Has Netflix interrupted you with the message “This TV is not part of your Netflix home” since it started cracking down on password sharing?Are you tired of each and every transmitter you subscribe to and whose costs are increasing year after year?Yes, the modern streaming landscape is starting to look a lot like cable, but it also means that exploring free streaming features is more appealing than ever.
Luckily, there are plenty of ways to stream other amazing screens and videos online for free. Here are 20 wonderful sites to bookmark when you need to see something new. (Keep in mind that many videos can be obtained for free at once, so if your variety has too many ad breaks or an incredibly low resolution in one source, look for it in another. )
Both Kanopy and Hoopla’s streaming facilities offer a wide variety of high-quality videos (Kanopy even offers The Criterion Collection), but they’re only available if your local library’s formula has a subscription, which also means you want a valid library. account to log in. It’s one more hurdle you have to overcome, but it’s worth it, considering the variety of what you can have. Check on any of the sites to see if you can access it through your existing (free) library account.
Supported devices: Apps are available for top-quality TVs and streaming boxes (including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, and Apple TV), as well as iOS and Android.
PBS hosts shows like PBS Newshour, Antiques Roadshow, and This Old House. While many titles are reserved for paying members, some of PBS’s online variety (taken from its television programming) can be obtained for free online, adding a number of school film shorts. Depending on the show, you may be able to watch some episodes or trailers without a subscription. It’s not as smart as a full, loose season, but it’s enough to get you through.
Supported devices: iOS. Android. Amazon Fire TV. Roku, Chromecast, Apple TV, Max TVs
Free streaming site Tubi offers movies and TV shows from various primary studios with minimal (sometimes zero) advertising. The challenge is that, judging by a random test, computer streaming is limited to SD resolutions. The wide diversity of titles (over 50,000) covers each and every viewing niche imaginable. There are several genre lists to help you explore the vast catalog, and even a dedicated “Not on Netflix” movie section. Supported devices: Tubi is available on desktop, as well as Android, iOS, Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV.
Paid streaming service Vudu has a free section offering an assortment of recognizable movies floating among less familiar titles. You’ll need to sign up for a free account and sit through some ads—and some movies are only available in SD, which isn’t great—but you’ll get access to more than 5,400 movies on your computer, phone or streaming device. You’ll find a lot of films from the ‘80s and ‘90s (as the rights to supply them have gotten cheaper), as well as a ton of stuff you’ve never heard of before (mostly that, to be honest). But there are some decent hidden gems.
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PlutoTV is a free, ad-supported hybrid live and on-demand streaming service that offers a plethora of channels you can explore to see “what’s on” (with channels covering a wide diversity of categories and genres, adding an organization that streams endless episodes of a single show, from CSI to Doctor Who, Family Ties and Mystery Science Theatre 3000), as well as a collection of decent-length videos and performances to stream on demand. Films are organized into categories, adding express themes such as “LGBTQ Cinema” and “Popcorn Movie Summer. “The service is owned by ViacomCBS, so much of the content mirrors what’s on Paramount.
The maximum of existing options come with all the Hunger Games videos, the original RoboCop, the Charlie Angels videos of the early 2000s, and Scarlet Johansson’s adaptation of the Ghost in the Shell anime, which I intended to watch, and I do.
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If you prefer to download rather than stream, Public Domain Torrents is the best option. Unsurprisingly, most of the videos found are quite old, but many are also movie classics. And, as the name of the site suggests, they are absolutely free to download. Best of all, many videos are available in optimized or hardcoded versions for fast cellular devices, but you can still get the highest quality download and do the encoding yourself.
Supported devices: This one is up to you and your computer.
TopDocumentaryFilms offers many documentaries divided by categories, from war, global conflicts, and crime to fitness and the environment. Categorization makes it easy to browse the offerings, and the site features a network of users who provide ratings for each movie so you can get a concept of what you’re interested in before you start watching.
If you want a starting point, check out their list of the hundred most sensible documentaries to see what others are watching, or check out the main page to see their featured films. It’s more of an aggregator than a host (content is pulled from YouTube, Vimeo, and other sources), but that makes it a convenient and practical store for documentary fans.
Supported devices: Access the site in your browser.
If the call doesn’t reveal it immediately, Classic Cinema Online is ideal for old-time moviegoers who love the era of black-and-white movies and artistically painted movie posters. There’s even an entire segment dedicated to silent films, if that’s your thing. If you’re looking for something specific, you can look in the menu category at the most sensitive part on the right, if you’re in the mood for a series or a counterfeit silent movie. And if you prefer outdated TV, check through its sister site, Classic Television Online.
Supported devices: Go to in your browser.
With thousands of free TV shows and movies with names and titles you’ll probably recognize, PopcornFlix prides itself on the fact that none of its programs or movies are more than two clicks away. They’re all completely free to watch on your computer, as well as mobile apps or other supported devices. There are some nice hidden gems here, in addition to a grab-bag of popular (if aging) Hollywood films; one of the current “Most Popular” entries is Memory: The Origins of Alien, a feature-length doc about the creation of Ridley Scott’s horror classic.
Compatible Devices: Apps are available for Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, and most smart TVs.
