While I’ve mentioned Hulu in my articles on cable TV alternatives, today I’m going to provide you with everything you need to know about Hulu. I’ll provide details on Hulu’s Live TV service and the original On Demand streaming library. Ultimately this will help you determine if the content available through Hulu is worth the monthly cost.
What is Hulu TV
Hulu is an internet based TV streaming service that boasts one of the largest TV show library available online today. Hulu also offers a Live TV service that combines with their immense streaming library of shows.
Hulu is a joint venture between Fox, NBCUniversal, and Disney that provides online TV shows and movies to Internet-connected devices. Most shows on ABC, Fox, NBC, and The CW are available one day after they air their national broadcast. If you purchase the Hulu Live TV option you can watch shows as they air.
While Hulu is ad-supported, there are options that will allow subscribers to completely avoid watching commercials when streaming on demand. Hulu also offers a back catalog of movies and TV shows originating on cable and network television. They have also recently developed a strong stable of original content, including their newest hit, The Handmaid’s Tale.
How Much Does Hulu Cost
Customers have a few choices when it comes to services. The decision depends whether you want live TV along with streaming and if you want to watch on-demand content “ad-free.” The first plan costs $7.99 per month and includes “limited commercials”. The other option costs subscribers $11.99 per month and provides users with an “ad-free” experience.
New customers can sign up for a 1 month free trial for their on demand service.
The price of the Hulu live service is $39.99 a month. However, that includes the original Hulu service with commercials. If you want “ad-free viewing” on the original Hulu library, the cost of the live service is $43.99
I’ve put “ad-free” in quotes as there are some shows that air commercials before and after the show. Otherwise, the show streams uninterrupted. This is due to licensing agreements with the content providers. The following shows fall into this category: Grey’s Anatomy, Once Upon A Time, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Scandal, New Girl, Grimm, and How To Get Away With Murder.
The price of the Hulu live service is $39.99 a month. However, that includes the original Hulu streaming service (the on-demand library) with commercials. If you want commercial free viewing on the original Hulu library, the cost of the live service is $43.99
Hulu also provides a way to watch Showtime without cable. Subscribing to the Showtime add-on service through Hulu provides everything Showtime offers to its pay TV subscribers without having to carry the weight of a cable TV subscription. It’s available with both the Hulu Streaming Library and the Hulu Live TV Service.
Once signed on to the on-demand service, you can upgrade to Live TV and other add-ons. The table below shows how much Hulu costs per month for each service.
Monthly Price | Simultaneous Streams | Service Description |
|---|---|---|
$7.99 | 1 | Hulu On Demand with ads |
$11.99 | 1 | Hulu On Demand without ads |
$39.99 | 2 | Hulu Live TV and On Demand with ads |
$43.99 | 2 | Hulu Live TV and On Demand without ads |
add $14.99 | 2 | Hulu Live TV – add Enhanced DVR |
add $14.99 | Unlimited | Hulu Live TV – add Unlimited Streams |
Hulu Streaming Library
While Hulu just released their Live TV service in 2017, their original streaming library is still available to customers. The streaming library airs the current season of most hit shows airing on ABC, NBC, Fox, CBS and The CW. New episodes are typically available for streaming one day after they air on their respective networks. This means you can watch the latest seasons of shows like “Empire”, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine, “The Flash”, “Modern Family”, “The New Girl”, “Once Upon a Time”, and more.
In addition to the latest episodes of network TV, Hulu provides thousands of episodes of hit TV shows on cable. Granted, many are on a one season delay. Meaning Hulu won’t provide a season until it’s roughly a year old. However, there are a few exceptions. If this is a concern, you may want to look into the Hulu Live TV service which I’ll get to in a moment. It includes a cloud DVR for recording shows.
Hulu also has a fairly decent arsenal of original programming. Shows like “The Handmaid’s Tale”, “The Path”, “Difficult People”, and “The Mindy Project” are only available on Hulu, adding additional value to the service.
In addition to a vast library of TV shows, Hulu also offers a decent selection of movies.
Hulu Live TV Service
Hulu live TV is available on Android, iOS, Xbox One, 4th Gen Apple TV, Chromecast. Hulu provides a 1-week free trial for you to test drive the service. The free trial includes the upgraded DVR and Unlimited screens upgrade explained in the “Hulu Live TV Features” section below.
