Here's how to get Hulu free and save hundreds of bucks

With almost 50 million subscribers in the US, Hulu is one of the biggest premium streaming services in America. It not only allows on-demand access to thousands of classic, recent, and even original TV shows and movies, but it also offers next-day access to new episodes for TV series shown the night before on broadcast networks like NBC, ABC, and Fox. That’s something that rivals like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video don’t offer.

In addition, Hulu also has another plan, which adds live TV with over 60 channels to choose from, along with a cloud DVR feature. Depending on which plan you pick, you could spend hundreds of dollars a year, or maybe more, on Hulu’s plans and features.

However, there are ways that you can save some money and not spend anything to gain access to Hulu, and that includes the expensive Hulu Plus Live TV option. Here are several methods you can choose to get Hulu free. Keep in mind that these options may not work for everyone.

Of course, if you’re just looking for a great deal on Hulu, we highly recommend the Disney Plus bundle. You get Hulu, Disney Plus, and ESPN Plus for only $12.99 a month with this package deal. To learn more about Disney Plus, check out our Disney Plus guide. 

Use the Hulu free trial offer, and try to get another free trial

The easiest method to get Hulu free is also the most obvious one, especially if you have never signed up for Hulu before now. Just sign up for one of the Hulu free trial offers. For the Hulu with ads plan and the Hulu with no ads plan, the service gives you a free Hulu trial for 30 days.

If you don’t cancel the service before the free trial ends, you will be charged $7.99 a month for the Hulu with ads plan or $14.99 a month for Hulu with no ads plan. You have to put in payment information even if you plan to cancel, but you won’t be charged in those first 30 days.

After you cancel your Hulu subscription or once your free trial ends, you may have to wait a little while to sign up for another free trial on the same account. You could get a new Hulu free trial by creating a new account and using another credit or debit card.

The free trial period for Hulu Plus Live TV is only seven days before the service starts charging your account. The service, partnered with a Hulu with ads plan, costs $69.99 a month after that seven-day trial or $82.99 a month with the Hulu plan without ads.

Get someone to share their account with you

If a family member or friend has a paid Hulu subscription, you can ask them if they can share their account with you. You can then watch Hulu for free on their account.

Hulu allows up to two simultaneous streams on one account for the two standard plans, along with the standard Hulu Plus Live TV plans. So make sure that when you use Hulu on your smartphone, your tablet, your PC, or your smart TV, the other folks who share the account are not already taking up the two screens. Otherwise, you will get a “too many screens” error message and be locked out.

Hulu Plus Live TV does offer an add-on that allows for unlimited simultaneous streams at home and up to three mobile devices outside the home. It costs an additional $9.99 a month. Again, this is just for account users with the more expensive Hulu Plus Live TV plans.

Hulu supports up to six different streaming profiles on one account. That’s good for people sharing the account and getting Hulu free because they can create their own profile of channels they want to watch without interfering with the profiles of others on the same account.

Sign up for Spotify Premium for Students

The popular streaming music service Spotify offers a 50% reduced rate for eligible college and university students. Spotify Premium for Students costs just $5.99 a month, and it lasts for up to four years. Once you are signed up, you can add the Hulu with ads subscription, plus a subscription to the Showtime premium cable TV network, to the Spotify Premium for Students account, and both of those will be free. 

If you were already going to get Spotify, this is perfect; you basically get Hulu and Showtime for free with this student offer. If you just want to get Hulu and are an eligible student, this will at least save you $1 off your monthly bill, plus you get Spotify and Showtime.

Get a free Hulu account through your phone provider

You may already be entitled to a free Hulu account and not even know it. Some cell phone service providers throw a Hulu subscription in with your plan for free.

For example, you can get a free Hulu account if you’re signed up for a Sprint Unlimited plan at T-Mobile. It’s the plan with ads, but it’s still $7.99 in savings for the subscription service.

As you can see, if you don’t want to spend any money on a Hulu streaming subscription, there are a few ways to avoid paying. Which of these methods do you use to get free Hulu? Let us know in the comments!