Crackle Review and Alternatives for best TV Streaming App

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Updated August 6, 2024
Edited by Vijay

Edited by Vijay

I'm Vijay, and I've been working on this blog for the past 20+ years! I’ve been in the IT industry for more than 20 years now. I completed my graduation in B.E. Computer Science from a reputed Pune university and then started my career in…

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Read this Crackle review to explore all about the robust free streaming service. Our hand-picked list of the Best Crackle alternatives with features will help you in selecting the right Crackle competitor:

The internet has made entertainment more accessible to everyone. Hundreds of sites let you watch movies and TV series, anytime, from the comfort of your home. However, some of them offer pirated content and contain malicious ads that can be dangerous. So, it’s good to avoid such sites and pick a reliable platform for watching movies.

One of the legal, trustable, leading movie streaming platforms is Crackle. It is quite popular among users and the reason for its popularity is that it is available for free. Yes, Crackle lets you watch movies, popular TV shows, series, and Crackle originals for free. Plus, you can save your watch progress, create a watchlist, and manage parental controls.

Is Crackle Safe to Watch Movies and TV Shows

Crackle Review and Alternatives featured image

Disclaimer:
This article is for general information and educational purposes only. SoftwareTestingHelp.com does not own, promote, host, operate, resell, or distribute any of these tools or services. This page may contain unverified listings. We are not certain if they hold legal licenses to distribute the content as we do not verify the legality of each app/service in all regions. Your own due diligence is required before using any of these tools or services. The end-user shall be solely responsible for accessing the content.

Crackle Playback Experience

Crackle is a free streaming service that offers HD-quality streaming. The platform is offering a good deal of entertainment at no cost and is supported by ads. There is no option to use it without ads, which is the only drawback. You note the app freezes sometimes after an ad.

User Interface: How is its User Interface?

Crackle has a very easy-to-use interface. The feature allows you to search for a movie or TV show by its name. You can start watching your favorite content anytime from their website. There is no need to create an account; but you’ll have to sign up for using their features like creating a watchlist, etc.

It can run on Amazon Fire TV & Fire TV Stick, Android mobile & tablet, Android TV, Apple TV, Apple iPad & iPhone, Chromecast, Google TV, and more devices.

What to watch on Crackle?

You can search for movies and TV shows in several genres like Action, Adventure, Anime, Biography, Black Entertainment, British, Classics, Comedy, Crime, Documentary, Drama, Faith-based, Fantasy, Holiday, Horror, Lifestyle, and more.

They constantly add and delete content from the site to keep it updated. Plus, they are offering a good range of Crackle originals to make your experience even better.

How is Crackle’s mobile app?

Crackle offers mobile apps for Android, iOS, and Roku users. It has a 3.9/5 star rating on the Google Play Store with over 10 million downloads; a 3.1/5 star rating on the Apple App Store; and a 3.3/5 star rating on Roku.

The customer reviews suggest that your streaming experience through their mobile app would be satisfactory, but not as good as that delivered by its paid alternatives like Netflix, Hulu, etc. The movie freezes sometimes and starts an ad while a dialogue is going on.

=> Visit Crackle Website

Have a quick look at the Pros and cons of Crackle:

Pros:

  • Easy-to-use interface
  • Lets you watch without signing up
  • Free streaming
  • Smart search options
  • Parental controls
  • Crackle originals
  • Lets you create a watchlist and save your watch progress
  • A good number of movies and shows are available to watch
  • A 100% legal platform
  • No hidden fees

Cons:

  • No option to go ad-free
  • The number of movies and shows is not as vast as offered by some of its alternatives.
online movie

[image source]

Who is this article for?

This article is for people looking for some free/cheap entertainment and movie lovers who wish to binge-watch popular movies and TV shows.

We have provided a list of popular, leading, and reliable streaming platforms. Some of them are free and some let you watch anything only after you buy a subscription plan. You will also get details of all that you will get with the plans they offer in this article. Also, there’s a comparison table included to provide you with a quick snapshot of Crackle and its top 5 alternatives.

