Free Streaming Services With No Subscription in 2026

The name says it all: HGTV Go is one of the easiest ways to watch the country’s favorite home improvement channel on the go. You can watch the HGTV channel live on the app, as well as past and present HGTV shows on-demand. And if you’re looking for more variety, HGTV Go also lets you watch HGTV’s sister channels, including favorites like Food Network, TLC, and Animal Planet live. You can watch some of them free of charge on the platform, no registration needed, but most shows and episodes will require you to link to a pay-TV provider to be watched. In other words, you’ll need to use your cable, satellite, or live TV streaming service credentials to log into the app. Once you do, you can watch up to 15 live channels and a wealth of on-demand shows on any compatible mobile device.

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.

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. 

Hoopla is a digital library that offers free books, playlists, and yes, movies to members of public libraries they’ve partnered with. You can check their website to see if your library card is valid; if it is, you can register (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. Apart from that it also has a vast collection of ebooks, audiobooks, podcasts, and albums it offers members.

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. 

No longer just a physical DVD kiosk, Redbox has expanded to become an online space where you can rent and purchase films and TV shows as well as watch live channels for free. Like Vudu and Amazon Prime, Redbox gives you access to a plethora of movies, including fan favorites and indie gems (these can cost anywhere from $2 to $5) and movies currently screening in cinemas (these usually cost more, around $20). Redbox also has a live TV streaming feature that you can access even without a registered account. Although most of the channels are not that notable, they cover the essential categories: news, sports, and entertainment.

Kanopy is an on-demand streaming service that schools and public libraries all around the US offer students and members for free. All you have to do is enter the details of your participating institution and you can start watching as you please. Because of the academic nature of the platform, Kanopy makes sure it streams only the most essential and important content available, which could mean hard-hitting films like Moonlight, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Lady Bird, Dogtooh, Memento, and Howard’s End for certain viewers, or The Adventures of Paddington, Richard Scarry, and The Monster Math Squad for even other, younger viewers. There are also storybooks, documentaries, and educational programs available to watch as Kanopy makes sure to cater to every learner regardless of leaning or age.

Much like Tubi and Freevee, Crackle is a streaming service that offers hundreds of movies and TV shows for free. Some of the more considerable titles include network series like Shameless and Community, Hollywood hits like Mad Max: Fury Road, and small indies like Short Term 12. Granted, Crackle doesn’t nearly have as many to offer as its competitors, and the ads are relentless, but it’s still a worthy and penny-less alternative that fills in the gaps for any streaming needs you might have. It also plays on most major streaming devices, including gaming consoles PlayStation and Xbox.

Cineverse is a free streaming service that has both on-demand content and live channels, all of which feature a broad range of content. The new streaming service’s mission is to offer as many titles as it can, so you won’t find a lot of blockbusters or big studio productions here (unless they’re available for rent on ROW8), but you will have access to a ton of vintage, international, and niche films and TV shows. Our personal favorites include Howard’s End, Mustang, and The Little Shop of Horrors.

Since the streaming service is free, you’ll encounter a lot of ads, but you can always subscribe to Cineverse’s premium version, which costs $2.99/month, to get rid of the commercials and access to even more content.

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.

Plex is a media management software that doubles as a free streaming service. Its main function is to organize your own library of content—that is, your own video, photo, or sound files—and make it streamable alongside Plex’s offerings of 200+ live TV channels and 50,000+ on-demand movies and shows. Plex’s basic package comes at no cost, but it also has a premium package starting at $6.99/month that boasts additional features, such as the ability to download content and watch them offline, among other things.

Editor’s note: unfortunately, Amazon has said it plans to shut down Freevee in the coming weeks. 

Amazon Freevee, or simply freevee, is a free, ad-supported streaming service powered by Amazon. It has a notable library of licensed titles and original shows, not to mention 24/7 live channels, plus it’s easy to access since it runs on most if not all available devices. Although other free streamers have it beat in terms of range and variety, freevee is still a great option for newbie cord-cutters, especially since it already comes on most Amazon platforms.

