Finding the best free streaming sites can sometimes be a tricky challenge. In my opinion this is simply because popular websites to watch movies online often disappear unexpectedly. The result is that people constantly need to look for new pages. It is true that there are many out there, but most are of poor quality. Nevertheless once a good one has been found things are so much easier. That’s why this blog exists. Make sure to bookmark this page for future reference.
The table below ranks the top 20 websites to stream free tv shows and movies. A big preference is given to long-standing and reliable platforms. Due to users requesting options that use only HTML5 video, such options have now been included. Keep in mind that these will also give free movie streaming on PlayStation and Xbox. Classification points are also given for the amount of high quality links, update frequencies, and your votes. The ranking changes frequently, so be sure to come back once in a while for new updates.
Compare sites with the most effective movie streaming platforms and choose the best suiting your requirements.
TV Show & Movie Streaming Sites Comparison:
Tip: rotate your mobile device to view full table.
The best sites to watch free movies and TV shows online:
Alluc
Alluc is the first and most popular meta search engine to get movies online free. Type in the title, and it will literally search through thousands of sites. 95% of times it returns over 150 different videos to choose. These guys have been providing a quality user-interface and fast-loading website since the end of last decade. And things are really starting to kick off because they have turned the service into something really innovative. A nice modern design combined with an easy to use interface will get you up and running in seconds.
All recent releases are available and you’ll be able to watch movies online without downloading here. What I especially like about this top streaming site is the range of links to choose from. In general, HTML5 streaming links are prioritized. This is especially is great for users trying to stream movies on PC, iPad, iPhone, or Android mobile devices.
Pros
Huge search engine for tv series online
Mega fast loading times
All major languages are offered
Simplistic design that works on all devices
So many results to get movies online free
Cons
Search returns a diverse range of video qualities
CmoviesHD
CmoviesHD, as the name suggests, offers free streaming movies. They are one of the platforms to be doing this really well since 2016. What I especially like are the quick story lines, genres, movie star re-caps provided for recently added sections.
Another great feature is the top notch video player chosen by default throughout the pages. This allows subtitles (cc), super smooth loading, and a range of video quality settings.
Pros
No ads intruding like with other places
Great video player offered site-wide
The suggested movies are quite decent
Easy to get a quick overview of each film
Cons
Name suggests that films are the norm when they’re not (tv series here too)
123MoviesHub (aka Gostream / GoMovies / 123movies)
123MoviesHub combines an amazingly nice modern design with a full-fledged netflix alternative. I think you’ll be impressed by this one.
Many fast loading online movies free to stream, and pretty much any genre, documentary, and year to choose from. Titles can also be sorted by country. This is easily one of the best movie streaming sites out there.
A powerful feature uses fast loading images and descriptions via informative boxes. Thank you to the many fans that pointed out this innovative piece of functionality, making this one of the best free movie sites in our list. Here’s the facts:

MovieWatcher
Aside from the sleek UI boasting a mobile compatible layout and HD video playback, I get all excited about MovieWatcher because it’s real intuitive to use for everyone. Guess what: you can search by year, popularity, and also by actor. Where else offers that?
I also find that when searching for free movies online without downloading then it can be soft on the eyes. The theme is a nice soft creamy white on black.
Pros
Low advert presence makes this nice to browse through
Works astonishingly on mobile and console devices
Plenty to choose from for those looking to watch free tv shows
Multiple updated links to choose from
Cons
Only possible to filter by date up to the year 2000
Watchseries
WatchSeries is by far the best site to watch tv series online free. But what makes it outperform so many others?
Most big names are offered and the catalogue of old-time classics is endless. If you are into marthons in front of the TV (well… er PC/laptop in modern days) then try it out now.
In my opinion the reason for their popularity lies simply with the fact that the design is basic and layout is kept tidy. That’s how to keep a site with free shows online pleasing on the eye.
Pros
All latest episodes
Like others here it’s without any registration
A range of links to pick and choose
Front page offers an organized TV schedule
Cons
The website address changes frequently
Kingmovies
I feel that Kingmovies responds in a similar way to other leading sites like GoMovies. Since early 2017 their traffic has been on the rise, with a 24% monthly increase in visits. As more users discover Kingmovies it has been receiving plenty of shares on social networks. The suggestions generally regroup new box office hits and in each top corner you can check the quality (eg. CAM, SD, HD). The sidebar features two very cool widgets. The first shows exactly what is being watched right now. The second lists the top user requests for movies to be added to the Kingmovies library. I would highly recommend that you try this site out: it’s mobile, PS4/Xbone, & tablet friendly too!
