When it comes to paid streaming services, Netflix has long reigned with the most subscribers. If you subscribe to Netflix, you no doubt got your start by making use of the free trial.

However, for most regions that Netflix serves, the free trial is no longer available. We'll explore why and highlight a few methods to still watch Netflix for free.

Does Netflix Offer a 30-Day Free Trial?

For many years, Netflix offered a free 30-day trial to its streaming service. Although you had to create an account with payment details, you could cancel the membership before the trial finished and not pay anything.

The trial wasn't limited by content and worked like a normal membership to Netflix. You could watch whatever you wanted, as much as you wanted, on any platform.

The free trial to Netflix was available globally. However, in 2018, the company ended the promotion in Mexico, and started phasing it out from there. In October 2020, the Netflix stopped offering free trials in most countries.

Only a handful of locations, like Portugal and Switzerland, continue to offer the free trial.

You can find out whether Netflix offers a free trial in your country by visiting the Netflix Help Center. Select your country in the Currently viewing information for dropdown menu.

Netflix didn't comment on why it ended the free month-long trial. However, there are now many other streaming services available from the likes of Hulu, Amazon, Disney, and HBO. So with the increased competition, Netflix is looking to garner as many paying subscribers as possible.

Removing the trial also stops people from joining the platform for the free period, watching what they want, and then leaving.

How to Watch Netflix for Free

Despite the 30-day free trial no longer being available, there are still some ways that you can watch Netflix for free.

1.  Watch Netflix Documentaries on YouTube

In April 2020, Netflix uploaded some documentaries to YouTube. It did this as a way to provide free educational materials that would support teachers and students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those documentaries can all be viewed, without a Netflix or YouTube account, on the Educational Documentaries YouTube playlist.

Some of the available content includes episodes from Explained, full features like Knock Down The House and Chasing Coral, plus the entire season of David Attenborough's Our Planet.

2. Watch Netflix Originals Without an Account

murder mystery

In August 2020, Netflix made some of its original content available for free. This includes various Netflix original shows and movies like Bird Box, Stranger Things, and Murder Mystery.

To watch this content, simply visit the Netflix Watch Free section. You don't need to sign up for an account to watch.

However, the feature is only available on desktop browsers and Android devices.

3. Watch Netflix for Free With a Family Account

netflix add profile

If someone in your household already has Netflix, they can permit you to use their account for free. That's because Netflix supports the creation of up to five separate profiles, each with its own preferences and watchlist.

A standard Netflix subscription allows for viewing on two screens at the same time. A premium subscription boosts that to four screens. For more information about that, see our guide revealing how many people can watch Netflix simultaneously.

The account holder needs to go to Netflix, click their profile icon in the top right, click Manage Profiles, and then choose Add Profile. They can create a personalized profile that you can select when signing into Netflix.

The Best Free Streaming Services to Try Instead

Even though Netflix has removed its free 30-day trial in most countries, there are still great ways to preview content from the service without paying.

And if you want to settle down and watch something, Netflix isn't your only option. In fact, there are some excellent streaming services that you can watch for free all the time, including Pluto TV and Tubi TV.