Dubbed “The Free Netflix,” Tubi is one of the best options for streaming quality movies and TV shows online. The completely free, ad-supported service has one of the most extensive title lineups, plus it’s compatible with most devices, making it an extremely popular option for cord-cutters. Though it has been noted to have a less-than-stellar resolution, most viewers don’t mind due to its easy interface, constantly updated library, and of course free titles. Parents will also be glad to know that the service has parental control features.

VICE TV is a channel available to certain cable or streaming subscriptions. While it has yet to launch a dedicated subscription of its own, VICE TV is downloadable as an app on media players such as Roku and Apple TV and offers free episodes of its renowned documentaries via YouTube and its online site. VICE TV is a great add-on if you already have an ongoing subscription and don’t want to pay extra to see relevant, cutting-edge documentaries from around the world.

The CW has always been a major player among TV networks. Through the years, it has built up a solid reputation providing fresh titles targeted to the younger crowd. To stay in the game, The CW also now has its own dedicated streaming service, which is free (though not ad-free) and contains the latest shows The CW network is airing.

The CW is known for its iconic and even award-winning dramas, comedies, and reality shows. It has an enviable library to be sure, but it splits these among two streaming services: the self-titled The CW and the more modest CW Seed, which serves as a repository for the network’s past and non-airing shows. That means you’re free to watch classics like The OC, Pushing Daisies, Schitt’s Creek, and America’s Next Top Model for free on CW Seed. Its entertaining, zero-cost catalog is a sure major attraction (you don’t even have to make an account to stream) but a potential downside is its limited title count.

Fandango at Home (formerly Vudu) is an on-demand streaming service that allows users to rent or purchase more than 200,000 new releases. Founded in 2007, it’s one of the first companies to offer digital films in HD. Fandango at Home’s main strength is its ease of access and jam-packed catalog of movies and TV shows, but it also boasts free content, which runs on ads. In 2020, media and ticketing firm Fandango acquired Vudu and merged both companies’ streamers into one. While initially keeping the Vudu name, it eventually decided to go with the former.

The Roku Channel can’t replace Netflix or a cord-cutting service like Sling, but it’s a nice added bonus if you already have a Roku device. The selection of live channels is limited, but there’s something for everyone, including news, sports, and entertainment. It has a nice mix of free on-demand movies (ad-supported of course) that range from indie hidden gems to blockbuster classics. And thanks to a multi-year deal, The Roku Channel will air a weekly Sunday MLB game for free, indefinitely.

Filmzie offers its viewers worldwide free, high-quality content. It aims 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. Do be warned though, it can be riddled with ads. It’s updated regularly with popular and current content. Filmzie was launched in 2021.

DirecTV is known for its comprehensive but pricey live TV packages, but now it’s offering something a little more accessible in the form of MyFree DirecTV. DirecTV’s newest service is completely free (they don’t even ask for your credit card details) and airs channels like Dove TV, Tastemade, Moviesphere, Live Tennis, Sports Grid, Design TV, Court TV, and more. The app works on major streaming devices, including mobiles and TVs powered by Android and Apple. For now, MyFree DirecTV has a total of 90 free channels, with more on the way as it finalizes partnerships with studios like A&E, Fox, and Lionsgate.

TCL is one of the leading TV brands out there, so it makes sense the company would come up with a flagship streaming service. TCLtv+ is a streaming app that features more than 300 FAST channels and a couple of on-demand movies and TV shows, all for free. It’s easy to get overwhelmed when a service has that many to offer, but there are some notable channels on TCLtv+, including ION (which has NCIS, FBI, Chicago Fire, and countless other procedurals), Dateline 24/7, Cinevault Westerns, Waypoint TV, Estrella TV, Canela.TV, NBC Sports, and Fox Sports. TCLtv+ is, of course, available on most TCL TVs, but you can also download it on iOS and Android-powered streaming devices. Thanks to an agreement with Roku, it can also be found on the homepage of newer Roku devices.

Known formerly as VUIt, Zeam is a live TV streaming service that specializes in local channels. Zeam has agreements with 300 local stations across the country, including ABC, NBC, FOX, and ABC affiliates, so the exact channel lineup varies depending on where you live. However, most users will be able to access content from at least one of the major networks. The content in question is mostly news, though, since Zeam doesn’t stream primetime shows and live sports just yet. It can seem bare to some, but it’s a nifty service to tune into if you want to stay on top of community news and weather updates. It’s also completely free, and you don’t even have to create an account to start watching.