Pros
Rapidly increasing monthly visits
Lots shares on social networks
Playback quality is displayed in top corner of each movie image
Users can make request and see what others are watching
Cons
The design feels too similar to GoMovies
ProjectFreeTV
ProjectFreeTV have been around for over ten years now. Over that time their traffic and user-base has increased by 140% each year. Although the interface may be outdated, there is a good reason ProjectFreeTV have over 30 million monthly visits. Let’s see why.
Ok it’s true that the white background glare from your dark room can be painful. But the pain stops here. The designers have gone for full simplicity. Basically it means just click and go. Everything plays within the same window without redirecting to third parties. A nice place to watch free movies online now so do try it. Playback is high definition and works from all devices.
Pros
30 million monthly visits
Gigantic movie catalogue
Lots and lots of freshly updated links
Search feature is pretty good
Cons
Design hasn’t changed since 2007
YesMovies
YesMovies has the nicest look out of all those listed here. New and rising fast. Thousands of free streaming tv shows to watch online without downloading. Could it be any better? Well one way to find out is by visiting this site on your smartphone. Yep – it works like a GEM. The user experience is just as smooth when on a PC or laptop. There is a reason why they are here in the top 10 streaming sites.
New releases are always updated as soon as available. But the feature that I really have to mention in this YesMovies review would be the front page slider giving users a couple of suggestions on what to watch. Now for the positive / negative points:
Pros
Landing page has plenty of choice yet loads blazingly fast
Works well on PS4, Xbox, and mobile android devices
Extra fast even during peak times
Not blocked in the UK
Cons
Similar in nature to GOmovies
Not so many TV series are available

iWatchOnline
iWatchOnline is a really easy to use movie site which has a massive database of recent and older titles. It’s not hard to locate the required title simply by using their search feature.
I enjoy the “box office” and “most wanted” sidebar boxes as this prompts me to look for alternative things to watch.
Take some time to sit back and find what your looking for. There is a very good reason so many people come back here. The lack of annoying adverts is something that I especially like. The site has gone through a lot over the last five years and it is now styled with Bootstrap – meaning it’s mobile-friendly.
iWatchOnline did suffer from an extended outage once. Nevertheless, here they are still up and running as smooth as ever.
Pros
Most users are based in the USA
Great on most smartphones especially iPhone
Good range of Sci-Fi, Thriller, & History
Not blocked in the UK
Cons
Catalogue slightly small than its peers
More work needed on general presentation
WatchFree (Series)
People have begged me to add this free TV show site for a some time now. All episodes are up to date and links work perfectly. The front page informs of recent updates, while suggesting what’s on offer.
Without a doubt this had to be the best site to watch free TV Shows for those that like simplicity. Navigation is easy and layout is basic.
They have a sister site with the same name (which is part of the best free movie websites). Not to be confused, although both options are excellent choices (depending on what you would like to view.

Putlocker
Putlocker recently went offline only to resurface as “Putlockers”. We don’t know if these are the same guys that were behind the original. Either way it works so mighty well to watch movies online free.
The only thing I dislike is the bright glaring theme used. I honestly struggle searching for the best movie website while staring at a white screen from my dark room.
Users can stay on the page and playback quality can be increased with a simple click on the video player. All is good here fore getting online movies free and easy.
Pros
40 million monthly views
Watch full movies without signing up
Very popular in North America
You’ll find every film from all years
Cons
Not so good for foreign movies
Design is less appealing then others
Subsmovies
If English is not your mother tongue then Subsmovies could be a great site for you. Imagine a user-activated subtitle system similar to GoMovies’s, but availalbe in every single major language. On Subsmovies users can, at the click of a button, activate subtitles in English, French, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, German, Dutch, Portuguese… The audio remains in English, yet you get to read subtitles in you own language. For me, Subsmovies is a godsend. When my Spanish girlfriend and I want to watch a Hollywood hit together, she can simply activate the subs in her language and we both listen to the movie in English.
