Attention, Walmart shoppers: Your Walmart+ subscription isn’t just for free shipping. You also get streaming benefits, including access to Paramount+, a deal that helps Walmart+ compete with Amazon Prime.
Besides Paramount+, your Walmart+ subscription also lets you tap into ad-free content on PlutoTV, the free and–normally–ad-supported TV service.
But before you sign up for Walmart+ to scoop up those streaming benefits, you should know exactly what you’re getting–and not getting–for your monthly subscription fee.
Walmart+ streaming benefits: What you need to know
What exactly is Walmart+?
Walmart+ is a subscription service similar to Amazon Prime, offering a variety of shopping and streaming benefits for a monthly or annual fee.
Walmart launched its Walmart+ service on September 15, 2020, and the membership plan has been competing with Amazon’s Prime service ever since.
How much does Walmart+ cost?
A monthly Walmart+ membership will set you back $12.95 a month, or $98 if you pay for a full year.
By way of comparison, Amazon Prime goes for $14.99 a month, or $139 annually.
What shopping benefits do you get with Walmart+?
Like Amazon Prime, Walmart+ offers free shipping with no order minimum.
Besides free shipping from Walmart.com, you also get free deliveries from your local Walmart brick-and-mortar store, including fresh groceries and other items. There is a $35 minimum order for local Walmart store deliveries, though.
Other Walmart+ shopping benefits include free home pickup for returns, early access to Black Friday deals and other special prices, discounts on gas (including at Exxon, Mobil, Walmart, and Murphy stations), and a Scan & Go feature that lets you scan in-store items with the Walmart app and then pay for everything at once from a self-checkout kiosk.
Do you get Paramount+ with a Walmart+ membership, and if so, which plan do you get?
Yes, Paramount+ comes included with a Walmart+ membership, but only the Paramount+ Essentials plan, an ad-supported tier that otherwise costs $4.99 a month.
Paramount+ Essentials offers almost everything you get with Paramount+ Premium, the ad-free version of Paramount+ that goes for $9.99 a month, with one key exception: You don’t get 24/7 access to a live local feed of your local CBS affiliate. That feature is reserved for Paramount+ Premium members.
Otherwise, Paramount+ Essentials boasts all of Paramount+’s programming, including NFL games broadcast on your local CBS station and live soccer matches (including the European UEFA Champions League).
The Paramount+ Essentials plan supports 4K and HDR streaming, including Dolby Vision. That said, you can’t download shows for offline viewing as you can on the Paramount+ Premium tier.
Finally, there will be commercial breaks during shows, so be prepared for the occasional advertisement while you stream.
Can existing Paramount+ Essential subscribers get the service for free by signing up for Walmart+?
Yes, but to get Paramount+ Essential through your Walmart+ plan, you’ll need to cancel your existing plan first and sign up again through the Walmart+ portal.
Luckily, you can sign in to Paramount+ Essential via Walmart+ with your old credentials, meaning you can keep your profiles and watch lists.
Does Walmart+ offer any Paramount+ with Showtime bundles as a member benefit?
Nope, just the standard Paramount+ Essential plan is available through Walmart+.
What other streaming services does Walmart+ offer?
Besides Paramount+ Essentials, Walmart+ lets you unlock “select” ad-free streaming content on Pluto TV, the free ad-supported TV (or FAST) and AVOD (ad-supported video-on-demand) service.
Here’s how it works, according to The Streamable: From the Walmart+ member portal, you’ll need to create a free Pluto TV account. Once that’s done, you’ll immediately get access to ad-free shows on the service that regular Pluto TV users don’t get.
What ad-free shows on Pluto TV can be streamed by Walmart+ members?
So, what kinds of shows are we talking about? Don’t expect Stranger Things or Yellowstone. Instead, Pluto TV will offer a rotation selection of ad-free “old favorites” that changes on a monthly basis.
For example, the first month of Pluto TV’s ad-free shows for Walmart+ members included single seasons of Matlock, The Andy Griffith Show, Gunsmoke, Everybody Hates Chris, CSI: Miami, and Bevelry Hills 90210.
Any other streaming benefits available to Walmart+ members?
Walmart does have a buffet of special offers for Walmart+ subscribers, and they do occasionally involve streaming deals, either of the video or audio variety.
For example, you can currently get six months of free SiriusXM through Walmart+, either in-car or streaming.
That offer expires on June 19, however.
Author: Ben Patterson, Senior Writer
Ben has been writing about technology and consumer electronics for more than 20 years. A PCWorld contributor since 2014, Ben joined TechHive in 2019, where he covers smart speakers, soundbars, and other smart and home-theater devices. You can follow Ben on Twitter.