Top 5 Free Streaming Apps For Your Amazon's Fire Stick
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The Amazon Fire family of devices is a great way to get streaming content to your television, with popular subscription services like Netflix, YouTube, Max, and more. With all the main streaming services at your fingertips, you'll be able to watch all your favorite movies and shows. But in addition to these paid services, there are also a number of quality free options for your Fire TV device that let you sample from several different libraries of film and television. It's important to note that with the free apps, you probably won't be able to get the newest movies and on-demand TV shows, but you will add to your arsenal of free options with plenty of classic content and old favorites.
While we know there are popular apps that you can "side-load" to your Firestick device, we're choosing the safe and legal apps for this list. You may need to watch ads and some services will repeatedly try to get you to sign up for a subscription, but these apps will get you the most content.
FreeVee
Freevee used to be called IMDB TV, but it was revamped by Amazon in 2022 as a way to show content the company wasn't showing on Amazon Prime and to grow original content offerings in the ad-supported streaming space. If you have Amazon Prime, you already have access to FreeVee. It has a huge library of content to discover and is a great place to browse for older favorite shows and new original content.
FreeVee also has Live content for you to watch with several categories to choose from. The channels are themed so if you wanted all home improvement content, for example, you could watch a channel dedicated to that, with commercial breaks in between. In this way, the live channels feel a lot like watching regular broadcast TV.
The app also has original content, but it's still early in development and won't have the number of options you'd find on paid services.
Tubi
Tubi started out as a sort of Netflix clone but with the addition of ads to pay for the content. It has since evolved, adding a large live TV category and enhancements to the interface and it works on nearly any device with a connection to the Internet. It's important to note that the ad experience on Tubi can be a little jarring because, unlike other streaming services, Tubi doesn't tell you when an ad is coming. Other apps will have the ad spots laid out on the timeline at the bottom of the video window, but with Tubi, it's always a surprise.
Like most free streaming services, with Tubi, you're not going to get the latest and greatest movies and shows, but you will see content you recognize. There is no obligation to register with Tubi to watch any of its content, but creating an account with your e-mail address will allow you to create lists of shows to watch and to continue where you left off if you left a movie or show in the middle in your last viewing session.
Roku TV
You may not be aware, but you don't have to own a Roku device in order to take advantage of Roku TV's free offerings. You can get all those TV shows and movies via your Firestick. Browse the library for yourself to see what you can watch without spending a penny.
Roku used to require that you sign up in order to see any content, but that is no longer the case. You'll be able to access it with your Firestick and it requires no sign-up at all. Signing up might be worth it; registering allows you to pause a movie or show, and then resume it on another registered device.
The service offers movies, TV shows, live channels, and even an Originals section in its free offerings. To add to its library, Roku acquired all original programming from Quibi (another streaming service) back in 2021, giving Roku TV hit shows like "Most Dangerous Game," "#FreeRayshawn," and "Flipped". The best thing about Roku TV is that it is constantly rotating its content, so you never know if you'll run across an old favorite or "that one show" you've always wanted to watch.
Pluto TV
Pluto TV has a wealth of content featuring tons of TV, movies, and live shows for you to enjoy. It has over 100 channels to choose from and more than 1,000 movies to watch at any given time. While it is completely optional, signing up doesn't require a credit card or any subscription fees. But you still should probably sign up because it means you'll be able to designate which channels are your favorites to keep them handy and you'll also be able to resume an on-demand movie or TV show from your last visit to Pluto.
Pluto TV has a wide variety of free options to choose from. You can search through titles by category to find channels with true crime, cooking, live poker, drama, sports, and tons more. With live channels, it's a lot like browsing through your cable guide to see what's on. Choose a channel by category, such as True Crime, then sit and watch what's showing. One drawback is that you won't be able to pause or rewind live channels on Pluto so just be aware that it acts like classic cable television.
Comet TV
If you're a lover of Sci-Fi, you should check out what's on Comet TV. With Comet, you get not just Sci-Fi, but related genres including horror, fantasy, and adventure. One thing to know about Comet TV is that it acts like older cable streaming services. This means that a movie or show might be slated for a particular month, so you'll get a lot of chances to watch a rerun of that specific content.
Another important thing to note about Comet TV is that most of the programming is going to be fairly dated, but you will fine newer offerings if you search for them. The main reason to grab this service is because it gives you a chance to recapture your love for classic sci-fi and horror movies. If you're a fan of these genres, Comet TV gives you another option in your streaming TV arsenal, adding yet another free place you can browse.
[Featured image by Sinclair Broadcast Group via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | Public Domain]