The Best Free Streaming Services of 2023

WatchMojo

Imagine Netflix, but free. Welcome to WatchMojo and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 best streaming services that are absolutely free to use.

Transcript

00:00 Welcome to WatchMojo and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 best streaming

00:09 services that are absolutely free to use.

00:17 We're kicking things off in the library.

00:19 Well, sort of.

00:20 That's because Kanopy is free to use for those who currently own a library card, or

00:24 to attend college or university, with much of its programming geared towards education.

00:34 Kanopy has lots of informative PBS, HBO and Paramount content, but it also has some straight-up

00:39 classic and current movies on tap too, including an excellent Kanopy Kids collection.

00:44 This ad-free streaming app is available across a wide variety of platforms, including Android,

00:48 Apple TV, Fire TV and Roku, and it supports an unlimited number of simultaneous users per

00:53 account.

00:54 Simple, easy, what's not to love?

01:00 Another library card-to-ride service, Hoopla has a similar offering to Kanopy, with tons

01:05 of academic content, and lots of general TV and movies as well.

01:12 Like Kanopy, Hoopla is somewhat hit and miss when it comes to popular shows, with many

01:15 series having partial availability on the platform.

01:18 So are Hoopla and Kanopy basically the same thing?

01:21 Well, not quite.

01:22 Although they both follow near-identical access requirements, Hoopla allows you to download

01:27 content and watch it offline on your laptop or mobile device, something Kanopy doesn't.

01:37 If you're looking to ditch your cable TV but still want to have a wide selection of

01:40 TV shows at your fingertips, Sling is definitely worth a look.

01:47 Although Sling has an extremely comprehensive premium service, its free stream offering

01:51 is still mighty impressive, with a wide variety of classic TV shows on demand, as well as

01:55 live stream news, sports and kids content.

01:58 We're talking 335 live channels and 41,000 on-demand titles.

02:03 And you don't even have to create an account, maybe you don't want to?

02:06 Yes, you do have to put up with ads, but aside from that, you'll likely feel like you've

02:10 found a loophole in the system with this one, like you've hired your own personal cable

02:14 guy to hook you up.

02:22 The free content on this streaming service is far from all-encompassing, like Sling,

02:25 but it offers up a great catalogue of TV shows, and especially movies, for you to dip into.

02:30 Much like other free services, Voodoo has a lot of pay-to-view titles, but there's

02:33 loads of free ad-supported ones as well, with everything from La La Land to Starship Troopers.

02:41 You won't get any brand new releases for free, and you might have to do a bit of dumpster

02:45 diving to find some of the classic titles, but that does come with the free-to-watch

02:48 territory.

02:49 We're big fans of Voodoo's interface too, with easy-to-read at-a-glance menus.

02:57 Plex sits in somewhat of a grey area in the streaming world.

02:59 Some might just associate the platform with hosting content they already have access to,

03:03 legal or otherwise.

03:06 While Plex is still a flexible hosting platform, it's also started to move quite rapidly

03:10 into what we would consider standard streaming.

03:12 Thanks to a partnership with Crackle - more on that streaming service later - it has added

03:16 thousands of popular film and TV titles from the likes of Warner Bros and MGM to its catalogue.

03:21 Like we said, it's not as straightforward a set-up as Netflix or Disney+, but if you've

03:24 got a technological mouse, it can be so much more.

03:52 As always, keep in mind that if you do subscribe through one of the links below, it won't

03:55 cost you any more, but we might earn a small commission as a result.

03:58 Which helps us make more videos like this, so thank you in advance.

04:02 Anyway, back to the video, and this next streaming service is on another planet.

04:08 Similar to Sling, Pluto is an amazing alternative to traditional cable TV, being particularly

04:12 impressive when it comes to its live TV selection.

04:15 You even get a familiar cable TV-like grid view to browse your live shows on.

04:19 Pluto's backlog of movie and TV titles is fairly niche and retro, which would be great

04:30 for some and not so much for others, but they still help add a nice rounded package to a

04:34 fairly solid free streaming service.

04:36 Pluto is littered with ads, although no more than regular cable.

04:39 And while we wish there were more traditional cable TV channels available on here, it's

04:43 still well worth a look if you're wanting to save money on your TV bill.

04:52 If you're after original shows with big actors that nobody's ever heard about, then

04:56 you'll probably like Crackle.

05:02 This streaming service is one of the only free ones that does its own original programming,

05:06 and while those titles may be rather niche, they still present a unique package that's

05:09 absolutely free.

05:10 Crackle doesn't require you to sign up either, and while it has face criticism for

05:13 its heavy ad content and somewhat lacklustre TV title selection, its movie library is impressive.

05:19 So too is the reliability of its streaming performance, something that can be a bit hit

05:23 and miss with free platforms.

05:30 This streaming service is almost a perfect combination of every single one we've mentioned

05:33 so far.

05:34 It's got great movies and TV shows, 300 live channels, original programming and a

05:38 killer user-friendly interface.

05:40 Perhaps its biggest quirk, however, is that it streams first episodes of big title TV

05:44 shows like "Game of Thrones" and "Billions", so you can sample them and see whether you

05:48 want to explore them further on other platforms.

05:50 Roku originals are getting added more and more, so it's definitely a service to keep

05:53 an eye on.

05:54 And don't worry, this free service isn't just available on Roku devices.

05:57 You can also access it on Android and Apple phones and tablets, and also on your web browser.

06:08 Right off the bat, we'll say that 2B doesn't have super recent TV and movie titles, but

06:13 regardless, this is a platform that doesn't feel cheap and free.

06:16 It arguably feels right up there with Netflix, with a gigantic library and a slick interface.

06:20 2B has partnered with over 250 popular providers, from MGM to Paramount, to concoct a frankly

06:26 awesome catalogue of entertainment.

06:28 2B also has some solid live TV capabilities too.

06:31 But the main reason we like 2B is because it feels familiar, like a regular subscription-based

06:36 streaming service, but it's free.

06:38 It's also constantly updated with new titles to keep you entertained.

06:51 You have the option to be notified for occasional videos, or all of them.

06:54 If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.

07:03 While 3V may not be as traditional as 2B in terms of its interface and feel, 3V gets our

07:08 vote for the top spot on this list for two very important reasons.

07:11 One, it has lots of recent titles, and two, it has its own original programming.

07:16 3V is Amazon's free alternative to its subscription-based Prime Video service, and it was formerly known

07:21 as IMDbTV, a big reason its catalogue is so impressive.

07:27 3V has a colossal library, live TV channels, and is available on pretty much any device.

07:33 Its movie line-up is where it really trumps competitors though, and it really is one of

07:37 those "I can't believe I'm not paying for this" kind of platforms.

07:46 So have you used any of the free streaming platforms we just mentioned?

07:49 If so, let us know what you think about them in the comments below, and don't forget

07:52 to browse the links in the description.

08:04 Thanks for watching.

08:15 (upbeat music)

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended