What keeps The Walking Dead on its feet is showing how complex characters react and evolve when pushed further than imaginable. This series, based on Robert Kirkman's graphic novels, is also just a blast for horror fans — with brilliantly choreographed scenes of chaos and carnage.
You won't (legally) find The Walking Dead for free, but you can save by choosing where to shop. A cable- or satellite-TV subscription may not be the best way to watch if you want to catch up. Netflix is the winner for bingeing, with Seasons 1 to 8 (along with everything else Netflix offers) available, starting at $7.99 per month. Season 9, by the way, debuted on AMC on October 7.
Your best online option for recent episodes is to purchase a la carte from Fandango Now, which charges less money per season.
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If you're looking for just a few episodes, it's hard to make a wrong choice; nearly everyone sells them for $1.99 in standard definition (SD) and $2.99 in high definition (HD). Episodes typically become available the day after they air on broadcast TV. Seasons, likewise, are usually sold in SD or HD. SD might be fine for a phone to tablet, but you'll probably regret it on a bigger screen.
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If you have to see the show as soon as it airs, you can watch on traditional pay TV (and DVR whatever you want to watch again) or on two live-streaming services.
AMC is included in the entry-level packages for YouTube TV (50+ channels for $40 per month), Sling TV (29 channels for $25 per month) and PlayStation Vue (45+ channels for $45 per month). YouTube TV offers an unlimited storage cloud-based DVR (that deletes episodes after nine months), Sling TV offers only a DVR (though it's not available for all channels) and PlayStation Vue provides a nearly limitless online DVR.
The Walking Dead via AMC is also available through the DirecTV Now cable-replacement service (starting at $40 per month), but we don't recommend DirecTV currently. If you're undecided on which cord-cutting option is best, check out our Best (and Worst) Cable-Replacement Services.
Here's the breakdown. To keep things neat, prices that end in 99 cents are rounded to the nearest dollar, and below-average prices are in bold. (All of these recommendations apply if you live in the United States; if not, scroll down for tips on how to watch The Walking Dead from abroad.)
AMC's website
If you have AMC in your cable or satellite package, you can login and watch on AMC's website. New episodes are generally available up to four weeks after their original airdate.
Amazon Video (a la carte)
Amazon Prime Video ($99 per year) provides access to unlimited streaming of some content, but not The Walking Dead.
Episodes: $2 SD/$3 HD
Season 1: $11 SD/$16 HD
Season 2: $20 SD/$30 HD
Season 3: $25 SD/$35 HD
Season 4: $25 SD/$35 HD
Season 5: $26 SD/$40 HD
Season 6: $27.49 SD/$42 HD
Season 7: $27 SD/$42 HD
Season 8: $27.99 SD/$42.99 HD
Google Play (a la carte)
Episodes: $2 SD/$3 HD
Season 1: $10 SD/$15 HD
Season 2: $20 SD/$30 HD
Season 3: $25 SD/$35 HD
Season 4: $25 SD/$35 HD
Season 5: $27.49 SD/$42 HD
Season 6: $27.49 SD/$42 HD
Seasons 1-6: $110 SD/$149 HD
Season 7: $27.49 SD/$42 HD
Season 8: $27.99 SD/$42.99 HD
iTunes (a la carte)
Episodes: $2 SD/$3 HD
Season 1: $11 SD/16 HD
Season 2: $25 SD/$35 HD
Season 3: $31 SD/$43 HD
Season 4: $31 SD/$43 HD
Season 5: $31 SD/$43 HD
Season 6: $31 SD/$43 HD
Season 7: $28 SD/$43 HD
Season 8: $31 SD/$43 HD
Fandango Now (a la carte)
Episodes: $2 SD/$3 HD
Season 1: $10 SD/$14 HD
Season 2: $16 SD/$29 HD
Season 3: $24 SD/$34 HD
Season 4: $24 SD/$34 HD
Season 5: $25 SD/$38 HD
Season 6: $25 SD/$38 HD
Season 7: $25 SD/$38 HD
Season 8: $25 SD/$38 HD
Microsoft (a la carte, plays on Xbox and Windows devices)
Episodes: $2 SD/$3 HD
Season 1: $10 SD/$15 HD
Season 2: $20 SD/$30 HD
Season 3: $25 SD/$35 HD
Season 4: $25 SD/$35 HD
Season 5: $28 SD/$42 HD
Season 6: $28 SD/$42 HD
Season 7: $27 SD/$42 HD
Season 8: $28 SD/$43 HD
Netflix (unlimited, log in to view)
Seasons 1-8: Starting at $8 per month
PlayStation Entertainment Network (a la carte, log in to view)
Episodes: $2 SD/$3 HD
Season 1: $10 SD/$15 HD
Season 2: $20 SD/$30 HD
Season 3: $25 SD/$35 HD
Season 4: $26 SD/$40 HD
Season 5: $28 SD/$42 HD
Season 6: $28 SD/$42 HD
Season 7: $28 SD/$42 HD
Season 8: $28 SD/$42 HD
PlayStation Vue (online TV, with DVR)
Current episodes only: Starting at $45 per month.
Sling TV (online TV, no DVR)
Current episodes only: Starting at $25 per month
Vudu (a la carte)
Episodes: $2 SD/$3 HD
Season 1: $10 SD/$15 HD
Season 2: $20 SD/$30 HD
Season 3: $25 SD/$35 HD
Season 4: $25 SD/$35 HD
Season 5: $26 SD/$40 HD
Season 6: $27 SD/$42 HD
Season 7: $27 SD/$42 HD
Season 8: $28 SD/$43 HD
What to Do If You're Outside the United States
All of the above recommendations apply only to the United States. Because of complex copyright laws, Netflix doesn't stream The Walking Dead in the United Kingdom and some other countries, although you can get seasons 1-7 on Amazon Prime in the U.K., and can buy episodes of, or all of, Season 8.
To get access to the U.S. version of Netflix, or that of another territory in which Netflix streams The Walking Dead, you'll need a VPN service or a proxy service. Either will make it possible for Netflix's servers to "see" your requests for video as coming from the U.S.
But be forewarned: Doing so will violate Netflix's terms of service, and the service could well terminate your account if you're caught. It's also possible that the proxy or VPN won't work, as Netflix plays a whack-a-mole game with these services by blocking individual servers.
With that aside, we recommend trying Windscribe, a VPN service that has a dedicated "Windflix" service for streaming U.S. and U.K. Netflix content. As with other VPNs and proxies that stream Netflix, its service is not guaranteed, and you may have to hop from one Windscribe server to another.
But because Windscribe gives you 10GB of data per month for free – enough for a few episodes of The Walking Dead -- you can experiment at no cost. If it works well, then Windscribe is only $49 per year for unlimited data.
You could also try HotSpot Shield, which likewise has a generous free tier that works a bit differently from WIndscribe's. It's 500MB per day, refreshed daily, which might not give you enough for a full hour-long episode — try adjusting the Netflix settings to 720p for extra time. But if the service is reliable – its free tier connects only to U.S. servers — then HotSpot Shield's unlimited data plan is $72 per year.
NordVPN didn't do quite as well in our own reviews overall, but online anecdotes indicate that it streams Netflix content from other countries pretty reliably. It's got a three-day free trial; if you decide to buy a year's service, that's $84.
