Posted 7 August 2023
UK Best Free Streaming Platforms: Are They A Valid Alternative To The Most Famous (And Expensive) Streaming Giants?
"Seriously? Is [ Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video - Pick Your Platform] raising the subscription prices again? There's no way I'm giving more money to these people!"
If you ever said these words out loud at least once, raise your hand and welcome to the club! I am an avid streaming platforms consumer as I am obsessed with tv series and movies - not necessarily the super mainstream ones - but you will always catch me watching something one way or the other.
Recently a lot of the main platforms like Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video etc have not only repeatedly increased the prices of their subscription but they also decided to end password sharing and loads of other small annoying things that make our money less and less worth it.
I did recently find myself longing for new platforms to discover and as I found some pretty nice free ones, I thought it would have been nice to share them...we are on HotUKDeals after all so everything Free should be out there for the community to make use of.
Now to keep it real, those free platforms won't have the latest season of the biggest and most mainstream series (you won't find The Witcher, or Squid Game to name a couple), but you will be able to find a bunch of indie projects to get passionate about and even some past A-List series to binge watch.
BIG PRO of these platforms: they cost you absolutely nothing as they are FREE (You might just need to create an account with your email).
BIT OF A CON: You most likely will be subjected to a few ads along the way and the catalogues might not contain big titles or mainstream projects.
These are the list of our favourites Free Streaming Platforms available in the UK:
1. PLUTO TV
Pluto TV is a US streaming service that’s owned by Paramount and is free to users in the UK, US and other countries.
It has over 100 channels and you can watch "LIVE TV Streaming" where you can hop on and off channels like the old times on Sky or you can enter the "ON DEMAND" Section and choose your content.
I was obsessed with CSI when I was younger so I was super happy to discover that PLUTO TV has the series in their catalogue.
Big Plus for Pluto: You don't need an account.
Bit of a downside: Loads (and loads...) of ADs
2. FREEVEE
Previously known as IMDb TV, Freevee is Amazon’s free alternative to Prime Video. You don’t have to pay for Amazon Prime to watch it and you don’t need a subscription, but you will have to watch a few ads.Their catalogue have some popular shows and movies, such as Mad Men and Logan, but the platform also has their original shows, including Bosch Legacy and otherspin-offs of original Prime Video shows.
PROs: Decent collection of movies
The platforms supports many popular devices
CONs: Navigation is not very user-friendly
Pretty slim catalogue in terms of TV Shows
Loads of ADs
3. KANOPY
Kanopy is a Free Streaming Platform that partners with universities and public libraries to bring users films and series that you can watch on your TV, phone, tablet or online. It quite an amazing platform if you like to mainly watch documentaries, classic cinema, indie and foreign films and educational videos and programmes.
It is quite a unique platform and the biggest point in its favour is that it is AD FREE!!!
A couple of more PROs:
Some CONs:
4. RAKUTEN TV FREE
Rakuten TV Free is a selection of premium content on the Rakuten TV app, available for you to enjoy free of charge if you are willing to go through a few ads.
Catalogue is pretty nice with loads of recent and not-so-recent titles divided by categories ( the navigation is pretty user friendly).
The platform currently available to enjoy without an account on their Smart TV app, while on other devices, including their website, it will be necessary to login or register to access Rakuten TV Free.
BIG PRO: Catalogue is pretty good and if you like the platform a lot, you can switch to the paid version
CON: You really need to endure quite a few ads for this one - but if you are not too bothered it is a very decent way of consuming streaming products.
A Couple of other Free Platforms in the UK are BBC iPlayer and ITV Hub. They are technically free but obviously you will have to pay a TV License fee for them.
BBC iPlayer
It is run and owned by the BBC, and has access to hundreds of TV series, films and documentaries available to watch live or on-demand. All BBC channels including BBC 1, BBC 2, BBC 3, BBC 4, CBBC, CBeebies, S4C, News, Alba, Parliament, Scotland and Radio 1 are available. There are also plenty of old classics and new movies to watch, and there are tons of TV series too, including Peaky Blinders, Normal People, Conversations With Friends, Line of Duty, Silent Witness, Pretty Little Liars and more.
ITV X
Replacing ITV Hub as the online home of all ITV content, viewers can expect a new and improved product experience through ITVX as well as more new and exclusive programmes to stream for free.
