Best Alternatives to Netflix in 2024

With Netflix likely putting an end to password sharing in the very near future — and probably putting an end to using a VPN to unblock it at the same time — it may be the right moment to start looking around for a new site or two for all your streaming needs. We decided to help get you started by putting together this guide to the best alternatives to Netflix.

In a way, it’s a blessing in disguise: once you start looking, you’ll quickly find that there are plenty of excellent alternatives to streaming out there, you just need to know where to find them. In fact, once you get comfortable with them, you may find you don’t miss Netflix much at all.

That said, many of the below options are restricted to certain regions of the globe. As such, to get the most out of this list you’ll probably also need to sign on to one of the best VPNs so you can get the most out of them. We talk about this some more toward the end of the article, first let’s get you acquainted with some Netflix alternatives.

Paid Streaming Services

We’ll kick off with 10 paid streaming services we like — the free stuff is in the next section. Though not all of them have the same breadth in their catalog as Netflix does, they may have some other thing to recommend them. For example, some will be specialized in a genre, or have high-quality shows you can’t find anywhere else. All the below will either have roughly the same price point as Netflix does, though a few will be cheaper, too.

Hulu

First up is Hulu, which offers a truly massive catalogue of shows and movies. This includes originals such as the film Deep Water with Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas, as well as shows like the dystopian The Handmaid’s Tale and the hilarious Letterkenny.

However, there is a downside to Hulu, namely that it can only be accessed from within the United States — if you’re outside of the U.S. you may be familiar with many of Hulu’s shows as they’re on other streaming services in other countries.

While you can use a VPN to unblock Hulu, you also need a U.S.-based form of payment to actually sign on, which makes watching this streaming service from anywhere but the States kinda tricky.

Supported Regions: U.S. only.

Pricing: $7.99 per month with ads, $14.99 per month for the ad-free version. Students can get spectacular discounts, though, and there are also plans that include live TV.

Amazon Prime Video

Next up is Amazon Prime Video, which has a smaller catalogue than Netflix or Hulu, but has as upside that it’s available worldwide. It also has some of the best original series out there, including nail-biter The Boys as well as the hit cartoon Invincible.

However, like with Netflix, not all this content is available to everybody, some of it is locked away behind region locks. Though there are ways in which you can watch Amazon Prime Video from anywhere, it will involve signing up to a VPN to do so.

Supported Regions: Worldwide, excluding China, Russia, North Korea, Syria and Iran.

Pricing: $8.99 per month, though students can get discounts.

Apple TV+

Another strong contender is Apple TV+, which, unsurprisingly, is Apple’s foray into the wide, wild world of streaming. It has a large back catalogue of older TV shows, as well as some hit originals, including feel-good sports comedy Ted Lasso and sci-fi drama Severance.

The nice thing about Apple TV+ is that there are fewer issues with region-locking than with other services, meaning most of its shows can be watched from anywhere. However, as an Apple product it is very much aimed at Apple devices, so watching Apple TV+ on a Windows 10 machine, say, involves a few extra steps.

Supported Regions: Worldwide, excluding North Korea, Syria and Iran.

Pricing: $6.99 per month, though there are some great bundles with other streaming services available.

Disney+

Any list of Netflix alternatives would be incomplete without mentioning Disney+, the dream factory’s entry into the streaming wars. As you can probably imagine, this is where you find everything Disney online, from classics like Snow White to the entire Star Wars catalogue, including everything from movies to the newer series.

If you’re a fan of Star Wars or an aficionado of the Disney magic or you just want to keep the kids entertained, Disney+ is a great option and will likely meet your needs better than Netflix ever did.

Supported Regions: Over 100 countries worldwide, the list changes often so check if your country is covered.

Pricing: $7.99 with ads, $10.99 without ads. There are also bundles with other streaming services available.

HBO Max

HBO Max is the home of high-brow quality shows produced by HBO, including classics like The Wire as well as more contemporary hits such as The Last of Us. The subscription also includes other sites, giving you a huge selection of shows to watch, from popular Adult Swim cartoons to sleeper hits like The Peacemaker.

