Now, however, Netflix has ended its 30-day free trial offer in most countries. If you want to access all Netflix content, you have to pay.
As first spotted by The TV Answer Man, Netflix has quietly ended the ability for people to sign up for its service for a free trial.
Free trials have always been a staple of Netflix. The company has offered seven- and 30-day trials in the past, designed to connect people for free with the goal that they then sign up for a paid subscription.
Now when you view the Netflix Help Center for more information on free trials, the page reads:
In most countries around the world, the message is the same. Only some countries, like Portugal and Switzerland, still claim to offer a free trial. It is not known if these countries will soon lose their free trials.
The fact that Netflix plans to drop free trials worldwide has been looming on the horizon for some time. It ended the promotion in Mexico in 2018 and began phasing it out in the United States this month.
With over 182 million subscribers, Netflix is one of the largest subscription services in the world. However, with the number of streaming platforms on the rise, Netflix is clearly trying to keep people from hopping on its platform for a free period to binge on content and then leave.
Although the free trial has ended, there are still ways to watch some things for free on Netflix.
In a statement to Variety, a Netflix spokesperson said the company is "investigating various marketing promotions...to attract new members and provide them with a great Netflix experience."
In April 2020, Netflix uploaded some of its documentaries to YouTube. This includes the excellent Our Planet, narrated by David Attenborough.
Also, from August 2020, you can now watch Netflix content without a subscription. This includes some of its top original content like Stranger Things and The Two Popes.
There are still many other streaming services that offer free trials. Amazon Prime, Paramount Plus, and HBO Max all let you view their content for free, for varying lengths of time.
In fact, Apple recently offered free months of Apple TV+ to existing subscribers to try to retain them.
