For far too many people in this country, ’tis the season for belt-tightening. From rampant layoffs to rising inflation, people are having to make some tough choices over the 2025 holidays. One area where consumers are likely to cut back is streaming subscriptions. With choices like Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, Apple TV, Paramount+, Peacock, and The Criterion Channel, Americans currently spend a not-nice $69 per month on streaming services. For those of us who are ad-free or bust, that number is much higher. And now with the looming Netflix acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (or is that the hostile takeover of WBD by Paramount Global?), there’s reason to fret that, when these services get yoked together, those prices will skyrocket.
It’ll likely take a year and change for all of this to shake out, but in the short term, people who can’t fit a current Premium Netflix subscription ($25 per month) into their budget and find it obscene to pay to watch ads on one of the lower tiers, there are many fine free streaming options out there. Yes, these are mostly ad-supported services, but they’re loaded with terrific, sometimes hard-to-find titles. Picture quality, as ever, depends on the digital print that’s been licensed by the studio, network, or production company, but more often than not, their offerings look every bit as good as what you’ll pay to watch on Netflix.
What are the best free streaming services? Here are five of the best out there.
You can’t go wrong with a streaming service packed with over 275,000 titles, and you won’t find a more easily navigable website. And if you want to start watching, all you’ve got to do is head over to its front page, click on a movie and start watching without creating an account. If, however, you’re keen on becoming a frequent user of Tubi, I’d recommend signing up, if only so you can build a viewing queue and, most importantly, keep your place if you navigate away from the site. Tubi also boasts original programming, which includes its teen-skewing