We are going to carry out a Paramount Essential vs. Premium comparison. The Paramount Network is one of the most well-known channels broadcast by ViacomCBS International. Inconsistent user choices between the Paramount Plus Essential and Paramount Premium plans lead to poor service for everyone. Both the Essential and Premium packages from Paramount Plus include a select group of channels designed to improve the user experience and help them save money and time. Can I get Paramount Plus for free if it is available? Well, read on to find out more details.
U.S. media conglomerate ViacomCBS Streaming runs the international subscription service Paramount+. It offers first-run content, such as recently aired CBS broadcast properties and material from the ViacomCBS archive. As of late June 2023, the monthly costs of both the Essential and Premium plans are $6 and $12, respectively. The price hikes coincided with Showtime’s complete incorporation into the package.
A wide selection of channels is available to you with the Paramount Plus Premium plan, also called the all-access plan. Aside from the usual commercial breaks, you can watch all of the local CBS channels live and uninterrupted. There are not many commercials in live TV streams, but they will keep you informed about what is coming up on the channel.
However, the Paramount Plus Essential plan gives you fewer customization options. Live local CBS channels are unavailable to Plus Essential customers. Although the plan calls for commercial breaks to be kept to a minimum and streaming to be smooth. You will also have access to numerous on-demand entertainment channels, all of which feature the most recent films and television shows.
The Plus Essential plan offers acceptable service at the lowest price, while the Paramount Premium plan is the company’s top tier. Here’s a quick look at how the two options stack up across a variety of criteria.
The primary dissimilarity between the two plans is likely the quantity of content and channels available. More than 30,000 hours of TV shows, movies, and other forms of entertainment are available to subscribers of the Plus Essential plan. You can watch the NFL on CBS, the Champions League live, nonstop national news, and very few commercials.
The Paramount Premium plan provides all the same features as the Paramount Essential plan, plus a few extras. You have the option of watching or listening to a wide range of entertaining media. In addition to the NFL on CBS, it also features the world’s best soccer and other exciting sporting events. Except for Live TV and a handful of other shows, the premium package is commercial-free. The best part, though, is that you can watch all of the local CBS channels live and even save episodes to watch later.
When compared to the now-defunct base plan, Paramount Plus Essential is a significant savings. You can sign up for the Plus Essential plan for just $5.99 per month. Paramount Plus Essential costs $59.99 per year, but subscribers who commit to the service for the full 12 months can save money. The premium plan, on the other hand, has monthly and annual payment options. The price is approximately $9.99 monthly or $99.99 yearly.
Each plan also offers a free week of service to help you decide which one is best for you. Give them both a shot and go with the one that ends up working best for you.
When it comes to the quality of the streams themselves, the Paramount Plus Essential plan does not include support for HDR10 or 4K streams. Additionally, it cannot play Dolby Vision video.
However, if you sign up for the Premium plan, you will gain access to everything mentioned above, including 4K video streaming. Maintaining a reliable internet connection is your only concern.
The video quality is also different between the two packages. While Paramount Plus Essential only provides SD-quality video, the premium tier offers HD and even 4K ultra-high-definition content. This means that the images and colors you will see in the Premium plan will be more vivid and detailed.
Paramount Plus
Paramount Plus is a top-tier service, and it is especially recommended if you are a fan of CBS shows and the American Football Conference. It is also relatively cheap, with ad-supported plans starting at $6 per month and ad-free plans costing $12 per month with Showtime included.
There are several original series and movies available on the service, such as the new “iCarly,” a prequel to “Yellowstone” titled “1923,” and several “Star Trek” series. There are also popular sports to choose from, such as NFL and SEC football games. CBS is available for live streaming, but only on the ad-free plan.
New subscribers to Paramount Plus can try it out for free for a week. Streaming content from CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central are just some of the many channels available on Paramount+. It also has some unique, exclusive features.
What Is the Cost of Paramount Plus?
Both an ad-supported Essential plan (at $6/month or $60/year) and an ad-free Premium plan (at $12/month) with Showtime are available from Paramount Plus.
Subscribers to any Paramount Plus plan have access to the entire library of on-demand content as well as select live sports, though the Essential plan’s on-demand streams will be interrupted by advertisements.