Philo Free is a completely free live TV streaming platform that carries more than 70 channels, including AMC Thrillers, BBC News, The Walking Dead Universe, and beIN Sports Extra, on top of on-demand films and TV shows. Like Philo’s paid plan, Philo Free also offers DVR storage, though here it’s limited to 30 days, as opposed to a year, and you can still create up to 10 custom profiles. You’ll need an account to start watching Philo for free, as well as a compatible device, but you notably do not need to provide credit card information. In case you want more live channels or DVR storage, you can always upgrade your account to Philo Core, which is $25/month.

If you have an Air TV streaming device, you’ll automatically have free access to 1oo local channels from affiliates like ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, and PBS all in HD. To be clear, the local channels are free in the sense that you don’t have to pay a monthly bill to watch them, as you would on a cable or live TV subscription, but you do have to pay a one-time fee that sets you up with an Air TV device and an HD antenna. Depending on the bundle you pick, that can cost you anywhere from $150 to $250. It seems like a lot, but it makes sense when you consider that it comes with DVR, the ability to watch local channels anywhere, and for Sling TV subscribers, seamless integration in all your devices. 

Although you don’t need to be a Sling TV subscriber to start using Air TV, the two are perfect complements that save you a lot of money, in the long run. Sling TV has live TV channels equipped for sports, entertainment, and nationwide news, while the one-time-payment Air TV gives you constant and uninterrupted access to your local channels. If you do combine them, Sling takes care of any overlaps to ensure you’re getting the best of both streaming worlds in all compatible devices.

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. 

NewsOn is a free streaming service that lets you access live TV newscasts from over 200 local stations around the United States. According to the platform, it has partnered with ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX and their respective local affiliates to cover up to 91% of the country (a full list of their local channels can be seen here).

You can also watch previous news, sports, and weather reports on NewsOn from up to 48 hours ago and select your favorite stations so that they appear first on the homepage. No registration is required, and it allows you to watch local channels wherever in the country you may be.

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. 

LocalBTV is a streaming service that delivers live feeds from local TV stations around the United States. Free of charge and offering cloud DVR with up to 1 TB of storage, it’s an accessible resource for those looking to cut the cord without having to cut ties with their community. As of this writing, LocalBTV has yet to stream major news networks like ABC or CBS, but it is working toward that goal. It’s set to set up a paid premium version that carries nationwide networks and doubles the number of available local stations. For now, it’s still a handy live TV service that covers 52 areas in the US.

Haystack News (formerly 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.

Countryline TV is a free streaming service that serves as the ultimate base of all things country music. A cost-free subscription gives you access to interviews, jam sessions, and behind-the-scenes content on your favorite country artists, while a premium subscription, which costs $3.99 a month, gives you access to all that plus full-length films, concerts, documentaries, and TV shows. If you can’t get enough of that distinct Southern sound, then this streaming platform is worth giving a shot.

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. Recently, Freestream also added free DVR.

Squid TV is a content aggregator that broadcasts from around the world. It has a simple and straightforward design that categorizes both free and premium TV channels and leads you to their respective sites with ease. Carrying a hundred local channels in the US alone and more than 1,000 from around the world, Squid TV’s coverage is extensive. Couple this breadth with its free access, and you have an indispensable streaming service that doubles as a guide.

All Samsung Smart TVs come with a free Samsung TV Plus app, the company’s own streaming service that offers more than 200 live TV channels and on-demand content to users around the globe. There’s no need to subscribe or even sign up for an account to access the app.

Aside from its TVs (specifically those released from 2016 onwards), Samsung makes its streaming platform available to all Galaxy Devices, mobile and tablet, as long as their operating systems are updated to Android 8.0 or higher. It’s a worthy option for cord-cutters, especially if you want a fuss-free and cost-efficient way to watch your favorite channels.

Like most ad-supported streaming services, SelectTV offers hundreds of live channels and thousands of movies and TV shows for free. But more than just providing content, which is a good mix of recent and classic releases, SelectTV also manages all your existing subscriptions so that you can access everything—from its free titles to services like Netflix and HBO Max—in one convenient place. Everything is categorized and searchable through its unified search engine. If you’re looking to unlock even more features, SelectTV also has a premium offering; for a one-time payment of $30, you can organize your payments on various subscriptions as well.

