Best Netflix alternatives

Netflix has become a verb (“let’s netflix tonight”), everyone knows about Amazon, and Hulu is a force to be reckoned with. You could even refer to them as the new Big Three, given their growing influence over the industry.

As these behemoths flex their muscles by repeatedly raising prices, consumers looking for alternative sources for online movies, TV shows, and other forms of video entertainment would be wise to sample some of these alternative services. Most of them target niche audiences, but they’re all inexpensive—indeed, some don’t charge any fees at all.

Incidentally, there are a few sites operating in the darker corners of the web that we don’t recommend visiting. We’re talking about the ones that offer Hollywood movies that are still playing in theaters. All the services listed here—in alphabetical order—are completely above board.

Updated February 6, 2019 to let readers know that the all-new Criterion Channel is now accepting charter member signups. The service won’t actually launch until April, but signing up now will not only net you a discounted rate, but you’ll also get to watch a new movie each week as part of the service’s pre-launch “Movie of the Week” series. You’ll need to provide a credit card number now, but when the service launches on April 8, charter members will get a 30-day free trial. The Criterion Channel says your card will not be charged until the end of the trial. Scroll down to our description of the service for more details.

Archive.org

This amazing resource is absolutely huge, with billions of sound files, ebooks, and video files, all of it free and in the public domain. A huge number of both cheesy and quality movies are available, ranging from Ed Wood’s Plan 9 from Outer Space to the Cary Grant/Audrey Hepburn thriller Charade. The “Feature Film” section alone promises more than 5,000 titles. Because of the sheer number of files, searching for things can be a headache, and there are many duplicates, but patience pays off. All files can be downloaded and saved in various formats. Archive.org

Big Five Glories

Big Five Glories is another public domain site, but it’s a little better organized, focusing mainly on feature films. Highlights on the homepage include F.W. Murnau’s Sunrise and Jame Whales’ The Old Dark House. Viewers can search by any number of criteria (including silent-era films and color films), and the site has a clean, simple design that gives screenshots of the movies as well as opportunities to buy the actual DVDs if the need arises. The videos are powered by YouTube, plus there’s no need to sign up or log in. It’s all free. Big Five Glories

Boomerang

If live-action entertainment doesn’t provide enough escape, here’s Boomerang, for cartoon lovers only. It includes a generous, but sadly not complete, selection of classic theatrical Looney Tunes, Tom & Jerry, Popeye, and Droopy cartoons, plus TV shows like Scooby-Doo, The Jetsons, Garfield, Bunnicula, Courage the Cowardly Dog, and many Hanna-Barbera shorts (Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, etc.). The service also offers a small number of feature-length films, and many holiday specials. It runs $4.99 per month or a yearly fee of $39.99 (an average of $3.33 per month). It’s a lot of fun, but the content doesn’t appear to be updated regularly, so it might be a bit pricey for what’s actually here. Boomerang

Britbox

Anglophiles will want this streaming service, consisting entirely of fine TV series from the BBC. Highlights include Brideshead Revisited (with Jeremy Irons), Pride and Prejudice (with Colin Firth), Prime Suspect (with Helen Mirren), Blackadder, Father Ted, Fawlty Towers, The Office, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, State of Play, Agatha Christie’s Poirot and Miss Marple, Hammer House of Horror TV specials, plenty of Doctor Who, and much more. Subscriptions for U.S. customers are $6.99 per month or $69.99 annually (roughly $5.83 per month), with a seven-day free trial period. Britbox

Crackle

Owned by Sony, Crackle is free, and you don’t even need to register, unless you’d like to keep a queue. There are ads every so often during streaming, which is annoying, but depending on your pocketbook, it can be a worthy exchange. Their selection isn’t huge, but what they have is fairly high profile, and the percentage of good movies vs. bad ones is pretty solid. They also offer some sitcoms (Married, with Children, Just Shoot Me, etc.) and a selection of anime. They are producing more and more original content, like the series Snatch (starring Harry Potter’s Rupert Grint) and StartUp (starring Martin Freeman), or the original movie Party Boat (not that we really needed the latter). Crackle

The Criterion Channel

Scheduled to launch in spring of 2019, this is the mother lode for film fans, likely with access to most of Akira Kurosawa and Ingmar Bergman’s films, as well as the cream of the crop of world cinema and many of the greatest films in history. Criterion had previously collaborated with FilmStruck, but it shut down at the end of November, 2018.