All ITV’s channels will be available to livestream through ITVX, as well as additional themed channels (known as FAST channels), and a dedicated news section on ITVX.
Users can also expect the full range of ITV drama past and present to be on the service, as well as documentaries, cult classics and hundreds of blockbuster films which will all stream for free (you will need to create an account).
Special Mention:PEACOCK
*I am mentioning this because it is technically free but only if you already have a paid subscription to other platforms.
Peacock is an American streaming platform that has a pretty big catalogue of popular Movies, Sport Events and TV Shows - some of them exclusive and not available to watch anywhere else.
In the US they are a paid for subscription like Netflix or Disney+ - but definitely more affordable (their plan is about $4.99 per month).
They are trying to branch out in other parts of the world and currently, you can access the platform at no extra cost if you are a SKY or NOW TV subscriber both in the UK and in Ireland.
Let me know if I left any good free streaming platforms out so I can add it to the list and it would be great to have some feedback for the community if you tried any of those free alternatives to giants like Netflix or Prime Video!
A couple of other good resources re-streaming (music and video) can be found here:
From the Magazine:
If you ever said these words out loud at least once, raise your hand and welcome to the club! I am an avid streaming platforms consumer as I am obsessed with tv series and movies - not necessarily the super mainstream ones - but you will always catch me watching something one way or the other.
Recently a lot of the main platforms like Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video etc have not only repeatedly increased the prices of their subscription but they also decided to end password sharing and loads of other small annoying things that make our money less and less worth it.
I did recently find myself longing for new platforms to discover and as I found some pretty nice free ones, I thought it would have been nice to share them...we are on HotUKDeals after all so everything Free should be out there for the community to make use of.
Now to keep it real, those free platforms won't have the latest season of the biggest and most mainstream series (you won't find The Witcher, or Squid Game to name a couple), but you will be able to find a bunch of indie projects to get passionate about and even some past A-List series to binge watch.
BIG PRO of these platforms: they cost you absolutely nothing as they are FREE (You might just need to create an account with your email).
BIT OF A CON: You most likely will be subjected to a few ads along the way and the catalogues might not contain big titles or mainstream projects.
These are the list of our favourites Free Streaming Platforms available in the UK:
1. PLUTO TV
Pluto TV is a US streaming service that’s owned by Paramount and is free to users in the UK, US and other countries.
It has over 100 channels and you can watch "LIVE TV Streaming" where you can hop on and off channels like the old times on Sky or you can enter the "ON DEMAND" Section and choose your content.
I was obsessed with CSI when I was younger so I was super happy to discover that PLUTO TV has the series in their catalogue.
Big Plus for Pluto: You don't need an account.
Bit of a downside: Loads (and loads...) of ADs
2. FREEVEE
Previously known as IMDb TV, Freevee is Amazon’s free alternative to Prime Video. You don’t have to pay for Amazon Prime to watch it and you don’t need a subscription, but you will have to watch a few ads.Their catalogue have some popular shows and movies, such as Mad Men and Logan, but the platform also has their original shows, including Bosch Legacy and otherspin-offs of original Prime Video shows.
PROs: Decent collection of movies
The platforms supports many popular devices
CONs: Navigation is not very user-friendly
Pretty slim catalogue in terms of TV Shows
Loads of ADs
3. KANOPY
Kanopy is a Free Streaming Platform that partners with universities and public libraries to bring users films and series that you can watch on your TV, phone, tablet or online. It quite an amazing platform if you like to mainly watch documentaries, classic cinema, indie and foreign films and educational videos and programmes.
It is quite a unique platform and the biggest point in its favour is that it is AD FREE!!!
A couple of more PROs:
- Thousands of on-demand films and shows
- Free with a library card or university email address
- Unlimited access to Kanopy Kids content
- Can create and share/embed clips and playlists
- No limit on simultaneous streaming from a single account
Some CONs:
- You have Play Credits to use for watching content and can only stream a handful of them per month
- Does not support offline downloads on mobile devices
- Very specific target audience
4. RAKUTEN TV FREE
Rakuten TV Free is a selection of premium content on the Rakuten TV app, available for you to enjoy free of charge if you are willing to go through a few ads.
Catalogue is pretty nice with loads of recent and not-so-recent titles divided by categories ( the navigation is pretty user friendly).
