Tubi Has More Free Movies Than Netflix—And Costs Absolutely Nothing.

Q: Is Tubi really free?

Yes. Tubi is completely free and funded by advertising, the same model as broadcast TV. There are no paid tiers, no premium subscription, and no credit card required at any point.

Q: Do you need an account to use Tubi?

No. You can start streaming immediately by tapping Skip at the sign-in prompt. Creating a free account adds one feature only: saved watch progress so you can pick up where you left off.

Q: How often does Tubi show ads?

Tubi runs an ad break approximately every 15 to 20 minutes. The breaks are shorter than cable TV commercial blocks, and you cannot skip them.

Q: Does Tubi have recent movies?

Yes, alongside older titles. The catalog updates weekly, and the Most Popular and Recently Added sections surface current picks without requiring you to search the full library.

Jessica Santero Staff Writer

Updated 07 May 2026

Contents

Jump to:

What is Tubi?
Watch movies, TV, and more
Are there ads?
Pricing and availability
How WhistleOut reviews apps
FAQ

Tubi is a free (ad-supported) streaming service owned by Fox Corporation. It offers over 50,000 movies and TV shows and works on nearly every device you own. The catalog covers movies, full TV series, live channels, and a dedicated kids section, with new titles added every week.

You can use it on iOS, Android, desktop, and even plug-in streaming devices like Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, and Samsung Smart TVs.

Download Tubi now:

Free for iOS and Android.
No account or credit card required.

I compared every free streaming app on the market and ranked Tubi as the best overall free streaming app this year. I wasn't expecting such an impressive library and top-hit titles when I downloaded Tubi. Within 30 seconds, I spotted three movies I had been meaning to watch for months—all for free and available instantly.

Do you have enough data to finish the movie?

Tubi keeps video running continuously in the background, which means a two-hour movie on cellular data can use from 1–4GB, depending on your connection. If you stream regularly on the go, an unlimited data plan ensures you'll have enough data to get you through the month.

Here are the most popular unlimited data plans right now:

Visible	Visible $25 Visible Plan Unlimited 4G LTE/5G data Verizon 5G Network in select areas with compatible devices Unlimited mobile hotspot data $25.00/mo Taxes & Fees included View Plan	$25.00/mo Taxes & Fees included	View Plan
Mint Mobile	Mint Mobile Unlimited Data Plan Unlimited 4G LTE/5G data T-Mobile 5G Network in select areas with compatible devices 20GB mobile hotspot data Deal: Get this plan for just $25/mo. when you switch to Mint Mobile using promo code 15OFF at checkout. Upfront payment required $25.00/mo $75.00 upfront payment for 3 months (equals to $25.00/month). Intro pricing for new customers only. View Plan	$25.00/mo $75.00 upfront payment for 3 months (equals to $25.00/month). Intro pricing for new customers only.	View Plan
XFINITY Mobile	XFINITY Mobile Mobile Select Plan Unlimited 4G LTE/5G data Available on 1 Major 5G Nationwide network in select areas with compatible devices Unlimited mobile hotspot data Deal: Get a FREE 1 year of Xfinity Mobile Select Plan with Xfinity Internet required $0.00/mo (for the first year of service) <br>Regular rate of $30/mo. thereafter View Plan	$0.00/mo (for the first year of service) <br>Regular rate of $30/mo. thereafter	View Plan

What is Tubi?

Tubi is a completely free streaming service—and I mean that literally. There's no paid tier, no premium upgrade, and nothing locked behind a subscription. Fox Corporation acquired it in 2020, giving Tubi users access to its extensive library. You may have even heard of it before since Tubi streamed the Super Bowl in 2025 for free. Enjoy 50,000+ titles, including major studio films, full multi-season TV series, live news channels, and a vast kids section, all free of cost.

Tubi home screen showing movies and live TV options

Tubi is easy to use on mobile, or you can cast it onto a bigger smart TV for a better viewing experience.
Image: Jessica Santero | WhistleOut

Everything on Tubi is free and is available to everyone. Since it's funded by ads in the same way broadcast TV has always worked, there's no need to pay or rent to watch anything.