Crackle is often overlooked when people discuss free streaming media on the web, but you can grab this service for a number of mobile devices and set-top boxes. You have to sign up for an account, but once you do, it’s easy to create a watchlist, get recommendations for new shows to stream and browse Crackle’s full library of TV shows and movies. These the films Charlie’s Angels, Black Snake Moan, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014), and TV series like That Girl!, 21 Jump Street, and 3rd Rock From the Sun. That’s part of the beauty of Crackle: You’ll absolutely find movies you’ve heard of, shows you actually want to watch and more. It’s all free—as long as you’re willing to watch the occasional commercial.
Supported devices: There are apps for Apple, PC, iOS, and Android. You can also load Plex on maximum streaming devices, adding Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, and Apple TV.
We’ve written extensively about Plex, which announced in December 2019 the launch of a free ad-supported streaming service. Although it offers paid live TV streaming, there is also a lot of free content, but you have to watch classified ads to see it. any of your free content. Still, the convenience of being able to watch free videos and TV shows, as well as anything else from your (or your friends’) media servers, all in one location and on any device, is pretty impressive. Plex recently added content from Crackle, expanding what you can stream within the service.
Supported devices: There are apps for Apple, PC, iOS, and Android. You can also load Plex on maximum streaming devices, adding Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, and Apple TV.
Vimeo would possibly be a long way from YouTube in terms of length and popularity, but it’s still an excellent video streaming service for short films and independent filmmakers. It’s also ideal for other people looking for the freedom and flexibility of an HD display. , a mobile-friendly download service with proper video control and privacy controls, as well as a positive user community. For those simply looking for something amazing to watch, Vimeo’s staff options are full of gems that run the gamut from drama to documentaries to sci-fi.
Supported devices: You can either grab the Vimeo mobile app to take your movies with you (available on iOS and Android), or stream Vimeo films directly to your TV through your Chromecast, Roku, Xbox, Amazon Fire or Apple TV.
No list of free TV shows and videos would be complete without YouTube, and not because of the sheer volume of copied and pirated media found there. In fact, YouTube hosts a ton of videos and TV shows published for free, some of which are YouTube originals and others can be obtained through Creative Commons licenses or shared in the public domain. YouTube also collects loose classified ads in its Movies section. If you want help locating something new, the YouTube Full Movies subreddit lists new single videos each. and every day. Recent discoveries come with The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and Open Your Eyes, the Spanish film later remade in Vanilla Sky.
Supported devices: YouTube is YouTube; There is an app on virtually every platform and device out there.
Internet Archive is a repository for all kinds of things. While you probably know it from the very useful Wayback Machine, it’s also wonderful for public domain movies, independent media, TV shows, news, and other media that you can freely watch. and stop and remix, if you want. . There are many films, categorized as science fiction, horror or film noir, as well as art films, educational videos and films, special collections made to be saved in the Internet archive for posterity, documentaries and even collections of archival material. It’s not the most searchable archive and it’s not ready for mobile screens, but it’s actually a treasure trove of engaging material.
Supported Devices: This is just a browser, you can stream to your TV with a compatible device.
Fandor is a subscription-based streaming service that offers a varied catalog of independent and foreign videos. However, it also offers a developing library of single videos and videos with ads.
Supported devices: Available on the internet or in the Fandor app on iOS, Android, Chromecast, and Roku.
Freevee, formerly IMDb TV, is another free, ad-supported streaming service that offers thousands of popular TV shows and videos that span other genres and add comedy, drama, thriller, and animation. Freevee also offers you more than 150 FAST channels (free TV with advertising in linear format, like cable TV).
Supported Devices: If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you already have access to Freevee directly from the Prime Video app. Otherwise, it has its own standalone app that can be accessed on all Amazon Fire TV devices, iOS and Android mobile devices. , Xbox, PlayStation 5 and many smart TVs. If you don’t own one of those devices or are an Amazon Prime member, you can still stream from your web browser from Amazon’s website, completely free (but ad-free).
Shout Factory TV is a free, ad-supported streaming service where you can catch classic and cult (very cult-y) movies and TV series, as well as some original programming. Shout Factory TV also includes FAST channels and curated live channels and events. The library goes deep in the offbeat—current selections include a documentary about a Power Rangers fan convention—so you’ll be sure to find something interesting to keep you busy.
Supported devices: Stream online through your internet browser or download the compatible app for your device (including Apple and Android phones and tablets, as well as Roku, Chromecast, and Apple TV). (You can read a detailed review of the service on PCMag. )
If you don’t have enough old feature films, cult classics, and old TV series, The Film Detective will give you hope. It is a restoration, distribution, and transmission company for old movies.
Supported devices: The service is available on the web, iOS, Android, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and Apple TV, as well as its own app. They also run a 24/7 linear chain that you can locate on platforms. You can watch all of their content for free with ads.
For the Hispanic (and Portuguese-speaking) audience who loves their telenovelas, soccer games, news, shows, and movies, ViX offers an absolutely free 24/7 package (free vix) in Spanish and Portuguese. It also includes more than a hundred TV channels available on its website.
Supported devices: Android, iOS, Apple TV, Roku, Samsung, and Amazon Fire devices. The service features content primarily from TelevisaUnivision, but also from other third-party content providers.
One of Netflix’s first competitors, Redbox, now offers Redbox on Demand and Redbox Free Live TV. Redbox on Demand is a free, on-demand streaming option that allows you to watch videos and screens in your web browser, where you can find a limited variety of videos. with ads. On Redbox Free Live TV, you might find old favorites and syndicated shows on one of their dozens of channels, but it’s live TV, so you may not have much control over anything.
Supported devices: You can watch Redbox on TVs and major platforms at most (there’s a full list here).