How to Watch Free Live TV on Roku (Hundreds of Channels, No Subscription)

Roku is one of the best devices for free live TV, because a lot of it is already built in. The Roku Channel includes hundreds of free, ad-supported live channels with a proper channel guide, and free apps such as Pluto TV, Tubi, Plex and Xumo Play add hundreds more. Everything installs from the Roku store, it's all legal, and none of it needs a subscription.

Step 1: Open the live guide that's already there

Every Roku comes with The Roku Channel. Open it and go to its Live TV section, or choose Live TV from the menu on the Roku home screen on recent software. You'll get a guide grid of free channels: news, films, classic TV, sport highlights, cooking and more, with programme information for the coming days.

Roku calls this the Live TV Channel Guide, and its support pages explain how to browse it and jump between channels (Roku support). The full guide is a US feature; The Roku Channel is also available in some other countries with a different line-up.

Step 2: Add the best free apps

From the Roku home screen, open the store (called the Streaming Store or Channel Store depending on your software), search, and add:

On some Roku devices, channels from these services also show up in the Live TV guide alongside The Roku Channel's own, so you can browse them in one place. Our round-up of the best free live TV apps explains what each is best at, and Pluto TV vs Tubi compares the two biggest.

Step 3: Make the guide your own

• Favourite channels in the guide so the ones you actually watch come first.
• Move the apps you use most to the top of the home screen: highlight the app, press the * button and choose Move.
• Remove apps you don't use. Fewer tiles, faster home screen.

Step 4: Add local channels

Free streaming apps don't carry your full local network stations. For those, use an antenna:

• Roku TVs (TVs with Roku built in, from brands like TCL and Hisense) have a tuner. Connect an antenna, choose the antenna input or "Live TV" and scan. Local stations then appear in the guide next to streaming channels.
• Roku streaming sticks and boxes have no tuner. A network tuner such as an HDHomeRun or Tablo connects the antenna to your router and streams local channels to its app on the Roku.

Check which stations reach your home first with the FCC's maps (FCC DTV reception maps). Full walkthrough in how to watch local channels free.

Use your phone as the remote

The free Roku mobile app works as a remote with a keyboard, which makes searching much quicker than the on-screen keyboard. It also has Private Listening: the TV's sound plays through headphones connected to your phone, handy for late-night viewing.

Why free channels come and go

Free channels are licensed for set periods, so line-ups change. If a channel you liked disappears from The Roku Channel, search for the show by name; it has often moved to another free service like Pluto TV or Tubi rather than vanishing entirely. The Roku Channel's line-up is also different, and smaller, outside the US.

What you won't find, and why that's fine

Roku doesn't allow sideloading and closed its old "private channel" codes in 2022. That means no TiviMate, no IPTV Smarters, and no "unlock every channel" tricks. Sellers who promise otherwise are selling something that won't work, or won't last. For the free and licensed side of live TV, though, Roku is excellent, and it's why we recommend it to people who just want TV that works.

If you do have a service that gave you a playlist or login, see how to watch IPTV on Roku for the options that still exist.