Why pay for Paramount+ when you can get it free?

For the past couple of years, savvy TV streamers have known how to get Paramount+ (the service formerly known as CBS All Access) without paying a dime.

These codes are harder to come by than they used to be, but at least when they’re available, you can use them to get a one-month Paramount+ trial, even as a returning subscriber. That’s made it possible to indefinitely re-up your subscription in one-month increments. See below for instructions.

Update: As of now, there are no available codes. See here for other ways to save on Paramount+.

Is Paramount Plus free?

Practically every month, Paramount (the media company formerly known as ViacomCBS) doles out coupons for a month of free service, valid for both new and returning subscribers. As long as you don’t already have an active subscription, you can redeem these coupons repeatedly and never pay for Paramount+. The codes even work with Paramount+ Premium, which has limited ads and provides a live local CBS stream.

The current free Paramount+ code as of April 26, 2024, per Doctor of Credit, is WLASU7, and you can use it to bundle a free month of Showtime as well. While Paramount occasionally promotes deals on Paramount+, the wiser move is to avoid paying at all and stick with these free codes instead.

I first wrote about these free coupons in October 2020, when the service was still called CBS All Access. However, the process for redeeming these codes has changed a couple of times in recent months. Pay close attention to the following steps to avoid being charged:

• Visit paramountplus.com. Important: This coupon only works on the Paramount+ website. Do not sign up using the Paramount+ app.
• If you’ve subscribed to Paramount+ before, sign out out your account.
• Hit the “Try it Free” button on the home page.
• Select the Premium plan, and make sure to choose monthly billing.
• Add Showtime: You should now see a splash page offering to add Showtime to your plan. Select “Get the Bundle” if you’d like to add it at no extra cost.
• Create an account, or use the “Sign In” button at the top of the screen to log in.
• On the final checkout page, find the box that says “Your Plan.”
• Click the blue “Have a coupon code?” link, then enter your coupon (WLASU7) in the box.
• Confirm that a “One month FREE” trial offer appears on the checkout page.

You don’t need to be a new subscriber to redeem these free Paramount+ codes, but you can’t add them to an active subscription. Instead, you must let your subscription expire before entering a new code. If you’ve recently signed into the Paramount+ website, you’ll also need to sign out again before starting the subscription back up again.

To avoid being billed automatically after your free month is over, cancel your subscription immediately after signing up. You’ll still get the full month and your subscription will cancel automatically at the end.

You can cancel online through the Paramount+ account page. To complete the cancellation, you’ll need to reject Paramount’s offer for an extra free month, and then give a reason for why you’re ending the subscription. (I usually just say it’s too expensive. What streaming service isn’t?)

Once your subscription expires, you can repeat the process again. I post the latest codes every week in my Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter.

Will the free codes last?

This coupon code trick has been running for over four years now, dating back to when the service was called CBS All Access. In my previous coverage, the company said it’s had a lot of success turning freebie takers into paying customers. On a large enough scale, it’s easy to imagine millions of people not bothering to cancel, not knowing that free-month coupons are a regular occurrence, or genuinely loving Paramount+ enough to feel that the full price is justified.

That said, I have no way of knowing whether Paramount+ will continue offering free coupons in the future, and it doesn’t seem to be supplying them as freely as it once did. I’ll keep an eye out for new codes, updating this article and sending them in my newsletter accordingly. But if you’re unable to get a one-month trial, consider the many other ways you can save on Paramount+ instead.

To learn more about how to cut cable and save money on your TV bill, sign up for Jared’s Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter.