Top 5 Free Streaming Apps For Your Google Chromecast

The Chromecast started out as an HDMI dongle that let you cast content to your TV in its infancy. When it launched back in 2013, only a handful of apps, such as Netflix and YouTube, had built-in Chromecast support, with playback needing to be controlled from your smartphone or laptop. Google released several versions of the Chromecast since then, with later generations upgrading the resolution to 1080p and 4K, and adding support for Dolby Vision and HDR content.

It was only in 2020 that the Chromecast with Google TV was introduced, bringing a smart TV interface and a dedicated remote. If you have a Chromecast with Google TV, you'll have access to a wide range of apps and games from the Play Store. Even older Chromecasts support a large number of streaming apps, given that many of them now have a dedicated casting button.

While you'll find all the big subscription-based streaming apps for your Chromecast, there are also apps that let you stream movies, TV shows, and Live TV for free. Free ad-supported streaming apps are the next big thing in the streaming space, and many of them now offer premium content.

Freevee (formerly IMDB TV) is Amazon's free streaming service, and is one of the best free streaming apps for Chromecast. Freevee includes an expansive catalog of premium content, including TV shows, movies, and live channels. Movies are easy to browse by category, with genres like Family, Sci-Fi, Mystery, Action, Fantasy, Comedy, and Drama available. You can also filter by Recently Added, Popular, and Movies of the Month.

There are several popular TV shows on offer, including "Schitt's Creek," "Bosch Legacy," "Desperate Housewives," and "Lost." While you'll find some Amazon Originals on Freevee, there are also Freevee Originals such as "Jury Duty," "Judy Justice," and "Almost Paradise." If you're not sure what to watch, you can check out the selection of Live TV channels, which include News, Sports, Reality TV, Crime, and others. 

Freevee is only available in the U.S. at the moment, and has a dedicated app for Google TV you can download. Alternatively, you can use the Chromecast icon inside the Freevee app to cast directly to your TV from your smartphone.

Pluto TV is a free streaming service that offers a mix of live channels and on-demand TV shows and movies. Since Pluto TV is a CBS company, you'll be able to access a range of CBS originals, including "Fire Country," "Blue Bloods," "Big Brother," and more. There's a nice mix of new and classic content, and the streaming service has a polished interface, even though it's completely free to watch.

You can browse TV shows and movies by categories, with dedicated genres for Spanish content, as well as Kids. Pluto TV even has a music section where you can watch documentaries and listen to entire albums. There are several live TV channels to choose from, and Pluto TV even has its own channels. 

You can browse channels like Pluto Comedy, Pluto Action, Pluto Spotlight, Pluto Drama, and more. You'll also have access to several CBS news channels, and sports channels like Fox Sports, NFL Channel, and MLB. You can watch Pluto TV on the Google TV app, or cast it to your TV.

Sling Freestream is Sling TV's free ad-supported streaming service. Launched in 2023, Sling Freestream includes over 41,000 on-demand movies and TV shows, as well as over 300 channels. While you don't need to log in to watch content, if you create an account you can add user profiles, mark favorite channels, add to your watchlist, save your watch history, and access parental controls.

Sling Freestream has several popular TV shows in its catalog, including "American Dad," "Shameless," "Forensic Files," "Rick & Morty," and "Hell's Kitchen." The free channels are the highlight of the app, with popular ones like ABC News Live, The Walking Dead Universe, Buzzr, and ESPN On Demand available.

While Sling Freestream is completely free, you also have the option to subscribe to standalone streaming services like AMC+, Discovery+, Starz, and SHOWTIME inside the app. You can get your first month free or at half price for select streaming services, depending on what's on offer when you subscribe. Sling Freestream is available on Google TV, and has casting support for Chromecast too.

Owned by Fox, Tubi is an ad-supported streaming service with a massive catalog of TV shows and movies. While you won't find the latest releases on the streaming app, there's a lot of classic content on offer. Tubi offers over 200,000 movies and TV episodes, and also includes nearly 250 FAST channels. 

You'll find some interesting movie categories on the app, such as Black Cinema, Foreign Films, Highly Rated on Rotten Tomatoes, and Award Winners & Nominees. You can also filter by New Releases, Recommended, and Leaving Soon. There's even a dedicated section for Tubi Originals, featuring TV shows and movies made exclusively for Tubi.

The TV shows are divided into the usual categories, but you'll also find lots of kids-oriented content here. There's even a dedicated Tubi Kids section featuring family movies and animated content. If you're looking for Spanish content and telenovelas, you can head to the Tubi Espanol section where you can browse by Genres, Popular, and Collections. The Live TV section has categories like National News, Business News, Sports, Weather, Entertainment, and Espanol. 

Tubi has a Google TV app and Chromecast support, but is only available in the U.S., Canada, and Latin America.

Crackle is an ad-supported free streaming app owned by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, and it's been around since 2004. Crackle includes a big collection of free movies and TV shows, but doesn't offer any live channels. However, it does include original Crackle shows. 

While you don't need to create a Crackle account to start streaming, doing this will give you access to a few benefits, such as parental controls, the ability to add to your watchlist, and save your progress across your devices. Crackle doesn't have the latest content, but you'll find a lot of classics and cult favorites on this app. 

One of the benefits of Crackle is that you can see where ad breaks are scheduled for a video. Ads are generally 30 seconds long, and appear every seven to eight minutes on average. You can browse movies and TV shows by category, and even view dedicated Chicken Soup for the Soul content. Crackle is available as a Google TV app, and includes Chromecast support too.