Every service Hulu offers begins with a free trial — here's how to get started (2025)

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  • Every Hulu plan begins with a free trial so you can see if it's right for you before you commit.
  • Hulu's basic subscription ($6/month) and its ad-free service ($12/month) come with a 30-day free trial.
  • The Hulu + Live TV plan($65/month) includes a week of free streaming before you start getting billed.
  • Read more: A complete price breakdown for Hulu and Hulu Live TV packages

Every service Hulu offers begins with a free trial — here's how to get started (1)

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With an ever-growing list of streaming services on the market, it can be tough to know which ones are worth it.

If you're looking to add Hulu to your repertoire but you're not sure it's worth the commitment, Hulu's here for you. Both its ad-supported service ($6/month) and its ad-free option ($12/month) — which we recommend — begin with a generous 30-day free trial period.

During the trial, you gain unfettered access to Hulu's entire streaming catalog, including all its TV shows, movies, and Hulu Originals, just like a paying customer. This allows you to fully test the service and learn if it's right for you.

Updated on 2/2/2021 by Ben Blanchet: We've revised this article to include updated prices and new add-ons.

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How do you get Hulu for free?

To access Hulu's free 30-day trial, you'll have to sign up for Hulu Basic or Premium using a valid credit card. Hulu will begin charging you once your 30 days are up, but Hulu is wonderfully transparent about when it will bill you each month, so there's no guessing or trying to remember how many days you have left before your trial ends.

On your "Manage Account" page, your next billing date will be clearly displayed right above the cost of your service. So if you plan to cancel, set a reminder for yourself one day before you're set to be charged, so you won't be billed accidentally.

Every service Hulu offers begins with a free trial — here's how to get started (4)

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Does Hulu + Live TV include a free trial?

In addition to its on-demand subscription services, Hulu also offers shorter free trials for its premium add-ons, including its live TV option.

I used the seven-day free trial of Hulu + Live TV (starting at $65 a month) to watch Shark Week once I discovered my cable subscription didn't come with the Discovery Channel.

If you're already a Hulu + Live TV subscriber and are finding that the default 50 hours of DVR storage isn't enough, Hulu has a 200-hour upgrade ($10 a month) that you can try out for one month. If you have a large family who wants to stream on many devices at once, you can also try out the unlimited screens add-on ($10 a month) for 30 days before you commit. Both add-ons can also be combined for around $15 a month.

Every service Hulu offers begins with a free trial — here's how to get started (5)

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Does Hulu offer free trials for HBO and Showtime?

Hulu also offers a seven-day free trial of its $15 a month HBO Max add-on, which is enough time to stream all eight seasons of "Game of Thrones" — if you dedicate 10-12 hours a day to it.

The Showtime ($11/month), Cinemax ($10/month), and Starz ($9/month) add-ons also begin with seven-day free trials, so I'd suggest toggling through them week after week to see what content each unlocks, then decide which ones you want to tack onto your regular subscription.

We think the HBO Max add-on is the premium channel most worth the cost. It gives you access to HBO's entire catalog of original shows, past and present, as well as a vast collection of movies, blockbuster films, and brand-new original series.

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Can you try the Hulu with Disney Plus and ESPN+ bundle for free?

Sadly, the only package that Hulu does not currently offer a free trial for is its bundled plan with Disney Plus and ESPN+. That subscription costs $13 a month, but there is no option to try it out before being billed.

Hulu offers a lot of services, so if all these options feel overwhelming, check out this complete price breakdown where you can see everything Hulu offers and what it costs, side by side. And it couldn't be easier to start and stop these services in your Hulu account. Everything is laid out on the "Manage Plan" page, and you can change any of your services at any time.

