The Best Streaming Platforms for Documentaries

Discovery+ is a streaming service from the famous mass media company that has an ad-supported plan for $4.99 a month and an ad-free plan for $8.99. This includes content from Discovery, TLC, Animal Planet, Food Network, HGTV, ID, A&E, History, Lifetime, OWN, Travel, Science Network, and The Dodo. But beware, you cannot stream these channels live with a Discovery+, you can only watch their TV shows in playback.

If you have an existing DirecTV subscription, or if you're considering getting one, you might have heard of the DirecTV + Max bundle. It exists because Max, a premium service that's home to TV series like Game of Thrones and Succession and film franchises like the DC Cinematic Universe and Harry Potter, doesn't come pre-installed in most DirecTV packages, except in its $155 Premier plan. With this bundle, however, you're free to choose from any of DirecTV's plans, which begin at $89.99/month, and bundle in Max for free for the first three months. After that, you're automatically charged the usual ad-free price, which is $15.99/month. The bundle also gives you access to HBO channels, which will be added to your current lineup, and to the Max app, which you can sign into using your DirecTV credentials. Considering Max itself doesn't offer free trials, subscribing to this bundle could save you a considerable amount.

When it comes to streaming, DirecTV has one of the most comprehensive sports bundles out there. Not only does it cover the essential live channels like NFL Redzone, NBA TV, and MLB Network, it also has over 30 out-of-market RSNs and multiple channels that cover specialty sports and top collegiate teams. The bundle itself costs $15/month, but needless to say, you need to be subscribed to one of DirecTV's packages, which start at $89.99/month, to purchase it. Do note that some of DirecTV's base packages already include some of the channels in this sports bundle, so make sure you double-check the channel lineup below to avoid too many overlaps.

With the DirecTV & Paramount+ with Showtime bundle, you get both Paramount+ and Showtime originals (including current fan favorites Yellowjackets and Star Trek) and local CBS channels added to your DirecTV package of choice. You also get access to Showtime's roster of live sporting events, which cover boxing, MMA, and football, to name a few. Once you purchase the bundle, DirecTV automatically adds the bundle to your channel lineup and allows you to use your DirecTV credentials to log in to the Paramount+ with Showtime app. DirecTV likes to vary the discounts, but at the moment, it offers the bundle 50% off for 3 months, which means you only have to pay $6.99/month on top of your base DirecTV package (the most basic goes for $89.99/month at the moment) until the deal expires. After that, DirecTV automatically charges you the regular price of $11.99/month.

If you're subscribed to DirecTV's satellite or internet plans, you can choose to rent and buy from the platform's wide library of titles. Here, you'll find the latest blockbusters, indies, cult favorites, and even beloved TV shows and previous hits that might be difficult to view elsewhere. Prices can range from $3 to $20 per title, but that will depend on its popularity and how recently it was released. You're free to watch them on the go via the DirecTV app, but do note that you can't transact on the app itself. And while concurrent streams for purchases (which are yours for as long as you remain a DirecTV customer) are limited to three devices, the limit for rented titles is two. 

Dekkoo caters to the queer community and offers exclusively gay content. Their website claims to provide access to the largest selection of gay entertainment offered anywhere. Dekkoo has a 3-day free trial, then charges $9.99/month. If you’re craving more queer in your life and love gay films and TV series, then this service is for you. Dekkoo was launched in 2015 by Derek Curl and Brian Sokel.

DAZN, which somehow means "The Zone" (where did the "O" go?), is a sports-focused Live TV service and one of the fastest-rising streaming platforms out there. You pay $20 each month to access a host of live sporting events, including boxing, MMA, soccer, tennis, and chess, as well as various sports-relate shows, documentaries, and interviews. For extra special matches, DAZN also offers pay-per-view, which can range from $20-$40. DAZN is compatible with most streaming devices, and it's available in many countries outside the US.

High quality programming: Not only are the movies curated by high-quality independent movie festivals, the films on the portal are also selected based on demanding selection criteria. Filmmaking community: DAFilms.com invites indie directors, producers, distributors, and students to submit movies online and offers them a unique distribution channel, as well as paying makers more than 60% of revenue earned via the platform.

Curzon Home Media is an internet streamer that provides access to films through rentals. It releases many of its films on the same date they are available to watch in cinemas, so you can rest assured its selection is fresh. Currently, the video-on-demand service is limited to the UK and Ireland, so if you're in the area looking for a regularly updated library that also happens to contain quality art-house, foreign, and lesser-known films, then this is for you. Curzon Home Media, launched in 2010, is owned and operated by the London-based Curzon World Group.

