The Best Free Live TV Apps: Legal Channels That Cost Nothing

The best free live TV apps are Pluto TV, Tubi and The Roku Channel, with Samsung TV Plus, Plex, Xumo Play and Google TV Freeplay close behind. All of them are completely legal, cost nothing and need no subscription. They make money from adverts, the same way broadcast TV always has. Between two or three of them, you get hundreds of live channels of news, films, classic shows, cooking, true crime and some sport.

Here's what each one is actually good at, where it works, and how to fill the one big gap free apps leave: local channels.

At a glance

Channel counts change constantly and differ by country, so we've left exact numbers out of the table. In the US, each of these carries somewhere between about 200 and 600+ live channels.

Pluto TV: the closest thing to free cable

Pluto TV is the one we'd install first. It looks and works like a cable box: a scrolling guide of hundreds of channels, organised by genre, with shows running on a schedule. There are dedicated channels for single shows (whole channels that just play one sitcom), film channels, news, and plenty of Paramount content such as CBS and MTV shows. No account needed. Just open it and start watching.

It's available in the US, Canada, much of Latin America and several European countries, including the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain (pluto.tv). Our Pluto TV guide covers how it works and how to get the most out of it.

Tubi: the biggest library, plus news

Tubi, owned by Fox, is best known for on-demand: a very large catalogue of films and series you can start any time. It also has live channels, including local news channels for many US cities, which is unusual for a free service. It occasionally streams big events free, too. Tubi carried the opening ceremony and the first two matches of the 2026 World Cup, including USA vs Paraguay, live in 4K at no cost (tubitv.com).

Tubi is available in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and parts of Central America.

The Roku Channel: not just for Roku owners

Despite the name, The Roku Channel works on Fire TV, phones, the web and other devices, not only Roku players (therokuchannel.roku.com). It mixes hundreds of live channels with on-demand films and some Roku Originals. On a Roku device it's built into the home screen's live TV guide, which makes it feel like part of the TV.

Samsung TV Plus

If you have a Samsung TV or Galaxy phone, you already have this. It's pre-installed, needs no account and appears as a channel guide on the TV. It's also watchable in a web browser at samsungtvplus.com. LG owners get a similar built-in service called LG Channels.

Plex

Plex started as software for playing your own media collection, and it still does that, but it also runs one of the larger free live TV services, available in many countries (Plex live TV). A free account isn't strictly required for everything, but it's worth creating one to keep favourites and watch history.

Xumo Play and Google TV Freeplay

Xumo Play is quick and simple: hundreds of channels, no signup, no credit card (play.xumo.com). Google TV Freeplay is built into Google TV devices, so there's nothing to install. Google expanded it in August 2026 to more than 300 live channels and over 10,000 on-demand titles.

One that's gone: Amazon Freevee closed in 2025. Its free, ad-supported shows and channels moved into the Prime Video app, where they're watchable without a Prime membership.

The gap: local channels and big sport

Free apps are strong on news, films and classic TV, but they generally don't carry your full local ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and PBS stations, and they rarely have the big live games. The fix for local channels is old technology: an antenna. In the US, local stations broadcast free over the air, often in better quality than cable. The FCC's reception maps show which stations you can get at your address (FCC DTV reception maps). We cover choosing and setting one up in how to watch local channels free without cable.

For major live sport beyond the occasional free event, you'll need a paid, licensed service. Our IPTV vs cable comparison puts the costs side by side.

Outside the US

Several of the apps above work internationally (Pluto TV, Tubi, Plex, Samsung TV Plus, The Roku Channel in some countries). Many countries also have excellent free broadcaster apps. In the UK, BBC iPlayer, ITVX and Channel 4 stream live channels (live BBC viewing needs a TV licence). Canada has CBC Gem, and Australia has ABC iview, SBS On Demand, 7plus and 9Now.

How to get them on your TV

Every app here is in the official store on Fire TV, Roku, Google TV, Apple TV and most smart TVs. No sideloading, no download codes, no playlists. That's one of the easiest ways to tell a legal free service from a dodgy one: legal ones are right there in your TV's app store. Device-specific walkthroughs: free live TV on Firestick and free live TV on Roku.

Our recommendation

Install Pluto TV and Tubi today. Add The Roku Channel if you want more variety, and use whichever service is built into your TV (Samsung TV Plus, LG Channels or Google TV Freeplay) since it costs you nothing. Then put up an antenna for local channels. For most households, that combination covers everyday TV for free, and you can decide later whether any paid service is really worth it. If you're wondering how free services compare with the "IPTV subscriptions" you see advertised, read Is IPTV legal?