Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority
Video streaming is the new norm. People pay for Netflix, Hulu and similar services without a second thought. Ribbon cutting is also quite common now. However, not everyone can afford hundreds of dollars worth of subscription services each year. We get it, as do many mobile apps. There are curated options for movie lovers who want to watch things for free without reaching into the dark parts of the internet. These are the best legal, free movie apps for Android.
Yes, movie sites like Amazon Prime and Google TV are available, but you can catch the occasional one free movie on YouTube. These services also sometimes offer free movie rentals or rentals. These are rarer today, but they do happen.
The best legal free movie and TV apps for Android
Sony’s Crackle is one of the most popular free movie apps on mobile. It boasts loads of hit titles, a variety of TV shows and loads of genres to choose from. It even has Nielson tracking software, so you can be part of the statistics when it comes to popularity. You’ll find a decent selection, though not every great movie ever made. The streaming quality itself definitely requires a lot of work. However, we expect it to improve over time. It’s popular, but it’s also not the best implementation of free video streaming on this list.
Crunchyroll
Price: Free/In-App Purchases ($5.99 – $149.99 per item)
Crunchyroll is the most popular anime streaming service in most of the world. It boasts a metric ton of content, including tons of new stuff every season. Yes, that includes movies. Crunchyroll includes an ad-supported free tier where you can watch whatever you want as long as the ads don’t bother you. Crunchyroll acquired Funimation and began merging the service into Crunchyroll in 2022. There is literally no competition here. Crunchyroll is the best for anime fans.
Hoopla Digital
Price: Free
Hoopla Digital is a comprehensive free content media outlet. It uses access to your local library along with your library card to show you loads of stuff for free. This includes movies, TV shows, e-books, music and even comic books. The app also comes with support for Android TV and Chromecast. Your local library must be part of the Hoopla network in order to work with your library card. However, other than that, it works pretty well.
Disney Plus
Price: Free/In-App Purchases ($7.99 – $139.99 per item)
Disney Plus is one of the most popular free movie apps. It offers movies, TV shows and live sports, although you may not get access to everything with a free membership. Streams seem to work fine, and there are ads, as you’d expect. However, apart from the limited availability, it is a service free streaming platform. A lot of complaints about this app stemmed from the World Cup and how Hotstar didn’t work well with the Jio TV app.
Kodi is a media player app for Android. It supports local video and audio playback and comes with a full user interface to control everything. One of its other neat tricks includes the ability to run plugins, and many of these plugins can deliver free content. We don’t condone piracy, so many of those plugins won’t make it to this list. However, some, like USTVNow, allow you to watch TV channels (and the movies that air on them) for free.
Plex
Price: Free/In-App Purchases ($0.99 – $149.99 per item)
Plex wasn’t an option for this list a year ago, but things have changed. The company launched a video-on-demand service with more than 1,000 titles to choose from. This includes Hollywood blockbusters, independent films and more. There is television, but honestly, not much. Nevertheless, the selection is above average for its segment. You simply create an account and start watching movies.
There is advertising, like most of the services on this list, but it’s honestly not a big deal, considering you’re not paying anything for this content. The company plans to make even more free and premium content like this, so be on the lookout for more. Additionally, Plex is arguably the best option if you have media on your computer and want to stream it to your TV.
Pluto TV is another popular option for free movie apps. It offers hundreds of TV channels and thousands of movies and TV shows on demand. It works like most others. You watch ads and in return you get video content. This one also has 17 curated movie stations for horror, romance, comedy and more. Like many free streaming services, some users complain that the ads are annoying and repetitive. At the same time, others have complained that the app freezes and crashes occasionally on some devices. Additionally, the app works well as a free movie streaming option.
Fandango at home
Price: Free/In-App Purchases ($99.99 per item)
Fandango isn’t just a streaming app. It’s your personal gateway to a diverse world of movies, TV shows and more. If you don’t want to buy movies or pay for a streaming service, this is the app for you. Just download the app from the Play Store and watch all your favorite shows on the go. It also has the option of borrowing movies. Watch shows and movies in super-clear quality on compatible devices. But with every free app there is a catch. You would have to sit through a lot of ads between viewing sessions. Additionally, the app’s interface is somewhat less intuitive compared to other apps. This makes it harder to discover and access content, making the app less user-friendly.
Tubi is a popular app for free movies and TV shows. It boasts the usual 100% legal streaming with ads, although many people don’t seem to mind the ads with this one. You also get various genres from various places around the world. You can even find things, like anime, if you want to watch them. It seems like a generally good all-around streaming service, but that ultimately means it doesn’t reach niches as well as some others. Nevertheless, this one is excellent and one of the first ones we would recommend.
Amazon Freevee
Price: Free
You’ve probably heard of Amazon Prime Video, which is a premium streaming service that requires you to buy a subscription, but what if there was a free version of it? Introducing Amazon Freevee, a free streaming service that lets you watch tons of popular movies and series anytime, anywhere. It even has some new shows called Freevee Originals for your entertainment. In addition, there are live channels, so you won’t be bored. It requires you to sign in with your Amazon account. But after that, you can just start watching – no credit cards or fees required. It’s ad-supported, so it’ll be a little boring, but still worth a try. This one is currently limited to a few regions as well, so be sure to check that out.