Market Trends: As per a report by Statista, the global revenue of OTT TV and video is expected to go up from $6.1 billion in the year 2010 to 215 billion in 2029. The recent years have seen a tremendous increase in their revenue. The report further states that Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime are the most popular service providers.
OTT market
Expert Advice: The statistics about the monthly traffic of a website tell a lot about a website. Free platforms are offering a great deal, but paid platforms like Netflix offer you alluring features like letting you add subtitles to the video and even change the language of the audio; which makes the whole experience a lot better.
=>> Contact us to suggest a listing here.

List of the Best Crackle Alternatives

Here is the popular list:

  1. TubiTV
  2. Crunchyroll
  3. Netflix
  4. YouTube
  5. Prime Video
  6. Hulu
  7. Popcornflix
  8. Vudu
  9. Pluto TV
  10. Plex

Comparing the Top Crackle Competitors

PlatformBest forPricePer month visits
CrackleOffering good quality content, absolutely free.Free1.4 million
TubiTVFree streaming of movies and Live TV in good qualityFree74 Million
CrunchyrollAd-free streaming at affordable pricesStarts at $7.99 per month244.54 Million
NetflixOffering exclusive content, games and Netflix originals and letting you share accounts.Starts at $6.99 per month.1.7 billion
YouTubeLetting you watch movies and clips for free and offering movies for rent at affordable prices.Free
(Renting/Buying prices vary per movie).
33.1 billion
Prime VideoOffering the latest, exclusive content.Starts at $14.99 per month.
A free trial is available for 30 days.
251.5 million
HuluOffering family-friendly subscription plans.Starts at $7.99/month.
A free trial is available for 30 days.
176 million
Popcornflix100% free movie streaming.Free5.3 million

Detailed Reviews:

#1) TubiTV

Best for free streaming of movies and Live TV in good quality.

tubiTV

Because of an FREE content library of over 200,000 movies, TV shows, Tubi originals, and 250 FAST channels, TubiTV is highly demanded by binge-watchers all over the world.

Today, this platform gets around 74 million monthly visits from its users in the USA, Canada, and Australia. I found TubiTV to be very easy to use. It runs on Smart TVs, Mobiles & Tablets, and almost all Web Browsers and Desktops.

Pros:

  • Search content based on genres, actors, and more
  • Tubi originals
  • Separate kids’ section
  • Free streaming
  • Live TV including News, Sports, Business, Weather, and Entertainment.
  • Good quality streaming

Cons:

  • Ads

Check our TubiTV review here


#2) Crunchyroll

Best for ad-free streaming at affordable prices.

Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll is a paid, reliable streaming platform. More than 1.5 billion minutes of content is watched every month through Crunchyroll. It currently has around 13 million subscribers.

The affordable plans that it offers for ad-free streaming of movies, shows, and animations is the best part.

Their price plans are as follows:

  • Fan: $7.99 per month (Lets you stream on one device at a time)
  • Mega Fan: $9.99 per month (Lets you stream on 4 devices at a time)
  • Ultimate Fan: $14.99 per month (Lets you stream on 6 devices at a time).

Pros:

  • A 14-day free trial
  • Lets you download shows for watching offline
  • Lets you view on multiple devices with one account
  • No ads, affordable plans
  • Get access to free and premium games

Cons:

  • No free version

Check our Crunchyroll review here


#3) Netflix

Best for those who want to watch unlimited, exclusive movies while sharing accounts.

Netflix

Netflix is the most popular movie streaming platform today, which dominates the movie streaming market with over one-third share of the market! The platform gets 1.7 billion monthly visits, which is way more than any of the movie streaming platforms out there (except YouTube).

Netflix does not have any free version. Register and buy a subscription plan before you watch anything on Netflix. Their price plans are:

  • Standard (with ads): $6.99 per month – Runs on 2 devices at a time.
  • Standard: $15.49 per month (extra member slots can be added for $7.99 each per month) – Runs on 2 devices at a time
  • Premium: $22.99 per month (extra member slots can be added for $7.99 each per month). – Runs on 4 devices at a time.

Pros:

  • Works on Smart TVs, PlayStation, Xbox, Chromecast, Apple TV, Blu-ray players, Mobiles and more.
  • Easy-to-use interface
  • Download movies and shows to watch offline
  • A separate kids’ section
  • No ads
  • Netflix originals, exclusive movies/shows streaming
  • HD, Full HD, and Ultra HD quality streaming
  • Create a watchlist
  • Lets you get subtitles or change the language of the audio
  • Access to exclusive games

Further Reading => Top Putlocker Alternatives to Look For

Cons:

  • No free streaming/free trial

Website: https://www.netflix.com/


#4) YouTube

Best for those who love watching movie clips or want to rent/buy a specific movie.

