50 Best Free Streaming Services in 2023

Cord-cutting has brought about an interesting trend: free streaming. You'll likely have to watch a couple of ads, but you won't have to pay a cent for a subscription. 

The best free on-demand streaming service is undeniably Tubi, which is full of great movies, especially smaller ones. Meanwhile, the best free live TV service has to be Pluto TV,  which carries 200 channels. Although to be fair, most of those are made-up channels that repeat the same show. 

If you're looking for more choices, we've also made a list of the best free trials in streaming. You can find that here.

In response to the growing popularity of free streaming services like Tubi, Xumo, and Pluto, Sling TV has come up with Sling TV Freestream, an ad-supported version of its live TV and on-demand streaming service. Compared to its paid tier, Freestream has fewer channels and premium titles, but with more than 200 live channels and on-demand content to boot, it's certainly worth giving a try—you don't even need to sign up for an account to start watching.

Sling TV has been at the forefront of live TV for years, but it breaks new ground with Freestream, a platform designed to both entertain and entice users to upgrade to their meatier packages.

Price: free for 30 channels available

Device availability: AirTV, Amazon Fire TV, Android, Apple TV, Chromecast, Cox, Google TV, iOS, LG TV, Roku, Roku TV, Samsung Smart TV, Samsung TV, TiVo, Vizio, Website, Xbox, Xfinity Flex

Channel lineup: AajTak International, ABC News Live, Al Arabiya, Al Jazeera English, Anthony Bourdain A Cook's Tour, Architectural Digest: Open Door, ARY News, Bein Sports XTRA, Buzzr: Family Feud, CBS News, Cheddar News: Wake Up with Cheddar, Dilemma, Electric Now, ESPN On Demand, ESR, FailArmy, FilmRise: Hell's Kitchen, Forensic Files, France24, GoTraveler, Heartland, Maverick Black Cinema: Boxed In, Noticias Univision 24/7, Rick Steves Europe, SonyKal, The Pet Collective, The Walking Dead Universe, TVP World, VH1 I Love Reality, Zona TUDN

Mozi is a new entirely free streaming service that brands itself as the "home of free TV". It's understated and simple to use, with navigation between channels as easy as a scroll. Plus, it's well-rounded: from news programs like CBS News to kids programming with Nick Jr, documentaries with National Geographic, and the weather with Fox Weather. 

The service, a curated collection of live streams from Youtube, is a great resource for those looking to watch TV for free, especially news. And unlike other free streamers like Pluto and Xumo, the emphasis here is on quality, not quantity: there are no made-up channels.

Price: free for 24 channels available

Device availability: Website

Channel lineup: ABC News, Aljazeera, Arirang TV, Bloomberg, CBS News, CNBC Marathon, Disney Jr, Disney XD, DW, ESA, Euronews, Fox Weather, France 24, NASA, National Geographic, NBC News, NHK World Japan, Nick Jr., Nickelodeon, PBS Newshour, QVC, Sky News, Today, Wion

Peacock is a streaming service owned by NBC, with options for paid subscriptions as well as a free plan. The free plan offers about 13,000 hours of ad-supported content, with the option to upgrade to premium for more access to content. The premium options include two plans: $4.99 a month or $50 a year for ad-supported; $9.99 a month or $100 a year for ad-free. With both premium plans, you'll get access to the full catalog of 2,000 movies and shows, including every episode of the original NBC series. You'll also get next-day access to all the new episodes of ongoing NBC shows, and early access to talk shows such as Late Night with Seth Meyers and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on the air night. You can stream Peacock on Apple devices like the iPhone and Apple TV, Google devices like Android phones and Chromecast, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles. But there is still no app available for Roku or Amazon platforms.

Price: $4.99/month

Device availability: Android, Android TV, Apple TV, iOS, LG TV, PlayStation, Roku, Visio TV, Xbox

Streaming services do not come cheap. But what if you can access live TV streaming services for free? Enter Pluto TV Live, a free live TV streaming service that lets you watch around 250 different live TV channels without even needing you to sign up. This Viacom-owned live TV service may not have as nearly as the popular cables you’re used to, but it’s enough to serve as a supplement to your needs for news, sports, and entertainment without spending a dime.

