Best Free Video Streaming Services
While many cord cutters are stretching their budgets to accommodate all the marquee titles out there, we also have the option to stream a ton of content for free, as long as we’re willing to put up with occasional advertisements.
These services are often called ad-supported video on demand (AVOD) or free ad-supported television (FAST). The number of commercials will vary, depending on the service and the content you’re streaming. Some services have an easy interface, while others feel clunky and slow.
We’ve reviewed each of these services to give you an idea of what you can expect and which are most worth your time. Happy streaming!
Best Free Services
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The Streamable’s Choice
Tubi
With 200,000+ movies shows, Tubi is the rare free streaming service that offers some quality amid the low-budget fluff. It offers more titles than any other streaming service, free or paid. You’ll definitely see some films and shows you recognize.
Tubi offers many well-curated categories like anime, action, faith, comedy, LGBTQ, romance, and sci-fi & fantasy. There are also more thoughtful categories like cult classics, highly rated on Rotten Tomatoes, and “not on Netflix.” This ability to navigate titles makes it a standout in the category.
You’ll also find exercise videos, travel shows, and stand-up comedy performances. There’s even a separate kids section so parents can switch to that mode without fear of their children stumbling back into the more adult titles. Tubi’s variety is quite impressive, and there is even original content as well.
The service offers 220 virtual channels as well.
Pros:
- Large library includes some A-list titles and award winners
- Separate section for kids
- Watchlist feature
- Lots of variety
- Commercial breaks not as bad as other services
Cons:
- Some films not presented in original aspect ratio
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Plex
Plex is an incredible option for users who may have movies or music on their personal computers, since you’re able to use the service to curate your own private on demand streaming library. You could also share those libraries with friends (as long as you’re not sharing copyrighted material).
Beyond that amazing feature, Plex does offer free on demand content as well. What’s interesting is that most of the Crackle catalog is incorporated into Plex, but Plex offers even more, which essentially nullifies the need for Crackle altogether. There aren’t as many A-list titles on Plex as you’ll find with some other services, but there are some gems if you’re willing to dig.
Plex has 330+ free virtual channels. There are even karaoke channels.
Plex also allows for podcast integration, so it can be your one-stop streaming destination for nearly anything you’d like to enjoy.
Pros:
- Incredible versatility
- Ability to stream and share personal libraries
- On demand and live streaming options
Cons:
- Commercials can be significantly louder than other services
- Advanced features may be confusing for some users
- No designated kids section
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Pluto TV
Perhaps the most well-known free streaming service, Pluto TV deserves its reputation as a heavyweight in the space. Pluto TV’s default presentation appears in the form of 350 live streaming channels, with some dedicated to specific genres and others simply showing 24/7 loops of different TV shows.
Pluto TV also has a few channels that feel like traditional live news, like Sky News, NBC News Now, and Bloomberg News.
In addition to this, Pluto TV has a large selection of on-demand titles, including some major blockbusters and award winners that rotate through the service, like “The Hunger Games” saga, “RoboCop,” and “The Fighter.” If you see a title you like, you can add it to your watchlist.
You’ll also get several channels that show music videos from various genres or specific eras.
If you like a specific channel, you can “pin” it to the top of your channel lineup as a favorite.
Whether you feel like throwing on some background TV or settling in for a movie night, Pluto TV is up to the challenge.
Pros:
- Huge variety of live streaming options
- Watchlist feature
- Wide variety of content
- Spanish language options
Cons:
- Live streaming channels can grow stale with repeat viewing
- Commercial breaks tend to be highly repetitive
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Roku Channel
Like its namesake streaming device, The Roku Channel offers a simple, clean interface packed with content. One major strike against it is that it doesn’t work with all devices, but it’s a great choice if you have one of the supported options.
You’ll find 453 live linear streaming channels with free movies and TV shows on The Roku Channel. Users will have access to several popular shows, including “The Bachelorette,” “24,” and “Alias.” Roku Channel has more than 80,000 titles available, second only to Tubi.
Roku Channel is also notable for their original productions, like the critically acclaimed “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.”
You’ll also find some hit TV series from the past few decades, including “Quantum Leap,” “Highway to Heaven,” “The A-Team,” “Coach,” “Hart to Hart,” “Who’s the Boss?” “Bewtiched,” “Benson,” and “What’s Happening!!”
The movie catalog is strong, featuring some major hits like “The Fugitive,” “In the Line of Fire,” “Signs,” “Memento,” and “Galaxy Quest.”
A nice kids section allows you to browse by specific characters or by the age of your child.
You’ll also find the old Quibi catalog rebranded as “Roku Originals.”
