40 Best AVOD Ad-supported Streaming Services Right Now

cord-cutting › best avod ad supported streaming services right now • February 3, 2024 • The Staff

Everything comes at a price these days, so when entertainment platforms claim to be "completely free," we all know what that really means: ads, and often lots of them. In streaming, this has resulted in the emergence of AVOD or advertising-based video-on-demand platforms. You don't have to pay a single penny to watch a film or TV show on AVOD streamers, but you do have to get used to seeing a commercial pop up just as a climactic scene is about to unfold.

Tubi, Pluto TV, and Roku are some of the more popular options when it comes to streaming free, but there are plenty more to choose from online. Below, we give you a full rundown of your best options.

Our recommended five best avod ad-supported streaming services right now:

Midnight Pulp

Remember those thrashy (but fascinating!) films that would air on TV late into the night, long after the proper programs had their run? Those titles have found a new home in Midnight Pulp, a free streaming service that lets you watch films and TV shows on-demand and live. It specializes in the weirdest content you can imagine; whether that's a 1960s Star Trek knockoff, a B-movie erotica, or a laughable monster flick, they likely have it here. Midnight Pulp also offers a live TV stream that's active 24/7 with channels that offer much of the same—with the exception, perhaps, of RetroCrush and AsianCrush, which have solid lineups of anime and dramas. Midnight Pulp also offers more titles (many of which are adult-themed) ad-free if you pay for their premium $4.99/month tier.

Go to Midnight Pulp

Price: $4.99/month

Free Trial: 14 days

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Apple TV, Chromecast, Hisense, iOS, LG, LG TV, Plex, Roku, Roku TV, Samsung, Vizio, Website

Channel lineup: Asian Crush, AsianCrush, Crime Hunters, Midnight Pulp, Retro Crush, RetroCrush, Screambox TV, Tokushoutsu

Features: ad-supported option, free, on-demand content, unlimited simultaneous streams

Local Now

Local Now is a free streaming service from The Weather Channel that offers up localized content geared to where you're using it from. That means you can get local news, weather updates, and even restaurant reviews that are specific to where you, the user, are from. Aside from the convenience of getting local coverage, Local Now also provides thousands of movies and live TV channels to choose from, perfect for when you're relaxing or on the go.

Go to Local Now

Price: free for 1 channels available

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Fubo TV, iOS, Roku, Sling TV

Channel lineup: Local news channels

Features: ad-supported option, free, on-demand content

Korea On Demand

Whether you're a Korean expat living in North America or a true-blue Hallyu fan, you'll find much to like in OnDemandKorea, also sometimes known as Korea on Demand. The streaming service has both live TV and on-demand content, which it makes available in three tiers. The basic plan is ad-supported and free, the premium plan costs $10.99/month and gives you exclusive ad-free content, while the premium + box plan costs $19.99/month and gives you all the benefits of the previous plans plus five simultaneous viewings and 100 live channels. Korea on Demand also gives you the option to pay yearly to help you save up to $200 in costs. In terms of content, the platform has an impressively wide range. On the on-demand side, it has more than 500 films that range from mainstream to indie, while on the live TV side, it has multiple channels that cover news, entertainment, variety, and sports. It's important to note, however, that the entire site is in Korean and not all titles have English subtitles, making it most suited to native or advanced speakers of the language.

Go to Korea On Demand

Price: free for 9 channels available

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Apple TV, Google TV, Hisense, iOS, LG, LG Smart TV, Philips, Roku, Roku TV, Samsung, Samsung Smart TV, Samsung TV, Sony, TCL, Website

Channel lineup: Channel A, JTBC, K Movie, MBN, News 1, News 2, TV Chosun, Yonhap News, YTN

Features: ad-supported option, annual subscription, free, multiple profiles, on-demand content, up to five concurrent streams, up to two concurrent streams

KlowdTV

Similar to Xumo or Pluto TV, KlowdTV is a streaming service that offers users a free way to watch Live TV. And as with both, the selection is limited to news channels like France24 and right-wing channels.

Go to KlowdTV

Price: free for channels available

Device availability: Roku, Website

Features: annual subscription, DVR, trial

iQiyi

Largely known as China's Netflix, iQiyi is a popular and wide-ranging streaming platform that hosts the best of East Asian content. Among its catalog are Asian blockbusters, Chinese variety shows, Japanese anime, and of course, Korean dramas. iQiyi also has multiple deals with studios all over the world, including Netflix, so it's able to stream global content to its Chinese audiences.

