What streaming services can you watch for free?

The best streaming services you can watch for free and if they’re worth cancelling Netflix for

Free streaming services 2022
(Image credit: Andres Rodriguez / Pixabay)
Jump to category:
Bethan Girdler-Maslen
By
last updated
in Deals

With the cost of living hiking up everyday prices, including energy bills and weekly food shops, many of us are trying to cut down on products and services that we don’t need. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to justify the price of non-essential purchases and subscriptions and unfortunately, streaming services fall under this category.

If you have more than one streaming service, this can really add up monthly and annually so if you’re trying to save money, you might want to consider pressing the cancel button. However, all is not lost as there are plenty of free streaming services that have plenty of TV series, films, documentaries and other content to choose from.

Before you take the plunge and cancel your paid-for streaming services, below is a full list of free streaming services from the UK and US. Most of the streaming services mentioned in this post can be found in both the UK, US and other countries but there are specific US streaming services that aren’t yet available in the UK, but we’ll explain all of this in more detail.

Best free streaming services UK

BBC iPlayer

BBC iPlayer
BBC iPlayer is run and owned by the BBC, and has access to hundreds of TV series, films and documentaries available to watch live or on-demand. All BBC channels including BBC 1, BBC 2, BBC 3, BBC 4, CBBC, CBeebies, S4C, News, Alba, Parliament, Scotland and Radio 1 are available. There are also plenty of old classics and new movies to watch, and there are tons of TV series too, including Peaky Blinders, Normal People, Conversations With Friends, Line of Duty, Silent Witness, Pretty Little Liars and more. For more details, here are 3 reasons why you should consider cancelling Netflix for BBC iPlayer.

ITV Hub

ITV Hub
Similar to BBC, ITV Hub has access to all TV series, films and documentaries shown on ITV. The most popular shows you can find on the ITV Hub are reality shows like Love Island, Britain’s Got Talent, The Only Way Is Essex and The Masked Singer. Classic 2000s TV shows are also available to watch in full, including The OC and One Tree Hill. You can also watch BritBox ad-free on ITV Hub too. 

All 4

All 4
All 4 has access to live and on-demand TV series, films and more from Channel 4, More 4, Film 4 and E4 channels. There are tons of box sets to watch from and some of the most popular shows you can find are Derry Girls, Made In Chelsea, The Big Bang Theory, The Inbetweeners, ER, Smallville and Charmed.

My5

My5
The final free streaming service that’s from a TV network provider is My5. Channel 5 is well known for its soaps like Neighbours and Home and Away, and documentaries like Police Inspectors, Inside the Force 24/7 and The Yorkshire Vet. All of the streaming services mentioned above are available to watch and stream via the app, which can be found on your TV, phone or tablet.

Freevee

Freevee
Previously named IMDb TV, Freevee is the new free streaming app from Amazon Prime. You don’t have to pay for Amazon Prime to watch it and you don’t need a subscription, but you will have to watch a few ads. There are plenty of series and films to watch, including Bosch: Legacy, Alex Rider, The West Wing, Hell’s Kitchen and more.

Pluto TV

Pluto TV
Pluto TV is a US streaming service that’s owned by Paramount and is free to users in the UK, US and other countries. With over 100 channels and thousands of movies and TV shows to watch live or on demand for free, you can find tons of series, films and more on Pluto TV. You can also watch it on the Pluto TV apps and other devices like Roku, LG, Chromecast, Samsung, Apple TV, Fire TV and PlayStation.

Reelgood

Reelgood
Reelgood is a free streaming service that gives streamers access to Netflix, Disney+, BBC, Prime Video, NOW TV and 20+ others all in one app. TV shows and movies are available on demand and Reelgood has rental options and notification updates for new episodes.

Plex

Plex
Plex is a free website that you can watch anytime and with no subscription required. It has over 50,000 free and on-demand films and TV shows, and 250 live TV channels. There are plenty of indie and old films as well as new and modern films. If you upgrade to Plex Pass, you get more content but you will have to pay £3.99 a month.

Kanopy

Kanopy
Another on-demand streaming video service is Kanopy. Kanopy partners with universities and public libraries to bring users ad-free films and series that you can watch on your TV, phone, tablet or online. You can watch documentaries, classic cinema, indie and foreign films and educational videos and programmes.

Xumo

Xumo
Xumo is a free streaming service that almost acts like a TV. It has access to 180+ premium channels, including live news, sports, events, TV series, cartoons and viral videos. It can be accessed on many different platforms and devices and is a great way to catch up on news and sports throughout the day.

Best free streaming services US

Most of the free streaming services mentioned above can also be used in the US but there are a few apps and platforms from the US that can’t be accessed yet in the UK. However, you can use these services if you have a VPN – see our best streaming VPNs for more.

Roku

Roku
While you can pay for Roku for more premium subscriptions and channels, there’s no Roku subscription and you only pay extra if you subscribe to a specific channel or service. There are thousands of free channels to watch, including Roku, Peacock, TED, Crackle, Pluto TV, Tubi and more. See the best Roku deals.

Crackle

Crackle
On Crackle, you can watch free TV shows, movies and other content, although you’ll have to watch a few ads here and there. There’s a huge amount of content on offer, plus Crackle is one of the few free services that make their own original programming.

Peacock

Peacock
There are multiple options for Peacock streaming, including free, premium with ads and premium ad-free. The free version of Peacock features over 13,000 hours of content and you only have to put up with watching five minutes of ads an hour. Peacock is also available through Sky subscriptions and you can access the Peacock app on Apple and Android devices.

Sling Free

Sling Free
Like Peacock, there are both paid and free versions of Sling TV. Sling Free has access to both live and on-demand TV series and channels, including AMC, ABC News Live, CBSN, Discovery, IFC, Showtime and more.

Tubi

Tubi
The best streaming site for free movies, Tubi is owned by Fox and has a large library of films and some series that rotate regularly. You don’t need to register for an account to watch Tubi, but you will have to sit through some adverts and the resolution is slightly lower than other services.

For more money-saving hacks, check out the best streaming service deals for this month and how to save money on streaming services.

Bethan Girdler-Maslen
Bethan Girdler-Maslen
Home Editor

Beth is Home Editor for T3, looking after style, living and wellness. From the comfiest mattresses to strange things you can cook in an air fryer, Beth covers sleep, yoga, smart home, coffee machines, watches, grooming tools, fragrances, gardening and much more. If it's something that goes in your house, chances are Beth knows about it and has the latest reviews and recommendations! She's also in the know about the latest deals and discount codes from top brands and retailers.

Having always been passionate about writing, she’s written for websites, newspapers and magazines on a variety of topics, from jewellery and culture, to food and telecoms. You can find her work across numerous sites, including Wedding Ideas Magazine, Health & Wellbeing, The Bristol Post, Fashion & Style Directory, TechRadar, CreativeBloq and more. In her spare time, Beth enjoys running, reading, baking and attempting craft projects that will probably end in disaster!

Latest
You might also like
View More ▸