While you can get access to your favorite paid streaming services like Hulu and Netflix, Roku also has quite a few channels and apps you can use to watch movies and TV shows for free.
Yes, really!
You can stream movies and TV shows for free!
In today’s post, I’ll cover 30 of the best free Roku apps. So, you can stream content without having to pay for it!
Table of Contents
Best Free Roku Channels & Apps
Here are the top Roku channels and apps that are free.
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1. Plex
Plex is a really cool app that you can use to stream movies and TV shows. The app is free to use, and it offers 1,000s of free movies and TV shows that you can stream on-demand. You can also get access to more than 100 live channels, so you can enjoy live TV as well.
There are movies available from places like Warner Brothers, Lionsgate, and MGM.
2. Roku Channel
The Roku Channel is one of the best free apps on Roku. With it, you can get free TV, Roku Originals, and movies for free!
The app has lots more to offer, like 24/7 live news. There are 1,000s of entertainment options that you can watch on-demand and with no subscription required.
3. Crackle
Want some free Hollywood movies? Try out Crackle. It’s a free Roku app from Sony. The platform allows you to stream movies, TV series, and originals, on-demand, without a subscription.
There’s content available from lots of genres, like comedy, drama, action, and thriller.
4. ABC News Live
Want to stay up to date with current events? Then ABC News Live is the app for you. It’s a streaming news channel that brings you news, context, and analysis of the day’s top stories. The great thing about this app is that it is totally free!
You’ll find in-depth reporting and storytelling from not only across the country but also from around the world. You can check out the latest headlines, and new primetime and breaking news programing from ABC News Correspondent Linsey Davis and Chief National Affairs Correspondent and “World News Tonight” Weekend Anchor Tom Llamas.
For anyone looking to get their news coverage for free without a cable subscription, ABC News Live is a great app.
5. Peacock TV
Update: As of November 2023, Peacock TV no longer offers a free tier. Though you can get their cheapest plan for only $5.99/mo. But if you don’t want to pay for it, try the tips in our “How do I watch free Peacock on my TV?” post.
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Peacock TV is one of the best free Roku apps around. It has so many awesome hit movies and TV series. While you can upgrade to a paid membership to unlock more content, you can actually view tons of movies and TV shows for free with Peacock TV.
The app is from NBC.
There are more than 30 Peacock Channels to choose from. There are live sports, plus highlights and documentaries. There are exclusive Peacock Originals, and there are kids’ TV shows on the movies on there.
You’ll also find Telemundo Spanish-language series on there as well. Peacock TV also offers every live WWE pay-per-view, plus the WWE vault. And, there’s news coverage on there as well.
You can find hundreds of movies from major Hollywood studios, like Universal, DreamWorks Animation, and Focus Features on there, as well as documentaries.
Overall, it just has so much content for you to stream that it’s definitely worth a look!
6. Tubi
With Tubi, you can watch 1,000s of movies and TV shows for free. And, there’s no subscription required! This is a legit free app that’s owned by the Fox Corporation.
There are award-winning movies and TV series on there.
And, you can find something to suit everyone whether you’re looking for comedy or drama. There’s also plenty on there for kids to watch as well. And, there are niche favorites available, like Korean dramas, anime, and British series.
7. Pluto TV
With Pluto TV, you can watch 1,000s of movies for free. That’s not all though. The app allows you to watch more than 100 channels, which stream movies, TV shows, sports, true crime, and much more! With so much to offer, Pluto TV is definitely one of the best free apps on Roku.
8. Popcornflix
Popcornflix is another app that is worth a look. The app provides free, full-length movies that you can stream instantly. The platform has more than 1,500 movies and TV shows available from multiple genres, like horror, documentaries, romance, drama, family/kids, action/thrillers, and comedy! And, there are plenty of TV series available too!
9. Vudu
Another app to try is Vudu. This app is ideal for anyone looking for shows and movies that you can stream in great quality.