Price: free for 29 channels available

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Roku, Virgin Media, Vizio SmartCast, webOS, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Channel lineup: BBC Food, BBC Home, Bein Sports XTRA, Bloomberg Television, CBS Sports HQ, CBSN, Check with Pluto TV for the full channel lineup, Cheddar News, CNN, ET Live, Food TV, Fox Sports, Major League Soccer, MLB, NBC News Now, Newsmax, NFL Channel, Nosey, People TV, PGA Tour, Pluto Channels, Sky News, Smithsonian Channel, Stories AMC, TBN, Today, TV Land Drama, WeatherNation, WPT

YouTube's Movies & TV storefront (not to be mistaken with YouTube TV) allows you to rent and purchase thousands of films and TV shows. You can pick from the latest blockbuster releases, foreign films, award-winning staples, beloved classics, and even pre-order titles that have yet to be available elsewhere. A big draw here is that YouTube is already everywhere—it's a tab on your browser, an app on your phone, a channel on your smart TV—so renting, purchasing, and later on accessing a title is as easy as entering your credit card or PayPal details. And as a bonus, YouTube also has a lineup of free movies it lets you watch with ads. Granted, they're not as big or new as their rentable titles, but there are gems like Moonstruck and Cooley High hidden in there somewhere. 

Now, some things to note before heading to the storefront: you must be 18 years or older to watch these titles, and while buying a movie or TV episode allows you to access them indefinitely, you have only 30 days to start viewing a rental. Once you've started watching it, you usually have about 48 hours until it expires, but this can vary per title. YouTube also allows playback in HD and 4k, but these features are currently unavailable on web browsers. 

Price: free for channels available

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Hisense, Hisense TV, iOS, LG Smart TV, Nvidia SHIELD, PlayStation, Roku, Roku TV, Samsung Smart TV, Sharp, Sony, Sony TV, Vizio, Vizio Smart TV, Website, Xbox

With titan subscription-based streaming services in the market, XumoTV reels streaming back to its roots –the audience, with its free ad-supported platform. It is steadily gaining momentum in the streaming landscape with its free live and on-demand content from over 190 channels on its roster. Access Xumo TV using Smart TVs, browse the web or download their app if you’re on the go. Take the hassle of monthly subscriptions and access Xumo TV even without signing up.

Price: free for 13 channels available

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, iOS, Panasonic, Roku, Samsung TV, Visio TV, webOS, Xfinity Flex

Channel lineup: ABC News Live, AccuWeather Now, Bloomberg, CBC News, CBSN, Check with Xumo for the full channel lineup, Cheddar News, Fox Sports, NBC News Now, NBCLX, PGA Tour, Today, USA Today

Tencent Video, also known as WeTV internationally, is a Chinese streaming platform that offers a wide range of Asian content, from live TV and new shows to on-demand films and Asian dramas. With more than a billion users, WeTV is reportedly the fourth largest streamer in the world, following the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+. WeTV's packed library is supported by ads and comes for free for basic users, but it also offers ad-free, concurrent viewing as part of its premium package. This Chinese streamer is perfect for those interested in all things Asian entertainment. 

Price: free for channels available

WatchFree+ is a free live TV streaming service exclusive to VIZIO smart TV users. It comes free on the device, with no download or registration needed, and it gives you access to more than 260 live channels and 8,000 on-demand movies and TV shows. Notably, WatchFree+ has a local channel category that covers news, sports, and the weather, making VIZIO more cord-cutter friendly than ever. It's partnered with FOX channels and Gray Television channels to cater to up to 20 local markets in the US, including New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Washington DC. 

