7 Legal Streaming Websites to Watch Movies and TV Shows for Free

Even if streaming has become part of everyday life, keeping up with subscription fees does not have to be. There are several legal streaming websites where you can watch your favorite shows and movies for free. Although they may not offer the same interface, experience, or exclusive originals as premium services like Netflix, they provide a great way to stream content legally without resorting to torrents.

These platforms are typically funded by advertisements, supported by nonprofit organizations, or made available through public libraries. Here are seven legal streaming websites where you can watch movies, documentaries, and TV shows for free.

1 Plex

Plex is best known as a media server platform that lets users organize and stream their personal media collections. In addition to that, it also offers a library of movies and TV shows available to stream for free. The platform operates on an ad-supported model and features content from major studios and networks. Its catalog includes classic films such as Planet of the Apes and The Man from Earth, as well as shows like The Dick Van Dyke Show.

Ads appear as short commercial breaks during playback. Beyond popular movies and TV series, Plex also offers on-demand content, live TV, and reality programming across a wide range of genres and interests.

2 Kanopy

Kanopy is a unique service that partners with public libraries and universities to provide free access to educational content. Unlike many free streaming services, Kanopy is generally ad-free because participating libraries fund access for their members. Indie darlings like Moonlight and Eighth Grade, as well as more educational documentaries like Race, are available.

The platform usually features critically acclaimed movies, documentaries, foreign films, independent cinema, and educational programming. Customers with a valid public library card can access the content on Kanopy.

3 TubiTV

The Fox Corporation’s Tubi TV is one of the largest free and legal streaming websites. It operates on an advertising model with access to a large library of content. The interface is very user-friendly and has become popular among watchers for this reason. Thousands of movies, TV shows, reality TV, and live channels are available without a subscription.

4 Internet Archive

The Internet Archive is truly one of the most beautiful things ever created. It is a catalogue of not just movies, TV shows, and documentaries, but also audiobooks, texts, podcasts, interviews, workshops, and more. It does not even rely on advertising and is supported by donations.

From the earliest videos ever made to the latest movies, the Internet Archive has everything and is probably the closest thing to physical media on digital. It is great to sometimes just go down a rabbit hole and learn something new. 

While the selection focuses more on archival and historical material than modern entertainment, the Internet Archive remains an invaluable resource for discovering classic cinema, vintage television, and culturally significant media. 

5 PlutoTV

Just like how Fox owns Tubi TV, Paramount owns Pluto TV. While the studio has its subscription-based OTT service, Paramount+, Pluto TV is its ad-supported library. Users don’t need a subscription to access thousands of hours of content, and new stuff is added regularly.

Pluto TV features programming across multiple categories, including news, sports, entertainment, reality TV, crime, and classic television. It also offers dedicated channels for popular franchises and television series. Its familiar cable-style experience makes it particularly appealing to viewers who enjoy live programming. 

6 FilmRise

FilmRise is an independent film and television distribution platform with its own streaming service. It uses an ad-supported plan where a subscription is not needed. Its content library features licensed movies, classic television shows, true-crime series, documentaries, and niche programming that may not be widely available elsewhere.

Users can stream content through the FilmRise website, mobile apps, and connected TV devices. Its focus on diverse and often overlooked content makes it a valuable streaming alternative.

7 Hoopla

Similar to Kanopy, Hoopla also partners with public libraries to provide educational content to members. It also has television shows, movies, books, comics, music, and audiobooks in its content library, making it a full-fledged archive of content. It is ad-free, and a library card is needed to access the shows.

While Kanopy has slowly been losing some of its partners lately (via X), Hoopla has a robust collection of mainstream films and shows, making it one of the most versatile streaming services available.

Platform	Ad-Supported	Content Type	Library Card Required
Plex	Yes	Movies, TV Shows, Live Channels	No
Kanopy	No	Independent films, documentaries, educational content	Yes
Tubi TV	Yes	Movies, TV shows, originals, live channels	No
Internet Archive	No	Public-domain films, classic TV, historical media	No
Pluto TV	Yes	Live TV channels, movies, TV shows	No
FilmRise	Yes	Movies, TV series, documentaries, true crime	No
Hoopla	No	Movies, TV shows, audiobooks, eBooks, music	Yes

Which legally streaming website do you think is one of the best? Comment below.