Hulu is a movie and television streaming platform owned by The Walt Disney Company and available primarily to US viewers.
The company started in 2007 offering free movies and television before later becoming a full subscription streaming service offering access to entire seasons of television series and undelayed access to new episodes.
They now offer packages that are ad-supported and ad-free as well as “Hulu with Live TV”. The Live TV package lets you have access to Hulu as well as over 65 live channels available in the subscribers area.
Content-wise, Hulu offers Hulu original programming as well as popular movies and TV shows from it’s content partners. If you have a bundle which includes ESPN+, you can also stream sports programs as well.
A number of premium channels are also available for subscription through Hulu. These include Max, Cinemax, Paramount+ with Showtime, and Starz. Each of these channels (except for Max) offer a free trial to get started even as you’re trialing Hulu.
Hulu offers a 30 day free trial for new subscribers and qualifying returning subscribers.
Below, I’ll show you how to get started with a Hulu subscription and how to cancel so you don’t get auto-billed.
How To Start Your Hulu Free Trial
Your Hulu free trial will run for 30 days before you’re charged for the service.
You’ll need to put in your credit card details to start streaming but you won’t be charged until the 30 days are over. If you don’t want to be charged automatically, you’ll need to cancel billing before the end of the trial.
I’d suggest cancelling immediately after signup so you don’t have to track or remember to do so. Subscribing will then be on your terms if you decide you love the service and want to continue using it.
To start your free trial with Hulu, you must be a US resident and at the age of 18 or over.
Here’s how to start your Hulu free trial step by step.
1. Choose a Hulu base plan
Hulu offers three base plans to choose from. Only the Hulu plans without Live TV offer 30-day free trials. If you want to try Hulu + Live TV, you’ll only get a 3-day free trial.
However, you could start with a free month of Hulu and then add Live TV after.
You’ll also see the option to choose bundles which will give you Disney+ and ESPN+. However, you wouldn’t get a free trial if you go with the bundled option.
Hulu says their $7.99 ad-supported plan is the most popular so I free trialed this one.
2. Sign up for an account
Create a Hulu account by adding your email address and a password for login purposes, your name to customize your experience and your birth date and gender.
Clicking continue means you agree to Hulu Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
3. Enter your billing info
The next step after creating an account would be to pay for Hulu. You can use a credit card or PayPal to pay for your plan.
You’ll see the above right under the billing form letting you know what to expect after you input your billing information.
4. Personalize your recommendations
After you’ve submitted your billing information to complete your signup, Hulu will begin their onboarding process before you can start streaming.
You’ll begin by choosing some shows from different genres that you like to watch.
This will help to customize your experience and present a better user-experience for you by helping Hulu recommend shows you’re more likely to watch.
5. Start streaming movies and shows
You’ll now be able to stream your favorite movies and TV shows on your desktop, TV or on any other device you own.
Here, I’ve shown you how to sign up on your desktop via the Hulu website. You can also sign up through some other third party websites or services which include:
- Amazon (if you’re using it on an Amazon device only – FireTV etc)
- Disney
- Apple
- Roku
- Spotify
- Sprint
- Verizon
- Xfinity
Signing up through these services means you’ll have to manage your billing and cancellation through them rather than Hulu.
How To Cancel Hulu During Free Trial
Hulu gives you 30 days to decide whether or not you’ll like to continue viewing their content.
You may decide that you don’t want to continue for whatever reason and if this is the case then you’ll need to cancel during your free trial to avoid getting billed automatically.
On TrialBear, I usually suggest that readers cancel immediately after signup so you don’t have to remember when your trial ends. You will normally be allowed to enjoy the remainder of your trial period without limitations.
To cancel Hulu, you’ll need to follow the steps below.
1. Go to your account page
While logged in, hover over your name in the top right hand corner of the Hulu website. Click on “Account” in the drop-down menu to go to your account page.
2. Go to “Cancel Your Subscription”
On your account page, look for the “Cancel Your Subscription” section and hit “Cancel”.
3. Continue to cancel
Of course, Hulu would not want you to cancel your account so they have an option to pause your subscription.
On the next page, they’ll ask you if you want to use this option instead. To skip this, click on “Continue to cancel”.
4. Answer the questionnaire
You’ll be shown a brief questionnaire where Hulu would like to find the reason why you’re cancelling your free trial.
Pick a reason and then click “Continue to Cancel”.
5. Cancel subscription
On the final confirmation screen, you may receive a discount or another offer. If you’ve made up your mind that you don’t want to be billed automatically at the end of your trial, click on the “Cancel Subscription” button to cancel billing.
Once your free trial ends, you will not be able to continue streaming but you’ll still have access to your account. You can then decide to continue whenever you like by visiting your account page and resubscribing.
On other devices, the cancellation process is more or less the same.
Hulu Pricing After Trial
The price of Hulu after the free trial depends on which subscription plan you signed up for at the beginning of the trial.
If you’re on a 30-day free trial, you most likely either signed up for the ad-supported base plan for $7.99/month or the ad-free plan for $17.99/month.
The other base plan is Hulu with Live TV which costs $76.99/month. However, you only get a 3-day free trial with this plan.
Since you could switch plans at any time, it makes sense to choose a plan where you could get 30 days free and then switch to Hulu with Live TV when you’ve completed most of the trial.
| Hulu Plan | Price After Trial | Free Trial |
|---|---|---|
| Hulu (with ads) | $7.99 | 30 days |
| Hulu (ad-free) | $17.99 | 30 days |
| Hulu with Live TV | $76.99 | 7 days |
Hulu also offers premium addons like Max, Cinemax, Paramount+ with Showtime and Starz. These (except Max) all come with free trials when you add them to your subscription but you’ll have to pay for them separately.
So adding Starz, for example, would let you try their service for 7 days free before you’re charged $8.99/month, the price of Starz’s subscription. You can watch Starz content via Hulu or watch in the Starz app by choosing Hulu as your TV provider.
Your pricing may also go up if you select any addons offered by Hulu.
Hulu offers the following addons for subscribers of their Live TV package.
The only addons available for subscribers without Live TV are the premium channels.
Should You Keep Your Hulu Subscription?
Currently, Hulu has over 50 million subscribers who enjoy their large content library.
Being owned by Disney, it means the streaming platform is home to a lot of shows that aren’t available on Netflix which has over 269 million subscribers.
There is also Hulu original programming so if you fall in love with a show only available on Hulu then you may want to keep the subscription for that reason alone.
A Hulu subscription is relatively inexpensive from $7.99/month. Their huge library of television shows and movies means you’ll always have something to watch and gets even better when you add Live TV if you don’t mind the price.
The decision is up to you though. Hulu gives you a whole 30-day free trial to make up your mind.