Criterion says it will be entirely in charge of its new direction, which sounds like great news. The price tag is still shocking, but it’s a few pennies less than FilmStruck’s premiere price was. Viewers who sign up now to be a “charter subscriber” will get discount prices: $9.99 per month or $89.99 annually (or $7.49 a month), plus a whopping 30-day free trial period. Regular prices will be $10.99 a month or $100 annually. The Criterion Channel

DC Universe

A cornucopia for comic book fans, DC Universe not only includes just about every DC related TV show, cartoon, and movie you can think of—from the 1940s full-color Fleischer brothers Superman animated shorts to the animated feature Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. It also offers original content, such as the currently-running Titans TV series, and the upcoming Swamp Thing. Subscribers also have access to an enormous library of eComics, a social media site to connect with other comic book fans, and tons of other nerdy, fun stuff. It’s $7.99 per month or an annual subscription for $74.99 (an average of $6.25 per month), with a seven-day free trial period. DC Universe

Disney+

Not much is known yet about Disney+. It could just be a niche market for Disney nerds, but if it succeeds, it could be as big as—or bigger than—any of the Big Three. There are no pricing plans as of yet (some pundits are guessing that it will be cheaper than Netflix), and not even a firm launch date. But the website displays logos for Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic, which seems like a pretty good mix. As of now Disney has a deal with Netflix, so expect a lot of that content to shift over to the new service. Also expect lots of original content, starting with a proposed Star Wars series, set before the events of Rogue One. Here’s more of what about Disney+ we know so far. Disney+

Epix

Though Epix has an impressive selection of movies from Paramount, Lionsgate, and MGM—Fences, Arrival, and A Quiet Place are available—users must sign in with their cable account, if they have one. But anyone can sign up for a free 14-day trial to check it out. Epix appears to have some original content, including the Get Shorty series, and there are even sections for LGBT and erotic films. Epix

Fandango Now

The service boasts that it has titles not available on Amazon Prime, Hulu, or Netflix, with thousands of them available for individual rental or purchase, with no paid subscription necessary. But Fandango Now is essentially like Vudu or the iTunes store, with virtually the same selection and prices. A major difference is that viewers can join the Fandango VIP+ club and get points toward free movies. Not to mention that it could appeal to those that are not fans of Apple or Walmart, Vudu’s parent company. Fandango Now

Fandor

Based in San Francisco and launched in 2011, Fandor is for hardcore cinema buffs. It specializes in arthouse films, weird cult and horror flicks, indie cinema, and foreign titles, as well as a massive silent era library, but nothing mainstream. It allows users to write their own reviews and keep and share movie lists, and it also includes well-produced online movie magazine with original articles and videos. Viewers can buy a yearly plan for $49.99, which averages to about $4.17 per month, or pay $5.99 per month on a month-to-month basis. (Note: Fandor was recently sold to a new company, and it’s unclear as to how or if the service will continue.) Fandor

Film Movement Plus

Film Movement began as a DVD-of-the-month club, sending its members interesting foreign and indie films in the mail. The company moved into distribution, built a fine library, and launched its first streaming service in 2018. Titles include the excellent, Oscar-nominated adventure film Theeb, the wonderful coming-of-age film Alamar, and After the Storm, by Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda. Film Movement Plus also has bonus features and exclusive content, including the premiere of Takeshi Kitano’s new Outrage Coda (the third chapter in his Outrage action series). Categories include “Family,” “Directed by Women,” “LGBTQ,” and many others. Pricing is $5.99 per month, with a 14-day free trial. Film Movement Plus

Hoopla; Kanopy

These amazing services are connected to your local public library. Once you sign up (free) with your library card, you can “check out” a certain number of titles per month, which then expire after a certain amount of time. Kanopy is for more serious movie buffs, with plenty of high-class, arthouse films, and a limit of eight checkouts per month. Hoopla has a wider range of services, including audiobooks, ebooks, comics, and music, and 20 checkouts per month. Kanopy is more family-friendly, with a wider range of lesser titles to comb through before finding the good stuff. There are no ads on either, and both services offer Roku apps now, for easy streaming. Hoopla; Kanopy

