How you can watch Netflix originals without a free trial
Netflix has made some of its most popular original productions available for free in Australia. Here's everything you can watch without signing up.
New to Netflix Australia? While the streaming service is no longer offering a free trial, it now lets non-subscribers tune in to some of its most-watched content without signing up. In other words, you can stream acclaimed shows like Stranger Things and movies like Bird Box completely free.
When cancelling the free trial offer earlier this year, Netflix implied it will experiment with other marketing techniques to attract new users. This free catalogue seems like a big step in that direction since it can give you a preview of the Netflix experience without making you reach for your credit card.
This isn't the first time the streamer has made content available for free. Earlier in 2020, for instance, Netflix allowed non-subscribers in selected markets to stream original movie To All the Boys I've Loved Before without an account. This was in order to celebrate the release of the sequel, To All the Boys: PS I Still Love You, and incentivise new users to sign up.
List of free Netflix movies and TV shows
The free Netflix catalogue is quite generous, including TV shows, movies and a docu-series. While the movies are available to stream in their entirety, only the first episode of the TV shows is free. In other words, you won't be able to binge an entire season, just sample the pilot episode.
Here's the full list of Netflix shows and movies free to non-subscribers in Australia:
- Stranger Things
- Murder Mystery
- Elite
- Bird Box
- When They See Us
- Love Is Blind
- The Two Popes
- Our Planet
- Grace and Frankie
- The Boss Baby
How to watch Netflix movies and TV shows for free
If you simply head to the Netflix website, you'll notice the free content missing from the homepage. In order to take advantage of it, you need to go directly to https://www.netflix.com/au/watch-free.
Once there, pick the title you're interested in and click on the "Watch Now" button. You'll see a Netflix ad featuring some of the platform's content, but you can skip it. After that, you'll be able to stream the title you're interested in, no strings attached.
According to Netflix, you can stream free content using a computer or Android device (iOS browsers are not supported). You won't be able to enjoy some of Netflix's premium features like offline viewing or 4K streaming.
It's unclear for how long these movies and shows will be free, but Netflix hints that the titles will rotate as more original content is released. For now, we suggest you try out as much of the free stuff as you can to decide if Netflix would make a nice addition to your entertainment roster.
What if I want more?
If the free samples get you hooked and you want to enjoy the full Netflix library, you'll need to sign up for one of the platform's paid plans.
The Basic plan lets you watch in SD video quality on one device at a time for $9.99. The Standard plan comes with HD video quality and two simultaneous streams for $13.99. Finally, the Premium plan costs $19.99 and supports four concurrent streams and 4K quality where available.
We have lists of all the shows on Netflix and movies streaming on the service. We suggest you start your first binge session with one of the best Netflix TV series and then redirect your attention to some of the platform's acclaimed original movies.
Want to stream more shows for free? Netflix may not offer free trials anymore, but there are several that still do. We've hunted down the full list of streaming services in Australia with free trials.
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