The completely free streaming service that's 'like DIY Netflix' with 25,000,000
'Free' and 'streaming' are two words rarely seen together these days, and many of us spend upwards of £30 each month on the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney Plus.
If you're trying to cut costs, you might have considered one of the lesser-known free streaming services. Tubi, which boasts 97 million users, is one of these, as well as Pluto TV.
But even more under the radar is Plex. It's what's known as a FAST (free ad-supported streaming television) service, meaning it collects shows into a playlist with ad breaks, giving the feel of watching a TV channel.
You can watch on-demand content and stream live TV on Plex too, but it started off as a free media-server software, allowing users to stream content they already own on their computer onto a TV.
According to its website, Plex now boasts 25,000,000 users.
Plex launched in the late 2000s as a place where users could house their own music or video files. It still does this, and is popular for the way it organises the content in the same way services such as Netflix and Disney Plus do.
In 2019, the app introduced an ad-supported on-demand streaming service and free-to-stream live TV channels.
This means, just like with Tubi and Pluto TV, there are automated ad breaks while streaming on Plex.
It's completely free, thanks to the revenue generated by the adverts, but there is a paid version of Plex too. The 'Plex Pass' costs £4.99 per month (or £49.99 per year and £189.99 for a lifetime pass) and allows users to record content, download content for offline streaming and skip intro credits.
Meanwhile, it costs £1.99 per month or £19.99 per year to be able to stream from anywhere or on any device outside your own home.
Last February Plex added a rental service, meaning users can pay to stream new releases in the app, rather than paying a regular subscription to watch them on Netflix, Apple TV Plus, Prime and the like.
Plex can be accessed through a web browser, or you can download the app via your mobile device's app store, Amazon Fire TV, Android, and Apple TV.
When it comes to putting together your own library of downloaded content, you'll need to set up a Plex Media Server. It sounds complicated, but Plex guides you through the process. All you really need to do is provide the files and it automatically organises your library for you.
If that's not for you, or you don't have any of your own downloaded content, you can go ahead and stream the content already provided by Plex straight away.
Metro's Ellie Hutchings tried Plex for herself, to see if it's worth the hype:
'I didn't expect much from Plex's free offerings, and it's true that you won't find anything new or trending on the platform. Nevertheless, I was pleasantly surprised. If you're happy to have a dig through the extensive library or try things you might not have heard of before, there are some hidden gems to be found — especially if you're into older or niche content.
'And watching the ad-supported content is really no different to the experience of watching ordinary TV channels with adverts, with breaks every 15 minutes or so and lasting two to three minutes. Usually, there was also a countdown showing how long of the adbreak was left, too.
'In addition, I found the Plex interface very user-friendly, and I like that it shows the Rotten Tomatoes score and IMDb ratings of each title. It also suggests similar titles you can watch on Plex when selecting a particular movie or TV show.
'Honestly, my only gripe at this point is that there's no option to watch with subtitles.'
As for what you can watch, Plex boasts thousands of free, on-demand movies and TV shows and over 600 channels of free, live TV.
The most notable offerings include every episode of Rowan Atkinson's Mr Bean, US zombie horror series Z Nation, 11 seasons of paranormal reality show Ghost Hunters, five seasons of Charlie Sheen's sitcom Anger Management, and popular sci-fi series Sanctuary.
There's also episodes of Baywatch and Kim's Convenience, while movies that are free to stream include 2004 romcom The Girl Next Door, 90s James Bond parody Austin Powers, and 1992 drama Damage, which inspired hit Netflix show Obsession.
Meanwhile, live channels include GB News, Homes Under the Hammer, Tennis+, and a wide variety of crime offerings.
Plex also has a feature called Discover Credits, which allows you to find out more about the cast of the films and TV shows on the service, including their filmography and where you can watch their other roles.
The service has proved popular with users and even has an entire subreddit dedicated to it, where users share advice on how to use Plex.
One Reddit user described it as 'like Netflix, but for movies/shows you own', while another echoed 'I call it DIY Netflix'.
On Amazon, reviewer Fiorina said: 'From the moment I downloaded Plex onto my Firestick, I was hooked,' adding 'the streaming quality is top-notch'. More Trending
Chas E wrote: 'Fantastic app. This works with no problems at all,' and ItsGherks called it 'jaw-droppingly good'.