Pros
Subtitles availalbe in all major languages
Easy to watch any movie while reading in your mother tongue
Subs are overlaid onto the video
Cons
The interface is not as appealing as other major sites
Sockshare
Sockshare is a straightforward place to be considered here for a couple of reasons. Also here very recently, and gaining two positions this month.
A newly designed user interface produces a pleasant overall experience. Since users are flocking to this site, it could soon be higher up in this list. You can search for popular titles right from the landing page. Or simply click on the top navigation bar to select the desired category. Check out their many review on forums loaded with many hot discussion topics about how to watch tv shows online in the easiest way possible.
Pros
Simple design and layout
A good backup site for free shows online
Guide indicating how to watch included
Cons
Smaller community following
Catalogue is missing some smaller shows
LosMovies
LosMovies is one I like to use to watch movie online when it’s not possible to find what I’m looking for elsewhere. A long surviving platform that used to be one of the best free streaming sites here in this top 25 list above. The enormous database covers all genres, years, and different languages.
Visits to LosMovies are increasing by 35% on a monthly basis.
Many veteran users within the free movie streaming without downloading community insist that this should be the best website.
Pros
Super fast loading
3D movie streaming is possible
English subtitles available
Cons
Does not work in the UK
Fmovies
Fmovies(aks Bmovies) are recent on this list of sites for free online movies. What got them here is quite interesting. Big thanks to the facebook user who suggested we add this entry. If you like to find free movies to watch while you’re on the go, then this one may well be a perfect match.
Let’s give this Bmovies review all the depth it deserves by looking in detail at the main advantages:

Vumoo
Vumoo was one of the first free movie websites to offer mobile viewing. This made many users come again and again to their page. Now in 2016 they still have lots of visitors, although the library range may not have all recent hits box office hits.
Vumoo has now been ranked for several years. But all the same – here’s a great option to watch free movies. Another dark background and modern design makes this easy to use on your PC screen, and avoids all painfull glare on the eyes. Many thanks for the positive feedback from Chrome and iOS users, who voted it the best site to watch movies online.
The modern HTML5 movie player used here makes it perfect to use on mobile phones or tablets. This was one of the first popular places to standardise the HTML5 technology across all pages. Additionally it is also possible to stream tv shows free, so this is a must-try.
Pros
Completely mobile-friendly
Nice dark theme is soft on the eyes at night
Ranking in my top 20 sites for 2 years
75% of the catalogue are recent movies
Cons
Traffic decreasing slowly by 15% each month
Known to block people using AdBlocker software

Which is easier: Streaming VS Downloading?

Method 1: Streaming
Streaming means that the video is sent directly to your browser. Playback happens right there in a tab. Most modern sites use HTML5 video to stream but some older ones require flash player. The former works across all devices, while the latter only on laptops & PCs. The advantage is that all browsers are equipped to play HTML5 movies. No extra steps are required, it works right out of the box. This make things really easy.
Let’s face it – when I want to watch free movies online I go straight to my favorite search engine and try find what I’m looking for. This usually leads me to a site where I can stream free movies right in my browser online. I prefer this method, but let’s take a look at the alternative.
Method 2: Downloading
Downloading means that you wait for the whole file to be transferred to your PC, laptop, mobile, Playstation… whatever. This means that while the file is downloading you cannot watch it.
Some extra software is usually required to watch full movies right on your desktop. Most people use VLC media player as this supports a wide range of video formats. Then you’ll need to setup and install ΓΒΌTorrent for taking care of the actual download.
Pretty inconvenient. The only real advantage with downloading is that you can get free movies to watch offline. Should you go ahead and choose method 2 then I recommend this torrent tutorial to download using p2p file transfer.
Final thoughts & extra tips
Let’s hope this page has been useful to help you watch movies free online. There also a really great site that gives summaries of each title (with a rating and users reviews).
There are of course other places to watch free online movies but these may not be as good as the ones reviewed above. Should you need some more, I would recommend checking out Netflix (paying subscription) which is by far the best movie site. Let me know any thoughts or feedback in the comments below.
