123Movies alternatives
The movie-first map: which legal free services work in your country, and the catch each one hides.
Read the guideFree and Legal Streaming Alternatives
I get why people keep looking for the next 123Movies or CouchTuner. Those sites keep shutting down, and most of the mirrors that pop up in their place are traps full of redirects and trackers.
My advice is simple. Use the free, legal services that replaced them. These are the free streaming alternatives I’d start with, sorted by what you want to watch, plus my full guide for each site you’re trying to replace.
And if you’d rather have one app for most of it, a free Prime trial is the easiest place to start.
Try Prime Video free
If you want one app that covers most of what the old sites did, this is the one I’d test first. The trial costs nothing, and you can cancel before it ends.
- Originals and films: The Boys, Reacher, Fallout and a large movie library, with new releases to rent.
- Add-on channels: Crunchyroll and other subscriptions inside the same app through Prime Video Channels.
- Free shelf too: the Watch for Free section stays available with just an Amazon account.
Find the guide for the site you used to watch
Each guide has one job, and each one is refreshed when a listed service shuts down, changes owners or changes its free tier.
Putlocker alternatives
What happened to Putlocker, why every domain using the name today is an unrelated clone, and the licensed services that replaced it.
Read the guideCouchTuner alternatives
The show-first guide: where TV series live now, with legal options first and grey-area sites with their risks named.
Read the guideProject Free TV alternatives
Project Free TV shut down in 2017. This covers the services that filled the gap and which ones are safe to open.
Read the guideStream2Watch alternatives
Stream2Watch is gone and most mirrors using its name are traps. This maps where live sport streams now, competition by competition.
Read the guideFree sports streaming sites
Free sports streaming from fully legal platforms, plus premium trials worth timing around a big match.
Read the guideBest anime apps
The best anime apps for iPhone, iPad and Android, ranked, including the free ones.
Read the guideFree movies and shows on demand
These are the apps I'd open first when you want something specific to watch tonight. Which one works depends on your country, so each card says where it runs.
Tubi
Fox · US, Canada, UK, Australia and more
The closest thing to a single 123Movies replacement. Nearly 300,000 movies and episodes, and Play works before you sign up.
Plex
Most countries
The pick when Tubi doesn't work where you live. Free, ad-supported movies, shows and live channels in most countries.
The Roku Channel
US, Canada, UK and Mexico
No Roku device needed. On-demand movies and Roku Originals, plus more than 500 free live channels.
Amazon MX Player
India
India's answer to Tubi: free Indian originals, web series and dubbed shows, deep in Hindi and regional languages.
Fandango
US · formerly Vudu
Vudu's free-with-ads shelf survived every rebrand. It sits beside rentals, so check the price before you press play.
Filmzie
Independent films
Indie and festival films that never surface on the big platforms. A good supplement when the big catalogs feel the same.
Free live TV channels
If you miss flipping channels, these 3 are built for it. All are free with ads, and the US gets the biggest lineups.
Pluto TV
Paramount · many countries
More than 400 live channels on the US lineup and no account needed. Better for channel-surfing than finding one film.
Sling Freestream
US
The largest free live lineup here: 600+ channels and 40,000 on-demand titles. Expect upsells to paid Sling.
Xumo Play
US
350+ live channels and 15,000 titles with no subscription and no login. Open it and press play.
Free with a library card
If your public library subscribes, these 2 are ad-free and fully legal. It is worth 2 minutes on your library's website to check.
Kanopy
Libraries in the US, Canada, UK, Australia and NZ
The only service here with zero ads: A24, classics, world cinema and documentaries, paid for by your library.
Hoopla
Mostly North American libraries
One library login for movies, shows, audiobooks, ebooks and comics. Your library sets the monthly borrow cap.
Free live sport
Free sport is real, but it's narrow. These are official streams from the organizers themselves, and rights change by country, so I'd check the schedule before match day.
UEFA.tv
Football · free account
Youth, women's and futsal matches live with a free MyUEFA account. Champions League games come later as replays.
ICC.tv
Cricket · free account
Free live cricket where no broadcaster holds the rights. In India, big tournaments go to JioHotstar instead.
Red Bull TV
Action sports
Free live events, replays and documentaries from action sports, from padel to mountain biking.
