The Top 10 Websites To Watch Movies Online Legally and Free
Thanks to certain websites and high-speed internet it is possible to stream all of your favourite films and documentaries through numerous viewing platforms. It is also possible to bypass the most well known pay-to-view websites and watch everything that you want for free – without fear of it being illegal.
Listed below are some of the best websites where you can access an excellent array of films and documentaries. These websites will offer you a huge selection of movies and documentaries that are free to watch, no threat to your computer and completely legal. They won’t offer just clips or trailers, they will offer full length films that you can watch from start to finish without interruption.
Most of these websites offer a free app, enabling you to access free movies while using your smartphone or tablet.
With the websites listed below it is possible find any movie that springs to mind, no matter how old or obscure. All genres are covered: action, drama, horror, comedy and more. Use the listed websites and enjoy watching the latest films, your favourite films from days gone by, public domain films and documentaries.
In the unlikely event that you are unable to find the movie that you want to watch, you can take advantage of free trials at Netflix, Amazon Instant Video and Now TV.
1. Crackle – http://www.crackle.com
Available in 22 countries and three different languages, Crackle is one of the best places to watch free movies. Owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, Crackle offers hundreds of free, full-length movies thanks to their many links with other film studios including Universal, Lionsgate, MGM, Columbia and Screen Gems.
You can access Crackle via your PC, laptop, television, smartphone and tablet. Crackle can also be accessed via Apple TV and Xbox.
No matter what platform you use to access free movies there is an excellent choice at Crackle, with some of the most popular being American Psycho, The Damned United, Ghostbusters, Red Rock West, Hope and Glory, The Lady from Shanghai, Gloria, Requiem for a Dream, In a Lonely Place, Starman and The Fisher King.
You will occasionally have to sit through a few commercials when watching a free full length movie but they are short.
In April 2014, Crackle shut down its UK service without prior notice.
2. Hulu – http://www.hulu.com
Hulu is a hugely popular website with millions of daily users thanks to the huge amount of high quality free movies, television programmes and documentaries that can viewed be via personal computers, laptops, smartphones, tablets, set-top boxes and games consoles.
Thanks to their partnership with Miramax and The Criterion Collection users can find hundreds of free movies which they can watch as often as they like without having to worry if they are breaking the law.
Hulu also offer thousands of television programmes and documentaries.
The free movies that are available on Hulu are only available in SD mode. To enjoy movies in HD you will need to subscribe to Hulu Plus, though you can sign up for a free one week trail.
Currently, the most popular free movies at Hulu are Punchline, Plan 9 from Outer Space, Last Action Hero, Will You Marry Me and Fall Guy.
3. Popcornflix – http://www.popcornflix.com
Launched in 2011, Popcornflix is a great place to watch free movies without the need of opening an account. Thanks to their relationship with Screen Media Ventures they have a huge library of free-to-watch films that include a lot of independent and foreign films, and documentaries. They have every genre covered meaning you can easily find a suitable film and stream it instantly.
In addition to full-length movies, Popcornflix features original content including web series and film school originals.
Some of the popular films and documentaries they currently offer include Adventures of a Teenage Dragon Slayer, Running Wild, The Little Kidnappers, Star Hunter, Time Under Fire, Futuresport, American Affair, Forever Mine, Killer Image, Three Days To Vegas, 420 - The Documentary, From the Shadows, Mojave Moon, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, CO2, CIA: Exiled, Disappearances, Assassins Code, Dark Side of the Sun, Bruno, American Meth, Cropsey, After Porn Ends and Judgement in Berlin.
4. WatchMovieStream.com – http://www.watchmoviestream.com
WatchMovieStream have an excellent selection of public domain and licensed films that are free to watch. They currently have over 500 free-to-watch movies including some excellent ‘B’ movies. The most popular films on there include Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, An American Werewolf in Paris, Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet, Plan 9 from Outer Space and In Which We Serve.
WatchMovieStream certainly have a superbly laid out selection of free movies with very crisp, original images.
You can also watch free movie trailers and clips courtesy of the built in custom search engine that scours hundreds of external online entertainment destinations and collates them in an easy to use database.
