Where to watch free movies online

There's never been a time when there have been so many ways to watch free movies. With so many streaming options at our disposal, of course, we're not talking about free flicks at the movie theater (who still goes there?).

All you need today is a smartphone, tablet or laptop and you can watch movies for free all day and night. But where are the best places to find them?

In this article, we’ll cover how to watch movies for free from some of the best movie websites out there.

Grab the popcorn: Here’s how to watch movies for free online

When it comes to the streaming sites, everyone from Netflix to Hulu to HBO Now offer free trials that range from seven to 30 days, but after that you'll have to pay. That's not the case with these sites.

While all of these offer have free movies, in many cases you have to register to watch them.

Big Five Glories

Classic movies in black and white are the specialty of Big Five Glories, which features films from back in the day. The site uses a YouTube video player to host scores of old-time films, including some featuring some old Hollywood greats like Charlie Chaplin.

Subscription: No

Signup: No

Crackle

Crackle is a free streaming service owned by Sony. The platform has plenty of older films (Fight Club, for example), but they all come with ads.

Subscription: No

Signup: No

Classic Cinema Online

If you’re looking for oldies but goodies on the big screen, ClassicCinemaOnline has it all for free. The site uses a YouTube player to host everything from to silent films to John Wayne Westerns.

Subscription: No

Signup: No

Free Movies Cinema

Free Movies Cinema has a number of independent and short films mainly curated from sites like Vimeo. What’s different about this site is that users can upload movies, playlists and other content.

If you're really looking to deep dive, Free Movies Cinema has fan-made films that you can enjoy.

Subscription: No

Signup: No

GoMovies

If international films are your thing, this is a place for you. GoMovies lets you watch movies from nearly 60 countries. Its menu lists films under such categories as Top Watched, Top IMDB and Genre, to name a few.

Subscription: No

Signup: No

Pop-ups: Yes

IMDb-TV

IMDb-TV is a free movie platform that is owned by Amazon and works with your Amazon Fire TV stick. After you watch a movie, you can rate it and contribute to IMDb.

Subscription: No

Signup: Yes

Kanopy

Kanopy, a site with lots of classic cinema and kids movies, works with your library card. You can stream up to 10 movies a month before a paid plan kicks in.

Subscription: No

Signup: Yes

PopcornFlix

PopcornFlix features free movies, TV shows and viral videos culled from the web. Looking for a classic film? There’s a good chance PopcornFlix has it.

Subscription: No

Signup: No

Pluto TV

Pluto TV is a free movie site and app owned by Viacom. It works on a number of different platforms like Apple TV, Roku, Playstation, Amazon Fire TV and others.

Subscription: No

Signup: Yes

Retrovision Classic Movies

Featuring scores of free movies and TV shows, from comedy series to sci-fi flicks to Popeye, Retrovision brings the nostalgia. The site features a durable video player and is organized well.

Subscription: No

Signup: No

Roku

If you've got a Roku device, the Roku Channel features a mixture of free movies and TV shows from different channels. Of course, the Roku device costs money, but you can sign up for a free account and still enjoy the "Featured Free" section.

Subscription: No

Signup: Yes

Snagfilms

Snagfilms specializes in full-length documentaries that focus on everything from animals to Amish life — and it's all free. Be sure to check out the Cult Classics category.

Subscription: No

Signup: Yes

Tubi TV

Tubi TV has been growing in popularity as one of the best free movie websites and apps. Not only does Tubi load quickly, but its movie library is larger than the one at Netflix.

Subscription: No

Signup: Yes

Vudu

Vudu has a simple interface that offers you free movies and TV shows. The ad-supported platform categorizes titles by genre and more.

Subscription: No

Signup: Yes

Yahoo View

Yahoo has a free movie site that lets you watch anime, action and other films online. You can like the movies you watch as well as post emoji on the screen. Yahoo View hsots popular TV shows and movie trailers, as well.

Subscription: No

Signup: Yes

YouTube

The largest video site on the internet, Youtube features tons of free movies. Of course, they’ve also adopted a play-for-a-fee option, you can find older full-length films on the site, usually interspersed with ads.

Subscription: No

Signup: No

What you need to know before you watch free movies online

Not every free movie site is legit or legal. We purposely didn’t list several sites because of security concerns.

With that being said, here are three steps to staying safe when watching free movies:

Be aware of privacy & security risks: Many sites have servers that are outside of the United States. They may record your computer's IP address if you use the site.
Avoid downloading movies from the web: Because many movie sites are not reputable, it's not wise to download files from them. Don't do it!
Watch out for malware: Even if nothing is downloaded on your computer, be careful about pop-ups that may feature adware or porn.