Pros:
- Lots of content, including some high-profile movies
- Most free channels of all free services
- Kids section
- Flexibility to upgrade
- Roku Originals
Cons:
- Not compatible with all devices
- Navigation can sometimes be an endless scroll
- Not always easy to separate TV and movies
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Best for Kids
PBS Kids
If you have small children, PBS Kids is nothing short of a godsend. With a strong lineup of beloved shows, the app can keep kids mesmerized for hours. The available episodes do rotate every few weeks, so parents won’t feel trapped by hearing the same episodes over and over into infinity.
The service allows for offline downloads to keep your little ones entertained when you’re away from Wi-Fi.
If your family loves the content, you can upgrade to an inexpensive subscription through Amazon Prime that allows access to every episode of the PBS Kids lineup.
Pros:
- Offline downloads
- Beloved children’s content
- Worry-free library for parents
Cons:
- Nothing of interest for older children or adults
- Library limited to a few episodes per show unless you upgrade
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Freevee
Freevee’s selection ranges from great movies like “1917,” “12 Angry Men,” and “Casino” to groundbreaking shows like “Mad Men,” “24,” “The X-Files,” and “Lost.” You’ll also find classic TV shows like “Bewitched,” “All in the Family,” and “Columbo.”
The service has 260+ free virtual channels.
You’ll also see a handful of Freevee originals like “Alex Rider,” “Bosch: Legacy,” “Judy Justice,” “Sprung,” and “Top Class.”
Pros:
- Freevee Originals
- Occasional blockbusters and classics
Cons:
- Terrible user interface
- Commercials very repetitive
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Kanopy
Kanopy is a streaming platform for independent films and documentaries. It has a collection of more than 30,000 films such as a wide array of dramas, comedies, biopics, and television series. The library includes award-winning films and shows from major television networks like HISTORY, A&E, and PBS.
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Philo Free Channels
Philo is a live TV streaming service with and a 7-day free trial, but Philo also offers a free service with 100+ channels at no cost. Philo’s free channels include BBC News, AMC Thrillers, America’s Test Kitchen, Game Show Central, IFC Films Picks, CineVault, Drag Race Universe, Duck Dynasty, Outside TV, MovieSphere, MSG SportsZone, Retro Crush, Revry, and more.
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Haystack News
Haystack News is a streaming service that pulls together news coverage from 400 local, national, and international providers. Users will see reports from ABC Owned Television Stations, CBS Television Stations, Cox Media Group, Fox Television Stations, Hearst Television, Hubbard Broadcasting, Nexstar Media Group, Scripps and more. You can use the service for free with ads or eliminate commercials for $4.99 / month.
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Sling Freestream
Although Sling TV is most often thought of as a cable TV substitute, many people don’t know that you can watch free content on Sling TV without paying a dime. They call the service Sling Freesteam.
You’ll find news channels like ABC News Live, CBS News, and Scripps News. For general entertainment, you’ll see free channels with content from MTV, Comedy Central, and BET. There’s even an Elvis channel. You’ll even get Jimmy Kimmel highlights for free.
For kids, you’ll even find some Sensical channels and Nick Jr shows.
There are also “sneak peeks” available for services and channels like AMC+, MGM+, STARZ, and TNT, so you can watch free episodes of some prestige shows.
It’s worth exploring the selection just to see if you like the Sling TV interface. If so, you can always upgrade to a paid channel package.
Pros:
- Varied channel selection
- Ability to add popular cable channels for a fee
- Can rent new movies through the platform
- Good international selection, especially Spanish-language
Cons:
- Most channels are duplicates of those found on Pluto TV
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Zeam
If you enjoy watching local news, Zeam might be the perfect free streaming option. The service harnesses content from over 200 partner stations around the United States, allowing users to get a look at news and events across the country.
While this is a narrowly focused service, it can be a fun diversion or a comforting lifeline for homesick people who miss the towns where they grew up.
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NewsON
NewsON provides instant access to live and on-demand newscasts from 275+ local TV station partners in 165+ U.S. markets. Viewers can personalize their experience by setting favorite stations and watching breaking news coverage of major events and storms from multiple local stations. The service covers more than 80% of the U.S. population.
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Xumo Play
Much like Pluto TV, Xumo launches with a virtual live TV channel lineup. There are some unique offerings here, including History Shorts, Hallmark Movies & More, and channels with magazine ties like Vogue, GQ, Cooking Light, Field & Stream, and Time.
Xumo’s movie library is fairly thin, quality-wise. You can browse by genre, and most sections offer 100-200 films, though you may have only heard of 3-4.
The on demand library tends to pull primarily from Xumo’s streaming channels, so you won’t find much by way of blockbuster titles.
Xumo has about 300 live streaming channels.
Xumo does offer some more thoughtful streaming options, like a science and tech section.
