for a free trial every month or so in an effort to get around paying. Still, a free trial may let you marathon a viral streaming series without having to pay a dime.
