Paramount Plus Price, Bundles, and Deals
Everything you need to know about Paramount+ pricing, bundles, and deals
Getty ImagesAs people cut the cord from their cable providers and look for other entertainment options, Paramount+ is on top of our list of on-demand platforms. Formerly known as CBS All Access, the streaming service went through a rebrand in early 2021 and added 30,000 shows and movies to the platform.
Read on to learn about the Paramount+ cost, free trial offer, and other deals, including a possible bundle option.
What is Paramount+?
Launched under its new name in March 2021, Paramount+ is one of the most popular streaming services with nearly 40 million global subscribers at the end of March 2022. Featuring live and on-demand titles, Paramount+ previously operated as CBS All Access. The service was rebranded with the new Paramount+ name following the merger of Viacom and CBS to the current company Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS).
Paramount+ features more than 30,000 episodes and films from the Paramount Global vault, which includes BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures, and the Smithsonian Channel. It is the home to such favorite TV series as Star Trek, Survivor, and SpongeBob SquarePants.
The service features a lineup of original, scripted content led by Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Discovery, as well as three other, shorter form Star Trek series — Star Trek: Short Treks and the animated Star Trek: Lower Decks, and Star Trek: Prodigy. Other popular original series are 1883, The Good Fight, Evil, and more.
In addition to the SpongeBob SquarePants series and spin-offs, among the favorites from the Nickelodeon library are Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Paw Patrol, and more.
The service also offers a limited selection of live games and events, headlined by global soccer coverage such as UEFA Champions League, CONCACAF Nations League, and the National Women's Soccer League. Paramount+ also offers a Live Channel hub that features channels such as CBS News, CBS Sports Live HQ, and more.
Meanwhile, instead of the standard channels you'd find on cable, there are more than 20 channels that are grouped by genre, with each channel showing live titles. Among the other channels are Animation Favorites, Crime & Justice, Kids & Family Fun, Nostalgic Hits, Preschool Corner, TV Classics, and more.
You can watch Paramount+ on most devices, including:
- Google Chrome, Apple Safari, Microsoft Edge, and Mozilla Firefox web browsers
- Apple TV
- Apple iPhone and Apple iPad
- Android TV (Google TV)
- Android smartphones and tablet
- Google Chromecast
- Amazon Fire TV
- Facebook Portal TV
- Sony PlayStation 4 and Playstation 5
- Samsung TV (Tizen)
- Vizio TV (SmartCast)
- LG TV (webOS)
- Roku
- Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
- Xfinity Flex and X1
- Cox Contour box
- VIDAA TV
How much does Paramount+ cost?
The service offers two plans: Essential and Premium. For either plan, you can save 16 percent off the total cost by paying for the full year in advance. Let's look at how much each Paramount+ plan costs.
The Essential plan is $5/mo., while the annual plan is $50, a savings of $10/yr. There are limited commercials included with this plan and local live CBS stations are not available.
The Premium plan, which contains very few commercial interruptions in on-demand titles, is $10/mo. or $100/yr. when paid up front. The annual plan results in a $20/yr. savings compared to the monthly plan. This plan does include local live CBS stations.
How do I sign up for a Paramount+ free trial?
If you are new to the service, you may be able to receive a Paramount+ free trial for seven days. From the Paramount+ website, simply tap the "Try It Free" button and select whether you want the Essential or Premium plan.
Once you choose your plan, you'll select whether you want to make monthly or annual payments. Then, you'll create an account and enter your credit card information. Your card will not be charged until your free trial is over.
Current Paramount+ deals and bundles
Paramount+ currently has a deal with T-Mobile in which current eligible T-Mobile and Sprint subscribers can get the Essential monthly plan free for one year. Eligible customers are postpaid consumer voice wireless or home internet subscribers. Subscribers are on prepaid or mobile internet only (tablets, hot spots, etc.) plans are not eligible.
Paramount+ also offers a discount for college students. Once again, the deal is only valid for the monthly Essential plan. However, verified college students can receive 25 percent off the monthly price. Once students are verified, they can take advantage of the student discount for four years, even if they've graduated before the end of the four-year period. After four years, the normal rate applies.
Meanwhile, Paramount+ offers a bundled deal with Showtime. With this bundle, in addition to all of the titles available on Paramount+, you'll get access to the movies, sports, documentaries, and original programming on Showtime. Among Showtime's original series are Dexter: New Blood, Billions, Yellowjackets, American Rust, Vice, and more.
For the Essential plan, the Paramount+ and Showtime bundle is $12/mo. or an annual payment of $120/yr. For the Premium plan, the rate is $15/mo., while the annual plan is $150/yr.
What's the value of the Paramount+ bundle?
An independent subscription to Showtime is $11/mo. The standard rate for the Paramount+ Essential plan is $5/mo. To get these plans individually, the total rate would be $16/mo. However, with the Paramount+ and Showtime bundle for the Essential plan, the rate is $12/mo., a savings of $4/mo., or 25 percent.
The standard Paramount+ Premium plan is $10/mo., which would make the total of each plan individually $21/mo. The Paramount+ and Showtime bundle for the Premium plan is $15/mo., a monthly savings of $6/mo. or 29 percent.
If you're interested in the titles from both Paramount+ and Showtime, you can save between $48 and $72/yr. depending on which Paramount+ plan you choose.
Is Paramount+ worth it?
Although Paramount+ has more than 30,000 titles, the big drawback is those titles are limited to brands in the Paramount Global family. If you're interested in shows from ABC, CBS, NBC, or any of the hundreds of other channels or services, then Paramount+ will not be able to deliver.
However, if you're a diehard fan of Star Trek or Survivor franchises, or if your kids love Nickelodeon shows, then Paramount+ is definitely worth the investment. You can learn more about the service in our Paramount+ review.