The best things in life are free, right?
While this idiom is not always true, when it comes to watching TV shows and movies online, there are some free streaming apps that will save you your hard-earned money and give you access to a great collection of movies and media right on your device.
The problem is, not all free websites online are safe to access or even legal to use.
Fortunately, there is a way to make sure you can access your free streaming websites safely and securely. If you use a Virtual Private Network (VPN), your online activity will all be encrypted, and your actual IP address and location will be hidden from prying eyes.
Keep on reading to get a peek at our list of the best free streaming websites that will allow you to safely watch your favorite movies, shows, and TV series online, from anywhere.
In a Hurry? Here Are the Best Free TV Streaming Sites
How to Use VPN for Streaming Movies and TV Shows
- Pick a reliable VPN. We highly recommend ExpressVPN for its broad server network.
- Download and install your VPN to your device and connect to a server in the US, which has the widest selection of great sites available.
- Go to one of the best streaming sites listed and stream shows online for free!
Why You Need a VPN for Streaming
There are a few important reasons why a VPN is necessary for streaming TV shows and movies for free online.
If you want to access free streaming sites that are geo-blocked from outside of your region, you will need a VPN.
A VPN conceals your actual IP address and location and lets you connect to a remote server in a permitted location, making it appear to the site you are trying to reach that you are actually in the server location.
A VPN also gives you enhanced privacy and security when you are on the web. While there are always risks on any website, free sites tend to have even more dangers, like malware-containing ads, trackers, and prying eyes.
Connecting to a VPN while on free streaming sites encrypts your traffic and activity and conceals your IP and location, so anyone who gets their hands on your information or activity won’t be able to decipher what you are doing or where you are located, and won’t be able to access any of your identifying information.
How to Choose the Right VPN
If you are looking for a good VPN to watch TV shows online for free, there are some vital features that are important to keep in mind:
Security: If you are on a free streaming site, it is important to make sure your connection is secure and encrypted so that your data is not exposed.
Privacy and logging: It is important to make sure your activity is never logged and your IP address is concealed at all times.
Speed: You need to make sure you have good enough connection speeds to watch with no buffering or lag.
Ad-blocker: Many torrenting websites are full of pop-ups that can range from annoying to inappropriate to dangerous.
Reliable Service: It is great to have the reliability of 24/7 live-chat customer service and a money-back guarantee if the service does not deliver as expected.
9 Best Free TV Streaming Services
If you are looking for the best free streaming sites to stream movies and your favorite TV shows, here is a list of 9 of the best streaming apps today:
1. Popcorn Flix
Popcorn Flix is one of the best free streaming sites to watch movies and shows of all different categories, especially classics and low-budget cult favs. This streaming site is organized intuitively according to the genre and you can search your movies and TV shows quite easily – all without signing up.
The element missing from Popcorn Flix is the latest hits. You will not find new releases on this streaming website.
If you connect to a US VPN server, you will have the best access to all of the free movies and free TV shows on this site with great speeds.
2. Tubi TV
Because Tubi TV is geo-restricted to the USA, you will have to connect to a US VPN server if you are trying to watch Tubi TV from outside of the United States.
The content on this site is newer than the content you will find on Popcorn Flix, with free movies and free TV shows that aired within the past couple of years.
Unlike Popcorn Flix, you do need to sign up for this site. Using a VPN, I was able to stream TV shows and movies smoothly.
3. Crackle
The Crackle site is full of great free movie and TV show content, including classics, original shows, and titles in a huge variety of genres. The most appealing feature is that content is rotated regularly, so you are always surprised by new additions and exciting titles.
If you are worried about navigating a lot of titles, don’t be. Crackle has a clean user interface and it is actually really easy to find content; You can search by genre, title, or even actor.
Like the other free sites, Crackle is a US service, so you will need to connect to a US VPN server to access the movies and TV shows for free on this website.
4. Pluto TV
Pluto TV is not quite as user-friendly as its competitors, but it does offer some great free live TV, movies, sportscasts, and children‘s programs.
