Best Movies and TV Shows You Can Stream for Free

It’s easy to stream your savings away on subscriptions to Netflix, Max, Peacock, Prime Video, and other paid streaming platforms, but if you’re on a budget, you can save your dollars and sign up for accounts on free streaming services. 

Services like Pluto TV, Tubi, and The Roku Channel require nothing more than your email address to get started, and Kanopy only asks for your local library card info. Once you’re in, these platforms allow you to watch anything in their content library on demand for free—though you should be prepared to sit through a few ads on all of the services (except Kanopy).

To save you some time and trouble, we have hand-picked the best movies from each platform. Everything in this list is available on the first of the month unless otherwise noted. 

Gladiator (Kanopy)

Gladiator II is a bit of a disappointment, shark-filled Colosseum withstanding. Instead watch the original, where Russell Crowe as Maximus seeks revenge on Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus.

Severance: Season 1 (Roku)

Ahead of a new season of Severance on Apple TV+, the first season is available to watch free with ads on The Roku Channel. It’s a perfect show to watch when you want to forget the work day.

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (Tubi)

Nicolas Cage gives in fully to his gonzo persona by playing himself to the extreme, as an actor named Nicolas Cage who gets turned into a CIA op when he attends a fan’s birthday party.

Babes (Kanopy)

Ilana Glazer and Michelle Buteau are always funny on their own but are even better when paired as best pals whose relationship is changing as one of them becomes a mom.

Despicable Me 3 (Tubi)

Gru is a unique character. Or at least he thought so until he discovers he has a twin brother. It’s a good thing he has one, though, because he needs twice as much ingenuity to defeat Balthazar Bratt, former child star/current supervillain.

Elsbeth (Pluto TV)

The quirky character of Elsbeth herself is from The Good Wife, but you don’t need to have watched that show at all to fully enjoy this spin-off, where the canny Chicago attorney moves to New York and teams up with the NYPD to solve a crime of the week.

I Used to Be Funny (Kanopy)

Rachel Sennott plays a comedian with PTSD who gets retraumatized when a girl she nannied disappears. She has to decide whether or not to join the search because of their complicated past.

Moonstruck (Roku)

Listen, I love completely unhinged Nicolas Cage, but even more, I love slightly less unhinged Nicolas Cage as Ronny Cammareri in the greatest romantic comedy of all time, according to me.

Matlock (Pluto TV)

This is not your grandparents’ Matlock. Kathy Bates has made the name Matlock new again with this series about a retired attorney who joins a white-shoe law firm with an ulterior motive.

About Chandra Steele

Senior Features Writer

My title is Senior Features Writer, which is a license to write about absolutely anything if I can connect it to technology (I can). I’ve been at PCMag since 2011 and have covered the surveillance state, vaccination cards, ghost guns, voting, ISIS, art, fashion, film, design, gender bias, and more. You might have seen me on TV talking about these topics or heard me on your commute home on the radio or a podcast. Or maybe you’ve just seen my Bernie meme. 

I strive to explain topics that you might come across in the news but not fully understand, such as NFTs and meme stocks. I’ve had the pleasure of talking tech with Jeff Goldblum, Ang Lee, and other celebrities who have brought a different perspective to it. I put great care into writing gift guides and am always touched by the notes I get from people who’ve used them to choose presents that have been well-received. Though I love that I get to write about the tech industry every day, it’s touched by gender, racial, and socioeconomic inequality and I try to bring these topics to light. 

Outside of PCMag, I write fiction, poetry, humor, and essays on culture.

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