Local Now is a free streaming service from The Weather Channel that offers localized content geared to where you’re using it. 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.

“Watch more, search less,” is Rlaxx TV’s official motto, dedicated as it is to making streaming as easy and relaxed as possible. The free, ad-supported streaming service offers up diverse titles for viewing, which are all easily accessible in its clean and simple interface. It also has functions such as restart and watch later, making it familiar to those subscribed to other major streamers like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Aside from movies and series, Rlaxx TV also features lifestyle, entertainment, news, sports, music, documentary, food, and comedy content, among others. Currently, the service is only available in most of Europe and some parts of South America and Oceania, but the company says it is expanding its coverage. 

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.

Distro TV is a free ad-supported streaming service that features free shows, movies, documentaries, news, concerts, and more from all around the world. It specializes in global content, drawing from the US, UK, and Canada, as well as from other parts of Europe, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. It has both live and on-demand content, plus it’s easy to stream from many devices, making it an easy and affordable option for cord-cutters.

For no-brainer shows like The Drew Barrymore Show, Extra, and The Voice, check out ET Live. It’s a live stream that’s updated 24/7 with shows from the ET channel. You can also find clips and segments from the channel on the app. Sometimes it’s called “ET Online” (the website is etonline.com), sometimes just ET; as its name indicates, it’s the equivalent of a YouTube channel for ET.

Let’s not kid ourselves, the best content is still with the paid services. So the best free streaming is either with a free trial or, in this case, a deal. If you get any DirecTV Stream plan, they are offering (HBO) Max, Paramount+ with SHOWTIME, Starz, Cinemax, and MGM+ 100% free for three months. You can get all of them free at the same time, which is over $160 in value.

NASA+ is the space agency’s official, ad-free, and on-demand streaming service. It carries original shows and movies that feature NASA’s discoveries on the cosmos and beyond and intimate interviews with the astronauts and scientists behind these projects. There are also animated kids’ shows and Spanish-language content for younger viewers and families to enjoy, as well as high-definition intergalactic videos set to interesting sounds, in case you’re not in the mood to watch anything too heavy. The app, which can be downloaded on iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV, is completely free and requires no sign-up to access.

PBS channels around the country are free on television, and thanks to the PBS app, they’re now free to stream as well. The PBS app gives you on-demand access to many of the network’s famously educational shows, including Nova and PBS News Hour, as well as the nearest local station in your area. You don’t need an account to start watching on the PBS app, although you might have to activate it beforehand. Again, PBS is free, but if you want to support your local PBS station and gain extended access to even more films and TV shows, then you can purchase a PBS Passport membership, which costs around $5/month or $60/year.

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 $13.99/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.

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) and ad-free content if you pay for their premium $5.99/month tier, which you can try free for 14 days.

Asiancrush is a streaming service that brings plenty of Asian content, especially Korean, Japanese, and Thai content, to Western audiences. The lineup is pretty extensive, ranging from popular movies and beloved dramas to classics and indies (our favorites include Burning, House of Hummingbird, and All About Lily Chou-chou). They also have exclusive collections composed of shows, shorts, and K-pop showcases you won’t find anywhere else on this side of the Globe. Asiancrush is mostly free, and therefore ad-supported, but users can opt for a paid monthly plan that costs $4.99 for no ads and more content. Notably, the service also has a live TV section, but as of this writing, it only hosts two channels: an Asiancrush live feed and Retrocrush.

Fans of genre cinema will find much to like in Kino Cult, the latest streaming service from distribution company Kino Lorber. It’s home to everything from arthouse films to grindhouse gems as it draws from Kino Lorber’s vintage collection and newest releases. The good news is that Kino Cult is ad-supported and free, but the platform also has a paid plan ($4.99/month) that lets you watch everything on-demand, without the commercials.

True to its name, Documentary+ is a free ad-supported service that streams documentaries as well as non-fiction shorts and series. It has a straightforward interface that has categories like “award winners,” “true crime,” “festival darlings,” “women stories,” and “Black stories,” as well as films from renowned directors including Werner Herzog, Spike Jonze, Kathryn Bigelow, and Terrence Malick. 

