Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Amazon Prime Video; there are so many streaming services out there that require a paid subscription to enjoy their content. It is what it is, as companies need to make money. However, not everyone can afford to watch all the streaming services out there. Also, prices for these services are going up constantly. What’s the solution? Watching free services! Here are the best ways to watch free TV and movies.
This list will go through the best services and platforms that provide content for free. Whether it be a separate streaming service or a part of a TV operating system. Just note that this article addresses methods that offer content legally. We will NOT point you to apps that pirate movies and shows.
Also, we will update this list as time goes on. More services and sources will come out, and we want to keep you up-to-date on them. Without further ado, let’s get going.
Free TV and Movie apps
Let’s start this list off with one of the more intuitive ways of watching free content. Here are the best apps that you can download for free content.
Tubi
We have to start with Tubi, which is pretty much the gold standard for free content streaming. Tubi is home to thousands of movies and TV shows that you watch for free. Obviously, there are ads to watch during your content, but the ad breaks aren’t bad at all. Some of them are about a minute long, while others are maybe two minutes.
One thing about Tubi is the fact that it gives you access to a wide range of content. You won’t only see smaller movies and obscure TV shows, but you’ll also see big-budget movies and cult classics. Some of the offerings are 2023’s Blue Beetle, The Green Mile, The Sandlot, Training Day, All Dogs Go To Heaven, and much more.
Along with movies, there are a ton of TV shows like Everybody Hates Chris, Tom and Jerry, Scooby-Doo Where Are You, Several Power Rangers series, Naruto, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and many more.
As an added bonus, Tubi also gives you access to live TV. There are a ton of channels streaming live ranging from news channels, sports channels, comedy channels, food channels, movie channels, and more.
If you create an account, you’ll be able to save items to your list to watch on different devices. Also, you’ll have recommendations tuned just for you.
Download from the Google Play Store
Pluto TV
Pluto is the opposite of most other streaming platforms. Other platforms have a focus on on-demand streaming with live TV as a secondary option. Pluto, on the other hand, primarily focuses on live TV. This is a platform that streams hundreds of different channels, and they all range in genre. It’s basically like hooking up your old satellite dish and looking through the channels.
There are channels dedicated to Movies, African American media (at the time of writing this, it’s currently Black History Month), Comedy, Classic TV, Westerns, Sci-Fi, Drama, True Crime, Reality, Competitions, Entertainment, Game Shows, Daytime TV, News, Sports, History/Science, Home/Food, Animals/Nature, Kids Content, Anime, Spanish Content, Music Videos, and Local News. There’s also a Featured section that shows some of Pluto’s top picks.
As you can guess, Pluto is ad-supported. You’ll experience ads while streaming your content. The ad breaks aren’t bad either. They’ll last about two minutes at the most. They’re very manageable.
While there’s a focus on live TV, Pluto also has a selection of on-demand content. There is a ton of content that you can access, and it’s all great stuff. There are movies and shows covering the full spectrum. You have classic movies, sitcoms, British TV, action, comedy, drama, sci-fi, true crime, and much more. We’re talking about hundreds of movies and TV shows. Just know that there’s a chance that not all seasons of a show will be available. You may only get the first few or last few seasons of a show, but that’s not the case for all of them.
Plex
This is an app that’s not as well-known as Tubi, but it definitely has some chops. Plex sits aside from many other free streaming services for a few reasons. Firstly, while this platform offers several well-known movies and shows, a good chunk of its library consists of obscure and lesser-known content. You’ll see movies that aren’t available on many other free streaming services or have just been forgotten.
It’s tough to find 1977’s Fantastic Planet (an amazing movie) anywhere, but it’s on Plex. Heck, there’s even the indie movie Catnado. It’s not quite what you’d call a big-budget Hollywood hit, but it’s an interesting look into what smaller studios can do.
This shows that Plex is a platform to discover the content that goes overlooked. Along with mainstream content like The Price Is Right, The Carol Bernett Show, and The Drew Carey Show, you’ll see hidden gems, fun B-movies, and other content.
Along with that, you can also watch live TV. Just like most other free TV streaming services, you’ll have access to a plethora of different internet channels with specially tailored content. You’ll get channels dedicated to a genre like comedy channels, news channels, action TV channels, and so on. There are also channels dedicated to specific shows. For instance, there’s a channel dedicated to The Connors.
Another thing that sets Plex apart from other services is the fact that it also offers movie and TV show rentals. To be honest, this is where to go if you want more mainstream and big-budget content. You’ll see movies like Sonic The Hedgehog 3, Nacho Libre, Wonder Woman 1984, Anchorman, and more hits. Many of the older movies cost $3.99 to rent, but the price goes up for newer and higher-rated movies. For example, renting Sonic The Hedgehog 3 costs $19.99.