What Channels are On Hulu
Hulu will offer the following cable channels on its live TV service: A&E, Boomerang, Bravo, BTN, Cartoon Network, CBS Sports Network, Chiller, CNBC, CNN, CNNi, Disney, Disney Junior, Disney XD, E!, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPN-U, Food Network, Fox Business, Fox News, FreeForm, FS1, FS2, FX, FXM, FXX, FYI, Golf, HGTV, HLN, Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network, MSNBC, National Geographic, Nat GEO Wild, NBCSN, Oxygen, Pop, SEC Espn, Sprout, Syfy, TBS, History, Travel, TNT, TruTV, Turner Classic Movies, USA, Viceland.
Hulu will offer live local CBS, NBC, ABC, and FOX where they have deals with the local affiliate. They will also have On-Demand offerings. They have a great tool on their page that explains the channels you will receive in your zip code.
Hulu Live-TV Features
- The basic package comes with 50 hours of cloud DVR storage. You can upgrade to 200 hours and gain the ability to fast-forward through recorded commercials for an additional $14.99 per month.
- Watch on 2 screens at once. You can upgrade to unlimited screens for $14.99 per month. This upgrade also gives you 3 screens while away from your home network.
- Comes with 6 customizable profiles
- Includes entire Hulu streaming library
How to Watch Hulu On TV
Hulu’s Live TV service is currently supported on Android, iOS, Xbox One, 4th Gen Apple TV, Chromecast. Hulu announced more devices will be supported in the future. However, Hulu’s streaming library is supported by the following popular streaming devices
- Roku
- Amazon Fire TV
- Apple TV
- Google Chromecast
- iOS, Android, and Windows Smartphones and Tablets
- Xbox 360, Xbox One, Playstation 3 and 4, Wii and Wii U
- and much more
Here is a full listing of devices supported by Hulu. If you do not have one of these streaming devices, Hulu is supported by the major computer browsers. Therefore, you can simply hook your laptop or PC to your television and use your TV as a monitor. I explain how to do this in my guide on How to watch Netflix on your TV. Hulu is supported on the following browsers: Internet Explorer 10 or above, Firefox 15 or above, Safari 5 or above, Chrome, or Edge.
How Does Hulu Work
Once you subscribe to Hulu, you are provided with a one-week free trial. If you cancel your subscription in the trial period you will not be charged a subscription. After that, you are charged monthly and can cancel at any time with no penalty.
Depending on the device you are using, setting up Hulu may vary. However, in all cases, it’s very straightforward. Setup typically involves downloading an app to the device and simply logging in with the username and password you used when you signed up for Hulu.
The service itself is extremely stable. I’ve been a subscriber for over 2 years and have never had an issue. I can’t even remember ever having an instance when a show was dropped or even buffered. Hulu is one of the most dependable streaming services I have ever used.
Content on Hulu is 720p HD when available. In other words, if the show has availability in 720p high definition, Hulu will offer it in that resolution. To stream Hulu in 720p HD it’s recommended you have an internet connection speed of at least 3 Mbps. However, you can stream in standard definition with just 1.5 Mbps without much buffering.
I’m a Hulu Subscriber and find the service to be well worth the money. I currently have the $11.99 per month ad-free streaming subscription. With that said the quality of service and content available make Hulu On Demand a great value at either price. If Hulu has the content you want, it’s well worth the price. Hulu is easily a top-notch 5-star streaming service.
Overall, Hulu Live-TV offers all the bells and whistles you would get with a Multi-room HD\DVR cable subscription. However, that price tag comes to around $75. I see this option as less for cord cutters, and more for those looking to not have a year long contract with a cable provider. I personally find it a much better deal than cable TV
Hulu Frequently Asked Questions
Being a popular service, I get a ton of questions about Hulu. You can find the answer to all of them below.
Does Hulu Offer a Free Trial
Yes, You can try the Hulu On Demand service free for 1 month. The Hulu Live TV service offers a 1-week free trial.
What Shows Are On Hulu?
Readers want to know what’s on Hulu. Of course, the Hulu Live TV service will offer all the shows on the networks the service carries. As for their streaming library, there are a ton. There are original shows like “The Handmaid’s Tale”, “The Path”, “Difficult People”, and “Chance.”
There are network and cable TV hits like “This is Us”, “Empire”, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine, “Inside Amy Schumer”, and “Fargo”
There are also a ton of classic TV shows available like “Seinfeld”, “Arrested Development”, “Cheers”, “Twin Peaks”, and more.
There are too many shows available to list here. If you want to know what to watch on Hulu, this website does a great job of keeping track of new movies available on Hulu.
What is Hulu Plus?
