Paramount Plus: release date, cost, free trial, shows, movies, and more

Paramount Plus logo in front of promo images for movies and TV shows available on the platform
Paramount Plus replaced CBS All Access in 2021, and has established itself as one of the best streaming services on the market. (Image credit: Paramount / ViacomCBS)

Paramount Plus boasts a library of more than 45,000 TV episodes and movies, as well as NFL matches, the UEFA Champions League, and 24/7 live news from CBS News. It's your destination for all things CBS, not to mention Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV, and Showtime. In other words, it's easy to see how the platform that replaced CBS All Access in 2021 has gone on to establish itself as one of the best streaming services available.

On top of being the streaming home of the Star Trek franchise, Paramount Plus is the place to go for Mission: Impossible, Top Gun and Transformers, while the platform's TV offering is headlined by high-profile new shows like Halo, Yellowjackets and the Frasier reboot. 

This guide tells you everything you need to know about the streamer, including Paramount Plus price, information on free trials, and details of what's available to watch. If you want to know more, check out our guides to the best Paramount Plus shows and the best Paramount Plus movies.

How much does Paramount Plus cost?

Courtney Eaton’s Lottie Matthews carries a bear heat in Yellowjackets season 1

Yellowjackets is one of many must-watch shows on Paramount Plus. (Image credit: Showtime)

The Paramount Plus price is $5.99 with ads or $11.99 per month without ads.

The with-ads Paramount Plus Essential tier delivers tons of great on-demand originals, library content, NFL games on CBS, the UEFA Champions League, and 24/7 live news from CBS News.

The Paramount Plus with Showtime tier delivers tons more content for an extra six dollars a month. You get live TV with CBS, college football, and the ability to download your favorite shows and movies to your mobile devices. This option also gives you full access to Showtime – home to Yellowjackets, Billions, and the rebooted Dexter: New Blood. You'll only find ads on live TV and a few select shows, and you'll be able to watch in 4K, Dolby Vision and HDR10 formats, with Dolby Atmos sound.

You also get a nice discount (around 18%) on the Paramount Plus price if you opt to pay annually. A year of Paramount Plus Essential will cost you $59.99 per year – equivalent to $5 per month – while a year of Paramount Plus with Showtime will set you back $119.99 (or $10 per month). 

Is there a Paramount Plus free trial?

Tom Cruise in the cockpit in Top Gun: Maverick.

Feel the need – the need for speed – with both Top Gun movies on Paramount Plus. (Image credit: Paramount Studios)

Paramount Plus are currently offering a week-long free trial on both the Paramount Plus Essential and Paramount Plus with Showtime packages.

Alternatively, Walmart Plus subscribers can get Paramount Plus Essential thrown in for free with their subscription.

Get Paramount Plus FREE with Walmart Plus sign-ups

<a href="https://goto.walmart.com/c/1943169/565706/9383?subId1=hawk-custom-tracking&sharedId=hawk&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.walmart.com%2Fplus" data-link-merchant="walmart.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Get Paramount Plus FREE with Walmart Plus sign-ups
For existing and new customers to Walmart Plus, you can now stream Paramount Plus for free as a part of your membership on top of discounts on fuel, free delivery on groceries, as well as free shipping on other items. Subscribers will get the Paramount Plus Essential plan, which is valued at $59.99 a year (if you pay annually).

Paramount Plus compatible devices

Ashley and Gordon, who is holding Colin, look at something off-screen in Colin From Accounts

Australian sitcom Colin from Accounts has been a breakout hit on Paramount Plus. (Image credit: Easy Tiger/CBS Studios)

Paramount Plus is available on the following supported devices, according to this help page:

  • Apple TV (4th Gen and above, and 4K models supported)
  • Android TV (including Nvidia Shield, Sony Bravia TVs from 2015 onwards, Hisense Android TVs, TCL 3-Series Smart TVs, select Xiaomi devices)
  • Android phones and tablets (Android 5.0 Lollipop (API 21) and above)
  • Chromecast
  • Cox Contour box
  • Fire TV (including Fire Stick and Fire Cube)
  • Google TV
  • iPhone and iPad (iOS 14 and above)
  • LG TV
  • Portal TV
  • PS4 and PS5
  • Roku (most models)
  • Samsung TV
  • Vizio TV
  • VIDAA TV
  • Web browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Safari (Max OS X 10.10+) and Microsoft Edge
  • Xbox One, Series S and Series X
  • Xfinity X1, Xumo and Flex 

Where can you watch Paramount Plus?