Pros:
- Offers both virtual live channels and on demand
- Science & Tech channels
- Streaming music channels
- Latinx streaming channels
Cons:
- Movie library is weak
- Less well-known entertainment options
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Local Now
Local Now aims to combine an on demand catalog of movies and TV with virtual live streaming channels, similar to Pluto TV. You also get access to some local content, as the service provides streams from major markets like New York, Denver, Detroit, Cleveland, Kansas City, Nashville, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Diego, and West Palm Beach.
The on demand catalog is so comically bad that it’s barely worth mentioning. There is a small section of Local Now original programs, however.
Pros:
- Variety of content
- News streams from some major markets
- Some customization based on your location
Cons:
- On demand content is laughably bad
- Not as much variety as top-tier free services
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Very Local
Very Local is a free streaming service providing local news, weather and exclusive local original series from all 27 Hearst Television markets.
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Free Live Sports
Free Live Sports is a streaming service offering sports and highlights, especially for niche sports fans. There are 65+ channels with highlights from motorsports, racquet sports, combat sports, poker, billiards, hunting and fishing, equestrian sports, and more.
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Crackle
Entertainment fans may not find much to love about Crackle, but the service is free. The library feels more scattershot than some other services, and it feels more geared toward nostalgic audiences.
Even more puzzling, most of the Crackle library is available through Plex, which somewhat nullifies the reason for Crackle to exist as a standalone service.
You will find a small library of Crackle original titles and a decent stand-up comedy library, but it’s unlikely you’ll make Crackle part of your regular viewing habit unless it has a show you love.
Pros:
- A handful of classic movies and shows
- Some original shows and movies
- Stand-up comedy videos
Cons:
- Lots of poor content crowds out the gems
- Poor user interface
- No profiles
- No kids section
- Limited advertisers means seeing multiple ads for the same product
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Stirr
Stirr has a few interesting viewing options, but it probably won’t be your go-to service.
You can watch limited episodes (3-4) of “CSI: Miami,” “The X-Files,” and “Quantum Leap,” along with some curious TV artifacts like the live sketch show “Fridays” that featured a young Michael Richards and Larry David.
Movies are mostly the low budget variety, like “The Fast and the Fierce,” which really wants you to assume it’s another movie franchise.
The service does have an interesting library of stand-up comedy.
In markets where viewers have a Sinclair-owned TV station, users will be able to view local news content on some devices. There are 100+ live channels available.
The overall lack of content makes Stirr a nice option if you’re bored with the other services, but you’ll be scraping the bottom of the barrel here.
Pros:
- A few interesting TV artifacts
- Nice stand-up comedy options
- Local news for some users
Cons:
- Weak library only offering a few episodes per show
- Lack of blockbuster movies
- No kids section
- Poor user interface
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Cineverse
As free streaming services go, the Cineverse library just doesn’t offer much premium content. As you scroll the titles, it’s unlikely you’ll see anything familiar.
The “classic cinema” section may offer some titles worth considering, including “My Man Godfrey,” “Charade,” and “His Girl Friday.”
There are a handful of Rifftrax titles where comedians make fun of B-movies. The same format applies with the “Mystery Science Theater 3000” channel. You’ll also find a selection of standup comedy performances.
Users can rent new and movies through the platform. Prices typically range from $3.99-$19.99.
On some platforms, the service is called “Cinehouse.”
Pros:
- Ability to rent A-list titles
Cons:
- Free titles are low-budget films you’ve probably never heard of
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WaterBear
WaterBear is a free, environmentally-focused streaming video service with award-winning documentaries, enlightening short films, and impactful series.
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BYUtv
BYUtv is a free video streaming service created by Brigham Young University. Its purpose is “to create purposeful, engaging viewing and listening experiences that entertain, inspire, uplift, and improve families and communities.” Popular shows include the Angel Studios Jesus Christ biography “The Chosen” and the long-running sketch comedy series “Studio C.”
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Reveel
Reveel is a free streaming service featuring independent films. You may not recognize the titles, but you may see the work of the next great director or actor if you poke around long enough. Unlike most free services, there are no ads on Reveel.
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Fawesome
Fawesome is an ad-supported streaming service with 10,000+ movies and shows. Users will see movies from studios like Paramount, Lionsgate, FilmRise, Cinedigm, and more.
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FlixHouse
FlixHouse is a free, ad-supported, live, and on-demand streaming service that offers indie movies, thought-provoking documentaries, TV shows, and 170+ live TV channels from local and international content partners.
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MAVTV GO
MAVTV GO is a video streaming service that brings motorsports fans access to original shows, live racing, race recaps, documentaries, and a vast library of video-on-demand content that includes archive racing coverage and some unforgettable moments in motorsports history.
It’s also worth checking to see which service your local library aligns with. Kanopy and Hoopla are the most popular, and each allows a limited number of movies and TV shows available for free, as long as you put in the information from your library card.
One thing we can guarantee: Almost every free service, no matter how small, will have at least one Nicolas Cage movie.