CBS Sports Golazo Network
Soccer · US
A free 24/7 soccer channel with selected live matches between studio shows, also on Pluto TV.
Anime, free and paid
Anime works better in dedicated apps than on browser sites. Crunchyroll is the default, and the free options are narrower but real.
Crunchyroll
Membership · free app
The best default anime service, with 2,000+ titles and simulcasts. Don't assume the full catalog is free.
RetroCrush
Free with ads
Classic anime, forgotten titles and some first-time English releases. A narrow era, but it knows its niche.
YouTube
Licensed channels like Muse Asia
The best free fallback in India and much of Asia, as long as you stick to licensed channels such as Muse Asia.
BiliBili
Southeast Asia
2,000+ licensed anime titles with some free viewing. A serious option in Southeast Asia, and limited elsewhere.
MyAnimeList
Tracker · free
It doesn't stream anything. It remembers what you've watched across every app, which no streamer does.
When free isn't enough
Some shows and most big sport only stream on paid services. I'd pay for one at a time, for the season or series you actually want, then cancel.
Prime Video
Amazon · free shelf plus Prime
Its Watch for Free section needs only an Amazon account. Prime adds the originals, and the free trial is the cheap way to test it.
JioHotstar
India
The home of the IPL in India. Check that it holds the series you want before you subscribe.
Peacock
US
NBA games, Sunday Night Football and Sunday Night Baseball. Skip the Select plan if sport is the reason you're paying.
Paramount+
US
Champions League, NFL games on CBS and every UFC numbered event. Other countries get a different sports lineup.
Protect yourself with a VPN
Every service on this page is legal, so a VPN is optional here. If you still open grey-area sites, I’d use one. Your ISP can see what you’re streaming, free sites are loaded with trackers, and some countries block these domains outright.
NordVPN and Surfshark are the two I recommend. The full comparisons live in my best VPN services and best free VPN services guides.
How I test streaming sites
Every site in these guides gets opened and checked before it earns a spot. I browse the catalog, try playback, inspect network requests for anything hostile and mark the legal status.
Dead or hostile entries come out when a guide is refreshed. The longer version is on my review methodology page.
Questions about free streaming
Short answers on legality, VPNs and why the old sites keep disappearing.
Are free streaming sites legal?
It depends on the site. Ad-supported platforms like Tubi, Pluto TV, Plex and The Roku Channel are completely legal, because they have licensing agreements with the content owners. Sites that host or aggregate pirated content are not. I mark the legal status clearly in every guide.
Do I need a VPN to use free streaming sites?
For legal platforms like Tubi, no. For grey-area sites, I’d strongly recommend one, because it protects your privacy, hides your activity from your ISP and blocks many malicious redirects. NordVPN and Surfshark are what I recommend.
Why do free streaming sites keep shutting down?
Copyright enforcement. Studios and TV networks take legal action against unauthorized streaming sites, and once a site gets big enough to attract attention, takedowns and domain seizures follow. That’s why Project Free TV, CouchTuner and the original 123Movies are gone.
What’s the best free legal streaming service?
Tubi, in the countries where it operates. It advertises the largest free catalog, the app works on every device and the ad breaks are reasonable. Pluto TV is a close second if you prefer flipping through live channels. Neither serves India, where Amazon MX Player and Prime Video’s Watch for Free section are the practical answer.
Is there a free alternative for live sport?
Yes, but it’s narrow. UEFA.tv, ICC.tv, Red Bull TV and CBS Sports Golazo stream some live events free and legally. The biggest matches usually sit with paid services such as JioHotstar, Peacock or Paramount+, depending on where you live.
How often are these guides updated?
When something changes, rather than on a fixed calendar. Free streaming services shut down, merge and rebrand often, so a guide gets refreshed when a listed service dies, changes owners or changes its free tier. The date on each guide shows its latest update.
Pick one app tonight
If you’re not sure where to start, I’d install Tubi if it works in your country, Plex if it doesn’t, or Amazon MX Player in India. If you want one app for nearly everything, start the Prime trial and see if it earns the subscription.
The Prime Video, Crunchyroll and VPN links are affiliate links, so I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Full disclosure.