I ditched cable for Roku’s free channels and haven’t looked back

Published Apr 28, 2026, 7:00 PM EDT

Chris Hachey is a contributor for MakeUseOf with years of experience covering consumer tech. He has been published on XDA-developers.com, Pocket-lint.com, BGR.com, and other tech sites. He is passionate about finding great deals on tech, testing out new consumer electronics, and sharing his insights into smart home devices.

From Bluetooth speakers and earbuds to 2-in-1 laptops, Chris has tested hundreds of products to provide his audience with real analysis on how well something works. When he’s not looking for the latest and greatest in tech, he’s probably spending too much time on his phone, playing with his dog or daughter, or watching his favorite sports teams. Follow him on X @hach_tag
MuckRack

Anybody trying to cut the cord on cable has searched for alternatives for their viewing pleasure. Unless you’re giving up on TV altogether, you need to find ways to still watch your shows without having to pay those frustrating cable fees. Signing up for a cable package that gives you a ton of channels you don’t want and only some that you do makes little sense. Some people aren’t ever going to give up their cable package as they want access to live channels as soon as they turn on the TV.

But what those people may not know is that all the free channels you can get with Roku might cover what you’re looking for. You can watch TV for free with the use of a Roku TV or a Roku streaming device. Roku makes it easy and even suggests titles for you to watch that are strictly found on free channels. There are a lot of options available to you for your entertainment purposes.

woman watching free streaming service on television and laptop.

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You don’t have to go far for free titles

The featured free section of the Roku menu with what's on PlutoTV

If you didn’t know about free apps that you can get on Roku, the platform makes sure that you do. You don’t even have to download apps for the Roku platform to learn about what is being shown on them.

Roku goes out of its way to highlight the free content that you can watch at any time on the platform. If you click on the Featured Free portion of the main menu, which is on the left side of the home page on the Roku, it will give you a rundown of the bulk of free movies and TV series to watch on Roku.

You really won’t run out of shows and movies to watch on The Roku Channel because it replenishes its content monthly, just like Netflix and other streaming services do.

It goes through a list of free apps that you can download, including Pluto TV, Fawesome, and Tubi. These are some of the most well-known free streaming apps and they are essentials for anyone considering cutting the cord on cable.

The Featured Free page will provide you with a breakdown of content that you can watch by genre. You’ll see what movies and TV series might be leaving free streaming services soon.

It will also highlight some of the best content on each individual platform, letting you sort through each of them without even opening the apps. It’s the smartest place to begin your search for free content when you’re opening up your Roku.

In order to download a new app, you can scroll to the end of the grid on Roku’s homepage or go into Search and look up new ones. Scrolling through the apps that are available to use on Roku lets you see both premium and free options.

The Roku Channel might be the best of them all

There’s so much to see

The Roku Channel is already installed on any Roku device, so you don’t have to go searching for it. It provides a premium experience for anyone looking to quit their insistence on cable.

It is a free, ad-supported channel that doesn’t require a subscription and gives you over 10,000 free shows and movies to view at any time. You really won’t run out of shows and movies to watch on The Roku Channel because it replenishes its content monthly, just like Netflix and other streaming services do.

The library for The Roku Channel is packed with all kinds of titles, giving you options to watch older and new ones. You can search for movies and TV series in the menus and the content is broken down by genre, giving you an easier time sorting through what you want to watch.

The Roku Channel has its own original programming as well, so you can watch shows that you’ll only be able to find there. This makes it feel like you’re getting a paid streamer without having to pay for it.

There’s also a live guide for channels, as it is filled with free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels. These are 24/7 live channels that cover sports, news, entertainment and more. While you won’t be watching the same channels that you would if you had a cable subscription, you’ll still get plenty to watch. These include things like NBC News Now, which is a 24/7 news channel, and an entire channel dedicated to Law & Order.

Arguably, the best thing about The Roku Channel is that it can serve as a one-stop hub for all of your subscriptions. Assuming you still want to watch some paid streaming services, you can link your subscriptions for platforms like Paramount+, MGM+, STARZ, and Howdy into The Roku Channel. This brings them and all the content into one streaming platform, similar to how Prime Video allows you to link your streaming subscriptions to it. This eliminates having to open up multiple different apps whenever you want to watch something different.

More free streaming services you can watch

Roku offers access to a lot

Free options of shows and categories on Roku

Depending on what you’re looking for, you can find a free streaming service on Roku that offers it. If you want 24/7 channels, you can find them on more than just The Roku Channel. Pluto TV, Tubi, and Xumo Play all offer them as well.

If you want original movies and TV shows with some older series as well, Crackle is a good app for that. An app that has a wide array of movies that you’ve probably never heard of is Mometu.

Anyone who is a true-crime documentary junkie should look at Filmrise. For anyone who wants to build their own media server, the Plex app is also free to use on Roku.

There are niche options such as:

HappyKids (for kids)
NewsOn (local news)
VEVO (music videos)
Pandora (streaming music)
NASA (live watch of NASA TV)
WeatherNation (weather)
Vix (TV in Spanish)
CBS Sports (shows and games from CBS Sports Network)

Finding the right channels for you is easy, as you can just search for free apps while you’re exploring Roku.

There’s so much free content on Roku that it’s impossible to watch it all

If you’re thinking about relying only on free streaming services for your entertainment, you won’t get bored any time soon. For Roku users, there is so much you can watch without having to pay a cent. The Roku Channel can be the main hub for all that you want to watch, but there are plenty of other apps you can download to get the most out of your streaming experience.