You can start watching without making an account. Just tap "Skip" at the sign-up screen. However, you might want to create a free account because it adds a save feature to mark your watch progress across sessions. That's the only difference.

Not sure how to update your apps?

Keeping your apps up to date ensures you're always getting the latest features, bug fixes, and security improvements. Learn how to update the apps on your iPhone and your Android. It takes less time than you think.

What can you actually watch on Tubi?

Tubi offers users access to a complete viewing experience. You can check out the live TV guide and flip through channels just like you would with broadcast cable, connect to a sports stream for the strategy breakdown, or choose to watch a recent box office hit film.

Tubi has more movies than Netflix. Enough said.

Every time I open Tubi, I'm a little shocked by how good the selection is. You can browse by genre, decade, or mood, or just go straight to "Most Popular," which refreshes every week with current picks. The genre range is seemingly endless, with action, horror, romance, true crime, anime, documentaries, stand-up comedy, international films, and niche categories like "Cult Classics" that you won't find on most free platforms.

Tubi refreshes its films frequently with some of the most popular titles.
Image: Jessica Santero | WhistleOut

On top of on-demand, Tubi has a live TV section with news and entertainment channels running in real time. Fox's ownership occasionally brings sports onto the platform too. Tubi streamed Super Bowl LIX in 4K in 2025, which tells you a lot about how seriously Fox takes it.

The kids' section is actually kid-friendly, too. It covers childhood classics and current animated series, and everything in it is family-safe without needing to set up parental controls or create a kids profile. It even rivals some of the top subscription services geared towards younger viewers.

I watched Fool's Gold from start to finish with no buffering. Everything loaded fast, and playback held up on both mobile and desktop. But I'm not the only one who loves Tubi; Redditos rave about how great the app is, claiming "Tubi is not the next Netflix. It's something better."

Does Tubi have ads?

Tubi runs ad breaks every 15–20 minutes, and you can't skip them. Each break lasts roughly 60–90 seconds, and there's a countdown before each one so you're not caught off guard. In my experience, the breaks don't land at the worst possible moments (which is more than I can say for Netflix).

I actually pay for Netflix with ads and get interrupted more often there than I do on Tubi. For a library this size at zero cost, the ad frequency is a completely fair trade.

How do I use Tubi for free?

Tubi doesn't have a paid tier and it never asks for a credit card. The whole app is free, full stop. You can tap "Skip" at the sign-up screen and start watching immediately without ever making an account.

If you do create one, the only thing it unlocks is saved watch progress so you can pick up where you left off. The full library, live TV, and kids content are all there either way, the moment you open the app.

How WhistleOut reviews apps

Our mobile experts scour the app stores, looking for the best new apps for Android and iPhone. Before recommending an app, we put it to the test to evaluate whether it delivers on its promises.

Easy to use
Great apps simplify your phone. We select tools that don't require a complicated instructional manual to figure out.
Affordability
We lean into quality apps that don't cost a fortune. Extra points if they're free.
Hands-on testing
We tested Tubi on mobile and desktop across multiple sessions, watching full-length content, browsing every category, and timing ad breaks across different titles.

Tubi: FAQ

Is Tubi really free?

Yes, Tubi is completely free and funded by advertising, the same model as broadcast TV. There are no paid tiers, no premium subscription, and no credit card required at any point.

Do you need an account to use Tubi?

No, you can start streaming immediately by tapping "Skip" at the sign-in prompt.

How often does Tubi show ads?

Tubi runs an ad break approximately every 15–20 minutes. The breaks are shorter than cable TV commercial blocks, but you can't skip them.

What devices does Tubi work on?

Tubi is available on iOS, Android, web browsers, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Samsung Smart TVs, and most major streaming platforms.

Does Tubi have recent movies?

Yes, Tubi has recent movies alongside older titles. The catalog updates weekly, and the "Most Popular" and "Recently Added" sections have current picks without requiring you to search the full library.

Jessica Santero

Staff Writer

Jessica is a Staff Writer for WhistleOut and the site’s resident app expert. Her coverage frequently includes hands-on comparisons of popular app categories, such as translation, navigation, and dating apps, to evaluate how they perform in real-world mobile use.

Read full bio