Netflix quietly kills off its 1-month trial in Australia

Netflix Australia now offers a discounted Standard or Premium plan in place of the 1-month free trial.

Netflix has ditched its long-running 1-month free trial in Australia. The streaming giant seems to be pulling free trials across the world and replacing them with an alternative offer. In Australia, that offer is a 30-day plan upgrade. You can sign up for Netflix’s Standard HD plan (normally $15.99 per month) at the same price as its SD Basic plan ($10.99 per month), or the Premium Plan (usually $19.99 per month) at the same price as Standard ($15.99). It’s nowhere near as tempting for new subscribers.

This makes Netflix the only streaming service in Australia that doesn’t offer a free trial. Disney Plus will give you 7 days (Note: Disney Plus has since removed its free trial too) to test out the new service, Stan, Prime Video and 10 All Access all offer 30 days free. Even Foxtel Now, the priciest option on the market, will give you 10 days to test out its service.

This story came to us when a reader pointed out they were charged for their first month of Netflix, unaware that the free trial no longer existed. The free trial has been such an integral part of Netflix’s marketing and success over the last 5 years so it’s no wonder people are signing up expecting to stream for the first month free.

There’s no mention of a free trial on the website but the current call-to-action reads “Try it now” which feels a little misleading now.

The free trial purge was first noted by UK financial website MoneySavingExpert back in December 2019 but now it seems more and more countries are getting their free trials nixed. You can check if your country still has a free trial offer available over on Netflix’s website but a cursory glance shows that New Zealand, India, Canada and Japan no longer stream for free, whereas China and the United States are still eligible.

It’s a huge call from Netflix to make. Are free trial sign-ups slowing down? Or is it a just quick cash grab for that first month’s subscription fee? We’ve reached out to Netflix Australia’s PR for more information. Netflix is apparently letting other countries watch select movies, such as To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before,  for free on the website home page without needing to sign up at all.

If you were hoping to watch The Witcher for free, you’re out of luck but you can read our review (for free) to find out whether it’s worth paying for in Australia. Otherwise, have a stickybeak at the streaming services that do offer free trials below.