Pro tips: Get Netflix for free and save as much as $240 per year

Netflix can be one of the most expensive video streaming services, costing as much as $22.99 per month if you want 4K. That translates to around $275 annually, which is no chump change. You do get access to tons of titles, including new movies and shows, every week, but you could do a lot with that money, including saving it for a rainy day or buying a new smartphone, to name a few.

Luckily, you can get it for free! With time, effort, and creativity, you may not have to spend a dime watching the latest Netflix shows and movies. In this short guide, we’ll show you how.

Sharing is caring

Now that free trials are a thing of the past, the easiest way to get Netflix for free may be to cozy up to friends and family who are already paying for it. Two of Netflix’s four subscription plans allow streaming on multiple devices simultaneously, enabling you to create a separate profile. This gives you access to your personalized list of movies and shows you want to watch, along with language preferences and tailored recommendations.

This was simpler to pull off until some recent changes at Netflix. Sharing accounts may now require that you live with the person you’re sharing an account with, at least in the US. Strictly speaking, that was always the case, but Netflix is cracking down on sharing to increase profits, and you can potentially get booted from your account if you’re using it from a different address. You can still access it while traveling, naturally.

If you have roommates, a generous sibling, or parents who live with you and can foot the bill for a household account, you have to ask them to hook you up with the login info for their Netflix account. Once you have that, create your profile and start binge-watching for free.

You can’t assign a password to each profile, so be warned that the owner of a Netflix account can see exactly what you’ve been watching if they’re curious. You can delete your Netflix history if need be.

This isn’t ideal, and it’s only free to you, but it’s worth considering as a default option.

Take advantage of free Netflix offers from carriers, ISPs, etc.

A few mobile carriers are offering free Netflix access to their customers. Yes, this method isn’t technically free, either. Still, it’s worth considering any streaming perks when selecting a carrier, especially if you plan to sign up for those services.

You can get Netflix for free on eligible plans from T-Mobile, which includes Magenta and Magenta Max. Terms and conditions apply, though, with one of them being that you’ll need two or more lines on your account to get Netflix for free unless you have Magenta Max. US Mobile also offers free Netflix for customers who sign up for three or more lines.

We’ve seen similar offers from carriers outside the US as well. In the UK, O2 has offered free Netflix to its subscribers in the past, as has Vodafone. Airtel did the same thing in India.

Deals like these change quickly, so look for more of them down the line. We’ll update this post when that happens. And if we’ve missed any major ones, please let us know in the comments.

Get (some of) Netflix for free if you’re from Kenya

This has come to an end on November 1, 2023. However, for a few years, Netflix had offered Kenyans a quarter of its library for free. All you had to do was sign up with your name and email address. No credit card info was needed, and once you signed up, you could check out the free content without ads.

The idea, of course, was to give Kenyans a taste of the service with the hope that they’d eventually switch to a paid plan. After November 2023, though, the cheapest option is a new ad-supported tier costing $6.99 monthly.

Bonus tip: Try competing streaming services

Netflix is the biggest (paid) video streaming service, but it’s not the only one. To save money, you could try competing services, including Amazon Prime Video and Hulu, which offer free trials.

Each of these streaming services offers loads of great content. Prime Video, for example, features excellent original series, such as The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Boys, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, A League of Their Own, and Reacher. Hulu is known for releasing new episodes of some of the most popular shows around a day after they aired on TV, along with its originals, like The Handmaid’s Tale and Only Murders in the Building.

You’ll eventually have to pay for Hulu and most other options, but Prime Video won’t cost anything extra if you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber. You’ll have to take a chance on shows you may be less familiar with.

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