The only real issue with HBO Max is that it’s not available everywhere; currently, the coverage area is growing, but it’s focused on Latin America and the United States, with a few European countries part of the club. If your country is not on the list, you’ll likely have to unblock it with a VPN.

Supported Regions: HBO Max is currently expanding across the globe, service areas include the U.S., Mexico, large chunks of Latin America and the Caribbean as well as a growing number of European countries.

Pricing: $9.99 per month with ads, $15.99 per month without ads. Subscription includes HBO Max, “regular” HBO, Adult Swim and a number of cartoon-focused services.

Mubi

Mubi is an interesting Netflix alternative for movie buffs. The streaming platform, which is also a film distribution company, focuses on small, independent films. If you like auteur cinema, Mubi is an interesting pick: for example, its film Farewell Amor debuted at Sundance 2020, while Port Authority won a Palm at Cannes in 2019.

However, aside from these niche tastes, Mubi doesn’t offer much in the way of action movies or bingeable series. Still, for the right person Mubi is a fantastic streaming service that offers a diverse and artistic library.

Supported Regions: 195 countries worldwide, though regional libraries may vary.

Pricing: $11.99 per month, though you can save one-third if you pay yearly.

ParamountPlus

Paramount Plus is another good option, though its own offering is a little meager — featuring mostly reruns of older shows like Criminal Minds or Frasier — it also hosts all of CBS’ hits, including the full Star Trek catalogue and courtroom drama The Good Fight.

Paramount Plus also offers a bundle with SHOWTIME, which is home to a number of hit shows, like Dexter or the Arrowverse series. Paramount Plus is an interesting option for anybody that likes to get more than what you see at first.

Supported Regions: the U.S. Canada, Australia, Latin America and parts of Europe.

Pricing: $4.99 with ads, $9.99 without ads. There are also bundles with streaming service SHOWTIME available.

Discovery+

If you’re not that interested in TV shows or films and prefer programs that are a little more rooted in reality, discovery+ may be a good option. With a library of 70,000 episodes of lifelike TV — ranging from documentaries to reality TV shows — it’s a great option for anybody that likes their entertainment a little more grounded.

Some of the best shows on discovery+ include Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, true crime chronicle American Detective and the infamous 90 Day Fiance. Whatever you’re into, this service has it.

Supported Regions: the U.S., Canada, India, and a number of European countries.

Pricing: $4.99 per month with ads, $6.99 per month without ads.

Sling TV

If you’re looking for something that’s a bit more like TV than a streaming service, Sling TV may be what you’re looking for. Rather than offering on-demand viewing — though it has some of that, too — Sling TV instead focuses on offering you the TV channels you love.

Besides just binging your favorite shows, you can also enjoy whatever sports you like, as well as the news and small-scale content you won’t always find on streaming services. With thousands of channels, Sling TV always has something to watch, even from outside of the U.S.

Supported Regions: U.S. only.

Pricing: Packages start at $40 per month.

Free Streaming Services

Naturally, not everybody wants to pay for streaming services, and we don’t really blame you: after all, money is always most at home in your own pockets. Thankfully, there are more than a few options available for free entertainment.

We’ll start with free, legal services. Though most of our picks won’t have the same size libraries of their paid competitors, you can’t beat their price.

The Roku Channel

Our first pick is The Roku Channel, simply because it offers an awful lot of streaming for free. From Roku originals like cooking show Martha Cooks and thriller series The Most Dangerous Game, to shows also offered by other services, Roku has it all.

However, Roku isn’t entirely free: while there are no subscription costs, using it does involve buying a Roku device you attach to your TV or computer. Still, a one-time purchase may be better than a running subscription.

Supported Regions: U.S., Canada, United Kingdom and Mexico.

Pricing: Starting at $29 for a basic Roku device

Amazon Freevee

If you like Amazon Prime Video, but don’t want to pay for it, Amazon Freevee may be an interesting option. Available in select locations via both the Amazon Prime site as well as IMDB, it offers a number of shows for free, including Justice Judy and detective show Bosch: Legacy.

