Best way to watch Girls (2012-2017)
Curious where to stream the show Girls? Well, you’ve come to the right place! Girls is available for rent, purchase or with HBO Max, HBO’s new streaming service that’s comparable to Hulu and Netflix. Our recommended way to watch Girls is with an HBO subscription. That’s because it’s an HBO original series, which makes HBO Max one of the few places where to watch Girls.
HBO Max costs $14.99/mo. and when you sign up, you’ll get your first seven days free.
All the ways to watch Girls online
Girls is a richly layered drama about 20-something women navigating life in New York City. It’s a widely popular show that drew acclaim for its smart writing and witty performances, including breakout roles for stars Lena Dunham and Adam Driver. The series earned a whopping 107 awards nominations and won two Golden Globes — one for Lena Dunham for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series and the other for Best Television Series. So if you’re searching for a series that’ll hit you right in the feels, you can’t go wrong with Girls.
The series ended back in 2017, but that means you can binge every episode from all six seasons to your heart’s content. Outside of purchasing individual episodes or complete seasons on Amazon, there’s only one game in town that streams Girls — and that’s HBO.
You can also watch a Girls stream through your TV provider if you have HBO as part of your plan. HBO is usually offered as an add-on and typically ranges anywhere from $5/mo. to $15/mo. It just depends on your provider and their price structures. A number of universities provide an HBO subscription to students for free through an existing TV provider. If you’re a student, the best way to find out if you qualify is to reach out to your university’s housing services.
| Streaming service | Price |
| HBO Max | $14.99/mo. |
| Hulu With HBO add-on | $5.99 + $14.99/mo. |
| YouTube TV With HBO add-on | $64.99 + $14.99/mo. |
Streaming Girls
There are few ways of tuning into episodes on-demand. If you want to watch Girls, streaming exclusively via HBO Max is the way to go to avoid paying for individual episodes and seasons.
HBO Max
Watch any episode of Girls as many times as you please. HBO Max takes all of what you love about HBO and makes it better by adding tons of other AT&T content that includes Adventure Time, Big Bang Theory, Friends, Rick and Morty and South Park. So, not only will you get original series like Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and Succession, but you’ll also enjoy a solid lineup of popular non-exclusive movies and shows. It’s also the best way to keep up to date on all the latest releases. Current hit movies include Birds of Prey, Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw, Jojo Rabbit and The Invisible Man.
There are also quite a few other perks like offline downloads, simultaneous streams and multiple user profiles. HBO Max is available for $14.99/mo.
Hulu
Chances are Hulu has a plan to fit your needs. The streaming giant includes various levels of plans — Hulu ($5.99/mo.), Hulu Premium ($11.99/mo.), Hulu + Live TV ($54.99/mo.) and Hulu Premium + Live TV ($60.99/mo.). As part of the Disney infrastructure, Hulu is a great source for Disney-owned shows, like Marvel’s Runaways and an impressive FX and FXX collection. And that’s on top of thousands of licensed episodes and movies.
Although, if you want to stream Girls through your Hulu account, you’ll need to get the HBO Max premium add-on for $14.99/mo.
YouTube TV
When most people think of YouTube, the first thing they imagine is the free app. But YouTube TV is a cable-alternative service that works without any extra hardware or contracts. YouTube TV costs $64.99/mo. and carries 85+ national networks like ABC, ESPN, FOX, HGTV and TNT. Just like with Hulu, you can add HBO Max on top of your subscription for $14.99/mo. So, in order to watch Girls on YouTube TV, you’ll need a subscription to HBO Max.
Renting vs. buying Girls
There are some options for purchasing Girls from an online app. IMDb only lists Amazon Prime Video as a source to purchase episodes or whole seasons of the series. That’s probably because it’s an HBO exclusive property. There’s also no option to rent episodes of Girls. Here’s what to expect.
Amazon Prime Video
Not an HBO subscriber, but still want to watch Girls? Amazon Prime Video carries all six seasons and 62 episodes. All episodes are available for purchase in both standard definition (SD) for $1.99 each and high definition (HD) for $2.99 each. Amazon also offers entire seasons. Each season in SD costs $18.99 and $24.99 for HD.
Like all of HBO’s other content featured on Amazon, the Girl’s Prime Video page is adorned with HBO ads from top to bottom. Next to the purchase options for each episode is a yellow button that reads, “Watch with HBO.”
Vudu
Vudu is also a platform where you can go to buy and rent episodes and movies. Unsurprisingly, Vudu matches all of Amazon Prime’s pricing from episodes to whole seasons, as well as SD and HD rates.
Our hot take
As an HBO exclusive series, there’s really only one way you can watch Girls — stream on-demand from HBO Max. Otherwise, you’ll need to consider purchasing directly from Amazon Prime Video. This may appeal to you if you’re a superfan or not interested in subscribing to HBO. We recommend watching Girls with HBO Max, since it offers much more content for the same price.
Unlike Netflix, HBO Max provides you with a one-size-fits-all plan. That means you won’t need to pay extra for premium features like offline viewing. With its enormous collection of titles and features, HBO’s new streaming service offers an enticing alternative to Netflix and Hulu. When you sign up for HBO Max, you’ll have a seven day trial period to see if it’s right for you.
