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20 Movie Download Websites: Free & Legal Streaming In 2024

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When it comes to watching and downloading movies for free, you can’t trust the top ranking websites since they are filled with malicious ads as well as copyright infringing content. That’s where our expert-reviewed list of free movie websites stands out.

TLDR; Our top recommendations for 2024

Best For	Website	Why visit these?
Classic Movies	The Internet Archive	A treasure trove for fans of classic cinema, offering a nostalgic journey with timeless classics.
Indian Cinema	Hotstar	Showcases the diversity and richness of Indian cinema, from heartfelt dramas to inspiring biopics.
Korean Cinema	The Korean Film Archive	A gateway to the profound storytelling and unique cinematic style of Korean films.
Independent Films	Le CiNéMa Club	Highlights innovative and thought-provoking indie films that challenge the status quo.
Documentaries	Kanopy	Offers a range of documentaries that explore real-life stories, issues, and cultures.
Anime	Crunchyroll	The go-to platform for anime enthusiasts, offering a wide range of series across genres.

How to download free movies?

To download the movies from free websites, you need to access them using your desktop or mobile web browser. Different websites have different download options: some provide direct download links and some offer torrent links as well. For torrent links, you will need to install a separate BitTorrent client as well.

Free Movie Download Websites: Streaming In 2024

• YouTube
• The Internet Archive
• Watch TCM
• Hotstar
• The Korean Film Archive
• 6. Le CiNéMa Club
• Crackle
• Pluto TV
• A24 Movies on Kanopy
• Open Culture
• MoviesFoundOnline
• NoBudge
• PopcornFlix
• Hulu
• Vimeo
• IMDb TV
• Yidio
• Crunchyroll
• Films For Action
• Watch Documentaries
• Legal Torrent Websites

1. YouTube

While YouTube remains the biggest source of online video on the web, it has slowly been investing more in original programming and exploring new revenue streams. You can rent most of the new movies on YouTube. However, you’ll be surprised to know that the website offers more than 350 feature films for free streaming.

Please note that it’s different from YouTube TV, which is a live TV streaming service. It’s also mentioned on our latest list of best movie streaming sites. This makes YouTube a perfectly free movie website for those who can’t afford to spend a premium to access Netflix and Hulu content.

What we like about YouTube:

• More than 350 movies for streaming
• Reliability of YouTube’s interface
• Cross-device functionality

What we didn’t like about YouTube:

• No latest movies for free

Availability: USA

Some Free movies on YouTube:

• Zookeeper
• Legally Blonde
• The Terminator
• Flawless
• Kung Fu Killer
• IP Man

2. The Internet Archive

With a mission of “universal access to all knowledge,” The Internet Archive acts like a savior in many cases – it lets you access blocked sites, open offline websites, and see how a website has evolved over the years. But where does it fit in our list of websites to download or stream free content?

About 4-5 years ago, The Internet Archive just provided direct links, and often the movie downloads failed as the file sizes were large. Thanks to the torrent links, now you can easily enjoy and download hundreds of movies without spending a penny. The overall catalog found on this website is continuously growing and new content is added every day.

This website to donwload free movies also allows creating a free virtual library card which grants you access to forums, the ability to upload videos, bookmark favorite content, etc.

What we like about The Internet Archive:

• Vast directory of movies to download across multiple genres
• Movie downloads available all across the world
• Torrent download option on some movies

What we didn’t like about The Internet Archive:

• Only classic movies are available
• No direct link to download

Availability: Everywhere

Some notable titles:

• The original Jungle Book
• Farewell to Arms
• Iron Mask
• Night of the Living Dead
• The Brother from Another Planet

3. Watch TCM

A popular way to watch free movies and TV in the US is with the help of a cable subscription. There are many movie studios and streaming players who have collaborated with cable networks to offer access to an amazing collection of movies on the web.

Out of all such free offerings, Turner Classic Movies’ TCM features the best collection of movies. Called Watch TCM, this service lets you watch an unlimited number of free movies with either a cable or satellite package.