Perhaps the best part about iQiyi is that it comes for free; no need to pay to see its plenty and diverse titles, although you will be subject to some ads. To avoid ads and avail of perks such as concurrent viewing and download privileges, iQiyi offers a VIP membership that costs $2 per month.

Go to IQiyi

Price: free for channels available

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, iOS, Roku, Website

Features: ad-supported option, free, likely to work with a VPN, on-demand content

Hoopla

Hoopla is a digital library that partners with public libraries across the US to grant their patrons free access to the wealth of media they have online and on the go. This includes movies and television shows, but Hoopla also has a vast collection of ebooks, audiobooks, podcasts, and albums it offers members. You can check their website to see if your library card is valid, and if it is, you can continue on to registration (with no extra fees) and start viewing their available titles. Hoopla rotates its selection every week or so, but generally, it has a good mix of old films, cult classics, past hits, and foreign movies. Occasionally, it will also have the latest blockbusters. For television, it's recently partnered with the BBC and a couple of manga publishers to deliver content from around the world.

Go to Hoopla

Price: free for channels available

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS, Roku, Roku TV, Website

Features: free

Haystack TV

Haystack TV is an independently-run streaming service that delivers live and on-demand news, 24/7. It's ad-supported so it's somewhat free, but if you want to get rid of the commercials and dive straight into the latest news, you can subscribe to Haystack Premium for $4.99/month or try it for free for 30 days.

The convenient thing about Haystack is that it allows you to navigate not just by channels but by topics as well. It also picks up news from more than a hundred TV stations around the US (check if they cover your area here) which saves you the trouble of switching services when looking for local news.

Go to Haystack TV

Price: free for 12 channels available

Free Trial: 30 days

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS, Roku, Roku TV, Website

Channel lineup: ABC News, Al Jazeera, Bloomberg, Bloomberg Quicktake, CBS News, Cheddar, Deutsche Welle, Euronews, Local news channels, Newsmax, Newsy, Yahoo! Finance

Features: ad-supported option, free, on-demand content, trial

Glewed TV

Glewed TV is a free, ad-supported streaming channel that provides an extensive lineup of movies, series, and documentaries. It also has its own exclusive set of titles and podcasts, with genres spanning travel, sports, comedy, action, and more, plus it's available on a plethora of platforms. If you're still on the fence about going completely cordless, Glewed TV is one of many easy and accessible streaming options to choose from.

Go to Glewed TV

Price: free for 1 channels available

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Vizio

Channel lineup:

Features: ad-supported option, free, on-demand content

Filmzie

Filmzie offers its viewers worldwide high-quality content that is free. Its aim is to spotlight overlooked films in our history and support filmmakers and creators in so doing. If you’re someone who feels ethically motivated to support filmmakers and prefers not to have to pay to be entertained, this is the streaming service for you. It’s updated regularly with popular and current content. Filmzie was launched in 2021.

Go to Filmzie

Price: free for channels available

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, Samsung TV, Website

Features: free, on-demand content

FilmRise

FilmRise is a streaming app that's partnered with the likes of MGM, Warner Bros., and ITV Studios to provide over 20,000 films and TV shows you can watch for free. It's not immune to ads, but FilmRise more than makes up for those disruptions with its impressive selection of titles. On the film front, it has indie favorites, award-winning classics, and foreign gems, while on the TV front, it has murder mysteries (many imported from the UK), Gordon Ramsey-led competition shows, and oldies-but-goodies like The Dick Van Dyke Show, Roseanne, and the original 21 Jump Street. FilmRise isn't available to stream directly on the website, but if you have a compatible device, you can download the app and start watching for free.

Go to FilmRise

Price: free for channels available

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, iOS, LG, LG TV, Roku, Samsung, Samsung Smart TV, Vizio, Xbox, YouTube

Features: ad-supported option, free

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Sling TV Freestream 43 channels included	free	Watch

Tubi 78 channels included	free	Watch

The Roku Channel 1 channel included	free	Watch

Plex 85 channels included	free	Watch

Crackle No contract, cancel anytime	free	Watch

Midnight Pulp

Local Now

Korea On Demand

KlowdTV

iQiyi

Hoopla

Haystack TV

Glewed TV

Filmzie

FilmRise

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