Hulu Plus or (Hulu+) no longer exists. When Hulu first started, they would offer a free version that you could watch online. The Hulu Plus version was a paid version of Hulu that opened up more content and provided customers with the ability to use mobile and streaming devices.
How Many Devices Can you Have On Hulu?
Hulu’s on demand service only allows one stream at a time. However, that stream can be on any supported device you choose.
The Live TV service allows 2 simultaneous streams. The Live TV service also allows you to upgrade to unlimited screens for an extra $14.99 per month.
How Many People Can Watch Hulu at the Same Time?
The Hulu Live TV service allows for 2 simultaneous streams per account, while the on-demand service allows one stream. To clarify, this does not mean you can watch 2 live streams and 1 on-demand stream at the same time. Customers with the live service are capped at 2 simultaneous streams. However, those with Hulu Live TV service opting for the unlimited screens feature (+$14.99 per month) can have as many people watching at the same time as long as they are part of the same household.
Why Does Hulu Have Commercials?
Hulu provides an ad-free option to On-Demand streaming. However, the live service will include ads. Even with the ad-free service, a few shows will have an ad at the beginning of the show. This is due to licensing agreements with the owner of the show.
How Do You Cancel Hulu?
It’s extremely easy to cancel Hulu. Simply follow these steps.
- Log in to your Hulu account.
- Click on your profile name in the top right-hand corner of the page.
- Under Your Subscription, click “Cancel Subscription.”
- Provide a reason for canceling
- Finalize your cancellation.
- It will cancel at the end this billing cycle. (Usually within 30 days at most.)
For tips and tricks on cutting the cord and other tech topics follow Dennis on Twitter @GroundedReason. You can also join the conversation on our Facebook Page
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Akela says
Hi Dennis,
I second the thanks for all your work. I cut the cord a year ago, but the techno-impaired members of my household just could not handle having to use multiple controllers and the switching from one to another. So I went back to Dish but with the “Skinny” pack, which is quite reasonable. I still use Netflix and Amazon for streaming when I can handle the controllers.
My question is: Do you think the time will ever come when a single controller that will handle all the stuff out there will be made available?
Thanks,
Akela
Dennis Restauro says
I think the AirTV is probably the best All-In-One device. You could also look into a universal remote. Many of them will work with streaming devices.
rick says
Big negative for me – stereo audio only (no Dolby Digital 5.1)
Heather says
Dennis,
I have heard from many that Hulu comes out with a show episode the day after it airs. It is like that for all shows, or just some? I see the new season of Naked and Afraid XL started this past Sunday (season 2). I went to Naked & Afraid XL on Hulu and all they still have is season 1 and it has been almost a week since the first episode.? I don’t mind waiting a week, but I wasn’t sure if it is a day after, week after, or maybe not until the whole season is over that it is available on Hulu.? I might be able to pull it up from the Discovery app on my tablet and mirror it, but it doesn’t seem as clear as when I just watch with Hulu through the Roku.
Dennis Restauro says
Typically if the current season of a show is on network then Hulu will air it the next day for most NBC, FOX, and ABC shows. CBS and most cable shows on Hulu (there are some exceptions) don’t air the current season. Those are one season behind.
Heather says
ok. I know the show is on Discovery. When you say they are a season behind should the new season (a summer show) be available as soon as the season is over, or not until next summer before the new season begins?
I tried the mirroring with the new Roku stick to get the episode straight from Discovery and it doesn’t work so well. I am not sure why. It works great watching it on the tablet, but as soon as I start to mirror it to either of our tv’s it is really choppy and skips out. ?
Dennis Restauro says
It really depends on the agreement the owner of the content as with Hulu. It’s usually a season behind, but it’s really up to that agreement.
Heather says
Do you recommend Hulu limited commercials, or by paying $4 more a month the no commercials plan?
Dennis Restauro says
It’s really about personal preference. Lets assume that there are 10 minutes of commercials per hour on Hulu and you watch an hour a day. So in a month you would have watched 300 minutes or 5 hours of commercials. Personally, I think getting 5 hours of time for $4 is a pretty good deal. But not everyone looks at it that way.
Heather says
ok, thanks Dennis! That is a good way to look at it. I have found discounted Hulu gift cards I might try out on carpool.com and esavings.com and for the savings it is like getting the $12 plan for “almost” the price of the $8 plan. So I think I will go with the one with no commercials. But it looks like they offer 3 month & 6 month gift cards (based on the limited commercial plan). So if one wants to go with the $12 plan, the cards cost the same but they are for 2 months and 4 months versus 3 months & 6 months per Hulu support. Currently they are running about $38.74 for a 6 month card (value $47.94) on esavings.com. So to cover a year of the no commercial plan it is about a $30 savings.
