Nine Ways You Can Save Money on Streaming Services

Looking to save money on streaming services? These nine tips will save you cash while watching your favorite shows.

Three generations of a family sitting on couch, watching streaming services on tv.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Prices for streaming services have been steadily on the rise as more companies have entered the market, so it's no surprise that people want to know how to save on streaming services.

Deals have become rarer and some of the biggest names in the business have stopped offering free trials, so you often can’t even test what’s on offer before putting down some serious cash. All of these changes mean that keeping up with the latest releases can be a very difficult — and very expensive — task.

This is why we recommend looking out for deals and promotions, like the T-Mobile bundle that rolls free Netflix, Hulu and Apple TV Plus into your phone plan, before signing up for a new subscription service. Similar special offers — like the popular Hulu, Disney Plus, Max Ultimate Bundle — can save you almost half off the cost of buying each service separately.

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If there are no streaming deals or offers to be found, you can get creative by sharing subscriptions or rotating streaming services to save while keeping up with all of your shows. So if you’re looking for ways to save money on streaming all year round, we’ve got a roundup of all the streaming deals, free trials and other tricks you can use to save.

Streaming Deals Quick Links

Best Deals on Streaming Services Right Now

Disney Plus and Hulu
$10.99/month
Disney Plus and Hulu: at Disney+

This duo gets you Disney Plus and Hulu for one bundled price. Separately, these streaming services would cost you $19.98/month for the basic plans. Bundled, you get both for just $10.99/month.

Disney Plus, Hulu and Max
16.99/month
Disney Plus, Hulu and Max : at click.linksynergy.com

Hulu, Max, Disney Plus Mega Bundle now $16.99
This new bundle saves you 43% on the standard price. You can also upgrade to the version with no ads to access all three streaming services for just $29.99/month (a 42% savings compared to paying for each separately).

Starz subscription now just $3 (saving you 61%)
$3/month for 6 months

Starz subscription now just $3 (saving you 61%)
Starz offers two excellent discounts. You can sign up for three months for $5 per month.

Or you can prepay for six months for $17.99, which works out to $3/month for six months.

Paramount Plus Essential Plan
Free with Walmart+
Paramount Plus Essential Plan: at Walmart

Walmart Plus subscribers ($12.95/month) get the Paramount Plus Essential plan as a free perk. As well as access to a wide range of movies, TV shows like "Yellowstone", and sports, with Walmart Plus you get free next-day shipping and same-day grocery delivery and 10¢ off gas at over 13,000 gas stations.

Free 7-day trial with Apple TV Plus
Free 7-day trial

Free 7-day trial with Apple TV Plus
Whether you're into quirky comedies like Ted Lasso, or the latest movie star pairing of Pitt vs. Clooney (Wolfs), Apple TV Plus gives you seven days free, to get a taste of everything it has on offer. Cancel at any time during the trial period, then it's $9.99/month.

YouTube TV
Free 10-Day Trial
YouTube TV: was $82.99 now $59.99 at tv.youtube.com

Sign up for a free 10 day trial of YouTube TV. Then, save $46 off your first two months of YouTube TV Base Plan, paying $59.99/month for 100+ live channels and unlimited DVR space. After that, you'll be charged standard subscription rates.

Sling TV
Half off your first month
Sling TV: at Sling TV

Get half off any Sling TV plan for your first month with this deal. Plus, you'll get a free month of AMC+ while you're at it. Sling is a great choice for recent cord cutters who want as many of their favorite TV channels as possible.

How to Save on Streaming Services

A senior couple watches streaming services while relaxing on the couch.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Bundles and limited-time deals aren't the only way to save on streaming. Here are some other tricks to add to your savings kit.

1. Rotate and switch your services

With so many streaming choices, it’s tempting to load up on subscriptions and leave them running — but the cost can quickly add up. Instead, pick a couple that have shows premiering this month or shows that you've been meaning to watch. Keep those for a few months while you catch up on everything you want to watch.

Then, cancel your subscription and move on to your next batch of two or three streaming services. Once you're caught up on movies and TV series on those, rinse and repeat.

To save even more, you can try to time your switch with limited-time deals and free trials. Check back here regularly for the latest deals and offers so you can switch and take advantage of deals as soon as they become available.