YouTube

I guess everyone is familiar with the name ‘YouTube’. With over 33.1 billion monthly visits to the site, YouTube is the most renowned movie streaming platform. You can find music videos, movie clips, free movies, documentaries, movies for rent and buying, and much more on this platform.

You can watch a movie for free if someone has uploaded it. Otherwise, YouTube offers you to rent or buy the movie at affordable rates. So if you would like to watch a specific movie rather than going for a monthly movie subscription, then YouTube is for you.

Pros:

  • Easy to use
  • Subscribe to streaming channels for free
  • Lets you save playlists
  • Lets you rent or buy a movie in your preferred video resolution
  • Gives you access to your search history
  • A premium version for an ad-free experience
  • Unlimited movie clips are available for free
  • Secure platform

Cons:

  • You won’t find the most recent movies added quickly for buying/renting.

Website: https://www.youtube.com/


#5) Prime Video

Best for offering the latest, exclusive content.

Amazon Prime

Prime Video is another very popular movie streaming platform that gives good competition to Crackle. It offers ad-free, HD quality videos of the latest movies and shows, offers free games and in-game content with its plans, lets you watch your favorite channels with the add-on subscription plans and much more.

Their plans cost $14.99 per month or $139 for a year. They offer discounted plans for recipients of select government help programs and eligible students.

Pros:

  • Latest movies, shows, and Amazon originals
  • Lets you rent a specific movie
  • You can buy an add-on subscription for your favorite channels like BBC Player, Discovery+, and more.
  • Prime members get shopping discounts on Amazon, and access to 3,000 books, audiobooks, magazines, newspapers, comics, and much more.
  • Smart search options, like being able to find movies of a specific genre or language
  • Watch live sports
  • Lets you switch to a kid’s mode
  • Lets you download movies to watch offline
  • A free trial for 30 days

Cons:

  • No free movies

Website: https://www.primevideo.com/offers/nonprimehomepage/


#6) Hulu

Best for those who want a single subscription to work for the whole family.

Hulu

With per-month visits of about 176 million, Hulu comes out to be a globally trusted streaming platform. It is available at $7.99 per month but with ads. For ad-free streaming, buy the $17.88/month plan. A big plus point is that one account allows you to create 6 profiles and lets you watch on 2 different screens at once.

Hulu is known for its bundle plans, which are as follows:

hulu bundles

Pros:

  • A free trial for 30 days
  • Lets you download movies and shows to watch offline
  • Award-winning Hulu originals
  • Options for watching live TV, news and sports
  • Student discounts are offered
  • Suitable for a whole family

Cons:

  • The paid version ($7.99/month) contains ads, but not too much. You can switch to the higher version for ad-free streaming.

Website: https://www.hulu.com/welcome


#7) Popcornflix

Best for free binge-watching.

popcornflix

Popcornflix is a 100% free movie streaming application. It offers mobile apps for Android and iOS users. I would recommend Popcornflix for movie enthusiasts who don’t wish to spend money on subscriptions. They are offering a good range of movies with good quality, but some ads can be very annoying.

Pros:

  • Free movie streaming
  • Several movies and shows are available to watch
  • Good quality videos
  • Movies from different genres

Cons:

  • Annoying ads
  • The app freezes sometimes

Website: https://popcornflix.com/#/credentials/welcome


#8) Vudu

Best for offering paid as well as free movies.

Vudu

Vudu has a collection of over 200,000 movies and TV shows. The platform has over 60 million registered users. Vudu lets you buy or rent the movie you want to watch; they don’t have subscription plans. They do offer a good number of movies to watch for free, which is a plus point.

If you rent a movie, you will have 30 days to watch it and 48 hours to finish the movie once you have watched it.

Pros:

  • Lets you buy or rent movies
  • Some movies are available for watching for free (with ads)
  • 4K UHD quality content
  • Kids mode, parental control, and more useful features
  • Easy search options
  • Lets you steam on 3 devices simultaneously.