Interestingly, the service also has a live channel you can put on anytime. It’s compatible with all major streaming devices, but you can also access it as a channel on live TV services like Amazon’s freevee and Sling’s freestream.

Toon Goggles is an on-demand service dedicated to streaming kids’ shows, including popular cartoons like PJ Masks, live-action features like Guinness World Record, and even games like Angry Birds. There are hours upon hours of content here, not to mention pre-screened ads and strict parental controls, making it a suitable service to leave the children with.

Some of Toon Goggles’ shows can be streamed for free, but if you want full access and no ads, you’ll have to subscribe to its premium tier, which costs $1.99/month in the US and Canada and just $0.99/month everywhere else.

Pokemon fans will be glad to know that hundreds of Pokemon episodes, as well as films and specials, can be streamed for free on the Japanese anime’s official streaming platform, Pokemon TV. You can download titles to watch offline (though they expire after a week) and, in case you’ve seen them all, the platform shifts them around so you can catch anything you’ve missed, old and new.

You don’t need even to make an account to watch Pokemon TV, much less pay for it, making it an ideal viewing option for cord-cutters on a budget. It’s also conveniently available on most devices, including smart phones, TVs, and of course, the Nintendo Switch. 

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. 

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 (okay, a lot of) ads. To avoid ads and avail of perks such as concurrent viewing and download privileges, iQiyi offers a VIP membership that costs $8.99 per month.

Sun NXT is a streaming subscription service based in India. It offers 50,000 hours of live TV, movies, shows, and music videos in five Indian languages: Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Bengali. It’s a comprehensive service not just for Indian audiences and immigrants, but for anyone wanting to get to know more about the country’s booming entertainment industry. Sun NXT has two subscription plans: the basic one is free, although it only allows you to stream through one device, while the premium plan gives you unlimited access for ₹50 or just $0.63 a month.

7 Plus is a free, ad-supported streaming service that gives viewers the very best from Network Seven, one of Australia’s major broadcasters. It has entire seasons of popular shows, movies, live coverages, and old and new content alike as the service’s library is constantly updated. Because Network Seven is comprised of many channels, including those entirely dedicated to news, films, and sports, 7 Plus also has one of the most extensive catalogs of content out there. It’s also fairly easy to use and available on a number of devices.

Formerly known as the Military Channel, AHC or the American Heroes Channel specializes in programs related to history, military, warfare, and science. Some of its most beloved shows include Blood and Fury: America’s Civil War and Gunslingers. All these and more are made available in AHC TV, an on-demand service that comes free with most pay TV subscriptions. You just need to sign in to your TV provider and you’re good to go.

Dark Matter TV is a free, ad-supported subscription service dedicated to streaming niche genre content. In particular, it features all sorts of movies, documentaries, shorts, and podcasts that fall under the sci-fi, horror, action, and true crime categories. These are then curated into thoughtful lists by the team behind the service, which Dark Matter claims are similar to Spotify’s fan-targeted, personalized playlists. The service’s select titles range from studio hits, underground features, international films, and Spanish-language content.

The Film Detective is a streaming service dedicated to showing classics of all kinds, from beloved films and silent pictures to B-movies and epic musicals. It offers most of its 3,000+ hours of titles for free, but it also has a premium tier that starts at  $3.99/month. With this subscription, users can access original content as well as stream titles on multi-platforms. The Film Detective refreshes its library every month, and it has all sorts of lists curated and updated by a dedicated staff of movie buffs.

Classix is a treasure trove of vintage titles; from film noir and screwball comedies to westerns and cartoons, it’s all here. You can try out the streaming service through their free tier without having to input any credit card details, but for access to the full library, users can upgrade to the Classix+ monthly, yearly, or lifetime plans. This includes access to full seasons of shows like Bonanza and The Pink Panther. At the moment, the streaming service is only available on Apple and Android devices via their respective app stores.

ViX is an ad-supported streaming service by Univision, the largest Spanish-language content provider in the US. Spanning the usual movies, series, and telenovelas, the ViX library also boasts live TV, news, and sports programs. The latter, in particular, comes as a strong suit since the streamer covers events in conjunction with TUDN, Univision’s sports arm, as well as hosts football events in many parts of South America. The free-to-watch service also has an on-demand section, meaning you can easily search for a title you want to watch instead of scrolling from the multiple channels available. Vix also has premium tiers that range from $5-$7/month if you want to get rid of the ads.