MUBI

With offices in San Francisco, London, Munich, and Istanbul, MUBI is one of the most acclaimed movie sites for serious cinephiles. It operates on a subscription-based service, either $8.99 per month or a discounted yearly rate of $71.88 (an average $5.99 per month). There’s also a seven-day free trial period available. Their content is comparable to Fandor, with classics, cult movies, and art-house movies, as well as current items like Quentin Dupieux’s Keep an Eye Out. The MUBI staff offers a “film of the day” each day, and the site also carries an online magazine called the Notebook. MUBI

Open Culture

Yet another site that curates public domain movies, Open Culture simply has a long list (1,150 titles) of free movies with links and descriptions; many of the links go back to Archive.org, but there are others. If you’re up for browsing through the list, there are some surprising picks, such as Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s wonderful A Matter of Life and Death, or one of Natalie Portman’s more daring efforts, Free Zone, as well as a curated selection of free Charlie Chaplin films. The site also contains a plethora of information relating to cinema, free online courses, lectures, books, and other stuff. Open Culture

Ovid.tv

This service, intended for hardcore cineastes, is scheduled to launch in March, 2019. It assembles the film libraries of no less than six independent distributors—Bullfrog Films, Distrib Films US, First Run Features, Grasshopper Film, Icarus Films, and KimStim—with “more companies expected to join soon.” If filmmakers like Chantal Akerman, Pedro Costa, Claire Denis, Eric Rohmer, Raul Ruiz, or Jean-Marie Straub and Danielle Huillet stimulate your palate, then keep an eye out for this one. Pricing and other details are not yet available. Ovid.tv

PopcornFlix

Here’s another free service for those budget-minded viewers who don’t mind watching ads. PopcornFlix has its own Roku app and a wide selection of used-bookstore-type movies. Even if you can’t find something you’re specifically looking for, odds are you’ll find something pretty good. As a bonus, the service offers an “Asian Action” section and a Spanish-language section, as well as the first eight Friday the 13th movies! The TV section is skimpier, offering Rosanne and a bunch of other stuff you’ve probably never heard of. PopcornFlix

Don’t stop now: We have even more recommendations on the next page!

Qello

This one is highly recommended for music lovers. Qello offers no feature films or TV, only music documentaries and concerts. Offerings range from classics to more modern ones, in a wide array of genres, including alternative, classic rock, reggae, jazz, classical, opera, punk, and even disco. Shows include Imagine Dragons, Iron Maiden, Queen, Amy Winehouse, Michael Bublé, Nirvana Live at Reading, and Martin Scorsese’s documentaries on Bob Dylan and George Harrison. There are myriad ways to search, and users can create playlists of favorite songs. It’s $7.99 per month, or $69.99 annually (about $5.83 monthly), with a seven-day free trial period. Qello

Roku Channel

In 2017, Roku did something fairly obvious: the company added its own channel to its Roku service, which is available on Roku streaming boxes and sticks as well as Roku TVs. Similar to Crackle and TubiTV, Roku Channel offers a wide selection of movies and TV shows for free, for those who don’t mind watching ads. Currently featured titles include True Lies, The Right Stuff, Marie Antoinette, Crocodile Dundee, and Walker: Texas Ranger. It also offers ABC News, TMZ, Yahoo! News, Stadium, and a few other news channels. Certain titles expire each month and new ones arrive, so the selection keeps changing. Roku advertises the channel on your smart TV’s homepage, so it’s very easy to find and install. Roku Channel

Screambox

This horror-oriented streaming service attempts to compete with Shudder, offering its own exclusive content in the form of a partnership with Bloody Disgusting. The movies here are a bit of a step down, however; they’re more in the realm of gory “B” movies than anything with artistic merit, but many horror hounds will be pleased, and the price is right: $4.99 per month or an annual fee of $35.88 (working out to a low $2.99 per month). There’s a seven-day free trial period if you want to give it a shot. Screambox

