Trying to find the best streaming service for your personal needs can be complicated. Each service is built a little differently and intended for a slightly different audience. While one interface may feel confusing, another may seem totally natural, even if the channel listings are the same. With so many options available, sometimes the best thing you can do is try them out for yourself and find one to fit both your content needs and usability needs.
Of course, you don’t want to pay for a service you end up not liking. The best way to get around this is to utilize free trials. Most major streaming services offer a free trial of at least a few days, which should give you plenty of time to play around with the tools and functions available. However, depending on what kind of streaming service you’re looking for, some free trials offer a whole lot more than a few days’ worth of free content.
If you are shopping for a live service, you’ll probably only get around a week of free streaming, while on-demand services often offer as much as a month. Some services are completely free, but they usually have limited offerings and ads to sit through. Read on for some of the options to help you decide which free trials could lead to your perfect fit.
[See: 6 Ways to Treat Yourself on a Budget.]
Live streaming services. When it comes to free trials, live streaming services are stingy. Because they offer content in real time, they’re the most similar type of streaming service to traditional cable, but they come at a higher cost. Most live services have shorter trial lengths and higher subscription prices, which typically run between $20 and $40, than on-demand offerings, which usually cost around $10 a month. That said, all of the major live providers offer free trials, so you’ll be able to test whether those costs are worthwhile.
The average trial length for the top live services is about a week. Sling TV, DirecTV Now, fuboTV, CBS All Access, Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV all offer a full seven days of viewing for free, with charges beginning after the week is up. PlayStation Vue, widely considered to be one of the strongest streaming services by cord-cutting experts, offers a slightly shorter trial period, with just five days to decide if you want to sign on for longer.
On-demand streaming services. If you aren’t concerned with catching shows live, on-demand services are typically a more budget-friendly option than live streaming. Even better, most leading on-demand services offer month-long free trials, so you’ll have plenty of time to peruse their content libraries.
Both Netflix and HBO Now, the all powerful host of ” Game of Thrones,” offer a full month free to potential subscribers. If you want Hulu without its live TV capabilities, you will be able to get a month, too. Amazon Prime Instant Video, which has a subscription bundled with other Prime services, offers 30 days.
If you’re a dedicated binge-watcher, a month might be time to get through a series or two, but more importantly, it’s a significant amount of time to feel out these services.
[Read: 7 Best Inexpensive Netflix Alternatives.]
Free streaming services. If a week or even a month isn’t enough free TV, there are a few streaming services that offer their full content lineups with no paid subscription. You’ll have to make some trade-offs, but if you’re on a tight budget, sitting through ads or having access to limited channels may be worth it.
Perhaps the most popular free service is Crackle. Its rival, called Popcornflix, runs on a similar model. They both offer constantly rotating slates of content, so although you may not be able to watch your favorite show during the course of a few months, you’ll have access to fresh content often. That said, they are both ad-supported, so you’ll have to watch a few commercials before getting to your shows.
If you have a Roku, you’ll be able to get some content free through the Roku Channel. The offerings are limited, but new titles are added all the time, so you’ll be able to access a constantly changing library of popular movies and some TV series for no additional cost.
[Read: 7 Ways to Save Money on Your Internet Bill.]
Pro tip: Don’t try them all at once. A beautiful thing about free trials is that they’re just that — free. If you play your cards right and stagger your trials, you could potentially enjoy months of TV from the most popular streaming services without paying a cent. As an added bonus, giving them each their full trial period without having your attention spread among others allows you to experience them deeply enough to make a well-informed decision about which ones you’re willing to pay for.
A word of caution: If you decide you don’t want to continue using a streaming service after the trial is over, don’t forget to cancel your subscription before the allotted time is up. Nearly every free trial requires the attachment of a credit card for use, so if you forget to cancel, you might end up paying for at least a month of the service.
If you’re considering cutting the cord, finding an ideal streaming service is key. You don’t have to accept anyone else’s opinions on the best choice. If you’re willing to put in a little time, you’ll be able to try all the best streaming services and see for yourself which one is best for you. Even better, you’ll be able to do it for free.
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Cord-Cutters, Use Free Trials to Save Money and Discover Streaming Services originally appeared on usnews.com