What makes TCM even better is the availability of dedicated apps for Android, iOS, Apple TV, etc. The service also contains articles, information about artists, short movies, and lists of movie recommendations.

What we like about Watch TCM?

• Can be coupled with a cable TV subscription
• Watch classics across different platforms

What we didn’t like about Watch TCM:

• Only available in the USA
• You need to select your TV service provider before watching movies on Watch TCM

Availability: USA

Free on Watch movies on TCM:

• Gone With The Wind
• Westworld
• Casablanca

4. Hotstar

Having talked about the American viewers and the availability of free movies for them in the YouTube section, let’s talk about the most popular Indian/Hindi website to donwload free movies.

Even though paid services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are focusing more and more on Indian audiences, Hotstar remains a good source of free streaming and movie download for offline streaming. Hotstar also hosts exclusive movie premiers for Indian movies on its platform but you need to be a paying customer of Hotstar.

The interface of the service is pretty neat, and there’s a well-designed app as well. Moreover, Hotstar is also great for watching Indian TV shows, sports, and news for free.

What we like about Hotstar?

• Best source of free entertainment for Indian viewers
• Affordable premium subscription for movie downloads

What we didn’t like about Hotstar:

• Only available in India
• More Indian regional content

Availability: India (free), USA (Paid)

Some free movie titles:

• Dil Bechara
• Super 30
• Houseful
• Raid
• Kaabil
• Jolly LLB
• Bodyguard

5. The Korean Film Archive

With the recent influx of amazing movies like Parasite, Minari, Burning, and The Handmaiden, American movie watchers are now exposed to a plethora of excellent content.

The Korean Film Archive on YouTube is a hidden gem that cinephiles looking for movie downloads will surely appreciate. Named Korean Classic Film, this official channel contains more than 200 classic Korean movies right from the 1930s onwards. With the increasing popularity of Korean cinema in the West, this channel is the perfect way to explore the classic works of South Korean Cinema.

All the movies come with English subtitles, so you don’t have to worry about the language barrier. If you love cinema, go ahead and give these free movies a try — you won’t be disappointed.

What we like about The Korean Film Archive?

• Best source of free movies for Korean cinephiles
• Availability of English subtitles

What we didn’t like about The Korean Film Archive:

• Only South Korean movies are available
• Limited number of movies

Availability: Everywhere

Some free movie titles:

• The Day A Pig Fell Into The Well
• Aimless Bullet
• A Dwarf Launches A Little Ball
• Sopyonje

6. Le CiNéMa Club

Earlier this year, the highly-curated Indie film streaming site Le CiNéMa Club was relaunched with a redesigned interface. First launched in 2015, the website aims to promote new talent and provide exposure to rare gems that don’t get the attention they deserve.

The website is known to stream one new film each week and is open to contributions from filmmakers. While most of the content you’ll find on the site is of short-film nature, the website is open to features of any length. The site has notably streamed  Claire Denis’ ultra-rare “Keep It for Yourself” in the past. At the time of writing this article, the website is streaming Diddly Squat by Frank Lebon.

Availability: Everywhere

What we like about Le CiNéMa Club?

• One new and curated movie every week
• Diverse and original movies

What we didn’t like about Le CiNéMa Club:

• Only one movie is available per week
• You won’t find popular movies here

7. Crackle

Crackle is a great website for free movies online, as it’s owned by Sony. So, naturally, you get lots of movies to watch. You need to signup, create a watchlist, and you’ll be shown recommendations based on your priorities.

Crackle offers lots of popular movies and TV shows that you won’t find for free on other websites. As long as you are willing to watch a couple of ads and commercials. Some of its great offerings include Seinfeld, Firefly, Sports Jeopardy, and more. Crackle has Android and iOS apps as well, which is an obvious plus point.

Some of the content on Crackle could be blocked in your country due to license restrictions. You can access them using a VPN or proxy service.

What we like about Crackle?

