The 3 Best Ways to Watch Movies Absolutely Free

Movie night at the local cineplex? Between tickets, snacks, and drinks, that could cost you upwards of $100. Movie night at home? That could cost you zero. And I’m not talking about straight-to-cable garbage titles you’ve never heard of, but rather a mix of classics, indie gems, modern releases, and even some Oscar-winners.

It’s all about choosing the right streaming services, the ones that don’t require a pricey subscription (looking at you, HBO Max and Netflix). Rather, they’re completely free, though one does have a tiny string attached. All you need is a smart TV — which is pretty much all of them today — and an internet connection. (Needless to say, you can watch on a phone or tablet as well, but the idea here is to enjoy couch-time with friends or family.)

Below I’ve shared what I consider the three best streaming services for free movies, along with a few recommendations for what to watch.

Pluto

Owned by Paramount Skydance, Pluto is a free ad-supported TV (FAST) service that’s home to a ton of TV channels, but also a robust selection of movies. You don’t need an account to start watching, though by signing up for one (also free), you can resume playback (it’ll remember where you left off in a movie), create a watchlist, set up viewing controls for kids, and pin favorite channels.

For a long time, Pluto’s interface was… not great. But a recent update has made the service much easier to navigate. At this writing, there are over 25 live-TV channels devoted expressly to movies, but you can also access an on-demand library with several thousand titles.

Here are some of my top picks, with the caveat that the selection changes from month to month, so not all of these will be available all the time:

• The Godfather / The Godfather Part II
• Hot Fuzz
• That Thing You Do
• This is Spinal Tap
• The Untouchables

JustWatch TV

A brand new arrival in the streaming space, JustWatch TV is a spinoff of the eponymous service that helps you locate and track things you want to, well, watch. I’m a longtime fan of that tool, which shows you exactly where a particular movie (or TV show) is streaming and whether it’s free, available to rent, etc. That’s incredibly useful in today’s TV landscape.

Now it’s an actual streaming service as well, with a mix of free and rental titles. Because it just launched, the selection is pretty small — but there are some real gems here (including a handful of movies not available free anywhere else).

My recommendations:

• Aftersun
• Captain Fantastic
• Coherence
• Green Room
• Sing Sing

Kanopy

This is the one with a string attached: Kanopy requires a library card — and a library that partners with the service. (Over 4,000 of them do, so your chances are very good.) Visit your library’s web site, or talk with your librarian, to get the details.

Actually, there’s a second string: You’re limited to a fixed number of movies per month, as indicated by the number of virtual “tickets” provided by your library. For example, I get 15 tickets; any given movie might cost me 2-4 of them. The supply replenishes the following month.

Now for the good news: Kanopy doesn’t have ads. So, yep, this is the one place you can watch movies completely uninterrupted.

Or, should I say, films. While there are plenty of pop-culture titles in the Kanopy library, it’s also home to a lot of indies, documentaries, world cinema, and other good-for-your-brain stuff.

My recommendations:

• The Big Short
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail
• Seven Psychopaths
• The Secret Agent
• The Great Dictator

Other places to find free movies

Hoopla: Another library-powered service, Hoopla is also home to e-books and audiobooks you can check out. Just note that the movie selection tends to be pretty anemic, and most of the titles stream at just 480p — a pretty low resolution that results in soft-looking images.

The Roku Channel: You don’t need a Roku TV or streaming device to access the Roku Channel app, which doesn’t have a lot of top-tier movies but is worth checking out for the occasional gem.

Tubi: Fox-owned Tubi is incredibly hit-or-miss. I’ve gone months without finding a single decent movie to watch, and then I’ll check again and be pretty wowed by some new additions. Case in point, at this writing, you can stream the following: Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, The Social Network, The Imitation Game, North by Northwest, Dr. Strangelove, and Before Sunrise.

Best streaming devices for free movies

If your current TV or streaming device doesn’t have some or all of the apps listed above, it might be time for an upgrade. Here are two affordable options that can run all the latest apps:

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Plus: A great pick not just because it’s a fast and versatile streamer, but also because it’s a stealth game-console. Amazon lists this for $70, but you can often find it on sale for less.