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Cutting back on your monthly subscriptions does not have to mean giving up TV and movie streaming. There are loads of free streaming VOD (video on demand) services, beyond the usual suspects like BBC iPlayer and YouTube.
A lot of them are modelled after Netflix and co, meaning you get well-known movies and shows, and a simple interface you can scroll through until something catches your eye.
The difference is almost all these services are funded through ads, so you will have to put up with breaks in your films and TV episodes. And not all of them are likely to appear as standalone apps in your TV’s smart interface. We’ve tested the picks below primarily through a web browser.
All of these services are available to UK viewers, though. Some of the more popular ones discussed widely online, like Crackle, Midnight Pulp and Fandango at Home, are only accessible with the help of a VPN. And we’re not assuming you have one of those set up with these top free streaming service picks below.
This free streaming service feels quite a lot like a standard paid one. It has a familiar Netflix-style interface and films people have actually heard of. Tubi even produces its own original movies and TV shows, although you won’t find anything nearly as expensive-looking as some of Netflix’s fare.
Pluto is run by one of the big names in streaming, and movies in general, Paramount. It’s also one of the better free streaming services. There are plenty of great movies and TV shows in its collection. They just aren’t the newest. Pluto TV also doesn’t pad its catalogue out with too much low-grade content.
Amazon’s free streaming service used to be know as Freevee. That brand has been dropped, but you can still watch a lot of content for free. You don’t need a Prime membership, just an Amazon account. And Amazon makes its money back through adverts.
You won’t find an Internet Archive app on smart TVs but it is a repository of all sorts of streamable content. Its specialism is in content that has slipped out of copyright. There are also huge archives of digitally scanned VHS tapes, old adverts and TV shows. It feels nothing like Netflix, but there’s also nothing quite like it elsewhere.
You may have heard of Plex from a nerdy friend who uses it to stream content around their home. But it’s also a friendly streaming service you can access through a browser, one with loads of movies, shows and live channels. One highlight here is the sheer amount of info it puts at your fingertips. You can search for actors or directors, and look through their careers. And, if a title is not available through Plex, it will show where you can stream or rent it.
Rakuten owns Kobo, perhaps the best-known alternative to Amazon’s Kindle eBook reader range. But it also runs Rakuten TV, a platform that collates streaming channels and on-demand TV and movies. There’s plenty of filler content in there, but you’ll also find many movies that would have once been considered blockbusters including (as we write this) Noah, Gone Girl, The Big Short and Insomnia.
An offshoot of Rakuten, Viki is a streaming service dedicated to South Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese, Thai and Chinese content. Korean drama has been having a moment over the past couple of years, worth delving into even if you are usually a bit subtitle averse. You will find that many shows require the Viki Pass after the first few episodes, though, which starts at £4.99 a month.
This is an under-appreciated service more folks should check out. Kanopy is a streaming service you access through your local library login details. You can check whether your local one supports it over at the Kanopy website. TV shows are free to stream as much as you like, but you get an allocation of credits to use to watch movies each month. It collection is relatively small but, unlike most other services, is not padded with rubbish.
It’s best known as the top anime streaming service, one that costs money just like Netflix. But you can access loads of content for free, through Crunchyroll’s ad-supported free service. There are quite a lot of ads, though, with several chunks of them inserted into the average 20-minute anime episode. It’s a patience-tester, but Crunchyroll’s library is a one-off.
U is the video-on-demand service of UKTV, collating content from Dave, Yesterday and other channels. You do need to register to watch, but there’s some great content available at the time of writing, including Sons of Anarchy, The Shield, Red Dwarf, Mad Men and Schitt’s Creek.
The BFI Player’s catalogue comes with a £6.99 a month cost. But the service also has a free section, an archive that includes more than 12,000 pieces of content – mostly historical, educational or older content, including lots of curios from the silent film era.
Most folks may know about the terrestrial TV service-streaming platforms, but it’s worth checking if there are apps for them on your TV you may have missed. These are ITVX, BBC iPlayer, Channel 4 and My5. All bar iPlayer use an ad-supported model, and even iPlayer will inject a few trailers into your streams. You will need a TV licence if you stream live TV using these platforms, though.
Talking Pictures, the channel for classic old films and TV shows, has Encore for streaming. There are few exclusives but, like BFI Player, it’s a great site for finding your old favourites.
You also get VOD services baked into certain TVs and smart TV sticks. For example, LG launched LG Channels in 2024, while Samsung TV Plus has been around since 2015. Those with a Roku stick can access the Roku Channel. Sony TVs have Bravia Core. And many Hisense, Toshiba, Sharp and Panasonic TVs have access to Freely. Have a rummage around in your TV’s interface to see what’s available, as we have a feeling most people don’t even realise their TV already has a free streaming service baked in.
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