With so many subscription-based streaming video services available today (Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and a lot more), it's easy to run up a big monthly bill for your TV viewing. However, there are a growing number of free streaming video services available.
Below are seven of the best free video streaming services you should check out.
How Do Free Video Streaming Services Work?
Free video streaming services cost nothing to watch because they're ad-supported. This means you have to sit through the occasional commercials (that you can't fast-forward through), but in return, you don't have to sign up for anything or give anyone your credit card number. The programming isn't quite as fresh as with the paid services, but if you like watching old TV shows and movies, these services are a good option.
Most of these services offer a mix of TV series and movies. Most offer on-demand programs that you can click and watch on your own time from beginning to end. Many offer "live" feeds of programming, organized into channels and displayed in a traditional channel grid. All of them constantly change up their programming, so what's available today might not be available next week.
You can find these services on most streaming media devices, such as Amazon Fire and Roku boxes and sticks, as well as most smart TVs. You can also watch on your smartphone or tablet or in your computer's web browser.
What Are the Best Free Video Streaming Services?
There are more than a dozen free streaming video services, many offering a similar mix of classic TV shows and not-so-recent movies.
Let's take a look at some of the most popular services.
1. Crackle
Let's start alphabetically with Crackle. This service features on-demand programming in a variety of genres, mainly movies but also some older TV shows. You'll find series like Barney Miller, Benson, Charlie's Angels, The Facts of Life, Fantasy Island, The Partridge Family, and Starsky & Hutch.
Movies include a good mix of classics and newer fare, including the original Spider-Man trilogy, as well as numerous films you've probably never heard of.
2. IMDb TV
IMDb TV is owned by Amazon and complements the company's paid Prime Video service. IMDb TV offers both on-demand content and a "live" channel guide.
It also offers more well-known content than on some other free services, as well as programming not available on other services. That includes more popular (but still older) movies, as well as TV series like Chicago Fire, Desperate Housewives, Little House on the Prairie, Lost, Murder She Wrote, Night Court, and Spenser for Hire. IMDb TV is also the exclusive US home of the popular Canadian comedy series Corner Gas.
3. Plex
Plex is one of the newer players in the free streaming space. Best known for its media server software, Plex offers both on-demand and "live" feeds displayed in a program guide format. Programming includes more than 200 individual channels of programming, including movies, TV shows, documentaries, reality programming, news, sports, and music-only channels.
Note that few offerings are exclusive to this service. Instead, Plex sources a lot of its programming from Crackle, Shout TV, and other similar services.
4. Pluto TV
Pluto TV is owned by Paramount, so it includes content from all of that company's properties, including CBS and Viacom networks. Pluto was one of the first services to organize its programming into "live" channels, displayed in a traditional channel grid that you can scroll through.
Pluto TV currently offers more than 250 channels, as well as on-demand programming. These are organized by categories such as:
- Movies
- Entertainment
- News and Opinion
- Reality
- Crime
... and many more.
It even has channels devoted to specific shows, such as Gunsmoke, Happy Days, and Star Trek. Because of its Paramount/CBS/Viacom connection, Pluto TV arguably has the widest selection of quality programming of any free streaming service.
5. The Roku Channel
Pluto TV and The Roku Channel are the acknowledged leaders in free streaming video. The Roku Channel started as a service for users of Roku's streaming media players and TVs. However, it's now available on most other media player and TV platforms (including Amazon Fire TV and Google Chromecast devices), as well as on the web for computer users.
Programming is a mix of on-demand programming and "live" channels, including true live programming from AccuWeather, ABC News, Cheddar, Fox News, NBC News, and other services. It also offers "Roku Originals," which are programs obtained from the now-defunct Quibi short-form video service.
6. Tubi
Tubi leans a little heavier on movies than the other free services, although those movies tend to run towards the not-so-recent and not-so-well-known. Tubi also includes a variety of TV series such as Anger Management, The Bachelorette, Dark Shadows, The Masked Singer, and The Nanny.
Tubi also offers a decent selection of news and sports, including beIN Sports Extra, Fox Sports, MLB Channel, NFL Channel, and Stadium. Programming is on-demand, with some "live" channels.
7. Xumo
The final free service we'll mention today is Xumo, which offers programming in "live" channels in a traditional channel guide as well as on-demand programming. Xumo bills itself as the place for movies, and it does offer film-heavy programming from Crackle, FilmRise, Shout TV, and other sources.
Like Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, and others, Xumo also offers a good selection of live news (from ABC News, CBS News, Cheddar, Fox News, NBC News, Newsy, and others)—plus sports.
Choose the Best Free Streaming Video Service for You
These seven free streaming services offer a variety of programming that should satiate the appetites of any viewer. Yes, they have a lot of old TV shows and movies, but there's good stuff there to watch. And, because they're totally free, you don't have to limit yourself to just one or two of these services—you can watch as many as you like on whatever device you're using today.
When you want to watch streaming video without busting your budget, these free services are the way to go!