Top 5 Free Streaming Apps For Your Apple TV

When it comes to watching movies and shows on your Apple TV, chances are the first apps you install are Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and all the other premium streaming platforms dominating the market today. And why wouldn't you want to? They offer a gateway to all the trending and hottest content out there, keeping you in the loop with the latest in entertainment. But the thing is, these premium services can cost you a pretty penny, and their subscription fees seem to keep rising by the minute.

If you're someone who prefers to spend their hard-earned money elsewhere, the good news is that you don't have to spend at all for your home entertainment. There are a bunch of streaming apps you can download to your Apple TV that can provide you with a comparable viewing experience without the hefty price tag. For your convenience, we've narrowed down the choices to these top five free streaming apps.

YouTube is already everybody's go-to site for a variety of things, whether that's learning how to make the French dish ratatouille, watching Olivia Rodrigo's latest music video, or keeping up with the most popular content creators. However, there is actually so much more to this Apple TV app than meets the eye. Aside from the typical content you'd watch, YouTube also offers hundreds of both free and paid movies for your perusal.

You can find an excellent selection of mainstream movies, TV shows, cartoons, and animes here, from "Barbie" and "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" to "Extreme Cheapskates" and "Sailor Moon." The free movies and shows are ad-supported, so expect to run into a couple of commercials throughout the video. The paid ones, on the other hand, can either be bought or rented, with the rental price naturally lower than the purchase price.

YouTube's Movies & TV tab also shows you a list of primetime channels available on the platform, such as NFL, NBA, and Law&Crime Network. Clicking on any of these channels will redirect you to their official YouTube page, where you can enjoy their content.

Beyond movies and TV shows, there's a dedicated tab for News on YouTube, too. It can show you some of the latest news stories in your country, and depending on when you're watching, you might also see a host of live coverage from different news channels. It's one of the most convenient ways to stay informed about local events, especially when you don't have traditional cable TV channels.

A highly-rated, multi-platform program that you can get on your phone, computer, smart TV, and streaming device, Plex is one of the best free streaming apps for your Apple TV, and it's easy to see why. For one, Plex gives you access to an extensive library of free movies and shows with no less than 50,000 titles. You can watch things like "Playing It Cool," "Popeye," and "Jurassic Shark." Plex lets you tune in to live TV, too. There are at least 600 free channels available on the app, including Reuters TV, Made In Hollywood, USA Today, and TED.

Another fancy feature of Plex is its unified watchlist, where you can seamlessly browse through all the trending and highly-watched movies and shows across your favorite streaming platforms. That means you won't need to switch between Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and others just to check out the most popular content there. You can see them all on Plex, complete with a convenient redirect button so you can easily watch the movie/show on the corresponding streaming service.

However, the Plex feature that really takes the cake is its support for your personal media. All you need to do is sign up for an account, download the Plex Media Server app to your storage device (computer or network-attached storage), and import your media to the app. You can then start enjoying your media on your Apple TV's Plex app. Plex supports not only movies and TV shows but also music and personal photos and videos.

If you're looking for a free alternative to Netflix with almost the same interface, consider checking out Tubi. This streaming app is home to a massive collection of no less than 200,000 free but ad-supported TV episodes and movies, some of which are produced by big studios like Warner Bros., Lionsgate, and Paramount. While you may not find the most recent and popular content here, Tubi still provides a good selection of notable titles, including "Legally Blonde," "16 Wishes," and "Tom & Jerry." Similar to Netflix, everything on Tubi is meticulously organized into categories, so you won't have a hard time finding the content you'd like to watch. The app can also show you personalized recommendations based on the movies and shows you've previously streamed.

Additionally, you can find live TV channels on Tubi, complete with a channel guide where you can see what's showing on a channel at a particular time. Channels featured on the app include ABC News, Fox Sports, and Tubi's very own original programming, Tubi Originals. This channel showcases various shows, ranging from true crime docuseries to adult animated comedies. You can access the content on Tubi without signing up for an account or inputting your credit card details. If you'd like to sync your watchlist and preferences, though, you'd need to create an account. You'd also have to be in select countries (the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Panama, Mexico, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, and El Salvador) to be able to use Tubi.

Another Netflix-like app that you can download and use on your Apple TV completely for free is Crackle. The app offers an interface resembling Netflix, with the movie/show thumbnails categorized under various themes, such as documentary, thriller, and reality show. While browsing through the library, you can come across a few popular shows, including "Hell's Kitchen," "Seventeen Again," and "Yu-Gi-Oh!" Certain titles, however, are only available for a short period, so there may be instances when a movie or show you've previously watched is no longer visible in the library. They may be posted again at a later date, though, so if you want to stay updated on the latest programming, you can sign up for Crackle's newsletter.

Unlike other streaming apps, Crackle doesn't come with a live TV section. However, what makes it stand out from the rest is the fact that on top of the typical licensed movies and TV shows, Crackle also features its own collection of movies called Crackle Originals. This exclusive content spans a range of genres, from holiday romance to sports documentaries. Although they may not be as premium as those produced by large studios, they're still worth checking out, especially if you're looking to stream something new.

As with many streaming platforms with 100% free content, there will be a handful of commercials that can interrupt your viewing experience on Crackle. It's also worth noting that you can only access Crackle if you're in the United States and its territories.

So you've decided to finally cut the cable cord and maximize your smart TV's streaming capabilities. But then you've realized you can't give up cable TV channels just yet. In that case, install Pluto TV on your device. Pluto TV offers a diverse array of live TV channels to give you more options. They're conveniently sorted into more than 20 categories (e.g., Gaming+Anime, Local News, Daytime TV), eliminating the need to scroll for hours on end to locate what you want to stream. Popular channels available on the platform include BBC Food, The Judge Judy Channel, and CNN Headlines.

Paired with 100+ channels is a detailed channel directory to help you explore what's currently airing and view upcoming programs. You can also search for your favorite channels quicker by saving them to your favorites. Aside from these features, Pluto TV's Live TV tab comes complete with customizable closed captions, perfect for people with hearing impairment or those situations when you need to reduce if not completely turn off, the volume.

Although you can watch movies via the live TV channels, there's also an on-demand section for when you want to stream a particular show. Here, you can access thousands of movies like "The Godfather," "Forrest Gump," and "Clueless" and TV series such as "Criminal Minds," "The Twilight Zone," and "CSI: Miami." Pluto TV lets you easily build a watchlist of the content you'd like to watch in the future with a simple click of a button.