Alyssa Powell/Business Insider

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Read more about Hulu on Insider Reviews:

  • 22 must-see Hulu original TV shows to add to your streaming queue
  • The 18 best movies on Hulu that you can stream right now
  • The 13 best Christmas movies on Hulu you can stream right now
  • A complete price breakdown for Hulu and Hulu Live TV packages — here's everything you need to know
  • How to watch live TV on Hulu and how much it costs
  • HBO's entire catalog of shows and movies is available as a Hulu add-on for $15 a month — here's how it works
  • I pay $12 a month for the ad-free version of Hulu even though it costs twice as much as a basic subscription, and I have no regrets

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Jen Gushue

Jen Gushue (they/them) was formerly the Home & Kitchen Editor for Insider Reference, overseeing a team of writers who create how-tos and explainers on everything from plant care and cooking techniques to automotive care and home repair. Previously, Jen served as the Guides Editor on the Insider Reviews team, overseeing the team's testing method development and buying guide standards. Jen also previously reviewed hotels for the travel section. Outside of Insider, Jen writes about theater with bylines in American Theatre Magazine, HowlRound, TDF Stages, and The Brooklyn Rail. Jen is also a voting member of the Drama Desk.

Steven Cohen

Senior Tech Editor

Steven is a home entertainment product expert with over a decade worth of service journalism experience. He oversees coverage around home entertainment products, including TVs, streaming devices, headphones, and soundbars.ExperienceSteven is a Senior Tech Editor for Business Insider’s Reviews team. He is responsible for developing buying guides, reviews, and deals coverage for all of the latest TV, video, and audio products. Steven works with a team of experienced freelancers to establish testing methodologies, test products, and select the best of the best for our buying guides.He also has a background in film criticism, having reviewed over 400 movies and TV shows. Steven studied filmmaking and uses his knowledge of video and audio production workflows to help inform his testing parameters when reviewing home entertainment devices.Before joining Business Insider in 2019, he was High-Def Digest's Gear Editor. His work has appeared on Ben's Bargains, Steve's Digicams, Big Picture Big Sound, and Consequence.Why you can trust StevenSteven is not only passionate about TVs, he is also one of the industry’s foremost experts in display quality. In 2019, he was one of a select number of journalists invited to get a hands-on first look at LG's debut 8K OLED TV. He was also among the earliest journalists to demo Dolby Atmos and DTS:X technologies for home theaters in 2014 and 2015, respectively.In 2018, Steven served as a judge for TV Shootout, the premier annual display competition that crowns the best TVs of the year. He also attends yearly industry launches and reviewer workshops for new TVs and audio products from top brands, like LG, Samsung, Sony, and Sonos.Steven knows that it’s easy to get overwhelmed by tech jargon and premium prices on high-end gear, which is why he is passionate about recommending quality options for all price ranges and explaining which features are really worth the money.ExpertiseHis expertise includes:

  • Televisions
  • Soundbars
  • Speakers
  • Streaming devices
  • Headphones
  • HDR video formats
  • Spatial audio technologies

EducationSteven holds a bachelor of fine arts degree from the University of Central Florida.Outside of workSteven lives in Orlando, Florida, with his girlfriend, their dog, and cats. When he’s not covering tech products, Steven loves to explore the theme parks of Orlando and watch movies on his dream home theater setup, complete with the biggest Dolby Atmos speaker system he could fit in an apartment.Learn more about how our team of experts tests and reviews products at Insider here.Learn more about how we test tech and electronics.

Ben Blanchet

Streaming Fellow, Insider Reviews

Ben is a former Streaming and Home Entertainment Fellow for the Business Insider Reviews team, where he covered the latest in streaming services along with roundups of popular TVs, speakers, and headphones. He previously reported for The Buffalo News' Sun newspapers and was an editor at the University at Buffalo's independent student newspaper The Spectrum. He comes from a background in music journalism and he's one of the minds behind "More Than A Hit," a podcast with his brother Brenton where the two talk with music stars from their childhood.See below for some of his work.Learn more about how our team of experts tests and reviews products at Insider here.

Every service Hulu offers begins with a free trial — here's how to get started (2025)

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