Showtime’s premium package, meanwhile, grants you commercial-free access to the network’s entire on-demand library, live streaming of your local CBS affiliate, and more. However, due to the live nature of CBS streaming, commercials will still air at regular intervals.
There are two different Paramount Plus plans available on their website: Paramount Plus with Showtime and Paramount Plus Essential.
Which Paramount+ Packages are offered?
The pricing and availability of Paramount+ has been streamlined:
- Paramount+ Essential
The annual fee is $59.99, or $5.99 a month.
- Paramount+ with SHOWTIME
$11.99 monthly or $119.99 annually
The previous Paramount+ premium ad-free plan cost $9.99 per month, but the new Paramount+ with Showtime plan costs $11.99. All current premium subscribers, whether they have or do not currently have the Showtime package, will be automatically upgraded to Paramount+ with Showtime.
What Shows are on Paramount Plus?
What makes Paramount+ stand out is its extensive TV show library. CBS shows Comedy Central skits, BET interviews, Nickelodeon shows (including Nick Jr.), and MTV shows are all available here. In other words, Paramount+ provides access to the vast majority of CBS’s back catalog, including fan favorites like South Park, NCIS, CSI, SpongeBob SquarePants, Criminal Minds, and Young Sheldon.
In addition, Paramount+ has an increasing number of new originals. New Star Trek shows like Discovery, Lower Decks, Picard, and the forthcoming Strange New Worlds are all part of this expansion. Moreover, you can only watch several new South Park episodes there.
Paramount Plus’s ad-supported plan starts at $5.99/month in 2023, while the ad-free plan costs $9.99/month.
Unfortunately, Paramount Plus has regional availability restrictions and is only available in a handful of countries, like the United States and Canada. Paramount Plus, despite its efforts to join the ranks of our favorite streaming services, keeps adding new content. It is great for local CBS broadcasts, Champions League live streams, and Yellowstone spinoffs, but it has not become a must-see show or movie.
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How to Get Paramount Plus for Free
First-time Paramount Plus users get a week free. Choose TRY IT FREE in the app or online. You can watch Paramount+ for free during the trial period. If you are a new customer, you can enjoy seven days at no cost to us, and if you change your mind, you can cancel before the next billing cycle begins.
If you use the most up-to-date Paramount Plus discount code at checkout, you will get 30 days of the service for free.
#1. Coupon Codes
With the promo code “BIGBROTHER25,” you can get a free month of Paramount Plus with minimal effort. After your free trial ends, you will be charged either $5.99 per month for Paramount Plus Essential or $11.99 per month for Paramount Plus with Showtime, depending on which package you choose. This offer is only available to new subscribers who provide a valid email address at the time of signup.
A trial period is one option for obtaining this service free of charge. You can try out the premium service at no risk if you cancel before the trial period ends. The 7-day free trial is short and you can only sign up once per email address.
Thankfully, there are alternate options where you can enjoy a longer trial period at no cost. We will show you how to get Paramount Plus for free by taking advantage of the trial periods of competing streaming services that also carry their channels.
#2. 7-day Free Trial
Want to know the secret to getting Paramount Plus at no cost? When you sign up for Paramount Plus today, you will get 7 days of the service free. With this 7-day trial, you can watch some of the most popular shows and movies available on streaming services without spending a dime. It only takes a few minutes to set up your free trial.
- You can check out Paramount Plus on their website or app.
- You can try it out for free by clicking the button.
- Choose the Paramount Plus option when prompted.
- Create your account.
- Submit your billing details here.
- Afterward, finish answering any questions about your chosen method of payment that may arise.
- Choose the initial trial amount and click START.
Your credit card will be charged for the initial month of service after the free trial period ends. If you do not want to pay for it, you must cancel your subscription and billing within 7 days or you will be charged every month until you cancel.
#3. Get Paramount Plus for Free via Walmart
The Walmart website also provides a free trial of Paramount Plus. The benefits of Walmart Plus, such as a free subscription to Paramount Plus, are comparable to those of Amazon Prime. A Walmart Plus membership is all it takes to get a free Paramount Plus membership.
#4. Access Free Shows
Paramount Plus offers a small number of free episodes in the hopes that you will subscribe. While this will not get you a full season for free like the other methods above, it will let you sample a few shows. No sign-up or financial information is required. The WATCH FREE EPISODES section of the app, or the Shows on Paramount Plus page of the website, is where you will find all of the free content that Paramount Plus offers.
