Free Video Streaming Services to Help Save Cash During Coronavirus Isolation

For the foreseeable future, many people are practicing social distancing, which means that entertainment options are more limited. And with all of the uncertainty ahead, everyone is also looking to save money, so people may be reluctant to subscribe to (or continue paying for) streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and Disney+. We’ve compiled a list of our favorite free video streaming services available right now. Most of these free services work with a Web browser or a smart device that you probably already own (like a streaming media player or smart TV), so you can get free entertainment for yourself and your family without spending anything.

One thing we noticed when we were testing these services is that many of them offer the same streaming titles. Each service might say it offers thousands of movies, but when they all offer Memento, Carol, Donnie Darko, The Founder, Whale Rider, and The Boondock Saints, the number of unique titles available is actually quite low, so signing up for more services might not give you more variety. For children, we looked for services that had a dedicated children’s section, so kiddos could browse for titles on their own without needing extensive supervision (since many parents are also trying to work from home right now).

Also, remember that “free” comes with a different kind of cost—you’ll probably have to sit through a bunch of ads in order to watch your show, and in many cases you’ll end up watching the same ad six times in one movie (we explain the particulars, below).

Here are the services that we tried and recommend (with supported platforms noted), as well as some we think you can skip:

For everyone

Crackle: Crackle is a partner of Sony, so it offers a streaming selection that includes a number of Sony-owned titles. Lawrence of Arabia, Dr. Strangelove, Taxi Driver, and other classics are here (unlike on other free streaming services, which don’t have many of these). There’s a decent selection of TV shows, as well. You must watch an ad at the start of the program, plus two minutes of ads every 15 to 20 minutes while you’re viewing a program, just like with broadcast TV. There’s effectively nothing here for kids, though. Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, Android TV, Web browser, PlayStation, and more

Tubi: Tubi is neatly broken down into categories that make it easier to find content, and it offers some original content that you won’t find elsewhere. There is a separate kids’ portal with some classic content that parents might also enjoy (like G.I. Joe and Transformers from the 1980s), and ads run every 15 minutes or so. The TV-show selection for adults is lacking, so we don’t recommend Tubi for that. But its decent interface and selection of unique titles make this service worth checking out. As we were finishing this story, it was announced that Fox had purchased Tubi. Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, Android TV, Web browser

Roku Channel: Roku has a free streaming channel available on its devices or through a Web browser. You’ll see ads about every 15 minutes, and it has a lot of the same titles as the other guys, but it adds streaming TV stations like ABC News, NBC News, TMZ, and Fubo. It has a separate kids’ section that breaks down content by age group, and the interface makes it easy for kids to browse without needing much supervision. Roku, Web browser

Pluto TV: If you long for an authentic olden-days TV experience (a set amount of channels running content that you have to show up at a certain time to view), Pluto TV will re-create that for you. And it offers a lot of channels. Some are more mainstream (MTV, VH1, I Love Reality, TV Land, Fuse, CNN’s latest news, CBS’s latest news, Court TV); others are less so (Baywatch Channel, Addams Family Channel, and Classic Tunes, which was playing Flash Gordon when Lauren tuned in). Overall, Pluto TV is a good, cable-like supplement to free over-the-air TV content. Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, Web browser

IMDB TV: IMDB TV offers many of the same titles as the other services, but with a user interface that isn’t as easy to navigate. The TV-show selection is fairly dated, and you get ads about every 15 minutes or so when you’re watching something. Content for kids is limited, and there isn’t a dedicated kids’ portal. The one nice feature this service offers—since it is owned by Amazon—is the X-Ray feature, which puts information about the cast, scenes, and other trivia on the screen when you pause a movie or TV show. Available on most platforms as a row in the Amazon Prime Video app

Vudu: Vudu is primarily a rent or purchase video-on-demand platform, but it does offer some free streaming content. The selection is fairly small, and titles repeat themselves somewhat often across different categories. There are some animated films for kids, but no dedicated TV section (and the available TV content is the same stuff you can find through other platforms). Ads occur about every 15 minutes. Overall, we think it’s not worth seeking out Vudu. But if you already have the app installed on your media streamer or TV, you may as well take a look. Apple TV, Roku, Android TV, Fire TV, Web browser

HBO: HBO is offering some programming for free without a subscription for the month of April. You won’t find newer or continuing shows like Game of Thrones, Westworld, or Chernobyl, but the list includes Ballers, Barry, The Sopranos, Silicon Valley, Six Feet Under, Veep, Succession, The Wire, and True Blood. There are also some movies, like Crazy, Stupid, Love and Pokémon Detective Pikachu, as well as a handful of docuseries, including McMillion$ and The Case Against Adnan Syed. Apple TV, Roku, Android TV, Fire TV, Web browser

Integrated TV services: Many recent smart TVs come with some free services already built in. Vizio offers WatchFree, which is based on Pluto TV. LG has LG Channels, based on Xumo. And Samsung has Samsung TV Plus.