• More than 100 fully legal movies for free streaming
• Handy subtitle settings for easy viewing

What we didn’t like about Crackle:

• Geo-restricted content
• In-movie advertisements

Availability: USA

Free movies on Crackle:

• Predestination
• Train to Busan
• I Am Not Your Negro
• Oldboy

8. Pluto TV

Pluto TV tries to mimic a traditional TV layout and it’s one of my favorite services on this list. This service to watch free movies online offers 75+ TV channels from different categories. All these channels are divided into news, TV, movies, tech, sports, and other popular sections.

Pluto TV also offers its official application for almost all popular platforms and you can enjoy the content on the go. They also have their own dedicated movie channel.

One thing you should note is that some channels will only be available if you’re in the US. So, you can either use a VPN service or a proxy for an uninterrupted experience.

What we like about Pluto TV?

• Traditional TV-like interface
• Wordwide, cross-platform availability

What we didn’t like about Pluto TV:

• No latest movies
• Frequent advertisements and commercials

Availability: Worldwide (More content in the US)

9. A24 Movies on Kanopy

When we talk about hidden movie streaming gems, we can’t miss Kanopy. By partnering with libraries and universities all across the world, Kanopy has managed to deliver a unique collection of content for free. Just last year, Kanopy announced its partnership with Oscar-winning movie studio A24.

What we like about Kanopy?

• Tons of award-winning and independent movies
• Unique streaming model (library card supported)

What we didn’t like about Kanopy:

• Limitations on the number of movies you can stream per month

Availability: Everywhere

Free movies on Kanopy:

• Lady Bird
• Good Time
• Room
• The Lobster
• The Florida Project
• Moonlight
• First Reformed

10. Open Culture

Open Culture offers high-quality videos from all across the world. It’s home to free movies, free online courses, and free language lessons. Founded in 2006, it has 6 main sections: Movies, Online courses, Language lessons, e-Books, Textbooks, and Audiobooks.

The movies section consists of an excellent collection. Currently, it hosts 1,150 free movies online that include a special collection of Oscar-Winning Movies and Charlie Chaplin movies.

What we like about OpenCulture?

• Special award-winning collection of Andrei Tarkovsky and Charlie Chaplin movies
• Online courses, podcasts, ebooks, and audio books

What we didn’t like about OpenCulture:

• No latest movies

Availability: Everywhere

11. MoviesFoundOnline

This website curates free movies, independent films, TV shows, and stand-up comedy videos. The website hosts free movies ranging from cult classics and short films to documentaries and comedy movies.

This website curates lots of public domain movies and serves them to you. As MoviesFoundOnline doesn’t host or upload any media on its own, it works actively to delete the movies if there’s some copyright infringement.

What we like about MoviesFoundOnline?

• Night mode feature for comfortable browsing
• Also features short films, documentaries, animations, and TV shows

What we didn’t like about MoviesFoundOnline:

• Intrusive advertisements on website

Availability: Everywhere

12. NoBudge

If I call NoBudge a one-person project, I won’t be wrong. Founded by indie filmmaker and actor Kentucker Audley, this website is dedicated to independent short and feature films. Most of the movies on NoBudge haven’t been much seen or reviewed by the critics, so you’ll have to stream them without any assistance of any kind. However, since each money is personally selected by Audley, the chances of stumbling on a bad movie are slim.

What we like about NoBudge?

• One fresh, hand-picked film every day with director’s interview
• 60% profit goes to independent filmmakers

What we didn’t like about NoBudge:

• No latest movies
• Frequent advertisements and commercials

Availability: Everywhere

13. PopcornFlix

This free movie streaming website is owned by Screen Media Ventures. The website offers lots of public domain movies and original content. You can use this website to view content on any type of device without spending a single penny.

The website hosts thousands of free movies spread across multiple categories like drama, action, comedy, horror, etc. Here, you’ll also get many free TV shows and a full National Geographic series catalog.

What we like about PopcornFlix?

