Best Free Movie Apps: The Top Streaming Sites for iPhoneAndroid and Desktop

Let’s be honestit’s a weird time out there in the world of streaming movies. As the major streamers continue to mess around with their apps and librariesadding ad-tiers or changing their names to nonsense words that have nothing to do with the brandthey’re also charging more for less. As NetflixMaxand Amazon Prime decrease in valuefree streaming services become a better deal.

But just because you’re not shelling out any cash doesn’t mean that you want a terrible experience. If you know where to lookyou can find hundreds of movies available onlinecompletely for free. And noI’m not referring to those sketchy sites you used to visit in college. I’m talking about services that let you watch full-length movies completely for free. Sureyou’ll need to watch a few ads to get the moviesbut that’s a small price to pay for a world of entertainment brought directly to your computertvor phone. 

So here are the ten best free movie appswhether you’re watching on iOSAndroidor your desktop.

Crackle

One of the oldest free streaming services on the internetCrackle was launched as Grouper in 2004a year before even YouTube hit cyberspace. Even after Crackle’s association with Sony has endedthe service still boasts a robust library from a wide range of genres. On Crackleyou can watch the Tobe Hooper animal attack movie Crocodile and the slasher classic Black ChristmasBoon Joon-Ho’s excellent crime drama Motherand the inexplicable Sam Raimi/Coen Brothers collaboration Crimewave. Fans of tv will find equally varied fareranging from cult classics like Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In and NewsRadio to originals such as Playing With Power: The Nintendo Story and wrestling show Heroes Of Lucha Libre. And all that it costs you is time to watch a few ads.

Download Crackle on iosandroidand desktop. 

Kanopy

Libraries! They aren’t just for nerds anymore! Actuallypublic libraries have long been one of the bastions of making cinema available to everyoneregardless of income. And with streaming moving into the mainstreamlibraries have followed suitthanks to programs such as Kanopy. With just a library card from either your local public library or your universityyou can get access to some of the finest cinema of all timeincluding Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai and Wong Kar-Wai’s In the Mood for Loveas well as modern classics Moonlight and The Florida Project. Unlike other options on this listKanopy does not require you to sit through ads. Howeverthe selection can changedepending on what your library makes available.

Download Kanopy on iosandroidand desktop.

Peacock

YesPeacock is the Office streamer of the NBC networkdesigned to charge users $20 a year to rewatch The Office. But the service also includes a surprisingly full movie library from Universal Picturesavailable for free with ads. As you’d expectthis library includes some of Universal’s greatest entriesincluding Jurassic Park and Casino. But Peacock also includes new moviesavailable only on Peacock. Mere months after its theatrical releasethe Nic Cage Dracula comedy Renfield has been added to the serviceas is M. Night Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabinand the animated hit Puss-in-Boots: The Last Wish. The one catch? Even free users must sign up for an account to access the movies. But that’s not nearly as difficult as navigating the modern cineplex. 

Download Peacock on iosandroidand desktop.

Pluto TV

Pluto TV bills itself as a throwback to the heyday of cable televisionwhen we would press the “channel up” button for hoursjumping in and out of shows and movies already in progress. The service features over 100 channelsdevoted to particular genres or even tv shows. If you want an impromptu marathon of random movies from the 2000s? Tune into 00s Replay and relive flicks like Uptown Girls and Imagine That. But the service doesn’t cheat you out of great on-demand offeringsincluding Titanic and the Indiana Jones franchise (take thatDisney!). But the best thing on Pluto TV? The Mystery Science Theatre 3000 channelto turn your home into a Satellite of Love.

Download Pluto TV on iosandroidand desktop.

Popcornflix

Lookthere’s no way to get around this. Free movie streaming services need to have cheap content to licensewhich means that those looking for blockbuster studio movies will likely be disappointed. But if you love low-budgetb-movie trashthen you’ll be happy as a pig in the mud on services such as Popcornflix. The service has a huge librarymostly consisting of wonderfully weird genre fareincluding the mind-bending Scott Adkins vehicle Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoningkiller unicorn horror movie CarousHelland so many Steven Seagal flicks. Sureyou’ll sometimes get a classier entrylike Leigh Janiak’s thoughtful horror movie Honeymoonbut Popcornflix is really the place to get all the goofy genre goodness you could want. 

