It is better to cut the cord and switch from Netflix to other entertainment apps if your budget is tight. There are many Netflix Alternatives such as Pluto TV that offer free TV streaming and free movie streaming.
To watch free TV shows and movies, there is no need to buy a special streaming device. These services have mobile apps that let you watch the show on your smartphone or tablet then cast it to your TV.
These are our favorite 20 Best Netflix Alternatives To Stream For Free. These free streaming apps offer tons of viewing entertainment, are easy to use, and work on a variety of devices.
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20 Best Netflix Alternatives To Stream For Free (2022)
1. Pluto TV
When you want free movie streaming and free tv streaming that you can watch on any device and have a ton of options, being one of Netflix Alternatives, Check out Pluto TV.
Pluto TV offers live and on-demand TV shows and movies. You’ll find over 250 live TV channels that broadcast news stations, comedy shows, sports events, music videos, horror shows, and indie flicks.
When you can’t find something to watch in the live TV channels, search through the thousands of on-demand movies. You’ll find action movies, top TV series, sitcoms, and drama.
Pluto TV also has a large selection of family-friendly programming. There’s a dedicated family section, episodes from the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, and documentaries.
2. Tubi
Tubi offers thousands of on-demand movies and TV shows. As with most free streaming services, Tubi doesn’t offer the latest releases of major box office movies. However, you will find some interesting titles. The search function in Tubi is awesome. Enter a few characters or a random word, and you’re presented with a curious list of interesting and unfamiliar titles.
Tubi is available on 10 streaming devices. You’ll find Tubi on the popular Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox, Playstation, and Chromecast devices. It’s also available for TiVO, Android TV, Xfinity, and Cox Contour.
If you have a smart TV from Samsung, Sony, or Vizio, the Tubi app is installed on the TV. There are also mobile and tablet apps for Android and iOS, and you can watch Tubi in a web browser.
3. Xumo
Xumo offers a variety of TV channels that are similar to those found on broadcast TV. The Xumo app opens with a list of about 200 channels of live streaming content. You’ll find food and travel shows, comedy channels, lifestyle stations, music shows, and more.
The list of on-demand movies and TV shows is long. The best way to find a show is to browse the dozens of genres and collections. The search function doesn’t work too well and doesn’t return results for very many movies.
Xumo powers more smart TVs than other programs like Netflix. If you have an LG, Vizio, Sharp, Philips, Magnavox, Panasonic, or Sanyo smart TV, Xumo is available for free. Xumo also works with Roku TV, iOS devices, and Android devices.
4. Vudu
Vudu is one of Netflix Alternatives, but not everything on the Vudu streaming service is free. Most of the movies and TV shows are available for rent. However, Vudu’s free movies include thousands of comedies, indie films, TV classics, anime, kids’ shows, and special collections.
Watch Vudu on your favorite device. Cast from Android, iOS, and Windows 10 devices to a smart TV. Use your Xbox or PlayStation game console. Or play on your Apple TV, Roku, or Chromecast streaming device.
5. Yidio
Many people have a collection of streaming apps on their devices. Instead of browsing through each app individually, use Yidio to search for a movie. Yidio shows which movies are playing in which streaming app. You can even start a streaming app from Yidio and watch the show.
6. Crackle
If you’re looking for original content, check out Crackle. Crackle is sponsored by Sony Pictures and offers new and iconic hits. You don’t need a subscription to watch Crackle premium TV shows and movies, but a free account comes with fewer ads and the ability to watch a show across multiple devices.
Crackle’s supported devices include Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Chromecast. It also plays on PlayStation, Xbox, smart TVs, and mobile devices.
7. IMDb TV
This streaming service, formerly known as FreeDrive, is part of IMDb, the Internet Movie Database, which is owned by Amazon. In other words, IMDb TV is Amazon’s way of offering ad-supported movie streaming independent of Amazon Prime.
Moreover, IMDb TV isn’t limited to movies; there are TV episodes available as well. Unfortunately, there’s a viewing limitation: The IMDb TV service can be accessed only on PCs and within Prime Video and IMDb apps.
8. FilmRise
The FilmRise library includes over 20,000 TV and movie titles. You’ll find popular TV series, reality shows, and classic TV. You’ll find comedy series from the 1990s, true crime stories, and cartoons.
You’ll also find a long list of award-winning movies, including action movies, cooking shows, horror films, kids’ TV shows, and documentaries. There’s also live concerts and classic albums. If you’ve spent too much time indoors and want to escape to the outdoors without leaving the couch, check out the nature and outdoor life collections or the international film genres.
9. NBC
Many broadcast network TV stations also provide free TV streaming. Of these stations, NBC does it best. Along with current episodes of their lineup, NBC also streams movies. You’ll find recent movies that you won’t find on other streaming services.
Along with a movie category, NBC streams the current season of all its shows, selected past seasons of some shows, and all episodes in all seasons of selected throwback shows. Some shows are free to watch. Other shows are locked and require an NBC account or a TV provider.
The NBC app supports a variety of platforms. Use the app on a mobile device, gaming console, smart TV, or streaming device.
10. The CW
The CW is another free tv streaming station that plays the current season of its lineup. So, if you watch broadcast TV and miss an episode of your favorite TV show, you can stream the episode the next day.
If you want to binge-watch older TV shows, The CW Seed is where you’ll find them. You’ll find shows like Pushing Daisies, Supernatural: The Anime Series, and Everybody Hates Chris there.
