As of December 3, 2019, Netflix is officially ending its 30-day free trial service. Unfortunately, there is no information regarding the resumption of the Netflix free trial, so it is probably unlikely that it will resume.
In this article, we will introduce three alternative video subscription services to continue watching videos for free, as well as the use of FlixPal, a cost-effective download software.
Netflix Free Trial is Gone!
Netflix, a major video distribution service with more than 200 million users worldwide, landed in Japan in September 2015 and has been attracting attention for its original content available only on Netflix. trial service for four years, but unfortunately it officially ends on December 3, 2019.
Netflix Free Trial Ends
The free trial used to be offered by Netflix as a first-time registration benefit, which was a "one-month free trial of the basic plan". Unfortunately, this has now ended.
After the free trial service ended, Netflix also offered a trial free subscription service, which has also ended. The free trial service allows users to watch the first episode and trailers of about 10 video titles for free without registering an account.
However, as of now, even the free trial subscription service has ended. This means that you can no longer continue to watch Netflix videos for free.
What are the chances that the Netflix Free Trial will resume?
Unfortunately, there has been no announcement so far regarding information on the resumption of the Netflix Free Trial. been almost three years now since it ended, so it is probably unlikely that the free trial service will be resumed in the future.
To keep watching Netflix for free, try downloading videos!
After downloading Netflix content, offline playback does not consume data charges on your device, even if you are not on Wi-Fi. Moreover, if you download a movie to your device, you can enjoy the movie you want to watch without stress, even if you are out and about and do not have an Internet connection, and you do not experience video interruptions or sound skips due to communication speeds.
Therefore, we recommend that you download Netflix videos before watching them.
Limitations of the Netflix download function
There are a few things to keep in mind when downloading Netflix videos.
- Not all films can be downloaded.
There are some content available on Netflix that cannot be downloaded. Before downloading, check first to see if there is a "download symbol" next to the title.
- Each work you download has an expiration date.
Movies downloaded from Netflix have an expiration date; some have 48 hours, while others have a week or more. Also, you cannot check the expiration date before the download is made.
The page of the downloaded work will show the number of days when the expiration date is within a week. In addition, the number of times a work can be downloaded per year is fixed for each work, so be careful of multiple downloads.
- The number of works that can be downloaded differs depending on the plan.
The number of devices you can watch simultaneously depends on your Netflix subscription plan. Also, each device can download up to 100 movies at a time.
With the Basic plan, you can watch on one device, with the Standard plan on two devices, and with the Premium plan on four devices, so you can download up to 400 movies by using multiple devices.
- Be careful not to run out of space on your device due to large downloads.
If you download too many videos using Netflix, your device's capacity will be overwhelmed and you may run out of space. Next, since it is easy for the operation of your device to gradually become sluggish due to insufficient capacity, download while being conscious of your device's capacity by limiting the number of videos you want to download at one time and regularly deleting videos you have finished watching.
Download software that can replace Netflix's downloader function--FlixPal
You can use Netflix's Downloader feature to watch videos offline on your smartphone or TapRed, but downloaded content cannot be transferred to your TV, so you will not be able to watch on a larger screen.
If you have a Smart TV at home, you can enjoy Netflix videos in full HD, but the requirements are a minimum Netflix Standard plan subscription and a 5 Mbps connection speed. If you have a poor Internet connection, even if you choose the standard plan, the quality of the video being played may be reduced to 720p or lower due to the slow Internet connection speed.
In fact, there is a way to enjoy Netflix content in full HD even if you do not have a Smart TV at home. The solution is to use the FlixPal Downloader. <Since it is PC software, it is only compatible with Window and MAC, and not available for smartphones>.
With FlixPal, you can download and permanently store Netflix videos without restrictions. You can easily download without worrying about the number of times you have to download and download again due to being deleted.
What is FlixPal Downloader?
FlixPal Downloader allows you to download streaming videos from over 200 websites including Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, Amazon Prime, U-NEXT, Paravi, and more. You can also download videos from YouTube, Vimeo, and other social networks.
FlixPal Downloader features
- Download videos in high quality
With FlixPal Downloader, you can download videos in high quality up to 1080p.
- Download videos without ads
When you download videos with FlixPal Downloader, ads are automatically removed so you can enjoy downloaded videos without ads.
- Save multilingual subtitles as SRT files on your computer
When downloading videos with FlixPal Downloader, you can select subtitles. In addition, you can save the subtitles to your computer as an external (1) SRT file.
- Download a series of movies at once
FlixPal Downloader has a built-in browser that detects the entire series of the searched movie and allows you to check the videos you want to download and download them all at once.
- Videos are saved in MP4 format, allowing permanent preservation of Netflix videos.
If you download Netflix videos with FlixPal downloader, you can save videos in MP4/MKV format. Besides permanently storing the downloaded content, you can easily transfer it to your TV or other devices for viewing on the big screen.
- GPU boost for fast downloads.
FlixPal Downloader's GPU boost accelerates download speed, so a 2-hour movie can be downloaded in less than 10 minutes.
Requires purchase of a price plan to continue watching Netflix.