However, some were disappointed with the frequency of the adverts, with Outsiderny complaining of 'too many adverts that increase once you're hooked'.
Dillonsauntie pointed out that it's 'worth the very annoying and very frequent ads to see things that are difficult or expensive to access elsewhere.'
View More »
This article was first published on June 5, 2025.
Got a story?
If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you.
MORE: Netflix fans say 'wrestling is saved' after shock WWE championship win
MORE: Netflix on verge of dropping all 8 episodes of dark TV drama 'compared to Ozark'
MORE: Popular TV star 'forever grateful' as major series opts to bring her back
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Spectator
5 hours ago
- Spectator
Ingenious: the Globe's Romeo & Juliet reviewed
Cul-de-Sac feels like an ersatz sitcom of a kind that's increasingly common on the fringe. Audiences are eager to see an unpretentious domestic comedy set in a kitchen or a sitting-room where the characters gossip, argue, fall in love, break up and so on. TV broadcasters can't produce this sort of vernacular entertainment and they treat audiences as atomised members of racial ghettos or social tribes. And they assume that every viewer is an irascible brat who can't bear to hear uncensored language without having a tantrum. The result is that TV comedy often feels like appeasement rather than entertainment. Theatre producers are keen to fill the gap, and the latest effort by writer-director David Shopland declares its ambitions in its title. Cul-de-Sac is set on a housing estate where Frank and Ruth are busy destroying their marriage. Ruth lounges on the sofa all day drinking sherry and mourning the loss of her career as a therapist. Frank is a depressed salaryman who rants and raves obsessively about a mysterious Mercedes parked by his kerb. The couple make friends with a timid bisexual neighbour, Simon, whose wife has just run off with his brother. More characters arrive. Marie is a beautiful, nerdy evangelical who recruits worshippers for her husband's church by knocking on strangers' doors. Her latest disciple, Hamza, is a Kurdish businessman who owns the Mercedes that blocks Frank's drive. Thus the messy social circle is complete. The characters are quirky, likeable and easy to relate to. And the show is full of awkward comic moments and latent sexual conflict. The best character, Simon, is perhaps too obviously based on Alan Bennett. He has a squashed blond hairdo and geeky black-rimmed glasses, and he speaks in a lugubrious, wheedling Yorkshire accent. The show is good fun for 90 minutes but after the interval, disaster strikes. The script morphs into an anguished memory play and the characters become self-pitying bores. They take it in turns to describe the most grisly moment of their lives. Ruth explains the crisis that terminated her therapy career. Marie reveals the difficult truth about her missionary work. The men recount tales of loss and bereavement caused by lethal explosions and murderous terrorist attacks. These distressing back-stories have no shape or dramatic direction and the show becomes an interminable group-therapy session. At the climax, a suitcase is opened to reveal a blood-stained item of clothing, and the script delivers 'messages' about the virtues of tolerance. We're warned not to indulge in xenophobia or to lay blame on a particular faith for the crimes of a few extremists. In other words, it feels like a TV show. Perhaps Netflix will pick it up. At the Globe, Sean Holmes offers an ingenious new take on Romeo and Juliet. His inspiration? Set the show in the Wild West. It makes sense, just about, to plonk the story into a frontier town where two murderous families are locked in a deadly feud. The Victorian age was a time of stylish and dignified fashions so the show looks terrific. The women swish around in sumptuous full-length gowns while the men sport frockcoats, hip-hugging trousers and chic leather boots. The cowboy hats are a bit of a problem. Thesps hate wearing headgear that conceals their faces, and in this production the actors wear their hats shoved well back on their heads so that their handsome mugs can be seen at all times. Perhaps the hats could be ditched altogether. This feels like a TV show. Perhaps Netflix will pick it up Most of the cast are pretty good, some are exceptional. Michael Elcock's Mercutio is a mischievous, charming street hustler who turns the tricky Queen Mab monologue into a tour de force by pretending that it's the most hilarious joke he's ever heard. (On the page, the speech reads like a bad dream about a spider improvised by a stoned poet.) Elcock's playful, fleet-footed Mercutio makes Romeo seem like an angry dullard by comparison, but that's always a risk with this play. At least Rawaed Asde (Romeo) has the dreamy good looks of a movie star. His Juliet (Lola Shalam) plays the part as a cheery Essex blonde with a heart of steel. When her father threatens to force her out of the house, he looks more scared than she does. Jamie Rose-Monk's Nurse is too young to perform the role as a venerable lady's maid and she plays it like Juliet's best mate from school. Dharmesh Patel works wonders with the small role of Peter by adding balletic little hand gestures and other physical absurdities. None of his play-acting is in the script but it comes across beautifully in the festive, carefree atmosphere of the Globe. This is an object lesson in how to reconceptualise Shakespeare. The idea of the Wild West is lightly handled and it offers witty suggestions rather than imposing ugly restrictions.