Shout! Factory TV

This could be my favorite free streaming site—at least for folks who don’t mind ads. Shout! Factory specializes in releasing spruced-up, bonus features-rich Blu-rays of classic cult and horror films, and their free channel showcases some of this goofy stuff, like Galaxy of Terror, Slumber Party Massacre, and Red Sonja. There’s a selection of Mystery Science Theater 3000, RiffTrax, and Elvira titles; film commentary tracks; stand-up comedy specials; and some original video content aimed at ComicCon and horror fans. Best of all is the tongue-in-cheek VHS Vault, with more than a dozen cult movies shown the way they were seen back in the 1980s: on grungy video tape, with tracking lines, pan-and-scan pictures, and general fuzziness! Shout! Factory TV

Shudder

For horror hounds only, Shudder has a selection of high-quality horror films and TV series, some well-known, some classic, many obscure. It has cheesy gore classics (Basket Case, Blood Feast), films by masters (Dario Argento, Tobe Hooper, John Carpenter, et al), and acclaimed chillers (Let the Right One In, Pulse). The site is ad-free and has a seven-day free trial period; it’s $4.99 per month after a 14-day free trial, or $47.88 for a year.

No slapdash effort, Shudder is curated by Colin Geddes, who conjures up the Midnight Madness section at the Toronto International Film Festival. Shudder now has an intriguing collection of original content from the intense, bloody Revenge and the unsettling, accomplished Mandy to the shows like Black Lake and A Discovery of Witches. Drive-in movie critic Joe Bob Briggs has even hosted Shudder movie marathons! Its most unique feature is a free “Shudder TV” feature, wherein films simply play 24 hours a day and fans can log on to catch whatever’s on. Shudder

SnagFilms

A free service with ads, SnagFilms is a little out of the mainstream, but it offers a large number of documentaries. Categories include “science and environment,” “African films,” “LGBT,” “Sports,” “Bollywood,” “Health & Food,” “Politics,” and “Faith and Spirituality.” Their disparate selection probably won’t include much that you’re familiar with, but adventurous viewers—and anyone searching for a specific subject—will find a home here. Users can sign in with their Facebook or social media accounts, but the site requires a birthday check for its more mature content. Snagfilms

Sundance Now

Sundance Now offers a large selection of original content, though perhaps not the water-cooler stuff one might expect from Netflix. (Their latest, A Discovery of Witches, is being co-presented by Shudder.) The selection of movies, on the other hand, looks to be a very high-quality curation of indie titles, the kinds of things that might be discovered at the Sundance Film Festival, with a very high number of must-sees (and a respectable number of foreign films and documentaries mixed in with the American films). The service costs $6.99 per month, or $59.99 annually (which breaks down to $4.99 per month), with a seven-day free trial. Sundance Now

TopDocumentaryFilms

For hardcore documentary enthusiasts only, TopDocumentaryFilms doesn’t feature any Oscar winners or anything that might have caused a stir at the box office (there’s No Errol Morris or Michael Moore to be had). But it does have a few hundred free documentaries on all kinds of subjects, from shark attacks to sex to 9/11. The site is set up like a blog, with the newest docs featured first, though it’s easy to browse by subject. It’s powered by YouTube, so films are subject to YouTube-style ads, but it’s otherwise free. TopDocumentaryFilms

Tribeca Shortlist

Offering a trailer narrated by Alec Baldwin, this service boasts a rotating selection of high-quality movies curated by human beings. The selection ranges from classics to cult and horror films, lots of documentaries, and quite a few unsung gems. Foreign-language films are a bit underrepresented, and there are a few out-and-out duds (such as Bruce Willis’s The Prince). The service offers perhaps 200 feature films in all, with no TV series and no original or exclusive content. At $4.99 per month, it should provide good entertainment to movie lovers who like to venture slightly out of the mainstream. Tribeca Shortlist

TubiTV

TubTV — TubiTV offers a large selection of free movies and TV, with ads.

Tubi offers an impressively large number of free TV and movies, mainly from Paramount Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and Lionsgate. Viewers must sign up to view anything with “mature” content, but signup is free. Ads play every so often throughout the movie. The selection contains a lot of content you’ve never heard of, and some content you’ve heard of that’s not very good, but a few gems that are very much worth watching. (Paddington, the Dear White People film, and Sling Blade are worth checking out.) They even have a specific channel for “Not on Netflix” movies (True Grit, Hugo, Arbitrage, etc.). TubiTV