Is Peacock free? Here's everything you need to know

Is Peacock free? It was for a long time, but things changed in 2023. Let’s tell you all about the situation and find out if you can still enjoy Peacock without paying.

Is Peacock free?

The short answer is: no, you can’t truly watch Peacock for free anymore. Peacock used to offer a free tier financed by advertising, which you were forced to watch during short ad breaks. This free plan didn’t include all the content, though.

Peacock stopped being free in early 2023, but only for new customers. Previous subscribers could still enjoy the free plan for some months. Later in the year, in June, it stopped being free for everyone.

Was the free plan even worth it?

It would be hard to argue that the Peacock free tier wasn’t worth it. It was free, after all. You were paying for it by sitting through ads, though. And you had to accept a limited library.

Where Peacock’s free tier really failed was in its limited access to Peacock’s original series. While having reduced access to movies and shows might have made you lose interest in Peacock eventually. The way original shows were included forced you to either abandon them after one episode or commit to a paid tier. In that way, free Peacock was almost like a teaser service.

So, whether it was worth it depends on you. If you like having access to a few titles you won’t get anywhere else and you don’t mind ads, then Peacock’s free plan was absolutely worth it. If you wanted to watch the MacGruber show or check out new Peacock original movies? Not so much.

Regardless, the option is no longer available. Now, you have to pick between two paid plans if you want to get in on the Peacock fun.

Peacock’s plans: an overview

Peacock Premium

Peacock actually has two paid plans. The two plans mostly include the same access to Peacock’s content. That means you have unlimited access if you’re a paying customer.

For $6 per month or $60 per year, you get Peacock Premium. You’ll get unlimited access to all the movies, TV shows, and more, including new movies from theaters. The only downsides are that it’s still ad-supported, you can’t download content, and you’ll miss out on your local NBC live channels.

Peacock Premium Plus

If you bump that up to a Peacock Premium Plus subscription for $12 per month or $120 per year, you get to drop all of the ads, download content for offline viewing, and access your local NBC live channels.

Why did Peacock kill its free plan?

It’s said nothing in life is free, and such is the case for Peacock’s content. Operating the streaming service has its costs, and 2022’s Comcast reports suggested the service was at significant losses.

On the brighter side, the same report claims Peacock’s paid subscriber count more than doubled, surpassing 20 million. That number has grown to 31 million as of the fourth quarter of 2023. The company seems to have taken this opportunity as a chance to focus on its premium offerings, hoping to finally turn a profit.

Regardless, Peacock isn’t commenting much on the matter.

Ways to get Peacock for free right now

All that said, there are still some ways to get Peacock for free, but all these offers only apply to certain customers who sign up for specific services. Let’s go over them, as you might already be eligible!

You may be able to get Peacock for free from Xfinity

Peacock used to be more widely available to Xfinity customers for free. This deal stopped being offered to most Xfinity customers, but you can still get Peacock Premium included for free. The trick is that it will only apply to a limited amount of subscribers with specific plans.

• Xfinity Internet customers with Gigabit or higher speed service: 24 months of Peacock Premium for free.
• Diamond or Platinum tier Xfinity Rewards members: You can redeem rewards for Peacock Premium subscriptions.
• NOW TV customers: You get Peacock Premium subscription included.
• New customers with Xfinity Internet and an X1 TV Box, Flex streaming TV Box, or a Xumo Stream Box from Xfinity: Six months of Peacock Premium.

You can learn more about these Xfinity offers here.

Instacart Plus subscribers get Peacock Premium for free

Are you an Instacart Plus subscriber? The service offers benefits for grocery deliveries. These benefits include unlimited free deliveries on orders over $35, 5% credits on eligible pickup orders, lower service fees, and more. Oh, and it also throws in a free Peacock Premium subscription!

Instacart Plus costs $10 a month or $100 yearly. If you already pay for it, or actually find value in the service, this is a great way to also get Peacock Premium for free. You can sign up for Instacart Plus here.

Chase credit card customers can indirectly get Peacock Premium for free

By the way, there is also a way to get Instacart Plus for free. Instacart partnered with Chase to offer free Instacart Plus to some credit card holders. Since Instacart Plus customers get Peacock Premium for free, you would also indirectly get the streaming subscription.

Depending on your Chase card, you can get either three, six, or 12 months of Instacart Plus for free. Of course, many of these credit cards also have annual fees. But if you already have one of these, or can justify getting a credit card considering all its benefits, you can get both Instacart Plus and Peacock Premium for free. Just hurry up because this partnership ends on July 31, 2024.

Instacart gives you all the details on this promo here, and you can look into Chase credit cards here.

American Express Platinum Card holders can get Peacock Premium for free

The American Express Platinum Card is one of the most popular high-end credit cards out there. Again, we’re not going to advice that you go and sign up for a credit card just to get Peacock for free, especially one like this one, which has a $695 annual fee. Many of you already have it, though, or you might already be looking into getting one.

If you have this credit card, you get a bunch of benefits, including a monthly $20 in digital entertainment credits. These statement credits can be claimed if you sign up for a select few streaming platforms, and Peacock is one of them. And because this is a flexible statement credit, you can even get the Peacock Premium Plus subscription, if you wish.

You can look into more details on the American Express Platinum Card here.

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