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HBO Max Free Trial: Can you stream hit shows for free?

Because so many networks now have their own streaming services, and with hundreds of movies and shows to choose from, you’ll never know if a streaming platform is quite right for you until you sit down to watch some content. Yet, most require a premium subscription before you get access to the best content they have to offer. Luckily, a great way to test out various services, like HBO Max is to take advantage of a free trial — there’s a Showtime free trial, for example, and that’s not the only service that offers free trials. So, if you’re here specifically looking for an HBO Max free trial, we’ve got all the insight you need to know about the service, including available deals, and whether or not there’s a trial to leverage. Read on to learn everything you need to know about the HBO Max free trial.

Is there an HBO Max free trial?

The HBO Max app on a TV screen while purple lights illuminate the wall behind.
Thibault Penin/Unsplash

There’s no widely available HBO Max free trial, unfortunately. When the streaming service first launched in May 2020, there was a free trial for seven days, but that offer has now expired. Since the release of Wonder Woman 1984, HBO Max requires you to sign up for a subscription although you can simply sign up for one month rather than commit for any longer than that. While it’s not ideal that you need to pay up, the best shows on HBO Max are numerous so you’re going to get your money’s worth here. Whether you’re looking for the best Studio Ghibli movies or the best Christmas movies in the run-up to the holidays, HBO Max has you covered so there’s good value to be had here.

Can you get HBO Max for free?

Like when seeking out a Hulu free trial or Disney Plus free trial, there are alternative ways to get HBO Max for free.

If you’re already subscribed to HBO, you may be able to get free HBO Max through Samsung TV, the Roku Channel Store, Verizon Fios, or one of your other cable platforms. It’s worth checking. As well as that, it’s possible to get a free trial to HBO Max through Direct TV Stream with certain streaming plans offering it entirely for free while others offer a free three-month trial or five-day trial.

The best offer if it applies to you is through . If you’re signed up to one of the company’s $60 unlimited plans, you get the ad-supported version of HBO Max entirely for free. This won’t be of use to everyone but for Cricket customers, it’s a great bonus.

Alternatively, you might consider some of the other services with offers, like the Amazon Prime Video free trial, the Sling TV free trial, or even the Hulu with Live TV free trial. They’re certainly not the same as HBO Max, but they offer plenty of content to hold you over until you can secure a subscription!

Are there any HBO Max deals?

HBO Max
Digital Trends Graphic

While there are no dedicated HBO Max free trials anymore, there are some good deals out there if you’re willing to sign up with your credit card. For the most part, you save the most money by agreeing to an annual plan rather than paying monthly.

Sign up to the annual ad-supported plan and you get 16% off HBO Max meaning you pay $100 instead of $120 for the year. A decent savings of $20, it’s likely to make committing to a year much more tempting. It’s not like you’re going to run out of shows to watch, right?

That’s the standard HBO Max deal that runs pretty much all the time. However, currently, you can also sign up for a year of ad-supported content for $70 or pay $105 instead of $150 for the ad-free version of HBO Max. It’s a limited-time-only deal that ends by October 30 so you’ve got a little time to sign up.

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Jennifer Allen
Jennifer Allen is a technology writer with over 10 years of experience. She primarily writes about the best deals coverage…
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