Wendy Jan says
Hi Dennis,
Thank you for all your time putting this information on here for us. My fiancé and I want to cut the cord but fail when it comes to anything technological. Fear of the unknown is stopping us from paying a cable bill of $160.00 a month.
Can you try to stear us in the right direction? What we want is 1-fox news 2- ESPN (football season) 3- national geographic 4- discovery. 3 and 4 we CAN live without. As you can see we don’t watch much tv. Oh, we also want out local news but we know we can’t get that through antenna because no signal in our area. Can you help us?
Thank you Wendy
Dennis Restauro says
Hi Wendy. The only service I know that will cover all your bases is the Playstation Vue service. There may even be a chance they offer local networks over streaming depending on where you live.
Mike Stambaugh says
Can anyone compare the on demand aspect of Hulu vs. Playstation Vue and its on demand library of NBC, FOX , CBS?
Dennis Restauro says
It’s hard to say. I think Hulu has the deeper catalogue on NBC and Fox, but it doesn’t have much CBS. Both are free to try if you want to compare.
heather says
Is Disney Jr offered on Hulu Plus?
Dennis Restauro says
No, but you can get it through Sling TV.
Heather says
I think I just saw something on the Internet that Disney finally just paired up with Hulu in like the last week.?
Dennis Restauro says
Yes, that is true.
Randy Stevens says
Rather than pay extra for the ad-free version of Hulu (which still has ads), I’ve purchased a lifetime upgrade to the PlayOn SVR (streaming video recorder). This lets me record the show from Hulu, then play it back with the ad-skip feature of the Roku PlayOn channel. If you don’t have a Roku, you can play back the recordings via Plex and just skip through the ads.
Dennis Restauro says
I need to take a look at PLayOn. I was initially skeptical, but if it works as well as you say I need to give it a shot.
Dalton says
The website for Playon along the lines of playon.tv. i would google it and if it is extremely close to that, thats it.
The casting feature Randy is refferring to on Playon is when you have enterred your credentials into the Playon settings, it lets the Playon channel act like folders until you find a video. Once you find the video, there are buttons next to it. To enable adskip, click the circle record button while a plus member and it will recore without ads. Then on the left side of playon there will be a recordings folder. Find the recorded video, click cast, and it will show a list of found devices on Playon Media Server. Assuming a Roku 4 was found and shown, cast/play to that, and the ad-free video from Hulu will be playing on the TV.
And you dont have to use cast, if on Roku. Playon has a channel called Playcast for the roku that connects to the media server and uses each channel as a folder branch, including Hulu and Netflix. I have not tested it with recordings, so if it does work, then you turn the media server on in settings, use playcast on Roku, and there is channels you have access to.
Also, since Playon is being streamed from pc, limitations for devices, like subscriptions, dont apply.
Playon has two versions: free which is mainly a media server, or Plus, which can either be lifetime subscription or monthly. Either Plus option gets you the same features.
Note that Playon is primarily Windows. They have mentioned a Mac version once before, but i have not seen any betas or any development of it. So if you are on Mac or Linux, it wont work.
Also note that since the stream is going from modem to router to pc to streaming device to tv, expect, unless network is tuned for streaming, lag/buffering.
Stefe says
I have had Hulu for few years and it is fairly stable. But I’m not as impressed about the content as you are. Maybe i just dont know how to find it. It also has quirks that are annoying.
I have located TV shows to watch that only have some of the episodes available. Say episodes 4, 5, 6, 9. And then there’s cases when I’m watching a series and miss a few days only to come back and find the episodes I missed have been removed. Or shows like Blacklist and The 100 where I watch 2 seasons then they disappear from Hulu even though the shows are still playing on broadcast tv.
And the number of commercials are getting ridiculous. There used to be one or two per commercial break. Now it’s becoming four and five.
Dennis Restauro says
You bring up a good point. Some shows fall off quicker then others.. For instance the service was only holding the last 6 episodes of “Agents of Shield” but it holds the entire season of “Once Upon a Time” Unless Hulu is advertising the entire catalogue, you can’t guarantee all episodes will be there. They have upped the commercials since adding the “commercial free” tier. When I judge these services I try to do them against one another, instead of what I think should be. Through that lens Hulu is pretty good. Until the crazy TV licensing model changes we’re going to have to grade these services on a curve.