Vudu has more than 150,000 movies and TV shows available. What’s great about the app is that you can enjoy 1,000s of free movies in up to 4K ultra-HD. You won’t need a subscription to start enjoying great television either.
10. The CW
CW is one of the best free TV apps. With it, you can stream the latest episodes of shows from the network for free! This includes popular and well-known shows like Riverdale and Charmed.
The app allows you to watch the latest episodes of every primetime show the day after broadcast. And, you can watch full seasons of new shows, like every episode of DC’s Stargirl for example.
No cable subscription is required, and no credit cards or passwords are required either. For fans of The CW, this Roku app is a must-have!
11. Xumo
Want free live and on-demand streaming? Then look no further than Xumo. This is a really great app for Roku where you can find everything from Hollywood movies to educational kids programming.
With Xumo, you can watch movies and TV shows. It offers a streaming library that features 1,000s of films. And, there are more than 190 different channels to choose from.
On there, you can also enjoy news, sports coverage, and stand-up comedy.
12. FilmRise
Next on the list we have FilmRise. This is a really great app for Roku that allows you to stream movies and TV shows from so many different genres, like action, drama, horror, comedy, and much more. Videos are available in HD quality, which is just great.
13. YouTube
YouTube is also worth a look. Although it doesn’t offer as much content as you’d find on the apps above, it still has some free movies available.
Plus, you can watch videos on everything from gaming to home décor on the platform. And, there’s lots of free music on there too.
14. Amazing Classics
Love the classics? Well, then Amazing Classics is the app for you. On there, you can find classic movies and TV shows from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
You can find comedy movies, adventure movies, film noir, horror films, documentary movies, and much more on Amazing Classics.
15. Airy TV
Airy TV is an app you can use to stream free movies and TV shows. There’s lots to watch on there, like comedy, sports, and anime. You can even send Airy TV a request, and it will try to build the channel you want.
16. Haystack News
With Haystack News, you can get local and global news from more than 300 channels!
Really! Yes, you can find local coverage and global current events on there. You can even choose the categories, sources, and topics that you are interested in to customize your newscast.
There are stories from trusted news channels, like CNET, Bloomberg, CBSN, and ABC news.
For anyone looking to keep up with the news, Haystack News is an awesome app.
17. FilmRise Horror
Are you a horror movie fan? If so, check out FilmRise Horror. It’s a cool app that offers free horror films, like zombie movies, slasher films, psychological thrillers, and suspense movies.
It offers horror fans TV shows too, making it an awesome app overall.
18. Rakuten Viki
Although Rakuten Viki does have a paid subscription plan, you can actually watch some content for free.
The app offers TV shows and movies from Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand.
And, subtitles are available in more than 200 languages. There’s also entertainment news and more available with the app.
19. Free Movies Plus
Free Movies Plus offers a library of free movies in a huge range of genres.
You can find comedies, action, westerns, musicals, and more on there. So, there’s something to suit everyone. For movie fans, the app is worth a look.
20. Movie Nite
Watch movies for free with Movie Nite. This is a really cool app that offers movies for all tastes, from cult classics to rare finds.
21. Western Mania
With Western Mania, you can watch classic western movies and TV shows. This app offers classic Western films, Western TV shows, B-Westerns, John Wayne movies, and much more. For fans of the western genre, this is a really good app.
22. Yidio
Okay, so another app to check out if you want to be able to stream movies and TV shows at no cost is Yidio. This apps works differently to others on the list because it gathers movies from more than 100 services all in one place. So you can use the app to find free films from multiple platforms.
Not all content on Yidio is free, but many things are. It’s a good app for finding free movies from different places.
23. FilmRise Sci-Fi
Sci-Fi fans should look no further than FilmRise Sci-Fi. With the app, you can find tons of Sci-Fi movies and TV shows. You can find Hollywood movies, classic Sci-Fi, action-packed movies, speculative disaster movies and more. And, it’s all free!
24. Sling TV
A lot of people know Sling TV as a paid subscription service that’s a good cable alternative.
