Let’s face it, college tuition is ridiculously expensive these days which makes it smart to find ways to cut costs on services like Netflix. This leads many students to seek out a Netflix student discount, or better yet, free alternatives to the popular streaming service. Here’s everything you need to know so you can start streaming movies and TV shows for next to nothing.

Does Netflix Have a Student Discount?

Unfortunately a Netflix student discount does not currently exist.

This comes as a surprise to me as the popular streaming service makes for a cheap alternative to cable TV for many college student.

So it would make sense for Netflix to offer a small discount to students to get them signed up, even if the student discount only lasted for a few months.

But with that said, I have some clever ways to get Netflix at a discount PLUS some free alternatives that’ll make you forget that Netflix ever existed.

See Also: 50+ Places Where Students Get a Sweet Discount

Any Tricks to Getting Netflix for Free?

The 30-day free Netflix trial is the obvious way to get the service for free.

You can binge watch all of your favorite shows, cancel, then wait a month or two for the email inviting you back for another free trial.

Also, if you switch to T-Mobile and sign-up for the Magenta or Magenta Plus plans they’ll throw in a free Netflix subscription.

These plans start at $35/line and include unlimited talk, text, and data.

See Also: Get a Free Netflix Account: 2 Smart Ways to Make it Happen

How Can I Score Netflix at a Discount?

Here are a couple trusted tips that can help…

1 – Ask a Friend or Family Member: If your parents have a Netflix account ask if you can use their login information.

Or maybe you have a friend who’d be happy to let you mooch off of them and use their Netflix account.

Offer to pay half of the monthly fee and you might just score Netflix at a fat discount.

2 – Split the Cost w/ Roommates: If you have a roommate it’s ultra smart to split the cost of Netflix as you can have multiple profiles and watch on separate devices at the same time.

The 6 Best Netflix Alternatives for Students

Netflix is not the only option for college students, here are a few other options that are free or REALLY cheap.

1. Amazon Prime Video

Did you know that an Amazon Prime Student membership comes with access to Prime Video?

You can stream literally thousands of TV shows or movies from any device PLUS you get free 2-day shipping.

The BEST part is Prime Student comes with a free 6-month trial. Yes…I said 6 months.

2. Spotify Student Scores you Free Hulu

If you’re considering signing up for the Spotify Student plan you should know it ALSO includes Hulu and Showtime for FREE.

Both services make for a great streaming alternative to Netflix, and then throw in Spotify, and you’re all set for music, TV shows, and movies.

Oh, and did I mention it only costs $4.99/month?

Hulu will have ads, but for the cost, it’s a total no-brainer.

See Also: 20 Best Streaming Sites to Watch Free Movies Online

3. Crackle

Crackle is a TOTALLY free streaming service that has hundreds of popular movies and classic TV shows.

Movies on Crackle are not new releases but they are highly popular movies that you’ll actually want to watch.

They even have some originally programming which was a surprise to me.

They’ll show some ads, but being FREE makes it totally worth it.

4. Pluto TV

Pluto TV is a free hybrid streaming service that shows both Live TV and On Demand movies and TV series.

The TV channels they have include Spike TV, Comedy Central, MTV, and dozens of Pluto movie channels broken down by genre.

5. Vudu

Vudu gives you free streaming access to over 150,000 movies and TV shows.

They might not be Netflix but you’ll certainly find something you want to watch and the price tag makes it hard to pass up.

A few movies on Vudu that my family has recently enjoyed include Tin Cup, Singles, Tombstone, and The Book of Eli.

6. Tubi

Tubi TV is similar to Crackle and offers thousands of free movies and TV shows.

I particularly like the Not On Netflix section as it offers literally hundreds of movies that you won’t currently find on Netflix.

Pair your free Tubi subscription with Netflix and you’ll have more movies to watch then you’ll possibly ever have time for.

Ask the Reader: How do you score Netflix at a discount? Any streaming alternatives that I might have missed?

By Kyle James