2. Share subscriptions within your household

An easy way to save without the hassle of rotating is to share your access. Trade streaming services with friends and family so that everyone enjoys multiple subscriptions while only paying for a couple.

Some services make this easier than others — Hulu is still family-and-friends friendly. Even though Netflix has cracked down on password-sharing, the $22.99 per month Netflix premium plan allows four people who live in the same household to watch at the same time. And if you really want to extend your account to your relative across the country you can still do that, but it'll cost you now — a rather pricey $7.99/month for each "extra member."

3. Explore pay-per-view options

If you want access to a single show it may be cheaper than subscribing to a service. For example, a Max ad-free subscription costs $16.99 per month, but one episode of Euphoria (a Max show) on Amazon’s Prime Video costs $3.99 — or $24.99 for the entire season.

4. Bundle your services

This is another good way to trim costs, especially if you are willing to put up with ads. The Disney Bundle is one of the worst-kept secrets when it comes to saving on streaming. For as little as $16.99 a month, you can get access to the ad-supported tiers of Disney Plus and Hulu and all the sporting action on ESPN Plus.

And if you’re not a sports fan, you can save even more money with the Duo Basic bundle that gets you just the first two services. If ads are a dealbreaker, you can pay $19.99/month for the ad-free Disney Duo Premium plans.

5. Take advantage of free trials.

Over time the number of companies offering free trials has dropped but you can still try before you buy with a few, including Apple TV Plus, Paramount Plus and Hulu (which also gets you a free trial of Max — the HBO/Discovery streamer).

This is a great option if there's only one or two shows or movies you want to watch on the platform. Just grab a free trial to watch what you want and then cancel before the monthly fees kick in.

6. Try free streaming services

There are more and more services that offer shows and movies for free — in exchange for sitting through non-skippable ads. They include Tubi, PlutoTV and The Roku Channel. Amazon's FreeVee service has been integrated into Amazon Prime but you can still watch bags of movies and shows for free, just by searching Amazon.

Check your local library's website, too. Sometimes a library card gets you free access to not-free streaming services like Kanopy or Hoopla.

7. Subscribe to another service that offers TV streaming perks

There are plenty of places that give you complimentary access to a streaming service as an added perk.

  • T-Mobile customers on the Go5G Plus plan can get access to Apple TV Plus, Hulu with Ads and a Netflix Basic subscription at no extra cost.
  • Walmart Plus — Members of Walmart Plus get a free membership to Paramount Plus (with ads) as long as you're a member. This means members can enjoy hit movies like "Top Gun: Maverick", while also making the most of Walmart Plus benefits like free delivery and the use of mobile scan & go in-store. You can try the service out with a 30-day free trial.
  • DIRECTV Stream: New customers that sign up for DIRECTV Stream (formerly AT&T TV Now) get Max and Starz, along with several other premium streaming channels, free for their first three months.
  • Instacart Plus subscribers get a free Peacock Premium plan. The entry-level Peacock plan costs almost the same as an Instacart Plus membership, so it's a bit like getting two subscriptions in one.
  • Buy an Apple device, get free Apple TV Plus: you can get a three-month subscription to Apple TV Plus (worth $29.97) with the purchase of any eligible Apple device.

8. Look out for time-limited offers

Typically, the best streaming deals are limited-time-only offers that you need to be ready to jump on if you want to take advantage. Keep an eye out around Black Friday. The major players usually offer colossal discounts on their streaming services.

Past deals have included up to 80% off annual plans for Hulu and Max, 50% off annual subscriptions to Paramount Plus, and bargain prices on Prime Video Channels.

Additionally, some providers offer decent discounts as part of the festivities on specific days like National Streaming Day (May 20), Amazon's two Prime Day events and Disney Plus Day.

9. Set reminders when free trials or deals run out

Streaming services will continue to bill you once your trial or promotional period expires. Therefore, set a reminder on your phone a few days before the discount expires. Doing this allows you to cancel any services you don't want to use before you pay full price for them.

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Martin Shore
Contributor

Martin is a writer for What To Watch, focusing on guides to streaming services, like Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus and HBO Max and news and features on the latest movies and TV shows.  Some of his favorite shows are What We Do In The Shadows, Bridgerton, Gangs of London, The Witcher, Doctor Who, and Ghosts. When he’s not watching TV or at the movies, Martin’s probably still in front of a screen playing the latest video games, reading, or watching the NFL.

With contributions from