NBC News
7 hours ago
- NBC News
Kristen Bell reveals the one thing ‘Nobody Wants This' fans say to her
Kristen Bell says there's one thing that fans always tell her about her hit Netflix show 'Nobody Wants This.' While speaking about the series with NBC News correspondent Jacob Soboroff in a joint interview her co-star Adam Brody, Bell revealed the common thing people tell her when they talk about her rom-com. 'This has happened to me, I'm going to say — and I don't think I'm exaggerating — six times where I've had different women in my life... like a girl in my choir class was like, 'Oh, I'm going to start watching your show. I haven't seen it yet. My dad told me to watch it,'' she said exclusively to Soboroff, who laughed. 'I'm not joking. Everybody's dad has seen this show and is telling them to watch it, like a bunch of my friends,' she added. Brody agreed. 'Yeah, parents and grandparents,' he said. 'Dads love it!' Bell added. Brody and Bell star in 'Nobody Wants This' and play a devout rabbi and an agnostic sex podcaster, respectively, who fall in love in the most unconventional way. The series premiered on Netflix in September 2024 and then it was renewed for another season in October of that same year. Season 2 is now set to premiere this October. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Bell talked about the impact that 'Nobody Wants This' has had on fans and she said she's glad that the show became a hit. 'I've never gotten a response to any show I've ever been a part of like this show,' she said. 'It's been thrilling to hear how many people have enjoyed it,' Bell continued. 'That's kind of my main goal with any type of performance.' 'Ultimately, I just want people to have a nice escapism while watching something I've been in, and I feel like this has provided that for so many people,' she added.
Wales Online
9 hours ago
- Wales Online
Major shake-up of how people pay BBC licence fee proposed
Major shake-up of how people pay BBC licence fee proposed BBC chairman Samir Shah suggested the current flat fee could be replaced in future The BBC licence fee would be means tested if the proposals were introduced (Image: Getty ) A BBC boss has proposed TV licence fees could be based on the value of one's home in future. Chairman Samir Shah suggested that the current £174.50 fee could be replaced with a progressive payment structure tied to property values. In an interview earlier this year, he proposed that the fee could be linked to council tax bands and collected concurrently, marking his first significant change since succeeding Richard Sharp. He also dismissed the notion of replacing the TV licence with a Netflix-style subscription service, arguing it wouldn't fulfil the BBC's mission to provide something for everyone in the country. Under this proposal, households in higher council tax bands would pay more for BBC services, while those in lower bands might pay less than the current rate. The option to opt out of paying a TV licence would be removed. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here Shah believes this approach would lessen the need to prosecute non-payers, telling The Sunday Times: "It gets rid of the enforcement issue, which is a problem. The idea that not paying the licence fee is a criminal offence seems too harsh." For regions like Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands, where Council Tax doesn't apply, an alternative method would need to be established, reports the Express. Article continues below Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy may be receptive to the idea, having previously described the current model as "harder for poorer households to pay". During the interview, he tackled queries about altering the BBC's funding model and dismissed the idea of a hybrid structure that would offer basic services like news for free while charging for drama or comedy content. He also mentioned that introducing advertising to the BBC would "kill off ITV" and rejected the notion that the BBC should be funded entirely through general taxation, arguing it would "leave the BBC open to influence from the government of the day". Article continues below At the moment, although there are concessions or free licences for certain groups, such as those over 75 who receive Pension Credit, the licence fee does not take personal assets into account. The standard licence fee is set at £174.50 per annum, with a reduced rate of £58.50 for black and white TV subscriptions. For individuals who are blind or severely sight-impaired, there is a 50% concession, bringing the cost down to £87.25.
