Watching movies on your computer or smart TV is great — but what about when you want to watch on your smartphone? While it might seem unbelievable that you can simply download an app onto your phone or tablet and start watching films for free, there are a number of apps that let you do just that. It’s easy to find free movie apps for your Android phone or iPhone, but not all are reliable.
Look no further — we’ve hand-picked six of the best free movie apps for Android and iOS. We’ll take a look at their main features and what you can do with them, to help you decide which one to download. The only question now is, which movie are you going to watch next?
Filmrise
You don’t even need to create an account to enjoy hundreds of TV shows and movies totally free on Filmrise. Just download the app and you can watch HD-quality movies across a huge range of genres including horror, romance, comedy, and thriller. There’s also a wide choice of TV shows, although you might not be able to find the latest releases.
We love that all the movies and TV shows have a rating and popularity score, helping you decide what to watch — and the Recently Played list makes it easy to resume watching where you left off. The app’s editors create new playlists every week so you’ll always discover something new to watch.
Sling TV
Sling TV is one of the best free movie apps for smartphones. It’s also one of the best free TV apps, since it lets you watch a range of programming, from sports and news to comedy programs and kids shows. You can use this app to stream live television from more than 200 channels. These include ESPN, TNT, CNN, HGTV, the History Channel, and many others. Sling TV also offers more than 85,000 on-demand movies and shows, as well as a range of programming for the kiddies, from such networks as Disney Channel and Cartoon Network. As with any good TV app, Sling TV lets you personalize your content and channels on the app, enabling you to save your favorite channels and shows.
Tubi
Tubi is another free app for Android and iOS that lets you watch TV and movies. It boasts a wide selection of films and programs, from newly released movies to anime, Korean dramas, and British series. It also adds new movies and shows to its selection each Friday.
One welcome feature is that Tubi lets you transmit your screen to a television using either Chromecast or AirPlay, so you don’t have to spend all your time staring at a touchscreen. Other nice touches include the ability to sync your Tubi account with multiple devices such as Apple TV, Xbox, and Roku, and the ability to pick up movies and shows from where you last watched them. You can also manage your own personal queue of videos to watch.
While Tubi features a wide selection of TV programs and movies from Paramount, Lionsgate, MGM, and other studios, some reviewers have complained that it doesn’t provide the most recent films — and the app does have ads. Nonetheless, this is to be expected with a free movie app, and Tubi does still offer a generous and expanding roster of content.
Vudu
Vudu is an excellent free app that lets you stream thousands of films for free using your smartphone and other devices, and it also provides a varied selection of TV shows spanning multiple genres. Vudu’s interface is very clearly laid out and easy to navigate. Shows and movies are organized according to category, so all you have to do is browse, tap on a title, and get watching.
One standout feature of Vudu that distinguishes it from other free movie apps is that it lets you download movies and shows to your device, so you can watch content offline — and you can use AirPlay to cast to your TV if you don’t want to watch on your phone. The latest updates to the app include the Spatial Audio feature, which lets you experience TV and movies in surround sound using your AirPods Pro, and the Picture in Picture feature, designed to let you multitask on your phone while watching your favorite show or a movie.
However, while Vudu is free to download and offers a broad range of free content, it also offers movies that you need to pay to watch, and it does have ads, although these are fewer than with some other apps.
Crackle
Crackle is one of the most well-known free movie apps, boasting a strong selection of free movies in such genres as comedy, drama, action, and thriller. And like most good free movie apps, it also lets you watch TV shows, both new and old.
One of Crackle’s unique features is its Spotlight Channel, which features shows and movies recommended by the Crackle team. This is a great way to discover content you haven’t heard of or given a chance before, while the Watch Later function means you can save a list of things you’d like to check out as soon as you get the chance.
Like most free movie apps, Crackle displays ads. However, if you sign up for an account, you can make them less frequent, resulting in a better and cleaner experience.
Viki
Developed by Rakuten, Viki is an excellent free movie and TV app. And if you happen to be a lover of Asian TV and cinema, from Korea, China, and Japan, then it may just be the perfect movie smartphone app for you. Viki’s selection of content brims with a healthy range of Asian TV dramas, movies, lifestyle shows, and variety TV. Even if you don’t happen to speak Korean, Chinese, or Japanese, the app provides subtitles in more than 200 languages.
One great feature of the app is that it gives you the chance to chat with other users while watching programs and movies. This is a fantastic way to meet like-minded TV and film enthusiasts, and it helps give Viki a communal vibe that other free movie apps lack.
While Viki is free to download and does offer a vast selection of free content, you do need to sign up to access content, either via email, Google, Facebook, or Rakuten. Viki also offers a subscription service that removes the ads and provides early access to Viki Originals and Viki Exclusives. This begins at $4 per month — but you can enjoy a seven-day free trial to see if the subscription is for you before you commit.
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