Price: free for 77 channels available

Device availability: Vizio, Vizio Smart TV, Vizio SmartCast, Vizio TV

Channel lineup: AMC En Español, AMC Thrillers, Architectural Digest, Ax Men, Baby Shark, Bein Sports XTRA, bein Sports Xtra en Espanol, BET TV, Black Cinema, Bloomberg Originals, Bon Apetit, Canela.TV, CBC News, CBS local channels, CBS News, CBS Sports HQ, CBSN, Cheddar News, CINE REAL, Cine Sureno, CNN Replay, Cony Canal Compentencias, CSI, Danger TV, Dark Matter TV, Dora TV, Dove, Estrella Games, Estrella News, Estrella TV, FilmRise Action, Filmrise Family, Flash TV, FOX SOUL, Fox Sports, Fox Weather, Fubo Sports, GQ, Hallmark Movies and More, History Hits, HSN, IGN1, ION, LiveNOW from FOX, Local news channels, MagellanTV, MLB Network, Modern Marvels, MotorTrend, NBC News Now, Newsmax, Newsmax TV, NFL Channel, Nick, Nick Jr., Paramount Movie Channel, Popsugar Fitness, QVC, Retro Crush, Reuters, Revry, Screambox TV, Scripps News, Sony Canal Novelas, Sportsgrid Live, Tastemade, TBN, TD Ameritrade Network, The Hill, Tru History, Tu Cine, TV Land, USA Today, WeatherNation, Wired, Women’s Sports Network, Yahoo! Finance

VUit is a free streaming service that has live and local feeds from more than 260 broadcast stations around the United States. While it does have on-demand content (mostly documentaries and food shows), VUit is focused on hosting local channels, which cover everything from high school sports updates to regional political news. Recently, VUit also partnered with Paramount to carry local CBS TV stations, two of which include the New York and Los Angeles stations. Unlike other live TV streamers, VUit isn't limited by geoblocking, so you can stream most of its local channels wherever you are in the world, which aligns with VUit's mission of reconnecting younger people to local TV. 

Price: free for 21 channels available

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

Channel lineup: 911 Encore Channel, AWEP Plus, CBS local channels, Food. Curated., FUEL TV, Fun Roads TV, Investigate TV, KTSF, Local news channels, N2, NewsNet, Nubian TV, NYC Live, Politics Uncut, PowerNation, Quili, Sino TV, Sports News Highlights, The Asian Cinema, The Henry Ford Museum, Us Weekly: News

Vudu Free is a section of the on-demand streaming service Vudu that lets you watch thousands of movies and TV shows for free. The ad-supported tier has a couple of new releases and a-lister hits, but mostly, it carries classics, genre favorites, indies, and critically-acclaimed films. The screening quality is standard and the commercials can be a lot, so if you want to upgrade your viewing experience, Vudu lets you rent or buy the same titles in HD, ad-free, for a fee. Vudu Free also has filters you can toggle, as well as a parental guide and ratings board, to make it easier to pick a film. You'll have to sign up for a Vudu account to access all this content, but after registration, you should be able to start your free viewing. 

Price: free for channels available

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Chromecast, iOS, LG Smart TV, PlayStation, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, TiVo, Vizio, Xbox, Xfinity Flex

Which free streaming service doesn't have made-up channels?

The catch with free streaming services is that you'll often find channels that either play one show on repeat, like the Seinfeld Live 24/7 Channel (delightful as that may sound to some), or channels that seem entirely made up, like "The Show Business Channel." This is likely to be the case for streaming services that promise to have the most number of channels.

But many of these free services carry legitimate channels. One of the newer and more reliable ones out there is actually our top pick, Mozi, which gathers all the live channels on YouTube into one streamable place. There are filters in place as well as a like button so you can return to your favorite channels easily. Among the most notable on Mozi right now are NBC News, National Geographic, PBS, and Nick Jr.

Which free streaming service is the most popular?

According to similarweb.com, Tubi is the most popular because it's visited by 29 million people every month. This is followed by Pluto TV with 26 million visits per month and Crackle with 1.6 million visits per month.

What is the most popular free streaming service on Roku?

Tubi and Pluto are some of the most popular free streaming services on Roku, but the Roku Channel also deserves a mention seeing as it is, for obvious reasons, the easiest to get to. You'll have no trouble going directly to this channel and its many films and TV shows via a button on the Roku stick.

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The streaming services on this page were chosen by our editors. If you choose to subscribe to a streaming service we recommend as a result of our research, analysis, and curation, our work is sometimes (but not always) supported by an affiliate commission from the streaming service when you make a purchase.