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The Best Netflix Alternatives With Free Trials in 2026
In today’s world of streaming services taking over the entertainment industry, it can be hard to pick just one. With the Netflix getting more and more expensive every year, you may even find yourself looking elsewhere for a place to watch good movies and shows. Since its humble beginnings as a mail-in movie rental service, Netflix is now producing thousands of hours of original content that is only available on Netflix and nowhere else. Naturally, other services have followed the trend and made their library of content exclusive to their subscription, making it more difficult than ever to choose between Netflix and something else. If the current Netflix plans and prices aren't doing it for you, there are some decent alternatives worth your time.
Luckily, many of the more popular Netflix alternatives also offer a free trial of their services so you can experience everything they have to offer without having to spend any money. Since many of these streaming services are still catching up to Netflix, their original content libraries aren’t quite as vast, but they each offer great content and the free streaming trials will let you test them out before cancelling Netflix for good.
Hulu (30-Day Free Trial)
A great place to start when looking for an alternative to Netflix, Hulu continuously produces quality, original content comparable to Netflix. It's the only place you can watch Shōgun, new episodes of Futurama, The Bear, and The Handmaids tale. Hulu is hock full of award-winning, original shows and well-known cinema, much of their original content is well worth talking about. After exploring the vast library that Hulu has to offer in this generous 30-day trial, there are a wide range of subscription options to opt into from $11.99 a month up to just over $100 a month–if you want to include live TV or premium add-ons such as ESPN+, Cinemax, Paramount+ with Showtime, Starz, and more. If you inlcude live TV, however, your free trial gets cut down to only three days. The Hulu + Live TV free trial is arguably the best live TV service you can test out for free, even with the short window of time.
If you want to skip the free trial entirely, Hulu also offers some of the best streaming bundles currently available. First up there's the Disney+, Hulu, and Max Bundle for only $19.99 a month, which will get you access to the most content.
Read our review of Hulu or check out all of the Hulu bundles available.
Amazon Prime (30-Day Free Trial)
Well-known in the modern list of streaming service options, Amazon Prime offers one of the longer trials of 30 days to decide if you enjoy what they offer. Responsible for the production of more high-quality, arthouse films and series every year, it’s hard to look away from the Amazon Prime Originals catalog that easily rivals Netflix’s. After the 30-day trial is concluded, users will be charged only $14.99 a month (or $139.00 a year) to continue viewing and enjoy free shipping on orders from Amazon’s shopping center. There is also a student discount of $7.49 a month (or $69 a year). Prime Video is currently the only place you can watch the Fallout series as well as Rings of Power.
Outside of streaming, there are also quite a few benefits to having an Amazon Prime subscription. You get free shipping on your orders as well as access to exclusive discounts during sales events like Prime Day.
Read our review of Prime Video.
Crunchyroll (14-Day Free Trial)
For viewers looking to expand their Anime horizons and join in on the millions of viewers worldwide, Crunchyroll has an offer that is hard to beat. While there are three different membership tiers to choose from ($7.99/mo to $14.99/mo), Crunchyroll also has a decent amount of anime content streaming for free. Though Netflix streams some good anime and even some great, original anime series, Crunchyroll has access to all the best anime in the world. Any fan of anime knows that Japan is the leader in anime production, which is why Crunchyroll gives users premium access to brand-new episodes shortly after its initial release in Japan. While Netflix only has 4 seasons of My Hero Academia, Crunchyroll has all 7 seasons and most of the movies.
There are currently three different premium Crunchyroll subscriptions to choose from, but all of them offer a free trial. You can also get access to the Game Vault at certain tiers, so it doubles as a video game streaming service.
Read our review of Crunchyroll.
Apple TV+ (7-Day Free Trial)
A recent underdog-turned-showstopper in the streaming service war, Apple TV+ takes exclusivity to a whole new level. Featuring some highly appraised, original shows (Ted Lasso, Severance, Masters of the Air) and movies (Killers of the Flower Moon, Spirited, Napoleon), Apple is quickly gaining momentum in the race against its competitors–especially Netflix. After the 7-day free trial has expired, the monthly subscription will cost $12.99 at base cost, depending on how many users are added to the account. As a disclaimer for those without Apple products, you will have to create a verified Apple ID to access the premium Apple TV+ streaming library.
The latest reason to pick up an Apple TV+ subscription is the Murderbot series, which stars Alexander Skarsgård and is based on the book series of the same name.
Read our review of Apple TV+.
Paramount+ (7-Day Free Trial)
Similar to Hulu, Paramount+ contains a decent selection of original shows and movies to choose from. The studio that had a hand in more projects than one might expect, Paramount+ offers exclusive access to original content such as the Mission Impossible movies, the Halo series, and the entire Star Trek film/series universe. With new shows and movies being regularly released on the platform, Paramount+ is catching up to its original content competitors like Netflix. After the 7-day free trial of their services, the recurring monthly amount to stay subscribed will be as low as $7.99 (or $59.99 a year) with limited ads, or $12.99 a month (or $119.99 a year) to add SHOWTIME’s full library and remove almost all ads.
In terms of new content to look forward to, Paramount+ is also the home of everything Sonic, so this is where you can currently stream Sonic 3.
Read our review of Paramount+ or learn more about the Paramount+ free trial.
DirecTV Stream (5-Day Free Trial)
Although most folks may think of DirecTV only as a satellite TV service, the company also offers a pretty solid streaming service with a free trial. DirecTV Stream has a wide array of streaming options that include various movies, series, and premiere live TV streaming access. The trial itself is very short at only 5 days, but it comes with some premium content with your subscription. When customers sign up for one of three packages ranging in content and priced from $79.99 a month to $119.99 a month, they offer add-on streaming services Max, Paramount+ with Showtime, Starz, MGM+ & Cinemax included in the first 3 months of the subscription. All in all, it's a decent option if you are looking for a live TV alternative to Netflix. It's also one of the best streaming services for sports, which Netflix doesn't really offer at all.
See our guide on how to get the DirecTV Stream free trial.
Can You Watch Netflix Without a Paid Subscription?
While a lot of content available on Netflix could possibly be available elsewhere, original Netflix shows and movies are, unfortunately, not available without a subscription. Additionally, Netflix does not offer a free trial of their services, yet offers multiple tiers of options that range in price from $7.99 / month to $24.99 / month depending on if you want to stream in 4K or not. You can check out our guide to Netflix plans and prices for more info.
Connor Sheppard is an Oregon-grown culture writer for IGN with previous work on The Manual. Intrigued from a young age by pop culture and movies, he has developed into an experienced critic and consumer of all things media. From his time earning a bachelor's degree in digital communications at Oregon State University, he found a love for writing and appreciating specific actors and directors in the many films he watches.