The platform currently available to enjoy without an account on their Smart TV app, while on other devices, including their website, it will be necessary to login or register to access Rakuten TV Free.
BIG PRO: Catalogue is pretty good and if you like the platform a lot, you can switch to the paid version
CON: You really need to endure quite a few ads for this one - but if you are not too bothered it is a very decent way of consuming streaming products.
A Couple of other Free Platforms in the UK are BBC iPlayer and ITV Hub. They are technically free but obviously you will have to pay a TV License fee for them.
BBC iPlayer
It is run and owned by the BBC, and has access to hundreds of TV series, films and documentaries available to watch live or on-demand. All BBC channels including BBC 1, BBC 2, BBC 3, BBC 4, CBBC, CBeebies, S4C, News, Alba, Parliament, Scotland and Radio 1 are available. There are also plenty of old classics and new movies to watch, and there are tons of TV series too, including Peaky Blinders, Normal People, Conversations With Friends, Line of Duty, Silent Witness, Pretty Little Liars and more.
ITV X
Replacing ITV Hub as the online home of all ITV content, viewers can expect a new and improved product experience through ITVX as well as more new and exclusive programmes to stream for free.
All ITV’s channels will be available to livestream through ITVX, as well as additional themed channels (known as FAST channels), and a dedicated news section on ITVX.
Users can also expect the full range of ITV drama past and present to be on the service, as well as documentaries, cult classics and hundreds of blockbuster films which will all stream for free (you will need to create an account).
Special Mention:PEACOCK
*I am mentioning this because it is technically free but only if you already have a paid subscription to other platforms.
Peacock is an American streaming platform that has a pretty big catalogue of popular Movies, Sport Events and TV Shows - some of them exclusive and not available to watch anywhere else.
In the US they are a paid for subscription like Netflix or Disney+ - but definitely more affordable (their plan is about $4.99 per month).
They are trying to branch out in other parts of the world and currently, you can access the platform at no extra cost if you are a SKY or NOW TV subscriber both in the UK and in Ireland.
Let me know if I left any good free streaming platforms out so I can add it to the list and it would be great to have some feedback for the community if you tried any of those free alternatives to giants like Netflix or Prime Video!
A couple of other good resources re-streaming (music and video) can be found here:
- Streaming Deals and Offers
- Top 5 Music Streaming Services: How To Try Them For Free and Get Their Best/Cheaper Offer
- Spotify Just Increased Their Subscriptions Prices: What Are The Alternatives?
From the Magazine:
- How to sign up for Netflix: a step-by-step guide
- Disney+ is ending account sharing soon — how can you pay less for your subscription?
Community Updates
237 Comments
sorted byChannel 7 is free too.
Are there other free Australian channels?
As for consumption, I watch TV content in alphabetical order, starting with Band of Brothers and finishing with Twin Peaks (all three seasons plus Fire Walk With Me). I also watch film content in alphabetical order, picking out the next film in order whenever I'm in the mood for a film.
Once I've passed a certain letter in the film and TV alphabet and I buy something that comes before it, I'll wait until I get all the way round to that letter before watching it; although I'd make an exception to that rule if a new film started with the same letter as the last film I watched, or it started with the preceding letter to the last one I watched. For example, If I'd just watched The Matrix and I picked up The Martian or Love Actually, I'd allow myself to watch those films before moving on to films that start with the letter N. But I wouldn't go back and watch a film starting with the letter K.
It might sound a bit complicated but it isn't. And between life and whatnot, it currently takes me around two years to watch everything once, probably even longer than that.
Fwiw, I don't have a TV license and I don't subscribe to any services, although I'm about to avail myself of a three-month Disney+ subscription using Tesco club card points. But once that's finished, it'll be back to my film and TV collection solely.
Oh, I have a great sound system so watching stuff is almost always a thoroughly engaging experience.
This and or setting your VPN to kill ads will remove them.
KANOPY is US only? When I try to find my library it only shows US ones. (edited)
Suffolk
Essex
Redbridge
Southwark
Lambeth
Windsor and Maidenhead
It looks like Kanopy is available for people at most UK universities and some colleges.
About 56 % of the programmes are documentaries, 19 % feature films, drama and series, 14 % news-related programmes, while 5 % feature music and other performing arts. About two thirds of the programmes broadcast on ARTE are previously unreleased.