Master Chief carries a wounded Spartan in a destroyed Reach city in Halo season 2

Master Chief takes the fight to the Covenant in the Halo TV show. (Image credit: 343 Industries/Showtime/Amblin Television)

Paramount Plus is currently available in the US, Latin America, Canada, Australia, Japan, the Caribbean, and several European countries including the UK, Ireland, Germany, Italy, and France. 

What TV shows are available on Paramount Plus?

A Star Trek: Strange New Worlds promo shot featuring the cast standing in front of the Enterprise.

Strange New Worlds is one of the many Star Trek shows to have found Spacedock on Paramount Plus. (Image credit: Paramount+)

Whether you're looking for new shows or a TV classic from the archives, Paramount Plus has got you covered – across multiple genres.

Sci-fi fans will want to set their sights on the big-budget Halo TV show (new episodes debut on Thursdays) and the final frontier – every Star Trek TV series (except kids' show Prodigy) is available on Paramount Plus. 

If you're after something weird, you can also enjoy The Curse (featuring recent Oscar-winner Emma Stone), and David Lynch's freaky cop drama Twin Peaks. And if you prefer your drama a little more down-to-earth, the streamer is home to the critically acclaimed Yellowjackets, Yellowstone spin-offs 1883 and 1923, Billions, Dexter, Tulsa King, The Good Wife and spin-off The Good Fight – as well as long-running procedurals CSI and NCIS. 

Laughter comes courtesy of top sitcoms Frasier (including the 2023 reboot), Cheers, and brilliant Australian import Colin From Accounts.

Paramount Plus's ties with Nickelodeon mean that kids are also well served, with SpongeBob SquarePants, Paw Patrol and Avatar: The Last Airbender among the many attractions for younger members of the family.

What movies are available on Paramount Plus?

A shot from Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One 4K

Every one of Tom Cruise's impossible missions is available on Paramount Plus – including his latest adventure in Dead Reckoning, Part One. (Image credit: Paramount)

Paramount Plus doesn't disappoint when it comes to movies, either. Even though it only landed in theaters in January, you can already enjoy the Mean Girls musical (as well as the 2004 original) on the platform, alongside recent releases like Scream VI, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and Pet Sematary: Bloodlines. Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning, Part One completes the M:I set (you can also watch the ’60s TV show that inspired Tom Cruise's hit franchise), while Transformers: Rise of the Beasts adds to the selection of robots-in-disguise movies on the platform.

Going further back in time, you can check out both Top Gun movies, the three films from J.J. Abrams' rebooted Star Trek, the first four Indiana Jones adventures, Interstellar, Minority Report, The Talented Mr Ripley, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Airplane!, American Beauty, Chinatown and No Country for Old Men, as well as the classic The Godfather trilogy. 

And if you need to keep the kids happy, you can put them in front of Sonic the Hedgehog and its sequel, Monster High, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run and much, much more. 

Is Paramount Plus worth the money?

The main characters from Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves stand in a bearpit

Find Honor Among Thieves in the Dungeons & Dragons movie on Paramount Plus. (Image credit: Paramount Pictures)

In terms of cost, Paramount Plus compares favorably with its rivals in the streaming market. Its $5.99 with ads and $11.99 no ads tiers are the same price as Peacock's equivalents, and cheaper than the respective with/without ads tiers at Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus and Max. Paramount Plus Essential also works out cheaper than Amazon Prime Video's video-only option. 

Does that make Paramount Plus worthwhile? As with all streamers, that depends on whether its content library suits your needs. There are undoubtedly platforms offering bigger selections of movies and TV shows, while Max (with DC, The Lord of the Rings and the HBO back catalogue) and Disney Plus (with Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar and more) are home to higher profile franchises. 

For Trekkies, however, more than 800 episodes of voyages on the final frontier make Paramount Plus something as a non-brainer, while Uefa Champions League and NFL matches make it appealing to sports fans – especially on the $5.99 a month Essential tier. There are also plenty of bona fide movie and TV classics to enjoy.

In other words, there's plenty to like about Paramount Plus but several other services arguably have broader appeal.

Alice Marshall
eCommerce Editor

Alice is eCommerce Editor at Future with a focus on streaming services, such as Disney Plus and HBO Max, and VPN. She predominantly writes buying and streaming service guides, as well as how to watch articles. Previously a Commercial Content Writer at Trusted Reviews, Alice has five years experience giving online buying advice, and over two years writing about consumer tech.

With contributions from