• Dedicated PopcornFlix kids app
• Unique feature to add comments to movie sections and create GIFs

What we didn’t like about PopcornFlix:

• No latest movies
• Geo-restricted content

Availability: USA

14. Hulu

Subscription-based streaming website Hulu is also here at your service, even if you choose to opt for the trial account for 30 days. Additionally, you can opt for Spotify Premium Student with Showtime and Hulu for just $4.99/month.

This way, you get all three services for an unbeatable price. Apart from the movies, you can also spend some hours watching lots of free TV episodes. Hulu, too has apps for Android and iOS. Again, Hulu isn’t available in all countries around the world. So, the usage of a VPN or proxy is required.

What we like about Hulu?

• Spotify’s eligible student plan lasts for up to 4 years
• Excellent cross-platform functionality

What we didn’t like about Hulu:

• Premium account required for downloading movies offline
• Frequent advertisements and commercials

Availability: USA

15. Vimeo

Just like YouTube, Vimeo also has a good collection of free movies. It goes without saying that the site offers a clean layout that makes it a great place for movie lovers who wish to enjoy free independent movies online and documentaries. There are lots of short movies available for your entertainment. You might not be knowing but Vimeo also offers an On-Demand content section where you can pay for TV shows and movies.

What we like about Vimeo?

• Just like YouTube, tons of free movies to watch
• On-demand section for further viewing and download

What we didn’t like about Vimeo:

• No latest movies
• More user-uploaded content

Availability: Everywhere

16. IMDb TV

The latest addition to this list of movie streaming sites is IMDb Freedive. As IMDb is owned by Amazon, this service has been made available for free to all owners of Fire TV in the United States. The initial collection of free movies and TV shows is pretty impressive, and the owners of the service have promised to add more content from time to time.

Users can also use Alexa to launch Freedive online streaming. To do so, one simply needs to say “Alexa, go to Freedive.”

What we like about IMDb TV?

• Fully free, ad-supported service with cross-platform availability
• Advanced Title Search to find what you’re looking for

What we didn’t like about IMDB TV:

• Only available on FireTV
• Website’s UI feels buggy

Availability: USA

Some free movies:

• Midnight in Paris
• The Illusionist
• Memento
• Born This Way
• Quantum Leap

17. Yidio

Many of you might not be knowing that Yidio movie site’s full name is Your Internet Video. If I talk about the complete library of content available on Yidio, this online video guide contains more than 1 million TV shows and movies. The users can sign up on the website and add movies to the watchlist section for later viewing. This feature is very useful for maintaining your collection of favorite movies.

Moving on to the free part, you can choose the free filter at the top and categorize all the content in one place. On the right, there are options to sort content by popularity, date, and genre. Moreover, you also get the option to sort the free movies by R, PG-13, PG, G, NR, and NC-17 rating.

What we like about Yidio?

• Unique platform that gathers content from Amazon. Crackle, Hulu, Netflix, etc.
• Yidio, short for Your Internet Video, is more of an online video guide with free and paid content all at one place

What we didn’t like about Yidio:

• The search feature of Yidio is broken as it still shows paid movies under free section
• No option for subtitles

Availability: Everywhere

18. Crunchyroll

Most websites that we have included in the list will help you in watching your favorite movies and TV for free. But all the anime fans out there, do not worry; I didn’t forget about you. Crunchyroll is the got to place for most top-notch anime releasing around the year. In addition to that, the website also features a plethora of manga.

As of now, Crunchyroll is home to over 1000 anime series divided among various genres. However, not too long ago, the anime streaming site didn’t have any way to watch anime for free on it. Fortunately, the website is now providing a 14-day free trial to new users. As a result, the free trial can be used to watch anime for free in a completely legal way.

What we like about Crunchyroll?

• A wide range of anime available tailored to everyone’s taste
• User-friendly interface and easy to navigate

What we didn’t like about Crunchyroll:

• Not every anime is available in South Asian countries

Availability: Everywhere but with some restrictions

19. Films For Action

Are you in the mood to watch some documentaries? Then how about a website which has over 5000 films in the same genre? Yes, that pretty much describes what Films For Action offers. Moreover, the website offers these films free of cost.

