Best Free TV Apps in 2026: Top Streaming Apps with Zero Cost

Top 8 Free TV Streaming Apps

These are the best free streaming apps available in 2026, each with no subscription fee and no credit card required:

1. Tubi

Tubi is the largest free streaming service in the United States, offering 50,000+ movies and TV shows at no cost. The library covers virtually every genre — action, horror, romance, documentaries, anime, and international content. Ad breaks are less frequent than traditional TV. Tubi requires no account to start watching, though creating a free account enables watchlist and history features. Available on every major platform.

2. Pluto TV

Pluto TV is the best free live TV app, with 250+ channels organized into a traditional channel-guide format. Channels span news (Sky News, NBC News Now), entertainment, reality TV, movies, sports highlights, and more. On-demand content is also available. No sign-up required. Available on Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, iOS, Android, smart TVs, and web.

3. Peacock Free

Peacock's free tier includes NBC content, a selection of movies and shows, live news, some NFL games, and Premier League soccer highlights. The free tier is ad-supported and does not include the full Peacock library (which requires Peacock Premium at $7.99/month), but it provides solid access to NBC programming and next-day broadcast episodes.

4. Amazon Freevee

Amazon Freevee (formerly IMDb TV) is Amazon's free, ad-supported streaming service. It includes a library of movies, TV series, and Amazon Freevee originals. The service is built into the Prime Video app, making it accessible on any device that supports Prime Video. No Prime membership is required to use Freevee.

5. Plex

Plex offers a free ad-supported streaming tier with 80+ live TV channels and a library of movies and shows. It also serves as a media server for your personal library. The free tier requires account creation but no payment. Available on virtually every device platform.

6. Crackle

Crackle is a Sony-backed free streaming service with a curated library of movies, TV series, and Crackle originals. The library is smaller than Tubi but includes quality titles across drama, comedy, and action. Available on major smart TV platforms, Roku, Fire TV, iOS, and Android.

7. Kanopy

Kanopy is available free through public libraries and universities. It offers thousands of films including arthouse, independent, documentary, and classic cinema — with no ads. If you have a library card, Kanopy is one of the highest-quality free streaming options available. Titles vary by library system.

8. PBS

The PBS app provides free access to PBS shows including Frontline, Nova, American Experience, Masterpiece, and children's programming. Most content is available free with no account. Some series require a PBS Passport membership (a donation-based unlock). Available on all major platforms.

Best Free App for Movies

Tubi is the clear leader for free on-demand movies. With 50,000+ titles spanning new releases, classics, cult films, horror, international cinema, and every major genre, it has a deeper movie library than many paid services. The ad experience is reasonable — breaks are shorter and less frequent than broadcast TV. Tubi also curates themed channels and collections that make discovery easy. For pure movie volume and variety at zero cost, nothing else in the free tier comes close.

Best Free App for Live TV

Pluto TV is the best free live TV app in 2026. Its 250+ channels are organized in a traditional channel-guide format, making it feel like cable TV — but free. Channel categories include news (Sky News, NBC News Now, Bloomberg TV), sports highlights (NFL Channel, MLB Network on Pluto), reality TV, movies (dedicated channels for horror, westerns, action), and pop culture. No sign-up is required. Pluto TV is available on Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, smart TVs, iOS, Android, and web.

Best Free App for Network TV

For broadcast network content, your best options are the official apps from each network alongside Peacock Free. The ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox apps all provide free access to recent episodes of their current primetime lineup, typically available the day after broadcast. Peacock Free adds NBC's broader back-catalog and some live sports. None of these require a cable login for most on-demand content, making them genuinely free alternatives for cord-cutters who want to stay current with network programming.

Free Streaming Apps Comparison