5. Viewster – http://www.viewster.com
Founded in 2007, Viewster is available in more than 120 countries and boasts almost 40 million unique visitors per month. You can enjoy their website via the usual viewing platforms, as well as being able to watch movies, documentaries and television programs on a smartphone or a tablet via their free app.
Viewster has more than 12,000 available titles, though not all of them are free to view. In addition to free movies, you can also watch free television shows. The number of available titles may vary from country to country due to nation-specific contracts with content owners.
The free-to-view films are a mix of unknown independent films and some more well-known films. You may have to watch an advert before the movie begins, though this is a small price to pay when you consider the number of adverts that litter almost every website in existence.
A few of the popular movies watched at Viewster include Dog Town, Icharus Broken, Jerome, King of Iron Town, The Last Homecoming and Maslin Beach.
6. Yidio – http://www.yidio.com
Formed in 2008, Yidio has an excellent selection of free movies that can be easily accessed by using the menu bar at the top of the website. Click into movies and you’ll see a section for free movies.
Some of the free movies are of the highest quality and they include Booty Call, Step Brothers, Bad Boys, Pineapple Express, Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Destroyer, Sniper, Jerry Maguire, The Cable Guy, Wimbledon, Weird Science, Easy Rider, Fletch, Backdraft, Monster's Ball, Sleepless in Seattle, Dead Presidents, The Graduate, Watership Down, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, American Psycho, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Midnight Express and more.
7. YouTube – http://www.youtube.com/movies
Founded in 2005, YouTube is a video sharing site and one of the most popular websites in the world. You can access thousands of free films that have either been uploaded by users or by YouTube themselves. A lot of public domain and independent films are uploaded by various users, though occasionally someone will upload a recently released movie. YouTube will eventually remove the movie and ban the user so you’ll need to enjoy the film before this happens!
Click straight into the movies section, browse through and you’ll be able to rent and/or purchase the latest films, though it is quite an expensive service. You can of course browse through and enjoy all the free films that are on offer.
8. Watch Documentary - http://watchdocumentary.org/
Watch Documentary is a hugely popular website with over 10,000 videos all of which are completely free to access.
Feature length documentaries are available in many different genres: 9/11 & London Bombing, Assassination, Conspiracy, Crime, Environment, History, Military, Mystery, Religious, Science, Sports, Technology, War and many more.
You can also view full documentary series such as the highly acclaimed BBC documentaries Human Planet, Planet Earth and Life. You can also watch Ray Mears’ Extreme Survival series, Ross Kemp on Gangs, Stephen Fry in America, Through the Wormhole, Walking with Dinosaurs, Walking with Caveman, Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends Documentaries and more.
Watch Documentary is nice and simple to use and you can easily enjoy all of your favourite documentaries as well as videos you wouldn’t normally consider watching.
An Android app is available to access Watch Documentary from a mobile device.
9. SnagFilms – http://www.snagfilms.com
With a library boasting over 10,000 free-to-watch movies and documentaries, SnagFilm is a must use website for all film aficionados.
You can easily scroll through the available movies and documentaries thanks to the sites simple layout. Click the movies icon at the top of the website and you’ll then be able to choose your favourite genre.
You can enjoy some really good movies and documentaries such as The Three Stooges, Night of the Living Dead, Bad Girls, Gangsters, Guns and Zombies, Sins, Bad Cop, Pocahontas: The Legend, A Christmas Carol, A Pornstar Is Born, Dragon Hunters, And Then There Were None, Out in the Silence and many, many more.
You can access SnagFilms through your laptop, Xbox, smartphone and tablet. You can open an account using social media, allowing you to connect with family and friends who also share your passion for free films and documentaries!
10. Top Documentary Films – http://www.topdocumentaryfilms.com
Although it looks a bit of a basic website, Top Documentary Films has a strong following and a fantastic choice of documentaries - some very well-known, some not so. You can scroll through the well laid out categories and find yourself a great documentary.
All of the documentaries are pulled in via outside websites like YouTube and Dailymotion.
You will have to put up with some adverts while watching your program, though it is a small price to pay for some great programs.