Freevee
This platform has the benefit of being owned by Amazon, and that’s helpful for a very important reason. When it comes to the content available, there’s not a lot of mainstream content on the platform. Many of the movies and shows are pretty under the radar. You’ll see some rather obscure movies and shows.
We’re not exactly talking about home videos from someone’s basement or anything. We’re talking about content like movies and shows that haven’t been in the public mindset for years. Shows like Beverly Hillbillies, The Babysitters Club, The Lucy Show, and more. As for movies, you’ll see some modern big-budget titles like The Mist, and Dolittle, but you’ll also see 1958’s Earth Vs. The Spider. So, you’ll uncover lesser-known media that might be fun to watch.
As stated before, this platform is owned by Amazon. What makes this great is that it gives you access to some Amazon Prime exclusives as well. Right now, you can watch shows like Invincible, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Boys, and others. However, just know that the number of seasons available will be limited. You can only watch season #1 of The Boys and Invincible. However, this is something that could convince people to sign up for Prime. It’s still great to be able to get a taste of paid content.
YouTube Movies & TV Channel
One of the older ways to watch free movies on the internet has been sitting right under our noses for years. YouTube, along with being a source of short-form content, can be your source of some of the best movies that you can stream. Just go to the official YouTube Movies & TV channel.
This isn’t a normal YouTube channel, as the interface is completely different from others. It’s important to note that it acts as a central hub for movies and TV shows from different paid services. You’re able to buy and rent content through YouTube and sign up for different paid services through the platform.
However, when you open the channel, you’ll see the Free tab at the top of the screen. When you do that, you’ll see a collection of movies and TV shows to dive right into. You’ll see a combination of big-budget mainstream content along with some obscure titles. At the time of writing this, you can watch movies like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Osmosis Jones, FernGully, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Taken, The Terminator, Billy Madison, and much more.
Don’t think that YouTube forgot about TV shows. Using this channel, you can watch shows like Mad About You, Speed Racer, Jerry Springer, InuYasha, Kitchen Nightmares, and more.
What’s neat is that, if you’re subscribed to YouTube Premium, you won’t see any ads. Free users have access to all of the same content, however. Just know that the content is available for free for a limited amount of time. So, you’ll want to watch it while you can.
Warner Bros. YouTube Channel
Here’s another source of free movies on YouTube. The official Warner Bros. YouTube channel uploaded a handful of its classic movies to the channel for free. Just know that you won’t find any modern classics like the Harry Potter movies, the DCEU movies, or anything like that. We’re mostly talking about movies from back in the day like The Wind and the Lion, City Heat, Mutiny on the Bounty, and other classics. There are some more modern movies like Jackie Chan’s Mr. Nice Guy and The Adventures of Pluto Nash.
What’s neat is that there’s a lengthy playlist on YouTube that has movies from another YouTube channel called ClipZone. Altogether, this playlist consists of 35 free movies.
Through Google TV
Google TV is a central hub for entertainment. You can download the aforementioned apps onto your TV using that platform. However, Google brought its own app called Freeplay. It should come on your device already. We saw that it was added to older devices automatically, even devices running Android TV.
Unlike the apps mentioned above, Freeplay is dedicated wholly to live TV, so you won’t see any on-demand content. When you open the app, you’ll see a horizontally scrolling feed of channels that you can watch. Just like with other internet-based live TV platforms, you’ll see a combination of channels dedicated to genres like crime, mystery, drama, comedy, and so on. Along with that, you’ll also see channels dedicated to specific shows like The Connors, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and others.
The selection of channels isn’t as great as something like Pluto TV or others, but it’s growing. There’s still a pretty good selection of channels that you can watch. The beauty of this platform is that you won’t need to download any apps or sign in. It will pop up right on your screen and let you watch it without any strings attached.
Freeplay is also super simple to navigate. There isn’t really much of an interface. When you open the app, you’ll see the first channel start playing. You’ll just press down on your remote to start flipping through the channels. As you can guess, there are ads on this platform, but they’re not too bad.
Roku
Roku offers a robust library of free TV channels that people can watch. It’s similar to Google TV Freeplay, except it’s actually baked into the operating system’s interface. Right under the Home screen, you’ll see the Live TV section. The beauty of this is that you won’t have to sign up for anything. It’s accessible right when you turn it on.
When you’re in the section, you’ll see a pretty robust interface full of the options that you can watch. Just like other platforms, you’ll see all of the channels separated into categories. These categories include genres and different TV shows. You won’t only see TV shows and movies, but you’ll also see news, sports, music, and so much more.
Roku wants this to be your hub for watching TV, as you can do more than just flip through the channels. If you stumble upon a channel that you love, you can save it to your Favorites list. Since there are so many channels, you’d want to do that. There’s even a section that will show you the recent channels you watched.
It’s a great way to watch free content without needing to set anything up. One thing to note is that this only pertains to live TV. This platform doesn’t include any on-demand content. If you want to, you can download the apps listed above to your Roku device.