If you enjoy broadcast TV shows, ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox offer the most recent season of many of their shows online for free, with commercials. Episodes are usually available online via the network’s website a week after they broadcast (sometimes sooner), and they stay there until the next season starts. CBS All Access has also extended its free trial from seven days to 30 days if you want to watch Picard and other CBS shows that you may not find through other streaming services. Additionally, CBS and ABC offer live news streams via their apps, which are compatible with Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, and Android TV. CBS has both national and select local news options (in major cities), but ABC offers national news only.

Just for kids

PBS Kids: PBS Kids is a fantastic resource for preschool- to elementary-aged little ones. Supported by your local PBS station, this service asks you to create a login and confirm your location before you can use it, but once you’re set up, PBS Kids is filled with commercial-free, education-focused programming. [Update, 3/30/20: PBS has temporarily removed the need to create a login to watch the PBS Kids app.]

You can choose from select seasons of on-demand PBS shows like Sesame Street, Arthur, Esme & Roy, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, The Odd Squad, and Mister Rogers. Currently, there are 35 programs to choose from, each with about seven episodes available at any given time. The content occasionally rotates, which is both fantastic and sometimes challenging, if you have a kiddo who gets fixated on repeatedly watching a specific episode. In addition, you can use the app to watch your live local PBS broadcast, also consisting of commercial-free PBS kids’ programs (although they do run promos for other PBS shows and PSAs on the live channel).

The interface is very easy to use—so much so that our 4-year-old tester was able to navigate and find the exact episode he desired without any parental assistance. And since it’s all child-friendly content, we were happy to allow him to make his own choices. Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, Web browser

Amazon Prime for Kids: Amazon is now offering free access to some of its Prime programming for kids. You don’t need to be an Amazon Prime subscriber, but you will need to create an Amazon account to log in. Currently the lineup includes primarily Amazon’s own original programming for kids, plus a lot of PBS Kids content—but more options may be added over time. Available on most platforms in the Amazon Prime Video app, or via Web browser

If you have a local library card

Kanopy: Kanopy requires you to have a library card to set up access, and it’s one of the few that limits what you can watch. Chris’s library in Portland gave him access to six movies a month, but Lauren was given nine movies per month in Los Angeles. Some content, including children’s programming, is available for unlimited viewing. Kanopy has the most unique options of the different services, offering Criterion Collection titles, along with a better selection of new and classic movies. The selection for kids is also good and has its own section for them to browse. Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, Web browser

Hoopla: This library-card-accessible service has a trickier interface and more-limited content than Kanopy, but it does offer more educational programming (kids’ books made into videos, language learning videos, and documentaries). You’ll find some of the same movies as on other services, as well as random seasons of select Nickelodeon, BBC, and Comedy Central shows. If you’re looking for some home workouts, Hoopla has yoga, Jane Fonda, and Jillian Michaels routines on offer. In LA, Lauren had access to 15 rentals per month, but your library’s limits may differ. Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, Android TV, Web browser

Skip these

Xumo: Don’t bother with Xumo. It offers some free streaming TV channels like NBC News and such, but you can get these elsewhere. The movie selection is the worst of the bunch, with many C-grade titles you’ve never heard of and probably have no desire to see. There are some movies for kids, but they’re also bad—and there’s no kid-centric browsing mode to make it easy for them to watch. Roku, Android TV, Fire TV

Shout Factory TV: This service offers a limited number of B movies—old sci-fi, horror, and comedy—supplemented with original shows that discuss the genre. It’s the kind of niche, cult-esque fare that would appeal to your friend who is a fan of the movie UHF, Mystery Science Theater 3000 from the ’90s, The Weird Al Show, and Plympton shorts. If you’re really in the mood for Samurai Cop or Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2, this is your kind of content. Shout Factory TV claims to be ad-supported, but we didn’t encounter many ads during our viewing, so that appears to be limited at the moment. Families with young kids will want to take a hard pass. Roku, Apple TV, Web browser

Plex:Skip this one, unless you also want to stream your personal collection of digital movie/music/video files. Plex is a digital media storage company that also offers a limited amount of content for free, but the selection consists mostly of lackluster ’90s fare, Web series, and movies that you can find on the public-library-based apps. Plus, your viewing will be interrupted every 15 minutes or so by ads, with no regard to where you are in the film. Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, Web browser

Whatever you choose to watch, bear in mind that you’ll need Internet speeds that can handle video streaming. Part of that equation is your Internet plan. You may need to pay for a higher level of Internet service to handle the downloads each month. A single hour of streaming video can eat up 5 gigabytes of data, making a 250 GB data cap seem fairly small. So check your data plan to avoid unexpected charges for overages. Because of students studying at home during the pandemic, some ISPs, such as Cox, Xfinity, Charter, Altice, and Spectrum, are offering a lower cost or free months to families with students (K-12 and college) and those with lower incomes. If you’re using Wi-Fi, you’ll want to make sure your router is up to the challenge as well.

The other part of the equation is whether your service provider can handle the added strain of everyone working and streaming from home at the same time. Although many Internet companies are making policy changes in an attempt to avoid gaps and slowdowns in service, you may need to have some patience as these policy changes are rolled out.

Did we miss any good free services that you like to use? Let us know in the comments section.