Hulu: how to sign up, apps, devices, shows, plans and Live TV explained
Hulu is an American streaming service with over 47.2 million subscribers and growing every day. With gritty, critically acclaimed originals and exclusive TV shows and movies, there’s an eclectic array of on-demand content – and even an extensive Hulu + Live TV subscription for those who’ve cut cable. But do you need to sign up? This page will help you make that choice.
Launched in 2007, Hulu was one of the first services to compete with Netflix in the US market. Of course, there’s a lot of competition in the crowded streaming services market right now — and Hulu hasn’t won over its closest rival yet. But Hulu arguably offers a wider variety of new and classic shows than Netflix and Amazon, ranging from the Emmy award-winning The Handmaid’s Tale to the hit reality TV show The Kardashians, not to mention the thousands of movies that make up the impressive library.
Find out everything you need to know about Hulu, one of the best streaming services available, below.
Hulu explained: what is Hulu and Hulu + Live TV?
As our full Hulu review explains, signing up for a basic Hulu subscription gives you access to over 2,500 movies and 1,650 TV shows. You also get content from major networks and original stuff from Hulu. But one of the standout features of Hulu is the sheer number of options available with different bundles and add-ons. For example, you can add premium channels like HBO Max or Showtime for an additional monthly fee – and you can cancel/switch at any time.
The Hulu + Live TV subscription gives you over 75 channels at a reasonable price (read on to learn more about pricing), as well as Disney+ and ESPN+ (see our article on the Disney Plus bundle for more information). If you miss traditional cable, this is the plan for you, as it offers a mind-boggling number of shows. Plus, Hulu’s Cloud DVR lets you record up to 50 hours of live television.
In addition, you can purchase the Enhanced Cloud DVR to increase your storage up to 200 hours, or bolster your lineup with the Entertainment Network en Español Network Add-ons.
Do you know which plan you want to go for? You can now sign up to Hulu! (opens in new tab)
Hulu Shows and Movies: What to Watch Now?
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With an entry-level Hulu membership, you can binge entire seasons of hit shows, watch new episodes the day after airing, enjoy kids’ entertainment and Hulu Originals, and watch old and new TV shows and movies from major studios. The following list is just a sample of what’s available. Check out our best shows on Hulu and the best Hulu movie lists for our roundups of the best options.
- Palm Springs
- Love, Viktor
- Small fires everywhere
- Castle Rock
- The deed
- Monsterland
- The Handmaid’s Tale
- Future human
- PEN15
- Wake up and Ramy
- The patient
- Only kills in the building
- Prey
- House of Gucci
- Conversations with friends
The platform also hosts older shows from dozens of networks, including A&E, AMC, VH1, MTV, TNT, Disney Channel, and Discovery. So you’re just a click away from shows like Sons of Anarchy (FX), Modern Family (ABC), Broad City (Comedy Central), and animated classics like Bob’s Burgers and The Simpsons (Fox). Whatever you choose, you will have a lot of fun with it.
With a Hulu with Live TV subscription, you can enjoy all this and over 75 live channels, and if you choose the Disney Plus and ESPN bundle, you get a huge amount of content on your screen.
What’s new on Hulu?
A huge range of new titles will be coming to Hulu in early 2023. Below we list our top picks of the titles that land on the service:
- The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)
- The Breakfast Club (1985)
- The Home Alone Trilogy
- The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)
- A Beautiful Day (1996)
- Pearl Harbor (2001)
How much does Hulu cost?
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Last year saw price increases for Hulu’s on-demand subscriptions, just like we saw with the ESPN Plus cost and the Disney Plus price. The base plan of Hulu now costs $7.99 per month (with ads) and $14.99 per month (without ads). This brings the “ads-free” plan in line with Disney Plus, but somehow inflates the ad-free plan above “Disney Plus” (Ad-free Disney+ is $10.99). See our “vs” section below for more on how Hulu compares to other major streamers.
The Hulu + Live TV subscriptions, including ESPN+ and Disney+, are now $69.99 a month (with ads) and $82.99 a month (without ads). Alternatively, you can grab a Live TV subscription for $68.99 per month, but since you also have to give up the Hulu streaming library, Disney Plus content, and ESPN+ content, we don’t see why you wouldn’t just pay the additional $1.
Check out our Hulu plans and pricing guide for a full rundown of plan options and add-ons. Or, when you’re ready to sign up, why don’t you visit Hulu’s website now? (opens in new tab)
Hulu: Is There a Free Trial?
