National Theatre at Home

Last updated: 12 October 2026

What it costs, and the penny the National Theatre argues with itself about

The National Theatre publishes two different sets of prices on its own domain. Its streaming landing page says from £9.99 a month and £99.99 a year. Its help centre FAQ, on the same site, says £9.98 and £99.98.

We went to the checkout to settle it. On 6 September 2026 the subscribe page priced the annual plan at £99.99 a year, in sterling, on a UK connection. The monthly plan came up at £9.99. So the checkout agrees with the landing page, and the help centre sits a penny out on both. This page uses the checkout figures.

The annual plan sells as 12 months for the price of 10, and that checks out. Twelve months at £9.99 would come to £119.88, so the year saves £19.89. Both plans open with the same seven-day free trial.

Gifting it, which is the part most people miss

National Theatre at Home sells as a present properly, rather than as a voucher you have to explain. You pick the length, from one month up to eleven. A full year takes the same 12-for-10 discount, applied automatically with no code needed.

At checkout you enter your email and the recipient's. Then you write a message for the gift email and choose the date it arrives. The gift sends itself on the day, so you can buy a March birthday present in October and forget about it. Redeeming it needs no card details. If the recipient wants to carry on afterwards, they add billing at any point during the gift and it rolls over when it expires.

Two catches. An existing subscriber can only redeem a gift if they signed up through the website. Subscriptions billed through Apple or Google cannot take one, and the checkout blocks the purchase if you try. Second, National Theatre credit and box office vouchers do not work here at all, because the streaming platform runs on a separate system from the ticketing site.

Gift National Theatre at Home, from one month

What is actually on it

The catalogue runs to over 100 productions and grows every month. National Theatre stagings are not the whole of it either. The library carries work from the Young Vic, the Old Vic, the Bridge, the Donmar, Chichester, Kiln and Leeds Playhouse. There are also co-productions with Clean Break, Bristol Old Vic and the Royal Exchange.

Both Frankensteins are on it, with Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller swapping the creature and the doctor between them. So are Angels in America in two parts, Fleabag, A Streetcar Named Desire and Hedda Gabler. Then there is Nye, Life of Pi, Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!, The Seagull from the Jamie Lloyd Company, and Ian McKellen on Stage.

Rights do bite in places, and the National Theatre marks it on the listing. Dr. Strangelove is unavailable in the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and Gibraltar. Fleabag runs in the UK and Ireland only. The Audience is not available outside the UK.

Subscribing against renting

A subscription gives unlimited access to everything on the platform, with no time limit on any title. It also brings early access to the monthly additions and behind-the-scenes material. A rental gives you one play, and 72 hours to finish it once you press play. There are no extensions at the end of the three days.

So the maths is simple. Two rentals in a month cost more than a month's subscription. Against the annual plan, the break-even sits at about seventeen NT Live rentals across the year. Renting therefore makes sense for one production you want to see once, and for nothing else.

The free trial, and its conditions

New subscribers get seven days free with full access. You do have to enter a valid payment method to start it. The charge then goes through automatically when the week ends, unless you cancel first.

Eligibility runs to one trial per account and per card. So a card that already took a trial on another account will not get a second one. You also have to start the trial on the web at the subscribe page rather than inside an app. Once it is running, the subscription works across both.

Devices, captions and access

It plays in a web browser on any internet-connected device. There is also a National Theatre at Home app for iOS, Android, Amazon Fire and Roku TV. For a television without one of those, the National Theatre points at Chromecast, AirPlay or an HDMI cable instead.

Every play and every piece of video on the platform carries captions, with subtitles optional. Some titles also offer audio description, and some offer British Sign Language. Both sets change, so the platform lists them rather than this page.

Cancelling, which depends on where you signed up

If you subscribed on the website, you cancel on the website. Profile icon, manage subscription, then cancel rather than one of the pause options. Access continues until the next billing date, and nothing further leaves your account.

If you subscribed inside an Apple, Google Play, Roku or Amazon app, you cancel through that store instead. The website cannot do it for you. So the route you sign up by decides the route you cancel by, which is a thing to settle before you start rather than after.

Who it suits

It suits anyone who wants the National Theatre and cannot get to the South Bank, which is most of the country. It also suits a household that watches one serious thing a month rather than a boxset a week. At £9.99 for a play you actually finish, it costs about a cinema ticket, and far less than a seat in the Olivier.

It does not suit anyone expecting live broadcasts. These are recordings. The live version is National Theatre Live in cinemas, and you book that through the venue rather than here. Classrooms are out too: the National Theatre says the platform is for personal use only, and points schools at National Theatre Collection.

Frequently asked questions

How much does National Theatre at Home cost?

£9.99 a month or £99.99 a year at the checkout, confirmed on 6 September 2026. The National Theatre's help centre quotes £9.98 and £99.98, which does not match its own checkout.

Is there a free trial?

Yes, seven days with full access. You need to enter a payment method to start it. It then converts to a paid subscription automatically, unless you cancel before day seven.

Can I gift a subscription?

Yes. You can gift from one month to eleven, or a year at 12 months for the price of 10. You also choose the date the gift email arrives, and add a personal message.

How many productions are on it?

Over 100, with new titles added monthly. Besides National Theatre productions, the library carries work from the Young Vic, the Old Vic, the Bridge and the Donmar.

Can I watch it on my TV?

Yes, through the app on Amazon Fire or Roku TV. Otherwise cast from a browser with Chromecast or AirPlay, or plug in over HDMI.

Can I rent one play instead of subscribing?

Yes. Archive recordings are £5.99 and National Theatre Live recordings are £7.99. You then get 72 hours from the moment you press play.

Is it the same as National Theatre Live?

No. National Theatre Live is the cinema broadcast programme, booked through your local cinema. Many NT Live broadcasts later appear on National Theatre at Home as recordings.

Can I use my National Theatre credit on it?

No. The streaming platform runs separately from the box office system, so vouchers and account credit only pay for tickets and memberships on the main site.

Sources

• National Theatre at Home: the headline pricing, the catalogue size and the free trial.
• National Theatre help centre: rental prices, trial conditions, cancellation routes, and the £9.98 and £99.98 figures the checkout did not match.
• Gift National Theatre at Home: gift lengths, scheduled delivery, redemption and the app-billing restriction.
• National Theatre streaming: the full title list, the territory restrictions and the supported apps.
• National Theatre Live: the cinema programme, for the difference between a broadcast and a recording.

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