Though you can actually access Pluto TV from a handful of countries – including Austria, Germany, the UK, US, and Switzerland – the Pluto TV content available and the device compatibility changes depending on your region, so using a VPN is the best way to gain access to the region you want.
5. Vudu
Vudu Movies on Us is an intuitive, well-organized site that offers both free streaming services and for–pay TV show and movie streaming. If you are not looking to pay, there are still hundreds of options, across genres, in the free library.
You can quickly and easily sign up with just a name, email, and password, and once you are streaming, the quality is great.
If you want to access TV show and movie content on this site, use a reputable VPN and connect to a US server.
Just like it sounds, Classic Cinema Online is a haven for all of the classic movies, and even silent films.
You can connect to both US or UK VPN server locations to watch free movies and TV shows, and you do not have to sign up to use this free streaming website.
It is absolutely vital to use a VPN with this site because some of the best free streaming content can only be accessed through torrenting.
7. CONtv
CONtv is a US site that is a great resource for fans of cult films, gaming, fantasy, sci-fi, superheroes, comic-con, martial arts, or horror movies.
You do need to sign up to stream on this site.
8. YouTube (USA)
If you want to watch TV shows online free of charge, YouTube is the place to go. The problem is, you can only watch parts of TV shows available and movies online.
Because YouTube is notorious for its trackers and ads, a VPN is a must. If you connect to a server in the US, you will have the best selection of video-on-demand content, but if you want to watch the top episodes and movies, you will need to pay for access.
An account is not needed to watch free YouTube, but it will offer you playlists, notifications, and the ability to upload videos.
9. Veoh
Veoh is a free streaming service that offers an array of classic movies and videos uploaded by users. Because of this, a VPN is an absolute must to protect yourself from risks.
If you create an account, you can upload your own content, but without an account, you can still watch online, free of charge.
3 Best VPNs for Streaming
Here are our top 3 tried and tested VPNs for streaming:
1. ExpressVPN
One of our favorite VPNs to watch TV shows online, as well as live TV and other free content, is ExpressVPN. ExpressVPN has
ExpressVPN offers ultra-fast speeds, so you can watch TV shows online, free of charge, or your favorite paid streaming content on Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and more, all in high-quality without any buffering or lag.
ExpressVPN has military-grade encryption, a no-logs policy, kill switch, and DNS and IP leak protection to ensure that you are always able to access free streaming sites safely.
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Works with most platforms
- 5 simultaneous device connections
- 24/7 live-chat
- More expensive than its competitors
2. NordVPN
NordVPN is one of the top VPNs on the market with over 5,200 servers in more than 60 countries around the world that can help you view your favorite geo-blocked movies and shows from anywhere.
NordVPN has top security and privacy features and can unblock your favorite TV shows online, free of charge, from any streaming device, including Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Fire TV, Roku, Android TV, and more.
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- 24/7 live-chat
- 6 simultaneous devices
- Extra encryption can slow your speeds
3. Surfshark
Surfshark has over 3,200 servers in more than 65 countries around the globe.
Though it is not quite as fast as ExpressVPN or NordVPN, Surfshark will still deliver speeds that are plenty fast to watch TV shows online with great quality and no buffering.
Surfshark works with an array of streaming device options, like Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Fire TV, roku, Android TV, and more.
- Unlimited simultaneous connections
- 24/7 live chat
- Most Affordable VPN
- Top safety and security features
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Speeds aren’t as fast as competitors
Best Free Premium Sites You Can Access with a VPN
With a VPN, you can access TV and movies on the following premium websites:
US Streaming Sites:
UK Streaming Sites:
Canadian Streaming Sites:
Australian Streaming Sites:
FAQs
Conclusion
If you are in the mood to watch TV shows online for free, there are loads of options out there for you! Just remember to always use a reputable VPN, like ExpressVPN, for protection online and for maximal access to the content you are dying to watch!
