Stream Your Favorite Shows with These Top Free Options Instead of Netflix

You don’t need a special streaming device to play free TV shows and movies. These services have mobile apps so you can start a show on your smartphone or tablet and cast the show to a smart TV. These are our 10 favorite free streaming apps that are easy to use, play on a variety of devices, and contain tons of viewing entertainment.

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Free and Paid Shows and Movies: Fandango at Home

What We Like

A dedicated Free section that’s easy to browse.
Not very many commercials.
Create custom playlists.

What We Don’t Like

Need a free Fandango at Home or Walmart account.
Some issues casting from mobile device to smart TV.
Commercials start in awkward places during a show.

Not everything on the Fandango at Home streaming service is free. Most of the movies and TV shows are available for rent. However, Fandango at Home’s free movies include thousands of comedies, indie films, TV classics, anime, kids’ shows, and special collections.

Watch Fandango at Home on your favorite device. Cast from Android, iOS, and Windows 10 devices to a smart TV. Use your Xbox or PlayStation game console. Or play on your Apple TV, Roku, or Chromecast streaming device.

Download For:

iOS

Android

Windows 10

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Watch Your Favorite Shows on Any Device: Pluto TV

What We Like

TV shows and movies in dozens of genres.
Easy to browse channels and movie listings.
Mobile apps cast to a smart TV.

What We Don’t Like

The app doesn’t have a search function.
Need an account to customize your experience.
Ads play multiple times.

When you want free movie streaming and free tv streaming that you can watch on any device and have a ton of options, check out Pluto TV.

Pluto TV offers live and on-demand TV shows and movies. You’ll find over 250 live TV channels that broadcast news stations, comedy shows, sports events, music videos, top TV series, sitcoms, horror shows, indie flicks, and action movies.

Pluto TV also has a large selection of family-friendly programming. There’s a dedicated family section, episodes from the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, and documentaries.

You may find Pluto TV on the list of TV and movie apps on available smart TVs and streaming devices. You can also watch Pluto TV in a web browser or on a laptop for multiple operating systems.

Download For:

iOS

Android

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Watch Live Network TV: NBC

What We Like

Plenty of categories to browse.
Offers a full lineup of shows.

What We Don’t Like

Movie pages don’t have descriptions.
Profile or TV provider required for some shows.

Many broadcast network TV stations also provide free TV streaming. Of these stations, NBC does it best. Along with current episodes of its lineup, NBC has recent movies that you won’t find on other streaming services.

NBC also offers streams the current season of all its shows, selected past seasons of some shows, and all episodes in all seasons of selected throwback shows. Some shows are free to watch. Other shows are locked and require an NBC account or a TV provider.

The NBC app supports a variety of platforms. Use the app on a mobile device, gaming console, smart TV, or streaming device.

Download For:

iOS

Android

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Queue Shows For Easy Binge Watching: FilmRise

What We Like

Use the queue to play shows one after another.
Watch shows on the FilmRise YouTube channel.
Mobile apps cast to a smart TV.

What We Don’t Like

Can’t access or change the queue.
The search returns more results for TV shows than for movies.
Can’t read show description when another show is playing.

The FilmRise library includes over 10,000 hours of TV and movie content. You’ll find popular TV series, reality shows, and classic TV along with comedy series from the 1990s, true crime stories, and cartoons.

FilmRise’s library contains a long list of award-winning movies, including action movies, cooking shows, horror films, kids’ TV shows, and documentaries. You can also find live concerts and classic albums.

If you’ve spent too much time indoors and want to escape to the outdoors without leaving the couch, check out the nature and outdoor life collections or the international film genres. You can watch FilmRise on streaming devices, mobile devices, and on YouTube.

Download For:

iOS

Android

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Best for Smart TVs: Xumo

What We Like

Mobile apps cast to a smart TV.
Hundreds of TV and on demand channels.
Content changes frequently.

What We Don’t Like

Can’t watch shows in a web browser.
Search finds more TV shows than movies.
Not easy to pause movies and shows.

Xumo offers a variety of TV channels that are similar to those found on broadcast TV. The Xumo app opens with a list of over 300 channels of live streaming content. You’ll find food and travel shows, comedy channels, lifestyle stations, music shows, and more.

The list of on-demand movies and TV shows is long. The best way to find a show is to browse the dozens of genres and collections, but the search function could be better, and doesn’t return results for very many movies.

Xumo powers more smart TVs than other programs like Netflix. If you have an LG, Vizio, Sharp, Philips, Magnavox, Panasonic, or Sanyo smart TV, Xumo is available for free. Xumo also works with Roku TV, iOS devices, and Android devices.

Download for :

iOS

Android

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Perfect for Streaming Devices: Tubi

What We Like

Great search function.
Educational shows for children.
Mobile apps cast to a smart TV.

What We Don’t Like

Closed captioning text may be too small for some.
Need an account to set up shows to binge watch.
Movies sometimes magically rewind a few seconds.

Tubi offers thousands of on-demand movies and TV shows. As with most free streaming services, Tubi doesn’t offer the latest releases of major box office movies. However, you will find some interesting titles. The search function in Tubi is awesome. Enter a few characters or a random word, and you’re presented with a curious list of interesting and unfamiliar titles.

Tubi is available on 10 streaming devices. You’ll find Tubi on the popular Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox, Playstation, and Chromecast devices. It’s also available for TiVO, Android TV, Xfinity, and Cox Contour.

If you have a smart TV from Samsung, Sony, or Vizio, the Tubi app is installed on the TV. There are also mobile and tablet apps for Android and iOS, and you can watch Tubi in a web browser.

Download for :

iOS

Android

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Find Original Content: Crackle

What We Like

Quality original content from Sony.
Mobile apps cast to a smart TV.
Few commercials.

What We Don’t Like

Limited amount of content.
Search feature returns few results.
Some content loads slowly when cast to a TV.

If you’re looking for original content, check out Crackle. Crackle is sponsored by Sony Pictures and offers new and iconic hits. You don’t need a subscription to watch Crackle premium TV shows and movies, but a free account comes with fewer ads and the ability to watch a show across multiple devices.

Crackle’s supported devices include Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Chromecast. It also plays on PlayStation, Xbox, smart TVs, and mobile devices.

Download For:

iOS

Android

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Watch True Crime and Biographies: A&E

What We Like

Watch all seasons and all episodes of a show.
Find deleted scenes not shown on TV.

What We Don’t Like

Content can only be streamed in the United States.
Lots of commercials.

If you like crime stories and stories about people’s lives, give A&E a try. If you choose to set up a free account with A&E, you also get access to their History, Lifetime, Vice TV, FYI, and Biography channels.

Watch A&E on iOS and Android devices, Apple TV, Roku, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, and Samsung TV.

Download For:

iOS

Android

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Catch Up with Your Favorite Shows: The CW

What We Like

Links to social media account for all CW shows.
Don’t need a subscription or cable account.
Get push notifications when shows are available.

What We Don’t Like

Subtitles may not work correctly.
Can’t fast forward or rewind shows.
Can only watch the last five episodes of some shows.

The CW is another free tv streaming station that plays the current season of its lineup. So, if you watch broadcast TV and miss an episode of your favorite TV show, you can stream the episode the next day.

The CW is available for Roku, Chromecast, Android TV, AirPlay, Apple TV, Xbox, Amazon Fire TV, iOS, Android, and Windows.

If you want to binge-watch older TV shows, The CW Seed is where you’ll find them. You’ll find shows like_Pushing Daisies, Supernatural: The Anime Series,_ and Everybody Hates Chris there.

Download For:

iOS

Android

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