Hulu Senior Discounts, Deals, and Offers in 2024
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August 3, 2024
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In a growing sea of choices for streaming options (with increasingly high subscription fees), one must ask whether a provider offers anything unique for its monthly price. Hulu is one of the choices with the most original programming, and it offers add-ons that can increase its already extensive catalog with live TV and sports coverage. As a religious Bravo-watcher, I appreciate the live TV feature, because it allows me to see “Real Housewives” episodes as soon as they air.
The features and pricing of basic Hulu remain competitive with rivals such as Netflix, but the value proposition is very different compared to live streaming television services such as FuboTV or even traditional cable. If Hulu has the shows you like, then it’s one of the best values in streaming.
FYI: Hulu is one of my favorite streaming options, but other services offer better options for sports fans. To see how they compare, read my rundown of the best streaming services for seniors.
What Is Hulu?
Hulu is a streaming service that offers movies and TV shows to watch on demand, as well as a host of add-ons that include Disney content and live sports coverage. The best way to use Hulu is to take advantage of its on-demand content on multiple devices so everyone can watch their own thing at the same time. If Hulu has shows you’re interested in, you can watch them whenever you want without the hassle of recording them. The movies in its library are also available to watch anytime.
In comparison to cable, Hulu is great for people who want to watch specific movies and shows without channel surfing. It also has original content you can watch only on Hulu. As long as you have a strong internet connection, you can stream the content to any supported device (see below) without worrying about cables or cable boxes.
What Equipment Do You Need?
Unlike a cable service, Hulu is an app that can run on most modern devices as long as they have a “smart” component. That includes:
- Amazon Fire (tablet or TV)
- Apple TV
- Chromecast
- Echo Show
- iPad
- LG WebOS TV
- Nintendo Switch
- PC via internet browser
- PlayStation 4 and 5
- Roku
- Samsung Smart TV
- Smartphone
- Vizio SmartCast TV
- Xbox
- Xfinity Flex
The streaming speeds required to use Hulu depend on the content you want to watch. If you don’t know what that means, internet connections have speeds determined by your internet provider and the signal strength at your house. The speeds increase the quality of the content you can watch.
Hulu recommends 3 Mbps for its basic content, 8 Mbps for livestreamed television, and 16 Mbps for 4K streams. If you don’t already know it, contact your internet provider to learn the speed you’re paying for. Alternatively, you can Google “test internet speed” to see the speed you’re actually getting.
Hulu Plans
Depending on your plan, Hulu can be watched with or without ads. It also offers a live TV package with sports content and other subscriptions included. The plans vary widely in cost, so you should know exactly what you’re buying before you subscribe to any of them.
Hulu (With Ads)
Hulu with ads is the basic Hulu plan. It costs $7.99 per month. You’ll get access to Hulu’s entire content library, including movies, TV shows, and Hulu originals. You can get the plan for $1.99 per month if you or someone in your home currently attends college.
It may seem counterintuitive that a streaming service has ad breaks, but it’s one way Hulu keeps the price of its basic plan low. When you watch a movie or show, you can expect four to six ad breaks per hour, which run about a minute each. They’re much shorter than the ad breaks you’ll get on cable TV, but it’s worth noting that Netflix and Amazon Prime stream on-demand movies and TV with no ads in any of their plans.
Hulu (No Ads)
If you pay for Hulu with no ads, which costs $17.99 per month, you don’t get any additional content. The only difference is that you won’t have those ad breaks, so your content plays from beginning to end without stopping. In some cases, ads may still play at the beginning or end of the content, but they will never interrupt it.
For both plans, Hulu offers too many movies and shows to list them all. Some popular TV offerings include “Am I Being Unreasonable?” “Secret Chef,” “A Small Light,” “Under the Banner of Heaven,” “Up Here,” and “The Full Monty.” Movies include everything from classics such as “Alien” and “Die Hard” to newer hits such as “Ford v Ferrari” and “Spencer.” Hulu also has a wide selection of documentaries.
Hulu + Live TV
Hulu + Live TV is a completely different service. It includes not only Hulu’s on-demand content, but also about 85 sports, news, and entertainment channels, such as MTV, Lifetime, Hallmark, Comedy, E!, Bravo, ESPN, ACCN, Fox News, CNN, ABC News, Disney Channel, and MSNBC. You’ll also get subscriptions to ESPN+ and Disney+ with a live TV plan, at no additional cost.
Hulu + Live TV could replace your cable TV service. It costs at least $76.99 per month, though, so you need to be sure it has the content you want from both a streaming service and a cable TV plan. Note, also, that it includes ads. To get ad-free content, a live TV plan costs $89.99 per month. Even in that plan, ESPN+ will still have ad breaks.
Notably, Hulu offers a much stronger catalog of on-demand content than some dedicated livestreaming TV services, such as Sling and FuboTV. It doesn’t have every cable channel, however, and it may have limitations on location-based local content.
Check Hulu's live TV availability for more information.
Hulu Senior Discount
As of 2024, Hulu does not offer a discount specific to seniors. Though a basic Hulu subscription (with or without ads) is much cheaper than a cable TV plan, Hulu + Live TV is priced a bit higher than major cable providers like Cox ($55 per month), Spectrum ($64.99 per month), and Xfinity ($30 per month).
Only Hulu’s specific channel offerings can determine whether it’s a good value for you. Consider that most cable plans plus a regular subscription to Hulu will still cost less per month than Hulu + Live TV. Don’t be afraid to mix and match to get the content you want.
My Experience With Hulu
I’ve had Hulu for a number of years, but this is the first time I’ve ever added live TV. The upgrade process was simple, but it can be done a few different ways. I could have upgraded directly on my Roku, where Hulu is already downloaded; on the Hulu app on my phone; or on Hulu’s website on my computer. I was already on my computer, so I opted for the third way, going into my account and upgrading there with just a click.
I have a plug-in Roku device, which lets me stream on my regular TV. Usually, I’m taken to a dashboard where I have a wide selection of movies and TV shows. With the live TV offering, however, I also had a number of live channels to choose from.
- A&E
- ABC
- Adult Swim
- Animal Planet
- BET
- Bravo
- CBS
- Comedy Central
- Cooking Channel
- CW
- Discovery
- E!
- Food Network
- Fox
- Freeform
- FX
- Hallmark
- HGTV
- HISTORY Channel
- Lifetime
- MTV
- National Geographic
- NBC
- PBS
- TBS
- TLC
- TNT
- USA
- VH1
The TV-watching process was the same as with an old-school TV. Using my Roku remote, I could see what was playing on each channel and select what I wanted. I could switch back to on-demand content at any time. My subscription allowed me to watch on only two screens at once though. To get any more, I would have needed to add the “unlimited screens” add-on for an extra $9.99 a month. That’s a big number on top of the $76.99 a month I’m already paying, but it may be worth it for larger families. For my partner and me, two screens is enough.
Hulu Add-Ons
Hulu offers add-ons to any of its plans, which can be purchased for an extra monthly fee. That allows you to customize the content you pay for more precisely than with many cable plans.
Hulu add-ons include:
- Disney+ With Ads ($10.99 per month)
- ESPN+ ($10.99 per month)
- Max ($15.99 per month)
- Paramount+ with SHOWTIME ($11.99 per month)
- Cinemax ($9.99 per month)
- STARZ ($9.99 per month)
Some add-ons can be added only to a Hulu + Live TV plan, including:
- Unlimited screens ($9.99 per month)
- Sports add-on, including MAVTV, the Outdoor Channel, the Sportsman Channel, TVG, TVG2, and RedZone ($9.99 per month)
- Entertainment add-on, including AHC, BET HER, Boomerang, CNBC World, and the Cooking Channel ($7.99 per month)
- Espanol add-on, including Discovery en Espanol, Familiar Discovery, and ESPN Deportes ($4.99 per month)
With the unlimited screens add-on, Live TV subscribers can stream to a TV and multiple phones, computers, and iPads at the same time, as long as they’re on your home internet network. On the go, you can stream to three devices at once. By default, Hulu offers only one additional stream at a time.
Hulu vs. FuboTV
| Streaming service | Hulu | FuboTV |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price range for live TV | $76.99 to $89.99 | $79.99 to $99.99 |
| Number of screens included | 2 | 10 |
| Number of channels | 90+ | 191 to 266 |
| Cost of unlimited screens per month | $9.99 | $9.99 |
FuboTV is a live TV streaming service that focuses on sports channels, including NFL RedZone and International Sports Plus. It also offers a DVR service that lets you record and store your favorite games, shows, and movies from the 191 to 266 channels you’ll get, depending on your plan and location. There are also limited on-demand offerings for movies and shows.
FuboTV costs $79.99 to $99.99 per month, plus add-ons, depending on the channels you want. Hulu has a superior catalog of on-demand movies and shows, but the live TV plan may not have as much access to sports content as FuboTV.
If you’re interested in Hulu’s original content and on-demand movies and shows but you prefer the sports packages and additional channels of FuboTV, remember that you could always get the cheapest plans of both and pay about the same as Hulu + Live TV.
To learn more about the provider, read my guide to FuboTV for seniors.
Our Verdict
Hulu is great for enjoying on-demand movies and shows, as well as a catalog of original content that gets updated regularly. The live TV package includes television channels just like a cable service, including some sports coverage, so you may be able to replace your streaming services and cable with this one plan.
Hulu, however, doesn’t have as many channels as most cable networks, and it usually costs more per month. The convenience of streaming Hulu to smart devices and having all that content at your fingertips is tempting, but you should always compare the content offerings to your current cable service or live TV streaming service to see if the value is worth it.
If streaming isn’t for you, I recommend reading my guide to the best cable plans for seniors.