Paramount Essential
The base plan, which has been discontinued, was replaced by Paramount Plus Essential, which has a monthly cost of $5.99. With a monthly cost of $5.99, Paramount Plus Essential is the most affordable subscription choice. The Paramount Plus Essential Plan is the service’s entry-level subscription tier, giving subscribers access to the full catalog of Paramount Plus’s TV shows, movies, and original productions.
Ads fund it, so it is cheap to watch shows from networks like CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, the Smithsonian Channel, Paramount Pictures, BET, and Comedy Central. All of the content you stream on Paramount+ Essential will be interrupted by commercials. Just the basics—that is what you get with Paramount+ Essential. All of Paramount’s streaming movies and shows are available, but the live TV channels and Showtime content found in the more expensive Paramount+ with Showtime tier are not. However, the Essential package still provides access to live soccer and football games.
The Paramount+ Essential plan is less expensive at $5.99 per month, but it includes frequent commercial breaks and does not provide access to Showtime.
Paramount Plus for Essential Plan — how much does it cost? Prices for the Paramount Plus Essential Plan range from $5.99 per month (with ads) to $59.99 per year (with ads), then on to $9.99 per month (ad-free) to $99.99 per year (ad-free).
Paramount Plus with Showtime — This plan of Paramount Plus costs $11.99 per month or $119.00 per year to subscribe to.
Paramount Plus gives subscribers access to a wide variety of Paramount Pictures and CBS shows, as well as other networks like Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, BET, MTV, and more. The Premium package also includes your local CBS affiliate’s live broadcasts and Showtime’s on-demand library.
Right now, Peacock is the only place to watch all five seasons of “Yellowstone” online. The streaming rights for “Yellowstone” prevent the show from being available on Paramount+, despite airing on the Paramount network. Peacock has an exclusive streaming deal for Yellowstone, so if you want to watch older seasons, you will have to pay.
Is Paramount Essential worth it?
For those looking to save money each month, Paramount+ offers an Essential plan for only $6. All of Paramount+’s content is available on this plan, but you will have to put up with commercials while you watch. If you want better picture quality, support for high dynamic range (HDR) content, fewer commercials, expanded sports and news programming, and the option to download Paramount Plus Premium. If this is worth the additional $5 per month over Essential, then upgrading to Premium might be worthwhile.
Is Paramount Plus Free with Amazon Prime?
No, Paramount Plus is not included in the price of an Amazon Prime membership. The Paramount Plus membership is an additional purchase. There is a free seven-day trial for Paramount Plus available with an Amazon Prime membership. However, there is a way to try it out before actually paying for it, so it is not completely out of the question. To watch Paramount+ commercial-free, Amazon Prime members can upgrade to the Premium ad-free plan for $9.99 per month (after a free seven-day trial).
Is 1883 on Paramount Essential?
If you have a 4K TV and a streaming device that can handle 4K content, you can watch 1883 on Paramount+. The Paramount+ streaming service now offers 1883 in 4K resolution for users with 4K TVs and compatible streaming devices. There are two different Paramount+ plans to choose from. Subscribers to the $5/month Essential plan have access to 1883 with fewer advertisements.
Does Paramount Plus Essential include Showtime?
The Paramount+ Essential package excludes SHOWTIME and features fewer commercials. The Paramount+ with SHOWTIME package includes both Paramount+ and SHOWTIME without any commercial interruptions (Paramount+ is commercial-free except for live TV and a few shows). In addition to SHOWTIME and Paramount movies, subscribers can watch their local CBS affiliate live and download shows to watch offline.
Can I use Paramount Plus offline?
You can watch Paramount+ with Showtime without an internet connection. Subscribers can save videos for offline viewing at a later time. Unfortunately, Paramount+ Essential subscribers are excluded from accessing this content.
Conclusion
The number of available videos and the availability of commercial breaks are the most noticeable differences in this Paramount essential vs premium comparison. Choosing a plan now would involve a set of preferences. The Premium plan appears to be the best option if you want to avoid commercial interruptions while streaming or if you need access to live local CBS channels. If you do not stream very often or have very specific tastes, you might be disappointed with Paramount Plus.
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