Prices for streaming services have been steadily on the rise and more and 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 waiting for the Black Friday sales to be announced before signing up for a new subscription service, knowing that most streamers will be offering deals.
Although we've said many times that sales aren't always worth it, streaming deals are the rare exception. Not only are there usually only two limited-time sales events each year, but the discounts are always good. The lowest discount is at least 50% off for a month or two, some deals (here's looking at you Hulu) are genuinely great — 89% off the usual price of a Hulu monthly plan.
We've got a full round-up of the best Black Friday streaming deals available. If you’re looking for ways to save money on streaming all year round, we’ve got a guide on how to do just that.
Black Friday Streaming Quick Links
- Disney Plus/Hulu/Max bundle: $29/month (was $51)
- Disney Plus/Hulu bundle: $2.99/month
- Hulu with ads: $0.99/month
- Max with ads: $2.99/month
- Peacock with ads: $1.99/month (code: realdealmonthly
- Peacock with ads: $19.99/year (code: realdeal)
- Paramount Plus with ads: $2.99/month (code: bf-ess)
- Paramount Plus with Showtime: $2.99/month (code: bf-adfree)
- STARZ/Hulu bundle: $1.98/month
- Sling TV: 50% off first month
- YouTube TV: $46 off first two months
Black Friday Streaming Deals
How to save on streaming
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. If you already have a few streaming services, consider canceling the ones that you use the least. You can always re-subscribe when there's a new show or movie that you want to watch.
2. Share subscriptions within your household.
Some services make this easier than others — Hulu (which costs $9.99/month with ads and $18.99/month without ads) is particularly 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 county you can still do that, but it'll cost you now — a rather pricey $7.99/month for each "extra member".
3. Try pay-per-view.
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 for seven days, with Apple TV Plus, Paramount Plus and Hulu (which also gets you a free trial of Max — the HBO/Discovery streamer.)
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.
7. Subscribe to another service that offers TV streaming perks.
There are plenty of places that give you access to a streaming service as an add-on.
- T-Mobile customers on the Go5G Plus plan can get access to Apple TV Plus, Hulu with Ads or a Netflix Basic subscription at no extra cost.
- Walmart Plus — Members of Walmart Plus get a free membership to Paramount Plus (with ads). 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.
- Apple TV Plus: you can get a three-month subscription to Apple TV Plus 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.