While Sling TV does have paid subscription plans, it also has a free version called Sling Free. This isn’t available on all devices, but it is available on Roku. With the free version, you can watch more than 5,000 movies and TV shows.
To find the free content on the app, make sure to click on “Explore Free Content.”
25. Crunchyroll
Anime fans should definitely check out Crunchyroll. The app allows you to stream Japan’s most popular anime. And it’s free.
26. REDBOX
While Redbox is often most well-known as a movie rental company, it also offers free content that you can stream anytime you want. You can choose from 100s of movies and tv shows. There are also stand-up comedy specials and documentaries on there.
Redbox also offers free live TV. You can watch things like movies, sports, news, music, kids and family shows, and lifestyle shows on there. It’s totally free and no sign in is required. There are movies on there that you can rent or buy, but you can save yourself some money and stick with the free content that Redbox has to offer.
27. FilmRise Thriller
For thriller fans, FilmRise Thriller is a good Roku app. On there, you can find free thriller films, and TV. There’s thrilling supernatural fantasy, suspenseful murder-mysteries, action-packed crime thrillers, and more available on the app.
28. CBS Sports
With CBS Sports, you can get lots of sports content for free!
With the app, you can get pregame and postgame coverage of major events on CBS. You can also get on-demand highlights, and 24/7 live sports and news highlights with CBS Sports HQ. For anyone wanting to keep up to date with sports news and watch highlights, this is a good app.
There is also the option to use your TV provider and/or Paramount+ login to stream CBS sports events, plus Paramount+ Sports exclusives, along with CBS Sports Network events.
29. Fawsome
With Fawesome, you can watch “Free and Awesome” movies, TV shows, and lifestyle content.
The app has 1,000s of titles available across a plethora of genres, such as romance, comedy, horror, and family movies. There are also plenty of TV shows on there, like classic TV shows, sitcoms, food and travel shows, and British shows. And, it’s all totally free to watch!
30. NewsON
Another good Roku app for news is NewsON. With this app, you can watch live, local TV newscasts from more than 275 local news stations across the United States. And, it’s free! No cable subscriptions or logins are required either.
Aside from being able to stream live, local news, you can also watch previous newscasts (up to 48 hours), and local news clips.
You can access your favorite local stations and explore local news across the United States. For anyone who wants to watch local TV without cable so they can get local news coverage for free, this is a good app!
Closing Thoughts
Roku is a super popular platform and you can watch everything from movies to news on there. It’s good to know that it actually offers lots of free apps that you can use to stream content and even watch live TV.
What do you think are the best free Roku apps? Let us know in the comments section below.
I don’t watch any news because of so much bias. News should not be stating their own personal views on politics. I would love to see my local weather but im not going to listen to the crap that is n there. Does not matter who you voted for, we deserve better news. Honest wholesome news period! On a better note these apps are good, and thank you from an old woman who enjoys tv without the high price tag.
Most of these apps are not available in eastern Canada, hoping someday someone will come up with lists of the ones that are
Hard to find good apps on Roku. Many of them look like unpolished turds. PlutoTV, Roku TV and Xumo are probably the main three I use. I especially hate the ones that want you to sign up for an account and all that crap. Forget it. I just want to launch the app and watch stuff, no other BS.
I use Pluto, Tubi, FMC, Haystack, Watch Free Flix all the time as well Roku while most are awesome and have a wonderful selection of movies and tv shows it is irritating to get half way thru a series and then they want you to pay per episode to finish watching. most are $ 2 per episode when you live on a fixed income it is a luxury you cannot afford.
80% of crunchyroll is not free. A third of these are not free.
Thanks for the comment, Ima. Of course, Crunchyroll, like most other apps and businesses, has to make money somehow, so most of their content is under a paid plan. However, they still offer a free plan.
When we originally published the post, all of these were free. Some have made changes here and there, but the only one that we could find no longer offering a free plan is Peacock TV. We have updated the post to reflect that change. If you know of any others listed here that are no longer free, please let us know.