Oh yeah! And it’s a doozy. If you’d like to try the Hulu Basic or Hulu equivalent (no ads), you’re entitled to a free 30-day Hulu trial, which gives you a month to explore the platform’s excitingly diverse programming.
How to sign up for Hulu
Signing up with Hulu is pretty easy!
- Go to the Hulu website (opens in new tab)
- Click the ‘Start your free trial’ button
- Select a subscription
- Enter your email address, password and other information
- Click ‘Continue’ and enter the billing information
- Submit your details and start streaming
Hulu app: What devices can you watch on?
The latest Hulu app and all of its features, including Live TV and Premium Add-ons, are supported by the following devices:
- Android phones and tablets
- Android TV (select models)
- Apple TV (4th generation or later)
- Chromecast
- Echo Show (8, 10 and 15)
- Fire tablets
- Fire TV and Fire TV Stick
- iPhones and iPads
- LG TV (certain models)
- Nintendo switch
- Mac and PC browsers/apps
- Play station
- Roku (select models)
- Samsung TV (select models)
- VIZIO SmartCast TVs
- Xbox
- Xfinity Flex Streaming TV Box
- Xfinity X1 TV Boxes*
- Contour 2 and Contour Stream Player*
click here (opens in new tab) for a detailed list of Hulu compatible devices and models.
* While Contour devices, PlayStation 3 and Xfinity devices have the latest Hulu app Do not support live TV programs.
Hulu in 4K and HDR
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If you have the hardware to support 4K Ultra HD, then you’re in luck, as some of Hulu’s best shows are available to stream in this format. Considering Hulu is home to over 4,000 titles, it’s a pretty small selection. But it still offers about 70 that will give you a sharper image, deeper colors and 8 million pixels that will make your eyeballs pop.
Virtually all Hulu Originals are ready to stream in 4K — including supernatural thriller Helstrom, sci-fi comedy Future Man, all seasons of The Handmaid’s Tale, and horror anthology series Into the Dark. There’s also a range of FX titles to enjoy, such as Mayans MC, Black Narcissus and the star-studded mini-series Mrs America. All content available in this format will display a “4K” badge on the details page.
You can currently view 4K UHD content on the following devices: Apple TV (5th generation and later), Chromecast Ultra, Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, LG TVs (2017 UHD models and later), Roku, Vizio SmartCast TVs and Xbox One (S and X models).
However, HDR is not currently supported, so all 4K UHD content is streamed in Standard Dynamic Range (SDR).
Hulu vs Netflix vs Amazon Prime Video vs HBO Max
Netflix, the most ubiquitous VOD platform, offers more than 5,000 movies and TV series. It produces hundreds of Netflix Originals a year, including Oscar-nominated movies and hugely popular shows like Stranger Things.
Hulu’s price hike has meant we can no longer vouch for it as a cheaper option, but it still offers great value. For comparison, Netflix’s basic plan with ads is $6.99 per month ($1 less than Hulu’s ad plan), and the basic no-ads plan is $9.99 compared to Hulu’s $14.99. But you can only stream on one device with Netflix, while Hulu offers two (or the option to buy unlimited streams for $9.99 a month). Hulu puts no limits on the quality of your stream, while Netflix’s two cheapest plans only stream in SD. To get HD streaming on two devices on Netflix, you’ll pay $15.49 (and $19.99 for four simultaneous Ultra HD streams).
Amazon Prime video (opens in new tab) is comparable in price to a full Prime membership ($14.99 and $8.99 for Prime Video only). And at about 18,000 titles, its content library is more extensive than Arnold Schwarzenegger’s. Granted, the overall quality is questionable, but Prime Video has plenty of brilliant Amazon Originals like The Boys and high-quality movies, old and new.
However, the Prime membership comes with more. With perks like free delivery, Prime reading, and ad-free music streaming, you justify the high price. On the other hand, you’re limited to three streams per account (you can buy “Unlimited Screens” with Hulu), and when it comes to replicating the cable experience, Hulu + Live TV is much more cost-effective than adding individual Amazon channels .
HBO Max is now the same price as Hulu (without ads) and a few dollars more for the ad version. It allows you to use three different devices at the same time, and in HD if your connection allows it. If you’re a fan of HBO’s output – and let’s face it, who isn’t? – then registration is a no brainer. But in addition to groundbreaking dramas like Six Feet Under, The Wire, and Game of Thrones, subscribers get a wide variety of titles from Warner Brothers, their subsidiaries, and third-party companies.
That means easy access to all Studio Ghibli animations, DC Comics movies, The Lord of the Rings movies, and a curated selection of classic movies thanks to TCM. Or you can just add HBO Max to Hulu as a Premium add-on.