Cultpix is a streaming subscription service made especially for genre fans. Not only does it cover the entire gamut of old, weird, and beloved cinema (it has everything from horror, sci-fi, erotica, martial arts, and fantasy from before the '90s), it also collects such titles from all around the world, giving it a unique global edge over the many other cult streaming services out there. Japanese Kaij, Danish erotica, Italian Westerns—you name it, Cultpix most likely has it. And just to prove its perverse sense of humor, a subscription to Cultpix costs $6.66/month.

If you purchase Cricket Wireless' unlimited phone plan, you get a free account with Max bundled in. Through Max's ad-supported plan, you can watch countless HBO shows, Warner Brothers movies, and Discovery documentaries on your phone, and you can also create up to 5 profiles and simultaneously stream on 3 different devices (including a smart TV). This bundle is only available on Cricket's most expensive unlimited phone plan, which costs $60, but along with Max, it also comes with 15 GB mobile hotspot, 150 GB cloud storage, unlimited texts to select countries, and coverage extending to Mexico and Canada. It's a fair price and one of the few phone-streaming bundles available now that AT&T has discontinued its Max bundles.

Crave is a Canadian subscription service founded in 2014 that gives users exclusive access to US titles and theater releases, as well as original shows, live content, and Canada-only movies and series. In particular, the service has a deal with studios Warner Bros. and Paramount, and with channels HBO, HBO Max, Showtime, Comedy Central, and MTV, so you can be sure to find the most in-demand releases on the service. Crave plans start at $9.99/month for single users, while the premium package costs $19.99/month.

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.

CNBC+ is a business-centered streaming service that serves as an extension of the Comcast cable channel. Despite the "plus" on its name, it doesn't offer exclusive programs or new content. Instead, it gives users access to additional live feeds from its news stations in Asia and Europe, making it more global than ever. You can also download it on almost all devices, so you can stream programs like Mad Money and Sqwak Box on the go. A subscription is currently priced at a hefty $14.99/month, while a premium tier that claims to offer advanced market insight and investment tips is priced at $34.99/month.

Classix is a treasure trove of vintage titles; from film noir and screwball comedies to westerns and cartoons, it's all here. The service is completely free of charge, a true haven for classic fans, but for a one-time, in-app charge of $7.99 (no renewal fee), users can get access to even more titles, including full seasons of shows like Bonanza and The Pink Panther. At the moment, the streaming service is only available on Apple devices via the App Store.

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.

The cable channel Cinemax used to be available as a standalone service but has since become an add-on to major streaming services. Signing up for Cinemax costs $5.99 a month as a Hulu add-on, with a seven-day free trial. You can also get it as an add-on package for $9.99 a month on Amazon Prime. Cinemax can be accessed via a full range of services including Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Fire TV, Roku, Xbox One and is compatible across devices Apple and PC computers, and Android and Apple phones and tablets.

If you have a taste for Black-oriented films, particularly those made in the late 20th century featuring funky settings and action sequences, then Brown Sugar just might be for you. The streaming subscription service mainly curates titles from the so-called Blaxploitation era, while also offering newer content such as a documentary about Beyoncé and a movie starring Denzel Washington. It has a wide array of titles thoughtfully dedicated to those who appreciate this kind of content, and at only $3.99 a month, it's a niche service seriously worth considering. 

BroadwayHD is a streaming service that offers users the ability to watch live and recorded theater productions from the comfort of their own homes. The company was founded in 2015 by Stewart F. Lane and Bonnie Comley, two Tony Award-winning producers, and is headquartered in New York City. It has a vast on-demand catalog of productions that includes favorites like Cats, Phantom of the Opera, Into the Woods, and more. Broadway HD is also available as an Amazon Prime add-on, which you can try free for 7 days (and subscribe for cheaper too).

BFI Player Classics is a subscription service that makes the best of British cinema available to users around the world. These films are, according to the site, "widely loved and rarely seen,"  handpicked by the British Film Institute itself. They are carefully curated into collections that you can pick and choose based on your mood or interest. The streamer may not have the most extensive titles, only carrying a little more than 300 at a time, but it's sure to have some of the highest quality libraries out there, perfect for cinephiles and Anglophiles alike. As of this writing, BFI Player Classics also offers a 14-day free trial, after which you're charged $5.99/month.