Accessing Freevee is as simple as clicking a link and you get some decent free content; what’s not to love?

Supported Regions: U.S., UK, Germany

Pricing: Free

Plex

Plex is an interesting option for anybody looking for free entertainment. Originally developed as a technology that could stream files from a remote location, now it has become a streaming service all its own (though you can still host your own Plex server, if you’d like).

Like most free streaming platforms, it comes with ads, and quite a few of them, but it may be worth it to watch some old classics like Zulu with Michael Caine or the infamous musical Little Shop of Horrors.

Supported Regions: Worldwide

Pricing: Free, with a Premium upgrade for a one-time fee of $5.

Crackle

Crackle, previously known as “Sony Crackle”, is another free streaming service that focuses on offering older content for free. Its lineup includes TV classics like 3rd Rock from the Sun or News Radio, to name just two. We like Crackle a lot because it doesn’t involve signing up or anything, just access the site and go.

Of course, what you don’t pay for with money you pay for with time, so expect a lot of ads on Crackle, including ones that play during the show. Still, you can’t beat free entertainment.

Supported Regions: U.S. only

Pricing: Free

YouTube

No list of free streaming options would be complete without YouTube, the ubiquitous video platform. Most of us know YouTube as a place where you can watch fellow users expound on their subject of choice or as a music collection, but there are movies and shows to be had, too.

However, in almost all cases these will have to be paid for, especially since YouTube stopped making its own shows a few years ago. Still, if you subscribe to the right creators, you still get hours of entertainment for free.

Supported Regions: Worldwide

Pricing: Free, $11.99 for YouTube Premium.

Tubi

Tubi is an online streaming service that focuses on older content and finances itself through ads. It has all kinds of content, from niche shows barely anybody has heard of to modern classic comedies like The IT Crowd or hard bitten westerns like True Grit.

Though the ads can get a little annoying, there is a lot on offer: with 50,000 titles available, you won’t be running out of things to watch soon.

Supported Regions: U.S. Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia.

Pricing: Free

Pluto TV

If you’re looking for something that’s a bit more like Sling TV than Netflix, Pluto TV may be an option. It offers a large number of channels, mostly U.S.-based, though little in the way of local channels.

On top of these channels, it also has quite a bit of on-demand content, though mostly older and of lower quality. That said, if you’re jonesing for some reality TV like Kitchen Nightmares, Pluto TV may be a good first stop.

Supported Regions: U.S., Canada, parts of Europe

Pricing: Free

Vudu

Vudu is another streaming platform that focuses a little more on movies. Once you sign up, you can rent or buy any of a massive catalog of films, including Bad Boys for Life or Bill & Ted Face the Music. There are some shows, too, though fewer than with some of our other entries.

The service also has a free tier, where you can watch movies and shows for nothing, though you’ll have to endure ads. The free offering isn’t that great, but we spotted Leverage, which in our opinion is good enough that Vudu is worth checking out.

Supported Regions: U.S. only

Pricing: Prices range from $0 to as much as $20, depending on what film and whether you’re renting or buying.

Kanopy

We finish up our list with Kanopy, a non-profit site that works with libraries and universities to offer art-house movies and documentaries for free to viewers across the world. Kanopy has amazing content, from classics like Chinatown to award-winning documentaries like Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind.

However, there’s a downside to Kanopy: the first is that you only get 10 credits per month, with one film costing one credit. Another is that you need to be a member of a university or public library that participates with Kanopy to sign up.

Supported Regions: Worldwide

Pricing: Free, though you only get 10 credits per month

Kodi Add-on Alternatives to Netflix

Besides more traditional streaming sites, you could also consider using Kodi, a downloadable media center that offers all kinds of content. Much of Kodi’s content is completely free, though not all of it is entirely legal. Still, it’s a nice Netflix alternative for anybody that’s tired of switching between streaming services.