Download Popcornflix on iosandroidand desktop.

Plex

“Meet your TV concierge” declares Plex’s homepage. Suresites love making grandiose claims like thatbut with Plexthey might be right. Plex started as a way to stream media saved on your computerand while that’s still a big part of the serviceit’s expanded into a quality free movie service. Unlike most of the free servicesPlex makes its Hollywood movies easy to findgiving you direct access to Paul Verhoeven’s Basic InstinctKathryn Bigelow’s war drama The Hurt Lockerand Bill Murray’s spy comedy The Man Who Knew Too Little. Plex doesn’t scrimp on the foreign and indie movies eitherwith access to the excellent A24 drama The Farewell and great Korean horror movie The Wailing. All this comes commercial-freemaking Plex one of the best options on this list. 

Download Plex on iosandroidand desktop.

Roku Channel

If you want to watch the absurd biopic Weird: The Al Yankovic Storyyou can only go to one place: the Roku Channel. Yesyou read that right — Roku isn’t just a device you plug into your tv to access streaming services. It’s a quality service in its own right. At first glancethe Roku Channel emphasizes tv showsoffering full series of the original Quantum Leap and Babylon 5. But if you look a little closeryou’ll find a robust library of free to watch moviesincluding the aforementioned Weird Al biopic starring Daniel Radcliffe. Offerings include 1979’s The Amityville Horrorthe 2007 teen comedy Superbadand Spike Lee’s classic Do the Right Thing. The Roku Channel takes a bit more dexterity to navigatebut it’s definitely worth it to watch these great movies for free. 

Download the Roku Channel on iosandroidand desktop.

Tubi

While most streaming services are charging you more to give you lessTubi continues to build one of the best libraries on the internet. Want to watch last year’s indie gorefest hit Terrifier 2? You can find it on Tubi! Want to relive the 80s with The Karate Kid? You can watch it on Tubi! From John Wick and Inglorious Basterds to John Waters’s Cry Baby and the Tina Turner biopic What’s Love Got to Do With It?Tubi puts most paid streaming services to shame. SureTubi does require you to watch a few adsbut they’re integrated better than most free streaming appsmaking for an easy viewing experience. Between its rich library and great functionalityTubi is quickly becoming one of the best services on the internetoutdoing most of its paid competitors. 

Download Tubi on iosandroidand desktop.

Vudu

Most of us know Vudu as one of the primary video-on-demand servicesthe site to rent or purchase new movies such as Fast X or The Super Mario Bros. Movie. But Vudu also boasts a robust free-with-ads servicecomplete with a fantastic library of options. Sureyou’ll find the usual suspects on any free servicebut what about weirdos like the Ken Loach adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Lair of the White Wormstarring a young Hugh Grant and Peter Capaldior the animated fantasy film The Last Unicorn? Vudu even has an A24 collectionwith great films such as After Yang and The Green Knight available for free. With free movies like theseVudu is one of the best film sites on the internet. 

Download Vudu on iosandroidand desktop.

YouTube

Okayyou probably know that you can find clips of movies on YouTubeoften of dubious quality. And you might know that you can rent or purchase digital copies of movies on YouTubein very high quality. But did you know that YouTube regularly has full-lengthhigh-quality moviescompletely free and legal? The library rotates more frequently than those of other servicesbut that allows them to have some of the more exciting offerings on the internet. Current free with ads movies include the Wachowskis’ underrated sci-fi fantasy Jupiter Ascendingfun kid’s horror flick Scary Stories to Tell in the Darkand the guilty pleasure G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra. If you’re going to YouTube just to watch gaming videosyou’re really missing out. 

Download Peacock on iosandroidand desktop.