Leave a reply
265 Comments on "The Ultimate Best Sites to Watch Free Movies & Stream TV Shows Online [2018]"
primewire was top notch what do you use as a backup / alternative now that they’re down?
is there a site that gives me links where i can watch in 240p cuase of my ass bandwidth primewire used to look me up but, when i click a link it re-directs me to some other site
I’ve noticed that many Openload streams will let you choose your video quality (from 420p to 1080p)
i need 240p, 480p is too high
moviewatcher is down whats going on
Moviewatcher is back up now.
Thanks for this blog! I’ve been able to help so many of my friends get into streaming using it!
β€οΈπ
The guys from solarmovie that got shut down have started up again it seems, it doesn’t have ads and has all the movies I’ve tried so far
Primewire USED to be great. Now it is a dead link. It does zero, zip, nada. We are sad.
Yeah I’m also so sad about Primewire website going down for some days now. I’ve been trying to look into why and what happened to the operators. If anyone has knowledge about the event then please enlighten us here. In the meantime, I’m open to hear your alternatives to Primewire.
Update: Primewire is back online it seems. After so many years (>10 yrs) online, it only makes sense for the operators not to give up and persist with their great work right?!
Primewire still down
Primewire is up, I’ve checked a few times today and all is good on their site. Depending on your location, you may need to use a VPN or proxy to access the site (DNS records).
04/07/18 10:07 PDT – Primewire still redirecting to ad-sites (using TorGuard vpn).
Workaround:
Firefox: use the “skip-redirect” addon
Chrome: use the “skip-redirect” addon
Yeah, this extension works for primewire ad-redirects.
Doesn’t work for sites that use multiple-redirects with video URL behind a PHP script.
Discussion here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Piracy/comments/88fkx3/is_anyone_experiencing_weird_redirects_with/?sort=new
Cheeers, Jorgen
Jorgen, thanks for being on the lookout with these tips for movie streamers. Oh and your reddit discussion about primewire redirects is very relevant – good work linking it here!
WatchFree quit working. Every click is a round-robin series of 3 or 4 ads and never a real show comes up at all.
Seems to be that WatchFree decided to disable the functionality of the site and earn some money letting users to register on fake links that require your credir card and charge after few days 50$, oh have I said “charge”!? I ment of course “steal” your money from your credit card for nothing…
You’ve got the eye Toni! Thanks for the heads up on WatchFree’s fake links. I’ve tested their site and indeed you are correct: the first time I click on the movie image, it redirects to a “sign-up” type page. However when i click back and try another link it then works and I see all the options. I’ll watch this closely and see how it progresses. What do you think, should I take down the WatchFree listing here? Open to hear your thoughts on this.
Good point about WatchFree site. I’m following the situation closely and we’ll see if they fix the round-robin series of ads
It’s still up, however, they AREN’T uploading any new tv shows and movies.
**Since primewire is down, I thank you for your article. It’s given me some other sites to discover.*
Excellent Sara, I see you are indeed correct about Primewire not uploading/refreshing links for new tv shows and movies. Let’s see how long users keep using the site. For now I’ll keep Primewire listed here as it really is a kick-ass streaming platform IMO.
Hi outstanding work with the ranked movie sites. Just noticed that the WatchFree site seems to have issue with links; anyone have a suggestions for another site to use to watch free tv shows or sitcoms ?
love this list always gets updated ,10 out of 10.
celt4life I’m also falling in β€οΈ with your comment here. And thank you again – it makes all the difference to me when I get positive feedback like this π
If it has been a while since you visited LosMovies, check it out now. It has gotten much better!
Anyone else here have the same improved experience on Losmovies? I’m curious to hear people’s viewpoint regarding that website.
Thanx for adding Vexmovies works great with my Ps4 no pop-ups and no buffering a problem i’ve been having lately with most other sites,lets hope this site stays afloat for a long time.
Absolutely all of these websites have the seasons I’m looking for. What great list π
123moviehub has now left the building RIP
Good foresight there! I’ve now updated to the new domain name (the operators swapped location a few days ago)
Was looking for a site to watch an old British series. Finally found one here… Hope this continues to work for a while.
tried to search for free site found it from you nice work ! but what do you qualify as “downloads” vs “documentaries”? I’ve seen many places that have such buttons but do they lead to actual free movies or is this just another way of pushing ads to users that click ?
yeah avoid clicking and buttons that say “download” – most times it is just some advert of malicious prog. However some of these sites do have legit torrents (for downloading free movies). As specified in my list above – you’ll need a torrenting program for this such as utorrent
it wasted my time useless,, need sign ups etc
Just tried hdo the free movie search option work amazing to stream whatever i wanna watch. I used to use the hdo “to” version but they have recently dropped the servers that worked in my area.