Kodi itself doesn’t offer any content, it’s a platform you need to download and set up. Once you’ve done that, you can install any number of add-ons, each of which is a library of sorts with content. Here are some of the best add-ons available right now, though there are literally hundreds to choose from.

The Crew

The Crew is one of the best Kodi add-ons around thanks to it having a lot of everything. You can use it to stream movies and TV shows, but also watch sports, content aimed at kids and a whole lot more.

If you’re new to Kodi, The Crew is a good starting off point as it works with most devices and is easy to install.

Seren

Our next pick, Seren, is famous for offering content fast: using this add-on means you won’t encounter any buffering issues as it uses next-gen tech to deliver content at breakneck speed. The price for this is that you need to join a few of the clubs where it gets its files from.

Seren focuses on movies and TV shows, making it a great Netflix alternative. That said, it can be a bit of hassle to set up, so be prepared to do some figuring out.

FEN

We’ll finish off our sampling with FEN, which is a Kodi add-on that gets its content from specific torrent files as well as Usenet sites, meaning you’ll get a highly eclectic mish-mash of content, all for free.

FEN is fast and reliable, though like Seren will take some effort to install. Still, it in effect offers one of the biggest libraries out there, so it’s well worth the effort.

Torrents and Streaming Sites

Our final Netflix alternative are torrents and illegal streaming sites. These will offer all manner of content, though it won’t be legal and comes with some other issues, too. The biggest takeaway is that you’ll need to use a VPN to torrent and you need some pretty serious ad blockers to use streaming sites.

Still, if you’re willing to do these things, there’s a lot of content out there, and you can get it all for free. Let’s take a look at a few sites.

The Pirate Bay

We’ll kick off with the best torrent site of all, The Pirate Bay. It offers all kinds of content, from movies to films to books to games to what have you, and offers it all with a nice, easy-to-understand interface. It also has a rating system for uploaders, making it easy to gauge whether a torrent is bonafide or not.

If you don’t mind committing copyright infringement to get your entertainment content, then The Pirate Bay is a fantastic place to start since it has a bit of everything.

RARBG

Next up is RARBG, which has all kinds of content, but is a bit more focused on movies and TV shows, making it perhaps a slightly better fit as a Netflix alternative — though it’s also one of our favorite alternatives for KickAss Torrents, an infamous site that went dark a few years ago.

RARBG has all kinds of goodies in its library, and has as upside that it’s a little easier to search than The Pirate Bay.

1337X

Another top torrenting recommendation is 1337X, which also offers a massive library, though focused more on documentaries and anime content. If what you want to watch is a bit more niche, 1337X may be the ticket.

Of course, torrenting isn’t for everybody, and you may just want the convenience of streaming. In that case, there are some illegal streaming sites you can use. We’ve picked two you can try.

Popcorn Time

The infamous Popcorn Time app also has a streaming site that with all kinds of content, from kids’ movies to adult entertainment, in relatively decent quality. That said, it’s not the most reliable site, suffering from buffering issues and constant redirects to ad sites, which gets annoying. Even with an ad blocker, Popcorn Time is a bit rough.

MoviesJoy

A similar site is MoviesJoy, which offers all kinds of films and TV shows, though again with constant pop-up ads and redirects. It’s definitely not the same smooth experience you’d get from a site like Netflix, but, hey, it’s free.

Keep Your Streams Private or Unblock Geo-Location Bans

Even with services as reliable as Netflix, there’s always the chance someone is looking over your virtual shoulder. ISPs can monitor, log, and even sell your online activity. Government agencies can track downloads and which websites you visit. Hackers can even steal personal information and use it for identity theft. There’s no shortage of dangers on the world wide web, and the minute you dive into alternative streaming methods, you bump up the risk factor just a bit.

The good news is you can keep yourself safe by using a virtual private network. VPNs encrypt every packet of data that leaves your device, wrapping them in an unbreakable layer of code that prevents anyone from seeing what’s inside. ISPs can’t see what you’re streaming, hackers can’t discover your location. With a VPN you can stay hidden online while unlocking a host of added benefits, including watching videos from other regions.

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