Want to watch movies online free?… Or watch TV online free?
Did you know that you can get most of the exact same channels that you watch from a cable box or satellite TV right on your computer or mobile device?
Yep. Everyone’s doing it!
These days, it’s easy to watch TV and movies without cable. I’m going to show you how…
Is It Time To Cut The Cord And Watch TV Online?
Have you considered cutting the cord on cable?
If you’re paying $90 or more a month to have cable or satellite TV, then you’re paying too much.
There’s a wealth of TV and movie programming available online that is easy to access and you don’t need a cable box or a dish receiver.
Popular services like Netflix, Hulu, Roku, YouTube Movies, Apple TV, Google Movies, and Amazon Amazon Prime Videos (or Fire Stick) are great — and they dont cost a lot. But they’re not free.
And knowing which sites you can trust for FREE movies and TV can be a challenge. (Trust me, for as much good stuff that’s available for free online — there’s just as much junk!)
TIP: Whatever you do, do not buy one of those packages that “gives you satellite TV on your computer.” Nearly all of them are a scam, and you can actually get the same programs for free! Yup, that’s right for FREE, and I’m going to tell you how to do that.
Following are 11 FREE ways to watch movies online free (and TV shows, too). All you need is a computer, or smart TV, or any iOS or Android device.
But first, here are 3 things to keep in mind:
- You need to have high-speed Internet for this to work properly. DSL might work some of the time, but I doubt it would work all of the time.
- You may need to have the updated version of Windows Media Player, Real Player or Quicktime on your device — because some websites and apps use them for streaming movies and TV shows. Most of us already have these programs on our devices. (They’re all free, as well.)
- Most of these streaming sites are free because they run ads. That means your show may be interrupted a few times by random ads (similar to TV commercials).
The Best Free Online Movie Streaming Sites
So, where can you watch cable channels and satellite channels, as well as other TV shows and movies online?
Here’s my list of the best places to stream movies and TV shows online FREE:
#1 – IMDb TV the ever-popular movie database site also has a free streaming channel that shows many of the popular movies listed in their database. They also produce and show their own IMDb original video series.
You can watch a lot of great TV shows and top movies without purchasing a subscription.
#2 – Sling requires no subscription to watch some of their content online for free on mobile devices and Internet browsers.
There are about 5,000 movies and TV shows available at this time.
You can catch their latest freebies here.
#3 – Redbox Free Live TV is the free streaming service from the popular Redbox movie rental company.
Like Pluto TV, there’s no sign in required. (They’re hoping you’ll rent some of their “better” movies, or choose to “Rent It At The Box” which is also a good deal — very cheap! — by the way.)
Their free live TV currently includes the following channels: TMZ, USA Today, FailArmy, and Redbox Comedy.
#4 – Pluto TV is one of the more popular online streaming services.
They have a huge library of on-demand content including movies, news, TV shows, sports, documentaries, etc.
The best part: no username and password required.
#5 – Crackle is basically an online library of SONY movie and TV content.
They have a good range of decent TV shows and movies to choose from.
It’s similar to Netflix, but smaller.
And like Netflix (and others), they’re always adding more of their own original content to the library.
#6 – Popcorn Flix has a huge database of popular movies and TV shows. (Oh, and viral videos too — if you’re into that.)
Lots of well-known titles that are well-organized by genre.
This is good family-friendly viewing!
#7 – TubiTV – I love their tagline: “Tubi TV is unlocking Hollywood on your behalf and making entertainment free, at no cost to you.”
They claim to have the largest library of modern classics and cult favorite TV shows and movies online free — and I have to say I didn’t have any problem finding tons of great movies to stream online.
The interface is super-quick, user-friendly, and a cinch to use.
#8 – Xumo provides live and on-demand access to more than 180 TV channels — with new channels being added every week.
Their channel lineup varies, depending on the type of device you’re watching from.
#9 – Inner-Live has the basic network channels (like ABC, CBS, and NBC), plus some good sports networks (ESPN, MLB, and NBA), and others like Showtime, AMC, Discovery (and Discovery Kids), CNN and the Cartoon Network — to name a few.
One unique feature (that you’ll either love or hate) is the fact that they have a chat room going at the same time as the channel.
Inner-Live is definitely worth checking out because they have some channels that you can’t get on other websites that show live streaming television.
#10 – Link TV provides timely international news and current events while focusing on issues not often covered in the U.S. media.
I like it because skilled broadcast journalists are creating the content in a format that everyday people like you and me can enjoy and watch whenever we want — on demand.
All of the shows are available via streaming from your device’s browser. You don’t need any special players or viewers.
#11 – Locast is nice if you enjoy watching the local news.
This non-profit service streams live local broadcast TV online. It’s currently only available in major metro areas (like New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Denver, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, etc).
It happens to be available in Seattle where I live, so I briefly checked it out.
If you enjoy watching your local TV broadcast shows, then you’ll like it.
A Word Of Caution…
One final thing I want to say is to be very wary of any website that claims it can get you all the premium cable and satellite channels you want — because 99.9% of the time it’s not true.
In fact, they usually want you to pay for some piece of software, or add some new component to your computer or something of this nature before the “free” channels will be available to you.
Then, after you do it, you discover it’s 2,000+ foreign Internet channels that you can access for free online anyway. So, you just paid $50 or more for nothing!
So yes, you can watch TV without cable. But you just have to be careful and stick to the legitimate sites and apps listed above.
A Good Read: What Type Of TV Viewer Are You? 5 Online Options For 5 Types Of Viewers
The Bottom Line
So there you have it. I’ve done the research for you and put it all in one place for you in this article. As you can see, there are several premium channels that you can access for free — you just have to know where to look!
I have personally checked all of these out and know for a fact that they do work, and that they are free.
So, now that you know how to stream movies online free (and TV shows too), there’s no reason to keep that cable box or satellite dish — or pay those horrendous monthly fees any longer.
Now you can watch all the TV and movies online that you could ever wish for… for FREE.
Enjoy — you can watch TV without cable right away!
Here’s a good example of how one couple canceled their paid TV service and now they watch all their favorite TV shows, movies, news, and sports through their computer. In the 16 months they’ve gone without paid TV, they’ve saved $1,488!
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My favorite things to write about are topics that have to do with weather, pregnancy, weddings, saving money, living green, and my life with dogs. When I’m not writing, I love to spend time with my husband, read, create 3D artwork and Native American beadwork.
