The Best Streaming Platforms for Documentaries

Documentaries, second only to horror, are a divisive genre: people either love and watch non-fiction, or completely avoid it. 

If you are in the first group, you probably wonder which of the most popular streaming services has the best offering for you. So here, we have ranked the most popular streaming services by which ones have the most documentary movies. 

The Sling Lifestyle extra includes reality TV and lifestyle channels like We TV, DIY Network, VH1, and the Cooking Channel. When you add this extra to the Orange Plan, your total subscription will cost $41 (unless you choose to get other extras).

Price: $41/month

Device availability: AirTV, Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS, LG TV, Roku, Samsung TV, Xbox

Channel lineup: Cooking Channel, DIY, FYI, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Drama, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, LMN, VH1, WE tv

Channel lineup with Sling Blue ($40 / month) : A&E, AMC, AXS TV, BBC America, BET, Bloomberg Television, Bravo, Cartoon Network, Cheddar, Cheddar Big News, CNN, Comedy Central, EPIX Drive-In, Food Network, Fox News, Fuse, FX, HGTV, History, HLN, IFC, Lifetime, MSNBC, National Geographic, NBC, NBC Sports Network, Newsy, NFL Network, Nick Jr., SYFY, TBS, TNT, Travel Channel, Tribeca Shortlist, truTV, USA, Viceland

Channel lineup with Sling Orange ($40 / month) : A&E, AMC, AXS TV, BBC America, Bloomberg Television, Cartoon Network, Cheddar, Cheddar Big News, CNN, Comedy Central, Disney Channel, EPIX Drive-In, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, Food Network, Freeform, Fuse, HGTV, History, IFC, Lifetime, Newsy, TBS, TNT, Travel Channel, Tribeca Shortlist, Viceland

Adding the Kids Extra to a Sling package means you will have great options for the little ones while keeping access to the channels you like to watch. 

Price: $6/month

Device availability: AirTV, Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS, LG TV, Roku, Samsung TV, Xbox

Channel lineup with Sling Blue ($40 / month) : A&E, AMC, AXS TV, BBC America, BET, Bloomberg Television, Bravo, Cartoon Network, Cheddar, Cheddar Big News, CNN, Comedy Central, EPIX Drive-In, Food Network, Fox News, Fuse, FX, HGTV, History, HLN, IFC, Lifetime, MSNBC, National Geographic, NBC, NBC Sports Network, Newsy, NFL Network, Nick Jr., SYFY, TBS, TNT, Travel Channel, Tribeca Shortlist, truTV, USA, Viceland

Channel lineup with Sling Orange ($40 / month) : A&E, AMC, AXS TV, BBC America, Bloomberg Television, Cartoon Network, Cheddar, Cheddar Big News, CNN, Comedy Central, Disney Channel, EPIX Drive-In, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, Food Network, Freeform, Fuse, HGTV, History, IFC, Lifetime, Newsy, TBS, TNT, Travel Channel, Tribeca Shortlist, Viceland

If you're a Sling TV subscriber looking to fortify your channel line-up, you might want to consider the Hollywood extra package—perfect if you're a movie fan and lover. It has eight channels dedicated to cinema, including SundanceTV (a treasure trove of indie gems) and Turner Classic Movies (endless classics for history film buffs). Sling Blue subscribers also get two additional channels: FXX and the FX Movie Channel, which are both subsidiaries of the Walt Disney company. Both libraries include films from 20th Century Studios, Twentieth Century Pictures, and Fox Film.

Price: $6/month

Device availability: AirTV, Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS, LG TV, Roku, Samsung TV, Xbox

Channel lineup: Cinemoi, FXM, FXX, GRIT, Heroes & Icons, REELZ, Start TV, SundanceTV, TCM, Turner Classic Movies

Channel lineup with Sling Blue ($40 / month) : A&E, AMC, AXS TV, BBC America, BET, Bloomberg Television, Bravo, Cartoon Network, Cheddar, Cheddar Big News, CNN, Comedy Central, EPIX Drive-In, Food Network, Fox News, Fuse, FX, HGTV, History, HLN, IFC, Lifetime, MSNBC, National Geographic, NBC, NBC Sports Network, Newsy, NFL Network, Nick Jr., SYFY, TBS, TNT, Travel Channel, Tribeca Shortlist, truTV, USA, Viceland

Channel lineup with Sling Orange ($40 / month) : A&E, AMC, AXS TV, BBC America, Bloomberg Television, Cartoon Network, Cheddar, Cheddar Big News, CNN, Comedy Central, Disney Channel, EPIX Drive-In, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, Food Network, Freeform, Fuse, HGTV, History, IFC, Lifetime, Newsy, TBS, TNT, Travel Channel, Tribeca Shortlist, Viceland

When you add the Comedy Extra to one of Sling's plans, you make sure that you get your comedy channels on top of many basics. 

