The appeal of a streaming service was that it had everything you wanted to watch in a location, so you didn’t have to worry about about pricey cable and channel bundles. But as more companies opt for their own service, it seems like we’ve pretty much come full circle. And it doesn’t help that live TV streaming services like ESPN, YouTube TV and Fubo have raised their prices.
Thankfully, there are still plenty of services out there that can help keep you entertained without spending a dime. Here are 10 services that offer totally free, totally legal movies you can watch on smart TVs, media streamers and mobile devices. Some offer TV shows as well. Just be ready to sit through some commercials before streaming movies, because that’s how most of these services pay the bills. And don’t expect the option to download free movies for offline viewing. At present, only Hoopla allows you to do that.
Take note: Because selections change regularly, not all the titles listed here may still be available, but we’ll try to keep it up to date.
Read more: The Best Live Streaming Services for Cord-Cutters for 2022
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10 best free movie and TV streaming services
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Crackle
Sony Crackle is an ad-supported streaming service, one that offers both movies and TV shows — including some original content and web series. It’s available on a wide variety of devices and doesn’t even require you to set up an account to watch free movies online, though doing so enables you to save favorites, get recommendations and resume playback if you switch between devices.
Top picks: The Wailing, Coherence
IMDb
This streaming service, formerly known as FreeDrive, is part of IMDb, the Internet Movie Database, which is owned by Amazon. In other words, IMDb TV is Amazon’s way of offering ad-supported movie streaming independent of Amazon Prime. And IMDb TV isn’t limited to movies; there are TV episodes available as well. Unfortunately, there’s a viewing limitation: The IMDb TV service can be accessed only on PCs and within Prime Video and IMDb apps.
Top picks: Nightcrawler, Napoleon Dynamite, Lost in Translation (and shout-outs for TV series Lost and Mad Men)
Hoopla
Got a library card? Check to see if your library has partnered with Hoopla. This digital-media service allows you to check out all kinds of stuff — including movies. When you “borrow” one, you have 72 hours in which to watch it. Your library determines the total number of movies you can borrow each month.
Surprisingly, Hoopla’s mobile apps offer not only streaming, but also a download option for offline viewing.
Top picks: Ex Machina, Raising Arizona and What We Do in the Shadows
Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET
The Internet Archive is home to all things public domain, including thousands of feature-length movies. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there’s no cost to use the service, nor do you need an account (though you can create one if you want to mark favorites and such).
“Public domain” is code for “old” or “mostly black-and-white,” making this the place for folks interested strictly in classic movies. Thus you’ll find the likes of His Girl Friday, Plan 9 from Outer Space and Gulliver’s Travels. The archive exists only on the web, though, so you’ll need a browser to access it. (Most mobile browsers should work.)
Kanopy
If your library doesn’t offer Hoopla, maybe it has Kanopy? This commercial-free (yay!) service, which began life in Australia, has made its way to thousands of college campuses worldwide and, more recently, various US libraries. Check the website to see if your library has it — and ask for it if it doesn’t.
Kanopy offers some mainstream stuff, but also a large selection of indie films and documentaries from the likes of PBS and The Great Courses. Its library also includes titles from the esteemed Criterion Collection, which is code for “films.” There’s also a new Kanopy Kids section with loads of family-friendly content.
Top picks: Memento, In the Mood for Love and Lady Bird
Rick Broida/CNET
A newcomer to this list, Peacock is NBC’s streaming service — and its free tier is surprisingly generous, offering not only the obvious (TV shows) but also some movies you won’t find anywhere else. You’ll have to endure commercial interruptions, of course, but there’s a countdown timer so you’ll know if there’s time to run to the bathroom.
Top picks: Casino, In Bruges, Jurassic Park, Love Actually, Zombieland
Pluto
Pluto began life as a live streaming service that offered multiple “channels” of content — including a large selection of CNET video. It has since been purchased by Viacom, which previously owned CNET. Although it seems to be expanding more into the live TV space, with a growing number of news and sports channels, it’s also home to plenty of on-demand free movies.
Top picks: Drive, The Way of the Dragon, The Terminator and Hot Rod
Roku
The Roku Channel isn’t exclusively a free movie provider, but also an aggregator of new and existing no-cost content. Thus, don’t be surprised if there’s some overlap with some of the free movies available on other services. You’ll find movies from Roku partners such as Lionsgate, MGM, Sony and Warner, along with free content from existing Roku channels such as FilmRise, Popcornflix and Vidmark.
Needless to say, the channel is available on Roku TVs and devices, but it’s accessible in desktop web browsers, on Amazon Fire TV streamers and in app form as well.
Top picks: Caddyshack, When Harry Met Sally and Halloween
Tubi
Home to thousands of free commercial movies (though definitely not commercial-free), Tubi TV’s streaming platform offers content from studios including Lionsgate, MGM and Paramount. To help separate the wheat from the chaff, check out these two categories: Highly Rated on Rotten Tomatoes and Not on Netflix.
Top picks: Fight Club, I Am Not Your Negro, Stalag 17
Vudu
Walmart’s Vudu video service has been consistently expanding its ad-supported section, which lets you choose from a generous selection of Hollywood movies (mostly older titles, alas) to watch at no charge. To watch free movies online, you’ll need a Vudu account, but it’s free to set one up.
Top picks: I had a hard time finding any, to be honest
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