Key Takeaways
- Services with free, ad-free content are scarce but specific in content offerings.
- Kanopy offers critically-acclaimed movies; Hoopla provides various library content.
- WaterBear focuses on documentaries to inspire positive change in an engaging way.
Typically, you expect to pay for your movie and TV content in one of two ways. Either you pay a hefty subscription fee for something like Max , Disney+, or Netflix , or you go for a free service that incorporates ad breaks just like your old cable service did. At the end of the day, you have to decide if you want to spend more time or money to get the content you want. But what if there were services that were both free and didn’t bog you down with commercials? That would be the ideal solution, but does anything like that really exist?
Services that manage to offer content for free and keep ads out of the equation are few and far between
Services that manage to offer content for free and keep ads out of the equation are few and far between. They also tend to be highly specific in what content they offer, so don’t expect any of them to replace your existing paid or ad-supported services completely. However, there’s no harm in checking them out and browsing their offerings to see if you can watch some good content without an ad or fee. I had to dig deep into the depths of the streaming world to pull out these services that somehow manage to be cost and ad-free.
1 Kanopy
Dig out that old library card
Kanopy
Kanopy is the best hidden gem of a streaming service that no one is talking about. All you need to sign up is a library card, which you can even get online in just a few minutes, and you instantly have access to a massive catalog of films. And I’m not talking about dated or niche stuff, either. You can easily find tons of critically-acclaimed and popular movies like Eighth Grade, Lady Bird, and I Am Not Your Negro. If you want to go a little deeper, it also has a great selection of foreign and independent movies to check out too, plus plenty of educational stuff for kids as you would expect. You can watch directly on your browser, mobile device, or download an app on most smart TVs.
Related
Do you lament the death of movie theaters or welcome the streaming future?
One could argue it was an inevitability, but there’s no denying that movie theaters have been dying off at a rapid pace these past few years. The culprit? Streaming services. Theaters were able to survive home video and DVDs because they were always the only place you could see new movies for months, plus our home screens left quite a bit to be desired. Now, movies hit your favorite streaming service a month or two, or in some cases just a few weeks, after they debut in theaters and even a modestly priced TV looks amazing. There’s the convenience and comfort, sure, but we all know the real nail in theater’s coffin was the price. Movie tickets just keep getting more expensive, not to mention concessions. At this point, the “movie going experience” has lost all its luster to the general audience who would rather avoid the hassle of going out, buying tickets, and sitting in a big auditorium with strangers who might be talking or on their phones distracting you. That said, there was a magi
2 Hoopla
The entire library experience
No, Hoopla and Kanopy aren’t the same thing exactly. They both are tied to owning a library card but have totally different offerings. Where Kanopy primarily just has movies, Hoopla gives you digital access to everything you’d want from a library. This includes audiobooks, eBooks, graphic novels, magazines, music, and, of course, TV and Movies. The only thing you might need to be aware of is that the content available to you depends on which library you signed up with. I personally think the movie selection is a bit worse than Kanopy, but does still have some hits like Everything Everywhere All At Once, but makes up for it with hundreds of eBooks and audiobooks you can download for road trips.
3 WaterBear
Be better
WaterBear
Finally, WaterBear is a free streaming service that has a clear and focused mission: to inspire and create change by highlighting important people and stories. Most films, which are all documentaries, focus on issues related to climate, the planet, animals, and even us as people. However, it isn’t framed as all doom and gloom like so many documentaries are. Instead, WaterBear wants to give you hope and actionable steps toward positive change. You won’t recognize anything when you first look at the offerings, but you will quickly find something on a cause you are interested in and get sucked in.