Price: $6/month

Device availability: AirTV, Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS, LG TV, Roku, Samsung TV, Xbox

Channel lineup with Sling Blue ($40 / month) : A&E, AMC, AXS TV, BBC America, BET, Bloomberg Television, Bravo, Cartoon Network, Cheddar, Cheddar Big News, CNN, Comedy Central, EPIX Drive-In, Food Network, Fox News, Fuse, FX, HGTV, History, HLN, IFC, Lifetime, MSNBC, National Geographic, NBC, NBC Sports Network, Newsy, NFL Network, Nick Jr., SYFY, TBS, TNT, Travel Channel, Tribeca Shortlist, truTV, USA, Viceland

Channel lineup with Sling Orange ($40 / month) : A&E, AMC, AXS TV, BBC America, Bloomberg Television, Cartoon Network, Cheddar, Cheddar Big News, CNN, Comedy Central, Disney Channel, EPIX Drive-In, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, Food Network, Freeform, Fuse, HGTV, History, IFC, Lifetime, Newsy, TBS, TNT, Travel Channel, Tribeca Shortlist, Viceland

Frndly TV offers more than 40 live TV channels, including Hallmark, Lifetime, and A&E for a friendly price of only $6.99. If you’re just looking to cut the cord and reduce expenses, Frndly TV is where you get the bang for your buck.

Price: $6.99/month

Free Trial: 7 days

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

Channel lineup: A&E, AccuWeather, BabyFirst, BYUtv, Circle, Crime-Investigation, Curiosity Channel, DECADES, Dove Channel, Dove Family Movies, Dove Kids, FETV, FMC, FYI, Game Show Netowrk, GetTV, Great American Family, Great American Living, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Drama, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, Heartland TV, Heroes & Icons, History, INSP, Justice Central TV, Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network, Local Now, MeTV, Military HISTORY, Outdoor Channel, Pixel, QVC, Recipe.TV, Sportsman Channel, Start TV, Story Television, The History Channel, The Weather Channel, UPtv, Vice, World Fishing Network

Apple TV+ is an ad-free on-demand stream from Apple that costs $9.99 per month and is accessible in about 150 countries. The Apple TV+ app is accessible via Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, Apple TV or Mac) and Apple TV. While Android phones and tablets are not supported, you can access Apple TV+ via Android-powered TV devices like Chromecast. It can be accessed via web browser and supported by PC, as well as Roku devices, Amazon Fire TV devices, PlayStation, and Xbox.

Price: $9.99/month

Free Trial: 7 days

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, iOS, Roku TV, Samsung TV

Starz is a cable TV network in the US with an on-demand streaming service of the same name. Currently, Starz on-demand has a monthly price of $9.99 with a 7-day free trial, which includes cable television channels as well as access to the video on-demand service.

Starz is available as an add-on channel to Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, and Roku platform. For a similar subscription price, you can also access Starz as an add-on via a variety of online streaming services including YouTube TV and Hulu Plus Live TV, among others.

Alternatively, the Starz on-demand app is available for Android, iOS and most other mobile devices.

Price: $9.99/month

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, iOS, LG TV, Roku, Samsung TV, Xbox

Funimation is a video-on-demand streaming service that specializes in anime and is available in the US. 

You can access Funimation via web browser (www.funimation.com), while the Funimation app is also available on all major platforms, mobile devices including Android and iOS, and media streaming devices including Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV Chromecast, and Android TV, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Price: $5.99/month

Free Trial: 14 days

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, iOS, LG TV, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Roku, Samsung TV, Xbox

When you buy the Disney+ bundle, you get a little bit for everyone in the family: Disney originals for the kids, Hulu for the adults (cult series, comedies, and so much more), and then ESPN+ for the sports fans in the family. It's an interesting package to have either alone or on top of, for example, one more streaming service such as Netflix. The basic bundle trio includes ads, but you remove them when you switch to the premium version of this bundle.

Price: $12.99/month

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Apple TV, iOS, PlayStation, Roku, Xbox

Sling's "Orange" plan will get you channels like ESPN and Freeform, while the"Blue" plan will get you channels like TBS and Lifetime. If you get the "AMC+ extra", you sign yourself up for one of the most cost-efficient bundles of the cord-cutting era. For $7, you will get AMC+ (which costs $6.99 as a standalone service), plus Shudder ($4.95 standalone), plus Sundance Now ($6.99 standalone), plus IFC Films Unlimited ($5.99)

Name a better bundle deal. I'll wait.

Price: $42/month

Device availability: AirTV, Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Cox, iOS, LG TV, Mi Box, Roku, Samsung TV, TiVo, Vizio, Windows 10, Windows 11, Xbox, Xbox One

Channel lineup: Sling Blue or Sling Orange channels

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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.