Another good feature of the site is that it lets the users add new content to the library. The cherry on top is the fact that users can also rate the content which is available on it. So it helps in keeping the rankings fresh and free of boring content.

What we like about Films For Action?

• A huge library perfect for documentary lovers
• Ability to add new content
• Users can rank existing content to keep it fresh
• No ads to annoy while streaming

What we didn’t like about Films For Action:

• Not a good option for casual cinephiles

Availability: Everywhere

20. Watch Documentaries

As the name suggests, the website’s main motive is to provide its audience with as many documentaries as possible for free. Evidently, the site offers documentaries for a plethora of genres. From 9/11 to Sports, you can find plenty of content on it.

If there’s one thing that we’d like to be changed is its theme. To be honest, the boring interface may direct many users away from the site. Additionally, the ads placement could have been better.

What we like about Watch Documentaries?

• Excellent choice of categories
• Free streaming with no hidden charges

What we didn’t like about Watch Documentaries:

• Too many ads

Availability: Everywhere

21. Legal Torrent Websites

There are tons of legal torrent websites out there that only share content that’s in the public domain. You can visit these safe torrent sites to download movies and watch them offline at your convenience. But be cautious about not indulging in downloading movies from illegal torrent links.

As linked earlier in the article, you can also visit our list of best apps for streaming free movies.

Tip: Most of these websites don’t provide subtitle download functionality, which could be a major downside for many viewers. If that’s the case, you can head over to our list of best subtitle websites and download subtitles. You can also use VLC media player’s VLSub extension to automatically load subtitles of your choice.

As we are well into 2024, the landscape of online movie streaming continues to evolve, offering a plethora of options for cinephiles of all tastes. From the comprehensive list of 20 top sites for downloading and streaming movies, it’s clear that the best platform for you depends on your specific cinematic cravings. For love of timeless classics, The Internet Archive and Watch TCM stand out as prime destinations, offering a dive into the golden age of cinema. Indie film enthusiasts will enjoy exploring Kanopy and Le CiNéMa Club.

Given the increase in the global appreciation for anime has made Crunchyroll an indispensable resource for fans, offering an extensive catalog of anime titles, making it one of the best websites to watch free movies . Meanwhile, documentary watchers looking to explore real-world stories and issues have robust resources in Films For Action and Watch Documentaries, each providing insightful content that challenges and educates.

How To Access All These Sites Using VPN in 2024?

While most of the websites on this list can be accessed anywhere in the world, some of them are restricted to countries like the USA, the UK, or India. In such cases, using a VPN service comes in handy to remove geographical restrictions. Herer’s what one needs to do:

• Get a VPN service like NordVPN, ExpressVPN, or Surfshark.
• Download it as a desktop app, a smartphone app, or a browser extension.
• Connect your VPN to a country where movie website is available to use freely.
• Now open the movie service and enjoy!

Free Movie Download FAQs:

1. How to tell if a movie download website is legal?

There isn’t a particular test that you can perform to confirm that the site from which you’re downloading is providing legal movies. However, we’ve tested and made sure that all the sources in our list are 100% legal. Additionally, you can see if the free site is providing newly released movies and trying to earn money via tons of advertisements and VPN recommendations — these are some of the red flags for an illegal source.

2. Do I need a VPN for free movie download?

If you’re sure that you’re using a legal website to download movies, you don’t need a VPN or proxy to hide your online activity.

3. Is it legal to download movies/shows on Netflix?

If you have a paid Netflix subscription, you can go ahead and download content on your Android or iOS smartphone. For Windows, you need to download the official Netflix app. However, there’s no app available for watching/downloading Netflix on Mac.

4. Where can I download movies for free?

You can download free movies from several websites such as Pluto Tv, Crackle, Yify Movies, Open Culture, and more. For the complete list, refer to the article above.