Hulu Basic is one of the most affordable streaming services on the market at just $6 a month - here's what you get
For $6 a month, Hulu Basic offers access to a large library of on-demand streaming titles. You can also upgrade to an ad-free plan for $12 a month.
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- Hulu Basic is one of the most affordable streaming platforms you can subscribe to.
- The service costs $5.99 a month, and offers ad-supported access to Hulu's entire on-demand library, including "PEN15," "Woke," and "Animaniacs."
- College students can get Hulu Basic for just $1.99 a month with a verified enrollment.
- If you can't stand ads, you can upgrade to an ad-free version of Hulu for $11.99 a month.
- See also: A complete price breakdown for Hulu and Hulu Live TV packages
As streaming services surge in interest following a year spent mostly indoors, cable subscriptions and cinema outings are fading away in favor of at-home binge-watching sessions and indoor movie nights. In fact, a survey of American households suggests the average home now has four streaming services that family members subscribe to.
With that in mind, many people are looking for the best value to help build their repertoire of digital video platforms. When it comes to streaming services, Hulu Basic is one of the cheapest on-demand options on the market at just $5.99 per month. For that price, you'll get access to an extensive library of shows, movies, and Hulu Originals.
Below, we'll walk you through everything you need to know about a Hulu Basic package.
Updated on 1/12/2021 by Ben Blanchet: Updated price of Hulu's live TV option and added details about Hulu's new student plan.
What is Hulu Basic?
Hulu Basic is the company's simplest and most affordable streaming option. For $5.99 a month you'll get access to Hulu's entire catalog, but you will have to watch some ads as you stream. New subscribers can receive a free 30-day trial when they sign up.
Hulu plays host to a wide variety of content, including many current and classic TV shows. The library features hit comedies like "Nathan for You," "Atlanta," and "Letterkenny"; cartoons like "Bob's Burgers" and "Animaniacs"; dramas like "Fargo" and "Helstrom"; gems from the '90s like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Seinfeld"; Hulu originals like "Woke" and "PEN15"; and even films like "Trolls World Tour," "Tesla," "Centigrade," and "Bombshell."
You can also use Hulu to keep up with shows as they air. Episodes of network series like "Saturday Night Live," "The Bachelor," and many more are available to stream the day after they air live, minimizing your FOMO gap to just 24 hours. This is a huge advantage over Netflix where you have to wait up to a year or more for an entire season of a show to make its way to the platform.
What's the difference between Hulu Basic and Hulu Premium?
Hulu Basic costs just $5.99 a month, while Hulu premium is $11.99 a month.
If you're a college student, Hulu Basic will cost you $1.99 a month with a verified college enrollment - a savings of $48 a year compared to the regular price.
In exchange for a cheaper monthly rate, Hulu Basic serves you unskippable ads before and during your stream. A 30-minute show will often play one ad beforehand and will have two ad breaks during the show, amounting to roughly five minutes of total ad time. An hour-long show will have an ad at the beginning and an average of five ad breaks per show, amounting to about 10 minutes of ad time. It's a small price to pay for halving the cost of your subscription, and it's still less overall ad time than you'd be watching on cable.
Both Hulu Basic and Hulu Premium get access to Hulu's entire content catalog, so you won't be missing out on any shows if you go the cheaper route. Whether you choose Basic or Premium is entirely up to whether you can tolerate being interrupted by ads and if it's worth doubling the cost of the subscription to be freed from their influence.
College students get a discount on the ad-supported plan but students must verify their status with Hulu through a third-party platform on an annual basis. The student plan is available for eligible new and existing Hulu subscribers.
For those who want access to even more streaming content, you can also sign up for Hulu Basic as part of a bundle with Disney Plus and ESPN+. This bundle costs $12.99 per month, which is about $6 cheaper than the price of paying for all three services separately.
If you'd like to add live TV streaming to the Hulu Basic service, there's also an option for Hulu + Live TV. This plan includes Hulu Basic and access to over 65 live TV channels for $64.99 a month.
How can I stream Hulu?
Most smart TVs have Hulu already built in, so all you'll have to do is launch the app and sign in to start watching. If you're looking for a new TV to stream all the latest Hulu shows and movies, scroll through our guide of the best affordable TVs.
If you're not ready to upgrade your entire TV, there are still plenty of ways to smarten it up a bit with a streaming stick that will allow you to access these same apps. We recommend the Roku Ultra as our top streaming option, but there are tons of other devices across price ranges we've had great experiences with as well. You can also stream on your laptop or phone.