Best Free Trials UK & How to Avoid Being Charged

A free trial is one of the easiest ways to get something for nothing: a month of Amazon Prime, a few months of ad-free music, or a box of dinner kits delivered to your door. The catch is that most trials turn into a paid subscription unless you cancel in time. This guide covers the best free trials in the UK right now, how they work, and the simple habits that make sure you never pay for something you only meant to try.

We keep an up-to-date list of every offer we’ve checked on our free trials page, so bookmark it if you like trying new things.

How Free Trials Work

Companies offer free trials because they’re confident that once you’ve tried the product, you’ll want to keep it, and because plenty of people forget to cancel. Most trials follow the same pattern:

You sign up and add a payment method. Even though you won’t be charged straight away, most services ask for a card so the subscription can carry on automatically when the trial ends.
You get full access for a set period. This is usually 7, 14 or 30 days, and sometimes up to three months for streaming services.
The paid plan starts automatically. If you haven’t cancelled by the end of the trial, you’ll be charged the normal price, usually on the day the trial ends.

Some offers are slightly different: food and product boxes often give you the first box free or heavily discounted, and you just pay postage. These are still subscriptions, so the same rules apply.

The Best Free Trials in the UK Right Now

These are the trials we rate most highly. Each one links to our offer page, and where we’ve tested the service properly, to our full review.

1. Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial

What you get: 30 days of free one-day delivery on millions of items, Prime Video, Amazon Music Prime, Prime Reading, Prime Gaming and Prime Try Before You Buy for clothes and shoes.
After the trial: Prime rolls on to a paid plan (£8.99 a month or £95 a year at the time of writing). Students can often get a longer trial through Prime Student.
Tip: Start your trial a few days before a big shop, like Black Friday or Christmas, so the free delivery and Prime-only deals pay off.
Links: Claim the Amazon Prime free trial · Read our honest Amazon Prime review

2. Spotify Premium: Up to 3 Months Free

What you get: Ad-free music, offline listening and full control over what you play.
Who can claim: People who have never had Spotify Premium before. You’ll still need to add a payment method.
Tip: Spotify sends a reminder seven days before your trial ends, so don’t ignore that email.
Links: Claim Spotify Premium free · Is Spotify Premium worth it? Our review

3. SimplyCook Free Food Box

What you get: A box worth £9.99 with four recipe kits, enough for four meals, and you only pay £1 postage.
Why we like it: The recipes take around 20 minutes and the shopping lists are short, so it’s a cheap way to add some new dinners to your week.
Links: Claim your free SimplyCook box · Read our SimplyCook review

4. The Week: 6 Free Issues and a Welcome Gift

What you get: Your first six weeks of The Week magazine free, plus a stainless steel water bottle when you become a subscriber.
Why we like it: A quick, balanced round-up of the week’s news, and you can cancel at any time.
Link: Get 6 free issues of The Week

5. Beer52 Craft Beer Box

What you get: A themed case of craft beer from independent breweries, delivered to your door, at an introductory price.
Links: See the current Beer52 offer · Read our Beer52 review

6. Tails.com Tailored Dog Food

What you get: A dog food recipe made for your dog’s tastes and nutritional needs, backed by vets and nutritionists, with free delivery.
Links: See the current Tails.com offer · Read our Tails.com review

7. Smol Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products

What you get: Everyday cleaning products like laundry and dishwasher tablets that are better for the planet, posted through your letterbox.
Links: See the current Smol offer · Read our Smol review

Free Food Box Trials: Are They Worth It?

Meal kits and food subscription boxes are some of the most generous trials around. The first box is often free or nearly free, because the companies know that a good dinner is the best advert. They’re a great way to try new recipes without buying a cupboard full of ingredients you’ll only use once.

Before you sign up, check two things: when the next box is scheduled (it’s often only a week later), and how far in advance you need to skip or cancel (usually a few days before dispatch, not before delivery). If you only want the free box, cancel as soon as your first order is confirmed.

How to Avoid Getting Charged After a Free Trial

None of this is complicated, but a couple of minutes of planning saves a lot of annoyance later.

1. Set a Reminder the Moment You Sign Up

Put a reminder in your phone’s calendar for two days before the trial ends, not on the last day. Trials often end at a specific time, and payments can go through first thing in the morning.

2. Cancel Straight Away (You Usually Keep Access)

Many services, including Amazon Prime and Spotify, let you cancel during the trial and still use everything until the trial period runs out. If you know you only want the free month, cancel on day one and enjoy it without worrying.

3. Use a Virtual or Disposable Card

Some banking apps, such as Revolut, let you create virtual cards that you can freeze, or single-use cards that stop working after one payment. Be aware that some services won’t accept disposable cards, and you’re still responsible for cancelling the subscription properly.

4. Read the Small Print Before You Sign Up

Check how long the trial lasts, what it renews at, and whether there’s a minimum term once it becomes paid. Food and product boxes in particular sometimes send the next delivery sooner than you’d expect.

5. Keep Your Confirmation Emails

Save the sign-up and cancellation emails in a folder. If you’re charged after cancelling, that email is your proof.

What to Do If You’ve Been Charged After Cancelling

Contact the company first. Most will refund a charge quickly if you can show you cancelled in time, and many will refund a first payment as a goodwill gesture if you’ve not used the service since.
Cancel the payment with your bank. In the UK you can ask your bank or card provider to stop future recurring card payments to a company, and they must do it, even if the company says you can’t.
Ask about a chargeback. If a company won’t refund a payment you didn’t agree to, your card provider may be able to reclaim it for you.
Know your cancellation rights. If you sign up to a service online, you normally have 14 days from the start of the contract to cancel. With a 30-day trial that window has usually passed by the first payment, which is why cancelling during the trial matters.

New UK rules on subscriptions are also on the way, and are expected to come in during 2027. They’ll require companies to remind you before a free trial turns into a paid subscription and to make cancelling as easy as signing up.

Prefer Something Completely Free?

If you’d rather not hand over card details at all, free trials aren’t your only option. Our free stuff page lists free samples and freebies with no strings attached, and our free competitions are updated every day, with no purchase needed to enter. If you want to read up on those first, see our guide to free-to-enter competitions. You can also earn a little extra through paid surveys.

Free Trial FAQs

Do free trials in the UK need a credit card?

Most do, because the subscription carries on automatically after the trial. You can use a debit card for almost all of them, and a few services offer trials without any card at all.

Can I get the Amazon Prime 30-day free trial more than once?

The 30-day trial is normally for new members only. Amazon does sometimes offer new trials to people who haven’t been members for a while, so it’s worth checking if you’ve not had Prime recently.

Will I lose access if I cancel a free trial early?

With many services, including Amazon Prime and Spotify, no. You keep access until the trial would have ended. Check the cancellation page before you confirm, because a few services end access immediately.

Is it OK to only use the free trial and then cancel?

Yes. Free trials are designed to let you try before you buy, and cancelling during the trial is completely fine.

We check and add new offers every week, so keep an eye on our free trials page. To get the best freebies, trials and competitions straight to your inbox, sign up to our free weekly newsletter.