OTTs are the new craze. People are spending more and more time binge-watching series and movies on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar, Zee5 and other OTTs. But with so many options to choose from, it becomes really costly to subscribe to multiple OTTs. In this article, I will explain how to watch Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar and other OTTs for free.
Disclaimer – I have obtained the information from respective websites for Maharashtra circle. However, their offerings keep changing from time to time. So please verify information before subscribing.
Steps to get OTTs access for free
There are multiple OTTs to choose from. Most popular among them are Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar and Zee 5. So I have done a comparison for these OTTs to find out how we can watch these legally for free.
Details are explained as per OTT below. The same is also shared in tabular format for convenience and quick reference of everyone towards the end of this article.
How to watch Netflix for free
To be able to watch Netfilx for free, you should be either a Vodafone or Jio customer.
Vodafone bundles free Netfilx for its mobile postpaid users with monthly plans of 1099/ and above-.
Jio gives Netflix for free on its broadband connection of over 1499pm and on postpaid mobile plans of 399pm or above.
Netflix is not offered for prepaid users of both Vodafone Idea and Jio while Airtel website does not show Netflix bundled in any of its plans.
How to watch Amazon Prime for free
Users having Airtel or Jio broadband plans of 999/- or above can get free Amazon Prime membership.
Mobile users of all three phone companies (Airtel, Vodafone Idea, Jio) can get Amazon Prime membership for free.
On Airtel, free Amazon Prime membership starts from 349/-pm for prepaid users and 499/- pm for postpaid users.
On Vodafone Idea, Postpaid users with plans over 499/- pm will get benefit. However, for prepaid users, only youth customers between 18 to 24 years of age can avail 50% benefit on Amazon Prime membership. So instead of 999/-, they will have to pay only 499/- for 1 year subscription.
Jio has bundled free Amazon Prime membership to its postpaid users above 399/- pm. However, this freebie is not available on any of its prepaid plans.
How to watch Disney + Hotstar for free
To be able to watch Disney + Hotstar for free, you should be either an Airtel or Jio customer.
Users having Airtel or Jio broadband plans of 999/- or above get free Disney + Hotstar membership.
Airtel bundles free Disney + Hotstar for its mobile postpaid users with monthly plans of 499/- and above-. Jio offers the same at 399/- and above for its postpaid customers.
On both Airtel and Jio, prepaid users will have to recharge 598/- plan having 56 days validity to be able to watch Disney + Hotstar for free. Effectively this comes to 299/- pm recharge
Vodafone Idea website does not show Disney + Hotstar bundled in any of its plans.
How to watch Zee5 for free
Users having Airtel or Jio broadband plans of 999/- or above get free Zee5 membership.
Airtel bundles free Zee5 for its mobile prepaid users with monthly plans of 298/- and above-. There is no information on Airtel site whether postpaid users get free Zee5 membership or not.
On Vodafone Idea, prepaid users will have to recharge 595/- plan having 56 days validity to be able to get an annual subscription of Zee5 for free. Effectively this comes to 298/- pm recharge which makes it cheaper than the 355/- pm plan. Postpaid users will have to shell out 499/- pm or more to get free Zee5 subscription.
Jio website does not show Zee5 bundled in any of its mobile plans.
Other bundles OTTs
- Few OTTs come free for all three mobile networks. These include Lionsgate, Eros Now, Shemaroo, Voot, Hoichoi etc.
- Jio broadband customers also get free access to Sonyliv (on plans above 999/- pm) while Alt Balaji is available to both mobile and broadband customers.
- Via Jio TV, you can also watch selected kids’ shows of Disney (from Disney + Hotstar) in Hindi language for free.
Bonus way to get free Disney + Hotstar , Zee5, Sony Liv subscription
I use this trick a lot and it has helped me get quite a few subscriptions for free 🙂
Before buying anything on Amazon, always check the price of the same product on Flipkart. If the price is similar, prefer to buy from Flipkart. It has two advantages –
- You will help an Indian company grow and succeed 🙂
- You will get Flipkart Super coins on every purchase. These can be redeemed for subscriptions to various OTTs including Hotstar, Zee5, SonyLiv, Youtube Premium, Alt Balaji and many more.
Why pay for DTH when you can watch them for free?
DTH are a thing of the past. Instead of paying monthly subscription charges to Tata Sky, Airtel, Videocon etc to watch serials, you can use your mobile or broadband providers to watch them for free.
Airtel users can log in to Airtel Xtreme website (www.airtelxstream.in)/ app and watch almost all major channels. Similarly Vodafone Idea users can download Vodafone TV website (www.vimoviesandtv.in)/ app. Jio has its own Jio TV and Jio Cinema app where you can get access to everything.
Summary
All above details are also shared in tabular format for convenience and quick reference of everyone.
I hope that after reading this article, you will be able to save more money (:)), enjoy Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar and other OTTs for free.
If you know of any other legal ways to watch these OTTs for free or at discount, please share the details in the comments section. It will help me and all other users 🙂
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Very useful information, with OTT platform being the present and the future this will help save a lot of money.