Official Netflix price plans
Netflix offers four price plans, each with different "picture quality" and "number of simultaneous devices.
*Please note that Basic with ads is not available for download.
The following is a list of recommended plans for each need.
- If you just want to keep the price low -> Basic Plan with Ads
- If you don't want ads and use it alone -> Basic Plan
- If you want to enjoy beautiful picture quality on your tabled or PC → Standard Plan
- If you want to enjoy videos on a large screen with family and friends→Premium Plan
Basic Plan
This is the easiest Netflix plan to use. The picture quality is at the DVD level, and the small screen of a smartphone is enough for one person to enjoy this plan.
Standard Plan
This plan costs 500 yen more than the Basic Plan, but allows you to enjoy beautiful picture quality on tablets and PCs. Also, since simultaneous viewing is limited to two devices, if you want to enjoy your favorite movies on two different devices, such as a smartphone and a tabled, or a smartphone and a PC, this plan is for you!
Premium Plan
This is the most expensive Netflix plan. The picture quality is 4K, so if you want to enjoy videos on the big screen of your Smart TV with your family or best friends, don't miss out! With 4 simultaneous viewers, you can enjoy ultra-high quality videos with the whole family on a single account.
You can also change your Netflix plan at any time after signing up, so if there is no free trial period, why not start with the lowest basic plan?
What about non-Netflix subscriptions?
Netflix does not offer promotions like the free trial period, but there are some subscriber promotions that can be used in conjunction with other services to save money on Netflix.
Netflix X au "Unlimited 5G/4G Netflix Pack
au "All-you-can-use 5G/4G Netflix Pack" is a plan that includes Netflix (Basic Plan) and TELASA services with "All-you-can-use MAX 5G/4G". Let's compare the contents of each plan.
The difference between the two plans is 1,100 yen, which is the fee for Netflix (Basic Plan) and TELASA services. Also, with the "au Netflix Support Discount," a discount of 1,100 yen/month for the first 3 months will be a whopping 4,928 yen for the "unlimited usage 5G/4G Netflix pack," the same price as the "unlimited usage MAX 5G/4G!
In other words, it can be said to be practically free. au users only, but please check it out.
＼Au Netflix packs are available.
Netflix X eo "eo Hikari Net Net Netflix Pack
eo Hikari Net "Netflix Pack" is a service that comes with up to one year of Netflix. If you live in the Kansai area and are thinking about switching your internet connection, please consider this service. eo HIKARI Net "Netflix Pack" offers a very reasonable monthly fee of 3,170 yen (for up to 1 year) for any of the Super High Speed 10 Giga, 5 Giga, and 1 Giga courses.
3 Video Streaming Services to Keep Watching for Free Instead of Netflix
If you want to keep watching videos for free, we recommend a video service that offers a free trial. Here are three of the most popular video streaming services that offer free trial periods.
U-NEXT｜31-day free trial
If you want to watch free videos, U-NEXT is by far the best choice!
You will receive 600 yen worth of points for the 31-day free trial period as well.
After downloading videos from U-NEXT, please refer to " How to download U-NEXT videos, Japan's largest distribution service, in detail! for more information.
Here's why we recommend U-NEXT!
- More than 240,000 movies are available for unlimited viewing!
- Not only videos, but also unlimited manga and magazines with this one service!
- You can get 600 yen worth of points even during the 31-day free trial period! And if you cancel during the free trial period, it won't cost you anything!
- You can create up to 4 accounts, so you can share your account with 4 other people and save even more!
Start your free trial of U-NEXT now!
dTV｜31-day free trial
dTV is a video delivery service affiliated with NTT DoCoMo and offers a wide variety of movies, dramas, and animations, so it is the best choice for those who value cost-effectiveness!
After downloading videos from dTV, please refer to " Thorough explanation of dTV video download function and recommended video downloader? " for more information.
There is a 31-day free trial period, and live performances by popular artists are exclusively available, making it a strong choice for music genres.
Here is why we recommend dTV!
- With a monthly fee of 550 yen, it is one of the best and most cost-effective video delivery services.
- Not only the latest movies and dramas, but also popular animations, Korean dramas, and artists' live performances are available.
- The number of live music streaming services is the No.1 in the world!
Start your free trial of dTV now!
hulu｜2-week free trial
Hulu, a video distribution service that landed in Japan early in 2011, is strong in foreign dramas like Netflix and offers "Live TV," a real-time distribution service. It is also a great point to have unlimited access to a variety of videos, including drama, anime, variety shows, news, and sports.
After downloading videos from Hulu, please refer to "Want to download videos from Hulu to your PC? Learn more about the super convenient way".
Here's why we recommend Hulu!
- You can watch missed NTV series.
- Live streaming of sports and news. High profile contents are provided.
- Watch Party" function allows up to 8 people to chat.
Start your free trial of hulu now!
Summary
Netflix's 30-day free trial service, offered for four years running, officially ends on December 3, 2019. The free trial service offered in the past is also no longer available.
If you want to continue watching free videos, the alternative download software--FlixPal--is a good option. In addition, this article has introduced three video streaming services that you can continue to watch for free instead of Netflix, and we encourage you to use them.