Cons:

  • Some users have complaints regarding the customer support services.

Website: https://www.vudu.com/

Further Reading => Top-Rated PrimeWire Alternatives to Look For


#9) Pluto TV

Best for 100% free streaming of movies, shows, and Live TV.

Pluto TV

Like Crackle, Pluto TV is a 100% legal movie streaming platform that offers movies, shows, 250+ Live TV channels, and a kids’ section, and all of this is available free.

You can download their mobile app from the Apple Store or Google Play Store and start watching your favorite movies and series right away.

Pros:

  • 100s of TV channels, 1000s of movies and TV shows
  • Free streaming
  • Good quality videos
  • Live TV
  • A kid-friendly space
  • On-demand movies and TV shows
  • Create a Watchlist

Cons:

  • Ads

Website: https://plutotv.com/welcome


#10) Plex

Best for offers a vast library of free content (at good quality).

Plex

With impressive ratings on the Google Play Store, Apple App Store, and Roku App Store, Plex proves to be a trusted, free streaming app. It has over 17 million active users and is free to use for everyone, without any hidden fees.

Plex runs on streaming media players (Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, Roku, and more), smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, game consoles, and more devices.

Plex is offering a paid version also, which comes with the name ‘Plex Pass’. It is priced at $4.99 per month and offers additional features like downloading movies, multi-colored themes, and more.

Pros:

  • A vast content library
  • Easy-to-use interface
  • Lets you create a Watchlist
  • Get access to 600+ TV channels
  • Some movies and shows are available for rent.

Cons:

  • The paid version is not ad-free.

Website: https://www.plex.tv/


How We Picked These Platforms

We considered the following factors while choosing the best alternatives to Crackle:

  1. Quality of streaming
  2. Free version, prices
  3. Availability of popular, trendy content
  4. Availability of kids’ content
  5. Ease of access to the content

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Which OTT platform has the highest number of viewers?

Netflix grabs the highest number of visits per month among all the OTT platforms out there because of its modern, easy-to-use interface, vast content library, Ultra HD quality streaming, ad-free streaming, and some praiseworthy features like letting you watch from where you left off, adding subtitles, changing audio language and more.

2. Is Crackle legal and safe?

Yes, Crackle is 100% legal and safe. It is owned by the renowned and trusted company, Sony Pictures Entertainment. It shows legal content and covers its expenses by showing ads on its site.

3. Do I need a VPN for Crackle?

If you are not in the USA and want to watch content on Crackle, then you will have to use a VPN, as Crackle delivers its services in the USA only.

4. What is the best free app for streaming?

I would suggest Crackle, Popcornflix, Vudu, TubiTV, Pluto TV, and Plex for watching free movies online.

5. Is there any free TV app?

TubiTV, Pluto TV, and Plex are the best platforms for watching TV channels for free. These shows display ads and attract a good number of monthly visitors.

6. Is Netflix free to watch?

No, Netflix does not offer any free trial or free version. Buy the subscription plan before creating your account on Netflix. Their monthly subscription plans are priced at $6.99, $15.49 and $22.99.


Conclusion

We can now give you the following concluding points to help you in choosing an OTT platform:

  1. Crunchyroll is offering ad-free streaming and access to premium games at much more affordable rates.
  2. Netflix is the best of all. It has the latest content, a kids’ section, quick search options, access to exclusive games, lets you create a watchlist, and offers great features. Overall, it is best if you wish to get a paid streaming platform.
  3. YouTube is a trustworthy platform and has many movies, movie clips, music videos, and much more available for free. You can buy or rent a movie of your desired quality anytime.
  4. Prime Video offers the latest, exclusive content and access to TV channels.
  5. Hulu also offers good-quality streaming and an impressive range of content. It also lets you buy bundles for Hulu+Disney and Hulu+Disney+ESPN, which can be a good deal for those who want a single subscription for the whole family.
  6. Popcornflix, Vudu, TubiTV, Pluto TV, and Plex offer free movie streaming, but with ads.
=>> Contact us to suggest a listing here.

Research Process

  • Time taken to research this article: We spent 27 hours researching and writing this article so you can get a useful summarised list of tools with a comparison of the best of them for your quick review.
  • Total Platforms researched online: 48
  • Top Services shortlisted for review: 10

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