• Hulu Basic is one of the most affordable streaming platforms you can subscribe to.
  • The service costs just $5.99 a month, and offers ad-supported access to Hulu’s entire library of on-demand programming, including “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “This is Us,” and “Seinfeld”.
  • If you can’t stand ads, you can upgrade to an ad-free version for $11.99 a month.

As streaming services grow ever more popular, cable subscriptions are becoming ever more irrelevant and more people are looking to cut the cord with their cable provider. For those tired of paying hundreds of dollars a year to watch cable, there are now countless alternatives to traditional TV providers.

One such option is to build your repertoire of subscription streaming services. When it comes to streaming platforms, Hulu Basic is one of the cheapest on-demand services on the market at just $5.99 per month. For that price, you'll get access to an extensive library of shows and movies.

Below, I'll walk you through everything you need to know about a Hulu Basic package.

What is Hulu Basic?

Hulu Basic is the company's simplest and most affordable streaming option. For $5.99 a month you'll get access to Hulu's entire catalog, but you will have to watch some ads as you stream.

Hulu plays host to a wide variety of content, including many current and classic TV shows. The library features hit comedies like "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," "30 Rock," and "Seinfeld"; cult favorites like "Adventure Time" and "Rick and Morty"; dramas like "This is Us" and "Grey's Anatomy"; 90's gems like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "The X Files"; Hulu originals like "The Handmaid's Tale" and "PEN15"; and even films like "Parasite", "A Quiet Place", and "I, Tonya."

You can also use Hulu to keep up with shows as they air. Episodes of series like "Saturday Night Live," "Bob's Burgers," and many more are available to stream the day after they air live, minimizing your FOMO gap to just 24 hours. This is a huge advantage over Netflix where you have to wait up to a year or more for an entire season of a show to make its way to the platform.

What's the difference between Hulu Basic and Hulu premium? Which one should I get?

Hulu Basic costs just $5.99 a month, while Hulu premium is $11.99 a month.

In exchange for a cheaper monthly rate, Hulu Basic serves you unskippable ads before and during your stream. A 30-minute show will often play one ad beforehand and will have two ad breaks during the show, amounting to roughly 5 minutes of total ad time. An hour-long show will have an ad at the beginning and an average of five ad breaks per show, amounting to about 10 minutes of ad time. It's a small price to pay for halving the cost of your subscription, and it's still less overall ad time than you'd be watching on cable.

Both Hulu Basic and premium get access to Hulu's entire content catalog, so you won't be missing out on any shows if you go the cheaper route. Whether you choose Basic or premium is entirely up to whether you can tolerate being interrupted by ads and if it's worth doubling the cost of the subscription to be freed from their influence.

For those who want access to even more streaming content, you can also sign up for Hulu Basic as part of a bundle with Disney Plus and ESPN+. This bundle costs $12.99 per month, which is about $5 cheaper than the price of paying for all three services separately.

How can I stream Hulu?

Most smart TVs have Hulu already built in, so all you'll have to do is launch the app and sign in to start streaming. If you don't have a smart TV and are looking to upgrade, check out our guide to the best 4K smart TVs on the market.

If you're not ready to upgrade your entire TV, there are still plenty of ways to smarten it up a bit with a streaming stick that will allow you to access these same apps. We recommend the 4K Fire TV Stick, but there are tons of other options across price ranges we've had great experiences with as well. You can also stream on your laptop or phone.