Best streaming deals: how to save money on streaming services

Disney+, Hulu and ESPN icons on Apple TV
(Image credit: WhatToWatch.com)

If you've been hoping to sign up for one of the best streaming services or best live TV streaming services, then you might be worried about the cost, and that's where streaming deals step in.

Many streaming services offer deals or discounts, to tempt you into signing up by lowering the monthly (or, sometimes, annual) price. This lets you test their service and library so you can decide whether you want to subscribe for the long run.

Streaming services aren't the most expensive things you can buy, but subscribe to more than a handful and your monthly bill can end up being rather sizeable. That's why streaming deals are really handy, to help you save money while you test services.

To help you save your money, we've brought together a list of the best streaming deals that you should consider, and you can find it all below. Most of the streaming deals out there run for a limited amount of time, but some are permanent, and we've included both on the below list. Of course, if it runs out soon, we'll include a time limit on the entry too.

This list gets updated frequently to add new deals and remove expired ones, so keep checking back if nothing piques your interest.

For more on specific streaming services, check out our individual deals pages here, which go into more detail on free trials and bundles as well as discounts:

Streaming service deals in the US

Non-Black Friday deals

Sling TV: $10 off first month + free or discounted add-ons

Sling TV: $10 off first month + free or discounted add-ons
You can sign up to Sling Blue or Sling Orange (or the combined bundle) for $10 for your first month, and there are a few trials on add-ons: you can get a month of Discovery Plus for free, $3 off a month of AMC Plus, or $5 off a month o NBA League Pass.

Amazon Prime Video: half price for students

Amazon Prime Video: half price for students
If you're a college student, you can get half price off the monthly cost of an Amazon Prime subscription, which includes Prime Video as part of the package. This means you have to pay $7.49 per month, instead of $14.99.

Disney Bundle: get Disney, Hulu and ESPN Plus for $14.99

Disney Bundle: get Disney, Hulu and ESPN Plus for $14.99
The Disney Bundle is a great way to save money: it gets you access to Disney Plus and Hulu (both ad-enabled) for $10.99 monthly or throw in ESPN Plus for just $14.99, which is less than you'd pay for any two of those services normally.

Paramount Plus: free Paramount Plus subscription with Walmart Plus

Paramount Plus: free Paramount Plus subscription with Walmart Plus
A new perk of Walmart Plus, Walmart's shopping-focused subscription service, is a free membership to Paramount Plus' ad-enabled tier. That means the $12.95-per-month Walmart price will include the $4.99-per-month streaming service, really improving your savings.

Streaming service deals in the UK

Disney Plus: bundles with other services

Disney Plus: bundles with other services
While there's no great Disney/ESPN/Hulu bundle in the UK (due to the latter two streaming services not existing in the country), there are two ways to get cheaper subscriptions. O2 offers £2 off per month for half a year if you subscribe to one of its plans — check out that deal here — while Samsung offers 6 months of Disney Plus for free if you own one of its Galaxy phones, and you can claim that by following this link.

Paramount Plus: 7-day free trialSky TV bundle

Paramount Plus: 7-day free trial
If you're interested in signing up for Paramount Plus, the closest thing it has to a deal is a seven-day free trial which gives you a week of free access to its library. To double it, you can also try the trial of the Paramount Plus Prime Video channel.
Sky TV bundle
If you're a Sky TV customer, you get Paramount Plus for free, and you can check out the Sky TV bundles here.

Discovery Plus: seven-day trial or bundles with other services

Discovery Plus: seven-day trial or bundles with other services
Discovery Plus offers a seven-day trial of its Entertainment tier (sans sports) which usually costs £3.99 per month. Also Vodafone members can get 6 months for free — details here — while Sky Q customers get 12 months by going here.

Streaming deals FAQs

What is the best streaming deal?

Streaming service deals come and go — if they didn't, they wouldn't be a 'deal', just a regular price. But there's always one or two standout deals.

In the US, the Disney Bundle (Hulu, Disney Plus and ESPN Plus) is a great option for people who want all three services. The cost, $13.99, is less than you'd pay for any two of the services and gets you a third totally free as well.

In the UK, it's usually mobile operator bundles that offer the best deals, so when you're buying a new phone contract, you can often use that to get yourself cheap streaming service subscriptions.

When do the best streaming deals take place?

Some deals, like bundles and trials, roll all year round. But others only pop up sporadically.

A great time to look for streaming service deals is around Black Friday, which in 2022 falls on Friday 25 November. In previous years, we've seen great discounts on Disney Plus, AMC Plus, Discovery Plus, Hulu and a fair few Prime Video channels.

Certain companies have special 'days' too, like Disney Plus Day and Amazon Prime Day, and we often see discounts on the corresponding services for a limited time.

What makes a good streaming deal?

When streaming services were new, each offered plenty of deals to try and get you to try this new-fangled way of watching TV. That's not the case anymore, and actual discounts on streaming services are few and far between.

So a "good deal" on a streaming service can be anything that lets you save money, but the most common we see are bundles, that group multiple services in for a lower price. As long as you want all the services, this is a good way to save.

The best deals are the straight-up discounts though, especially on annual subscriptions, as they save you the most amount of cash (as monthly deals only reduce one month's bill).

CATEGORIES
Tom Bedford
Streaming and Ecommerce Writer

Tom is the streaming and ecommerce writer at What to Watch, covering streaming services in the US and UK. His goal is to help you navigate the busy and confusing online video market, to help you find the TV, movies and sports that you're looking for without having to spend too much money.

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