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ReviewsFive ways to watch movies and shows without a subscription or a credit card. Each one earns its free differently.
| Tubi | Pluto TV | Kanopy | Hoopla | The Roku Channel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Truly Free | Truly Free | Free Forever | Free Forever | Truly Free |
| Free Score | 95/100 | 95/100 | 90/100 | 90/100 | 90/100 |
| Value | 8/10 | 7/10 | 8/10 | 9/10 | 7/10 |
| Card needed | No | No | No | No | No |
| Account | Optional | Optional | Library card required | Library card required | None needed (on Roku devices); account for web |
| Limits | Ads | Ads | Monthly borrowing credits set by your library | Monthly borrow limit set by your library | Ads |
| You get | Thousands of licensed movies and shows | Hundreds of free live channels | Acclaimed films, documentaries, and classic cinema | Movies, TV, audiobooks, ebooks, comics, and music in one app | Free movies and TV shows with ads |
| Real cost | Ad breaks. No card exists anywhere in the product. | Ad breaks, same as broadcast TV. | Nothing — your library already paid. | Nothing — funded by your public library. | Nothing. Ad-supported streaming from the hardware company. |
| Full review | Read → | Read → | Read → | Read → | Read → |
Our pick
For the biggest free catalog: Tubi. For channel-surfing like cable: Pluto TV. For art-house and documentaries ad-free: Kanopy (library card). For everything in one app — movies, audiobooks, comics: Hoopla (library card). Use all five; they're all free and they barely overlap.