BET+, or Black Entertainment Television plus, is a streaming service created for and by the African-American community. It celebrates the culture by bringing forth an endless and varied library of movies and TV shows, many of which are co-produced by the all-around entertainer himself, Tyler Perry. Aside from Black-led '90s sitcoms and mainstream films, the streamer also features titles from other Viacom channels such as Comedy Central and VH1. An ad-supported plan costs $5.99/month, while an ad-free plan costs $9.99/month.

BBC Select is a streaming service dedicated specifically to all things culture, politics, and ideas. It houses the best of the BBC's non-fiction content—namely, widely-acclaimed documentaries and docuseries—but it also occasionally sources titles from other channels, like the UK's Channel 4. While it can seem like BBC Select is competing with Acorn TV and BritBox, which are the go-to UK channels in North America, it's actually closer to the likes of CuriosityStream and Discovery Plus in its specialization of documentaries. The only downside is there are currently only three ways to watch BBC Select: through Apple TV, Amazon Prime Channels, or The Roku Channel.

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.

Arrow is a streaming service for cult cinema, with a particular focus on horror and classics. If you love niche films and hidden gems, then this is for you. You'll also appreciate Arrow Player if you're into hand-picked content as it boasts a highly curated and carefully refined selection of titles. Quentin Tarantino has recommended the service a few times!

If you use the online platform +play, which is available exclusively and for free to Verizon users, you're eligible for a 6-month ad-free AMC+ subscription at no additional cost. This gives you access to AMC titles past and present (including Mad Men, Happy Valley, Better Call Saul, The Walking Dead, and all its spin-offs), as well as Sundance, Shudder, and IFC properties. You can also watch up to six live channels, including AMC, BBC America, IFC, and Sundance TV. This Verizon bundle is available until the end of the year, after which, you're charged the regular price of $9/month ($5/month if with ads) unless canceled. The deal is only available to new AMC+ subscribers. Prices of eligible Verizon plans start at $30/month.

The Amazon Prime Video and Paramount+ Bundle is for those looking to boost their streaming subscription with even more original shows, popular films, and live broadcasts of news and sports. Under the Paramount tent, you get ongoing franchises like Star Trek and Yellowstone, kids' TV shows like Spongebob Squarepants and Dora the Explorer, and blockbusters like Top Gun and Everything, Everywhere, All at Once—not to mention local CBS stations that stream news, sports, and other live events. And now that Paramount+ has merged with Showtime, you also get the latter network's enviable lineup of documentaries, series, and sporting coverages. Since the merger is fairly new, Amazon Prime will occasionally offer the bundle at discounted rates, but generally, it still costs a total of $22.98/month ($11.99 for Amazon Prime, $7.99 for Paramount+). That's not a bad deal for a bundle packed with popular movies, original shows, and live TV (albeit with ads).

Amazon Prime Video has nearly 100 channels you can stack onto your subscription, and their specialties range from news to sports to education. But if it's pure entertainment you're after, then the Starz and MGM+ bundle might be of interest to you. The entire bundle costs $26.98/month, saving you about $3/month versus getting each of them separately. Amazon Prime already has a constantly replenished trove of originals, but Starz adds even more comedies, like Party Down and P-Valley, while MGM+ (formerly Epix) adds slick dramas like Godfather of Harlem, FROM, and A Spy Among Friends. It's a bundle made for serial TV fanatics.

The Amazon Prime Video and Max bundle combines Prime's constant stream of originals with Max's vast array of programming (it has everything from HBO and TCM to Discovery and the Cartoon Network), making it an irresistible offering for true-blue TV fans. Conveniently, the bundle also allows you to pay for everything under one bill via the Amazon platform. As of the moment, you can only bundle Max's cheapest tier with Amazon Prime, which is the ad-supported $9.99/month plan. It may be riddled with ads, but it's a reasonable trade-off for getting Max's wide-ranging properties.

Documentary lovers will find much to like in the Prime Video and CuriosityStream bundle, which allows you to pay for both under one billing. Though Amazon Prime and CuriosityStream prices remain the same, the bundle allows you to try both services on a free trial basis (Prime for 30 days, CuriosityStream for 7 days). So if you're looking to access global documentaries on the Prime platform for a steal, then this package is certainly worth giving a look at.

Following a multi-year deal signed by both parties, Amazon Prime is now the exclusive home of PBS Kids and all the entertaining and educational shows it carries. This bundle allows you to pay for Prime and PBS content under one bill while giving you all the useful perks of the former platform, namely, parental control and offline downloads so you can supervise what your kid watches and have episodes ready on the go. It's the perfect bundle if you're looking to have both mature content for the adults and appropriate shows for the young ones.