RetroCrush is a free streaming platform fully dedicated to vintage anime. If you’re a hardcore fan in desperate search of a discontinued series, a 90s classic, or an obscure show that practically no one has heard of, chances are you’ll find all of what you’re looking for and more in this treasure trove of a platform. RetroCrush gives you access to a number of shows without charge, but if you want to stream even more titles ad-free, you can opt to sign up for a premium account that costs $4.99 a month, with a free 14-day-trial.

B/R Live is Turner Sports’ entry into the ever-expanding live and on-demand video market. Made specifically for sports fans, the streaming service provides both free and premium content depending on the plan you choose. B/R Live offers select shows without charge, such as their All Elite Wrestling and ONE Championship programming, but for $9.99 you can access all the service has to offer. For an extra, pay-per-view charge, you can also view exclusive NBA coverages.

Stremium compiles all fast channels, cable channels, and your personal media library into one cloud so you can access all your media content from one place. It records directly off streaming services, so you never miss your favorite shows. Stremium offers a free plan as well as a monthly and yearly subscription. This is for viewers who don’t want to jump from app to app to watch movies and tv series, and for those who prefer to have everything organized in one place. This service was launched in 2018.

Stirr is an American ad-supported streaming service owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group. It was launched in 2019. Not only is it free, but it provides access to live local news, 120+ TV shows, and 8,000+ hours of on-demand movies. This service is for viewers who don’t want to commit to a cable fee and don’t mind intermittent ads when watching their favorite movies and shows.

Revry is a streaming service for LGBTQ+ content. It offers a free selection, consisting especially of four “channels” that play their content back to back: Revry One, Revry Her, Revry News, Revry Latinx, and Revry Brasil. They also have a premium subscription that allows you to access more on-demand movies and shows.

KocowaTV is a streaming service for K-dramas and Korean content in general. Once a new TV episode airs in Korea, you can get it in as little as 12 hours – the time it usually takes for translation and subtitling. It has free and paid plans (a subscription costs $7/month) but non-paid users do complain quite a bit about the ads. If that’s something that doesn’t bother you, however, this is a good way to access a variety of Korean content.

Originally founded in 2002, Shout Factory is a long-standing leader in independent film and television distribution. They have recently started a streaming service called ShoutFactory that streams their content as well as some live channels (for the most part, lineups of their series that play on repeat) but it does have a lot of classics in both the indie and blockbuster department. The streaming service is mostly free, but a paid subscription of $3.99/month unlocks even more content and removes those pesky ads.

Popcornflix is an online streaming service that offers movies and TV shows to watch for free. The unique thing about it is that it offers originals from film schools and some web series they produced themselves.

Similar to Xumo or Pluto TV, KlowdTV is a streaming service that offers users a free way to watch Live TV. The selection is limited to news channels like France24 and right-wing channels, but you can pay a monthly or yearly fee to get even more channels.

Sling TV is a paid cord-cutting service usually costing anywhere between $35 and $50/month. However, they also have a free tier, which allows you to watch live channels like CBS News and on-demand movies and shows for free.

With people overwhelmed by the onslaught of mammoth streaming services, companies like Xumo are having a moment. A free, ad-supported hub for both live and on-demand content, Xumo is gaining ground in the streaming landscape.

Pluto TV is a modern take on traditional cable: it has hundreds of channels streaming live, a huge library of on-demand content, and it’s supported by ads. But the key difference from the competition? It’s totally free.

Crunchyroll is a video-on-demand streaming service that specializes in all things anime. It’s also recently absorbed a competitor, FUNIMATION, offering an even bigger catalog. You can opt for either a free ad-supported plan or subscribe to one of its paid tiers, which starts at $9.99. These tiers remove ads out of the picture and feature episodes that are simulcast from Japan. for the longest time, you could try these plans free for 14 days, but it’s since shortened that trial period to 7 days. You can access Crunchyroll via a web browser or app, the latter of which is available on all major streaming devices.