How to get a Sling TV free trial

ESPN on Sling TV on tablet
(Image credit: Sling)

If you've been following our streaming service coverage closely, you've no doubt noticed that we've mentioned Sling TV extensively. It can be a bit confusing in comparison to many of its competitors, but it's in no way unable to live up to what the other services offer. In fact, it's full of great content, with several options for subscribers to choose from. 

What better way to see if it's good for your lifestyle than with a free trial? Signing up for a trial is one of the best options aside from signing up for a short while to see if one of our favorite cable TV alternatives is worth remaining subscribed to for the foreseeable future. While this streaming service is already one of the most affordable ways to cut the cord and ditch your expensive cable bill getting it for free is always better than getting it for cheap.

Plus, the more budget-friendly price of Sling comes with a few drawbacks. For many these drawbacks are manageable, but it's understandable if you might not be sure if you can live without things like unlimited free DVR and 100+ channels. 

Unfortunately, a Sling TV free trial isn't available right now. It is often available at a discount though — right now your first month is half off. Once you're past that first month, plans start at an affordable $40 a month, so even without a free trial it can still be worth signing up. If you're looking to save the most money possible, you can also check out our Sling TV promo codes, which may include better offers.

Get 50% off your first month of Sling TV
Cheaper Live TV

Get 50% off your first month of Sling TV
New and returning customers can sign up for either the Orange or Blue plan (or the combo plan) and save 50% off one of the best cable TV alternatives

Preferred partner (What does this mean?)

Despite its budget price, Sling gives you access to popular networks including ESPN and Disney Channel with Sling Orange or Bravo, FX and USA with Sling Blue. It also offers local ABC, Fox and NBC affiliates on Sling Blue in certain markets. You can even sign up for additional extras like Showtime and Starz.

For more details about the service, read our Sling TV review. Sling TV continues to provide bang for the buck, while rivals YouTube TV and Hulu With Live TV cost more.

Read on to see how to sign up for a Sling TV free trial when it's available, as well as what free add-ons are currently available.

Sling TV free trial: How to sign up

The following step only work when a Sling TV free trial is available. Currently, it is not.

Sling TV free trial: How to sign up

1. On Sling.com, scroll down to Sling Orange, Blue and Orange & Blue, hover over an option and click the orange "Try Us Free" button. Note that Sling's terms of trial length are constantly changing, and it may also say "Get This Offer." If it says "Try Us Today", this is not a link to a trial signup page and it is instead for subscribing to the full-priced service. 

2. Enter your email address, a new password and click Register.

The Sling TV free trial sign-up screen presents, Orange, Blue and Orange & Blue packages.

(Image credit: Sling)

3. Select a service package. Your options are Sling's Orange, Blue, or Orange-and-Blue combo pack. Here's a rundown of Sling Orange vs Blue. Note the price differences: Orange gives you 34 channels for $40 a month, Blue packs 42 channels in for $40 per month, and the combo, which offers more than 46 channels, will run you $55 per month. Right now, all of the plans are available for 50% off if you choose to subscribe. 

Again, the duration of the trial is always changing, so the Sling signup page may look slightly different.

Picking extras in a Sling TV free trial

Picking premiums in a Sling TV free trial setup

4. Now, scroll through the extra channel options are. Here, you can choose whether to get more channels for an additional fee, like Epix, CMT, and others. You can also choose to sign up for Showtime and Starz. Each plan also has a special Sports Extra add-on package. But be careful — the two Sports Extra packages do not have the same channels. Finally, Sling lets you upgrade to 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (10 hours come free) when selecting extras. When you're ready, click Continue.

The billing info of setting up a Sling TV free trial

5. Enter your credit card and move on. If I were you, I'd set a reminder that reads "Make sure you want to pay for Sling," set to a few hours (at least) before the date and time listed at the top of this page. After that point in time, Sling will begin charging your credit card automatically.

At long last, you've made it through the subscription process and you're ready to start watching content. If you're on a computer, Sling TV can either be used in Chrome, or you'll want to download its app to your machine. If you prefer to watch it on the Apple TV or another device, just download the app from the gadget's app store and input your credentials. If you decide you don't want to continue the free trial, here's info on how to cancel Sling.

Sling TV free trial: Add-on services

While you can't score a Sling TV free trial at the moment, sometimes you can add some premium add-on services for free at checkout. Any add-ons available for free trials still have to be added in checkout to get them. They are not automatically applied.

Sling TV add-on services free trials

Unfortunately, there are currently no free trials for any of Sling TV's add-on services.

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Malcolm McMillan
Senior Streaming Writer

Malcolm McMillan is a senior writer for Tom's Guide, covering all the latest in streaming TV shows and movies. That means news, analysis, recommendations, reviews and more for just about anything you can watch, including sports! If it can be seen on a screen, he can write about it. Previously, Malcolm had been a staff writer for Tom's Guide for over a year, with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI), A/V tech and VR headsets.

Before writing for Tom's Guide, Malcolm worked as a fantasy football analyst writing for several sites and also had a brief stint working for Microsoft selling laptops, Xbox products and even the ill-fated Windows phone. He is passionate about video games and sports, though both cause him to yell at the TV frequently. He proudly sports many tattoos, including an Arsenal tattoo, in honor of the team that causes him to yell at the TV the most.

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