Only disadvantage i’ve seen in this list is with kingmovies… you can’t search as it doesn’t work. Who wants to endlessly search for want you want to watch page by page. Your other sites reviewed here offer far superior streaming service. Thanks
Thanks Anders for sharing your feedback here regarding the Hdo website. I’m looking into the movie search feature on kingmovies, I’ll update their ranking accordingly now. Nicely noticed !
Can’t believe Alluc is gone, that was the best free movie search engine! Well, I found a new streaming website thanks to your list.. which IMO is def worth it to be on here! For movies only, I found some good ones between #15 and #20 as well.
Yea i wish Alluc would come back as it was just so easy to find good quality and free movie streams. As you said, plenty of excellent alternatives exist thankfully
Movie Watcher is also high on your fav list, but I just tried to pull up the series Counterpart and they don’t have it, after eight weeks of being posted on other sites. When you go to the Contact US area, they don’t provide any email at all, so I think you need to revisit your exalted ranking of this one :0)
What happened to Xmovies8? It showed up as #1 for a week then vanished?
The only thing that you can be sure about this list of free movie sites is that they come and go on a regular basis (depending on performance). I keep things fresh and updated so only the best sites are listed
Actually I would move CMovies up to Number l, it loads quickly with very few ads, unlike your top pick 123Movies, which has a ton of ads to close before you locate the beef. I started off big on 123Movies because they have some hard to locate classic foreign films, among tons of other stuff, but like I said, it’s a lot faster now on CMovies so I go there most of the time now.
FMovies shouldn’t be listed here, they give you a few movies, then they want money.
how often is site and list updated
thanks Harry your the best site out there to follow
Each Friday after coming home from work I update the list and re-check each site π
note cmovieshd shows favorites icon and takes you to login but even after trying to register it is an incomplete link; no register no login no add to favorites; so for now only 4 stars
PS LOVE YOUR SITE HARRY: Best Free Streaming Sites
Best Ever List out there
New site cmovieshd looks good better search and find. i use bbc tv series new tricks as test, if they find great site.
watchfree best to me have used for years its an old putlocker and i always find me bbc sites
HDonline is an excellent new addition to your list. Lots of updated movie libraries and it’s got all my fav tv shows also. Bookmarked this π
High-five to you George!
Again, I just love hearing how my work has helped readers. I want everyone here to easily find their favorite free sites to chill and watch movies after a hard day’s work at the office π
And yes HDonline is awesome, can’t believe i hadn’t added it here earlier. It’s a fast-rising and popular place. Let’s hope it stays up and running for years to come.
Again correction, most of the sites here look good just wish I had faster internet to watch in HD quality
I see site emovies replaced alluc but issues with emovies can’t save to favorites even when registered and signed in; tried to contact support at emoives no answer
Yeah Dave, this list gets updated all the time to keep the best sites at the top and to remove those that are not performing so well for users anymore. Alluc was the exception as their listing here lasted for many years within the top 5 (consistent top grade service from movie streamers and happy users).
Hi
What do u feel about 123movies?
isn’t it worth adding it the list?
Yep, good site. It’s already added to the list and has been there for > 2 years.
i guess they are shuting down in 4 days
Last evening (ET), when I attempted to search something on Alluc, there was the following message: “The alluc search engine has been discontinued.
After 13 years of alluc, we decided to take a break and focus on other projects. Over this last decade alluc served more than one billion unique users in total and we would like to thank all of you for your support over the years.
PS: Any other sites using alluc in their name are not run by us.”
I am using a xbox one. When i select 123 vidz from this page it takes me to a sign in for pcplayz.Is this what i should be seeing,if so should i create an account.I can’t use ad blocker on xbox one if that’s what i need guess i’m stuck then.
oh yeah also alluc is over…
After 13 years of alluc, we decided to take a break and focus on other projects.
Over this last decade alluc served more than one billion unique users in total and we would like to thank all of you for your support over the years.
Sad times indeed. Alluc were the the longest ever surviving movie site here. They will be missed π All good things come to an end. On a more positive note, there are still plenty of free alternatives that offer outstanding services for streaming free movies with near Netflix-like experience .
hiya thanx for this site
the vumoo link goes to the chillax site, which seems to be some bogus signin page
i normally use putlocker / projectfreetv / 123 and it tends to work out !
someone just told me that putlocker is a holder site that then loads up the most effective movie site, i dunno about that, right now it goes to a streaming site that i have been happily using lately
Benedictus, good job with the chillax heads-up there! It is indeed just a bogus signin page, and i’ve removed Vumoo from the top movie website now so that users don’t get re-directed against their will. Always nice to get your feedback like this π
alluc.ee is down… sad day : (
Alluc.ee taking a break for other projects? Hand/sell it to someone, anyone, keep it going! Was easily most reliable site by far.
Has alluc.ee finally gone ? Is anyone else taking over what was easily the best site for any tv/films? Fastest with least buffering. Damn.
Alluc.ee now comes up as a porn site.
I was about to comment that too like wtf
alluc.ee is no longer in service RIP
RIP indeed, we all loved Alluc over the year we’ve spent so much time chilling out out to movies thanks to their site.
Some annoying ads on CMoviesHd, some of which lead to not the best urls and downloads. These ads appear when you click anywhere on the page, including the play button, and they appear multiple times through playthrough
Thanks for notifying me of these ads. I will update cmovieshd position accordingly now. Do note that you can use Adblock Pro and i would advise using the Chrome web browser, as it effectively stops pop-ups far better than firefox of safari when you watch movies on these free streaming sites. The operators will sometimes push things too far in order to increase their revenue earnings – but this costs them users, that come here and simply find another alternative.
Well i have to say that this has helped me stream hours of HD movies in 720p on my HDTV at home connected up via chromecast to my laptop. Good work with this ranking of the best places.
visit link spacemovie it works great. As do most of the sites reviewed here.
Abdee hi ! It’s always helpful for me to read insight and feedback of how you find my list of the top places to get free movies, tv shows, cartoons, and documentaries. I’m working at least 20 hours per week updating this ranking and the reviews so if you have any specific opinion on each site I would be delighted to engage you further on this. π
Great list of sites where you can watch free streaming movie without sign up or paying anything. Most of these places reviewed here work instantly for me (i’m using a mac book air)
If it is possable to list what sites work well with 5.1 surround sound or higher….Thanks!
All of these sites are stereo. The sound quality is always above average these days – which is a welcome treat compared to streaming movies back 10 years ago where the image would be pixelated and the sound metallic
b-movies will do it for the most part!!!…Unfortunatlly it loads slow.
ok, noted about the slow loading on bmovies. Thank you
Thank you so much for this list! Iβve had it bookmarked for months now, and itβs always been a help. I use 123movieshub the most out of all these sites, but when itβs not working I use your list to find an alternative.
My pleasure Jules. Thanks for leaving your feedback of my work, and most importantly thank you for bookmarking this page. I’ll continue working hard to keep your list updated here so you can stream free movies forever π
Yes Movies isnt buffering for me. Hasnt done for a few months now. Is the site having problems?
Yeah good point about Yesmovies – their monthly traffic has declined from 40 million to 20 million, looks like it’s over. I’ll be keeping an eye out for a good replacement website. Anyone have any favorites to suggest?
Just love this list β€οΈ. These are hands down the main sites to get movies on a pc free of charge. Tho does anyone notice that some places try to get you to signup and pay ? I didn’t ever sign up (just closed the popup each time) and the stream played fine for me all the same π thanks for this
Try using an adblocker for popups, it works good for most movie streamers here. Tho do note that these sites rely on advertising revenue (via sign ups, popup ads etc) to function
Nice collection of sites, most are in my favorites. Finally able to stream in 720 to 1080p so very happy about that. Good work
Nice yeah streaming movies has improved quite a bit over the years. Most people now prefer to stream in HD rather than download torrents (because it’s so simple and consistently reliable for watching full movies without paying). I like both. But that’s just me