The CW is available for Roku, Chromecast, Android TV, AirPlay, Apple TV, Xbox, Amazon Fire TV, iOS, Android, and Windows.
11. A&E
A search for free TV streaming reveals specialized channels that cover a specific topic or genre. If you like crime stories and stories about people’s lives, give A&E a try. If you choose to set up a free account with A&E, you also get access to their History, Lifetime, Vice TV, FYI, and Biography channels.
Watch A&E on iOS and Android devices, Apple TV, Roku, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, and Samsung TV.
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12. Redbox
Another service we told you about a while ago comes from Redbox, and it’s unlike any of the other Netflix alternatives we’re going to cover in this roundup.
Whereas every other streamer we’re covering is like Netflix in that it uses an on-demand streaming model, Redbox Live Free TV uses a more traditional television model. We love this service.
There are a bunch of different channels and they all stream live TV, just like the name of the service suggests.
You’ll find news, web culture content, comedy shows, and even a bunch of popular TV series like America’s Funniest Home Videos, Forensic Files, Family Feud, and Unsolved Mysteries.
It’s all totally free to watch even without a login, and you can stream it from the Redbox site or from within the Redbox app on any platform.
Also, you’ll get a better idea of what movies you can get when you go to a Redbox kiosk.
13. Kanopy
Kanopy is probably the greatest streaming service you’ve never used. And the best part is, you already have access to it without even knowing it!
If you have a library card or attend college, you probably have access to Kanopy’s huge library of thousands of streaming movies.
From recent movies like Eighth Grade to classics like Rashomon, this has a ton of options to pick from.
If you don’t have a library card, this is a terrific reason to go get one (not to mention you can be reading more).
You’ll be shocked at how impressive the streaming selection is, and there are Kanopy apps for every major platform including iOS, Android, Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV, and more.
Kanopy is one of the best Netflix Alternatives.
14. Hoopla
Hoopla is just like Kanopy in that you can access it for free as long as you have a library card and your local public library participates.
What’s crazy is that you might find even more popular movies and TV shows here than you did on Kanopy.
Hoopla is one of the great free streaming apps and the app even allows downloads for offline viewing when you travel.
Just remember, Kanopy and Hoopla work just like the library, so you only have a certain amount of time to stream content before you have to “return” it.
You can watch the content that you’ve downloaded on your laptop, computer, or phone.
15. The Roku Channel
The Roku Channel doesn’t license any content directly as all these other services do.
Instead, it aggregates free streaming movies, shows, and even live TV channels from other services so you can find all that great content in one place.
Needless to say, it’s only available on Roku devices. Roku is the most popular streaming device out there. So there is a good chance anyone reading this has one. More Unsolved Mysteries!
Plus, we all patiently await the Weird Al biopic starring Daniel Radcliffe on the channel.
16. Showdown
Showdown is one of the best Netflix Alternatives and also movie streaming platforms I’ve seen in a while, it offers both streaming on the Web and also an Android-based app, you can stream all the latest movies you want in clear HD.
This app offers different types of movies from the latest to the previously published movies, you can also stream live football matches for free on Showdown.
Showdown isn’t as big as Netflix but it can offer you 50% of the movies you watch on Netflix for free, you can watch and download movies at the same time at no cost.
Showdown has a clean interface and is very easy to navigate, it’s one of the best Netflix alternatives to stream for free.
17. VIZIO
VIZIO is another awesome streaming app to stream movies and other shows online for free, with no charges and no subscription, you can stream for as long as you want and all you just need is your internet data and your Android device.
This app offers a wide range of content for free and that qualifies it as a good alternative to Netflix.
You can stream movies, documentaries, tv shows, music and podcasts, live streams and so much more and you don’t need to pay a dime.
One thing you shouldn’t expect is the large number of movies you’ll find on Netflix, VIZIO is a good Netflix alternative but not good enough.
18. Peacock
Peacock is an American over-the-top video streaming service owned and operated by the Television and Streaming division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast.
Priding itself as spreading its wing worldwide, Peacock is one of the few places where you will find exclusive contents like streaming of WWE fights.
They also offer free streaming for movies and shows. However, downside of Peacock is that they are not available worldwide.
19. Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is home to all things public domain, including thousands of feature-length movies.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, there’s no cost to use the service, nor do you need an account (though you can create one if you want to mark favorites and such).
“Public domain” is code for “old” or “mostly black-and-white,” making this the place for folks interested strictly in classic movies.
Thus you’ll find the likes of His Girl Friday, Plan 9 from Outer Space and Gulliver’s Travels. The archive exists only on the web, though, so you’ll need a browser to access it. (Most mobile browsers should work.)
20. Plex
The last on the list is another good Netflix alternative called Plex. Plex is a very good app to stream movies and tv shows online for free, and it has a lot of movies and over 100+ channels that offer the best and latest tv shows out there.
You can watch different genres of movies and shows on Plex, and you can as well stream sports content.
Plex is free and it also offers in-app purchases and its in-app purchase is only for the removal of Ads that have been placed inside the app, aside from that, there’s nothing bad about this app.
It’s one of the best Netflix alternatives for free streaming.
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CONCLUSION
If you want to watch movies and shows online for free, these are the best Netflix alternatives that you can use, but keep in mind that they are nowhere near Netflix. However, these Netflix Alternatives meet most of your needs.