I recently downloaded Amazon Freevee, for movies it's not too bad, there's a decent enough selection but it's not great for TV shows which is what I watch most of. I love finding a good series and binge watching.
In my outlook the best one I find is channel 4 (previously known as All4) It has such a good selection if you're an avid TV viewer, dramas, documentaries and sitcoms. Yes there are ads to contend with but I make use of those by nipping in to the kitchen and making a cup of tea/coffee
samsung.com/uk/…us/ (edited)
If NOT own corporation stay poor
If OWN corporation/s stay rich
Everything is a service, everything is pay per month. Golden rule which speaks the truth, your money is not your money, it is ultra rich people's money, you are looking after it until it requires returning to the ultra rich.
Anyway that was a small social commentary on the modern world today. So to stay on topic I only use Netflix and I get that free with my mobile phone contract. I can change it to Apple music. I also get Deezer Music free as part of a family package from a work colleague, he had a spare slot on Deezer so I use that. I don't have Sky TV even. I would like a legal way to watch Sport such as Premier League, pay for a service abroad and use a VPN. I have a decent VPN. Not interested in piracy or IPTV dodgy subscriptions! My Dad has BT Sport so I can watch Champions League etc.
Also I believe you can get Disney+ cheaper using Tesco vouchers, yes you can here is how to do that >
secure.tesco.com/clu…prd
"Turn every £12 in vouchers into £24.00 to use with Disney+ 3 month subscription"
Also don't forget that some of these services like Plex and Pluto will have different content through a US VPN.
Changing from BBC to ITV means coming out the BBC app and loading up ITV each time for example.
Thanks
(yes, i have TV license)
Regarding TV licence mentioned in OP for ITV Hub, it is only required for watching Live TV on ITV Hub / ITVX, any on demand stuff does not require a TV licence, same with Channel 4, My5 and UKTV Play apps. BBC is the only one that needs a TV licence for on demand content as well. Also, Pluto TV is mentioned as having live channels, that too would need a TV licence for live channels and slightly annoyingly when you open that app it immediately goes into a live channel as well (bad design). (edited)
whilst it is tedious, installed these on tablet, but it takes me alot of searching and trying to get one, then other to watch what I want, esp live stream shows.
IE decent Android Tv box to try and perhaps be able to record certain shows using "stream catcher"- download" appks like IMD+ etc...
or get back to the old torrenting ways, but need to get capability to record-store whatever, but my priority is those "niche" live stream programs, that are bit painful to live without.
or should I just persevere to learn how to "jail-break" Roku and continue setting it up?
BTW my telly isn't smart, no freeview, just a big old 65" 1080p lump (so far imagery(from Roku) is bit second or the 3'rd class), compared to old Sky Box...
Thanks !
All holders of Club Lloyds are entitled to choose a benefit. One of them is Disney+.
LG TV
I don't think Hitatchi has one though
Check out ChilliJonCarni on YouTube for clarification of your correct legal requirements for a TV licence
Many thanks for the post (edited)
Pluto TV, UK is another great platform. Police interceptore on all day!
Auditing Britain - One of the long standing YouTube auditors
DJ Audits - Can be annoying, was one of the first to use a drone. I've found out a lot of useful drone information watching these videos such as using Drone Assist software to check CAA flight compliance etc
Charlie Vietch - One of the more controversial YouTubers. Bit crazy and sometimes goes too far.
Focus Pocus - Doesn't post much but when he does it is usually very entertaining and he knows his subject
Reggie Photo - Changes up the auditing scene with props and sometimes some crazy comedic stuff
I watch these as the interactions with people and police are entertaining, yeah they are acting to get a reaction but it's also interesting just how many people want to enforce pretend laws they assume exist. Interesting rights about privacy, police state etc.
The only ones I really use are Spotify, tidal and YouTube, the rest are really for the Mrs and kids. Got rid of sky and got an android box with Kodi and various other apps. Everything is on there for "free" (edited)
But then it's about 90p a month per account via Turkey.
BTW using a VPN to reduce the cost of a thing by pretending you live in a nation with a lower standard of living is literally fraud (if outside of our trading bloc). Not saying this to be judgemental, just pointing out that a cleaner step is to fully embrace the 'alternative'.
PS here's a non-controversial free suggestion- the MosFilm channel on youtube. Fantastic films and mini-series in full and HD. B/W classics to recent productions. Download the content with tarTube.