Short answer: the best free live TV streaming apps in the US are Pluto TV, Tubi, The Roku Channel, Samsung TV Plus, Sling Freestream and Xumo Play, and all of them are fully legal and funded by adverts. The catch is what "live" means here: almost all of it is pre-programmed channels of repeats, news and niche shows. Your local ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox stations and most big live sport are generally not included, so a free app works best alongside an antenna, not instead of one.
At a glance
Free live TV apps
| Cost | Free, paid for by ads |
| Legal? | Yes, fully licensed |
| Biggest line-ups | Samsung TV Plus, Sling Freestream, Roku Channel |
| Usually missing | Local networks, most major live sport |
| Account needed? | Mostly no |
What these apps actually are
The apps in this guide belong to a category the industry calls FAST: free, ad-supported streaming television. Each one offers a grid of live channels that looks and behaves like a cable guide, alongside an on-demand library.
The channels are real linear channels, running to a schedule. You can't pause or rewind most of them, and if you tune in halfway through an episode, you join halfway through. What makes them different from cable is how they're filled: many channels are built around a single show, a genre or a back catalogue, rather than carrying a traditional network's schedule.
They are owned by large, familiar companies: Paramount runs Pluto TV, Fox runs Tubi, Roku and Samsung run their own, Comcast runs Xumo Play and Dish runs Sling Freestream. The content is licensed and the business model is advertising. Nothing about using them is legally grey. For more on how the channels themselves work, see our guide to FAST channels explained.
The main apps compared
Channel counts move constantly as channels launch and close, so treat these as rough sizes for the US versions rather than exact figures.
| App | Owner | Live channels (approx.) | Where it runs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pluto TV | Paramount | Around 400 | Almost everything |
| Tubi | Fox | 200-plus | Almost everything |
| The Roku Channel | Roku | 500-plus | Roku, web, Fire TV, mobile |
| Samsung TV Plus | Samsung | Several hundred | Samsung TVs and phones |
| Sling Freestream | Dish / EchoStar | Several hundred | Most streaming devices |
| Xumo Play | Comcast | 200-plus | Smart TVs, Roku, Fire TV, mobile |
Big numbers can mislead. A few hundred channels includes many single-show channels and duplicates across apps. What matters is whether the handful of channels you'd actually watch are there.
What each one is good at
Pluto TV has the most cable-like feel. Its guide is easy to browse, it needs no account, and it carries a lot of Paramount-owned material: familiar CBS, MTV and Comedy Central series running as dedicated channels.
Tubi is strongest as an on-demand library, with tens of thousands of films and series, and its live section has grown steadily. Fox's ownership means Fox news and sports-adjacent channels appear here. An account is optional.
The Roku Channel is the default on Roku devices and has been adding live sports programming, including a weekly MLB game in recent seasons. It's also reachable on other platforms and the web.
Samsung TV Plus is built into Samsung televisions, so there's nothing to install. If you own a Samsung set, it's worth opening before downloading anything else.
Sling Freestream is Sling TV's free tier. It gives you a long list of free channels in the same interface as Sling's paid packages, which is handy if you might later add a paid plan.
Xumo Play is Comcast's free service. It's clean and uncluttered and often comes preinstalled on some TV brands.
Other names worth knowing include Plex, which offers free live channels alongside its media-server features, and news-focused apps such as Haystack News and the free streams run by the networks themselves, like ABC News Live and CBS News 24/7.
What free apps won't give you
This is the part most "best free apps" lists skip.
Your local stations. The live ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and PBS affiliate in your market is usually not carried on FAST apps. Some apps include local news channels from certain station groups, but a full live network feed, with prime time and live sport, generally needs an antenna or a paid service. Our guide to local channels without cable covers the options.
Cable networks. ESPN, TNT, CNN's main feed, HGTV and similar channels are paid channels and aren't on the free apps. What you'll find instead are spin-off channels built from their archive.
Resolution. Many FAST streams are delivered in HD at up to 720p or 1080p, rarely 4K.
Adverts. Expect several minutes an hour. That's the price.
Free live sport: the honest picture
Free apps carry plenty of sports channels: highlights, classic games, league-branded channels, poker, fishing, and minor or niche competitions. That's genuinely good for background viewing.
What they rarely carry is the big live event. Major NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL games sit with broadcast networks, cable channels and paid streaming services. Exceptions do happen, and they're worth watching for. Tubi streamed Super Bowl LIX free in 2025 because Fox held the broadcast that year, and Roku has streamed a free weekly MLB game. These are deals for specific seasons, so check the current schedule rather than assuming they repeat.
For the one-off big game, the free and legal route is usually the network's broadcast via an antenna.
Which app suits which device
- Roku: The Roku Channel is built in; add Pluto TV and Tubi.
- Samsung TV: Samsung TV Plus is built in; the others install from the Samsung app store.
- LG, Vizio, Hisense and others: most have their own free channel service (LG Channels, Vizio WatchFree+) plus the main apps.
- Fire TV and Google TV: every app above is in the official store.
- Phones and browsers: Pluto TV, Tubi and The Roku Channel all work on the web without installing anything.
There's no reason to choose just one. They're free, so installing three or four and building a favourites list across them is the normal way to use them.
Free and legal vs "free" and risky
Search for free live TV and you'll also find sites and apps promising every paid channel and every live match for nothing. Those services don't hold the rights to what they show. Using them carries real downsides: malware and aggressive adverts, sign-up pages that harvest card details, streams that vanish mid-game, and in some cases legal exposure for the viewer.
A simple test: the legitimate free apps are all available in the official app stores on major devices, are run by companies you've heard of, and never ask you to sideload anything. If a "free" service needs a code, a download from a random link or a payment for "premium access", it isn't one of these. Our guide to what's legal in the US covers the distinction in more detail.
A sensible free set-up
If you want to cut or avoid a TV bill, a free combination that works for most households looks like this:
- An indoor or roof antenna for local networks, PBS and big live sport, in full quality with no subscription.
- Two or three FAST apps for background channels, news and classic series.
- One paid service at a time for the thing you can't get free, rotated month by month rather than kept all year.
That combination costs nothing beyond the antenna and whatever you choose to add, and it's entirely legitimate.
Quick answers
What is the best free live TV app? There isn't a single winner. Pluto TV has the most cable-like guide, Tubi has the biggest on-demand library, and The Roku Channel and Samsung TV Plus are strongest on their own devices. Most people use two or three.
Are free live TV apps legal? Yes. Pluto TV, Tubi, The Roku Channel, Samsung TV Plus, Sling Freestream and Xumo Play are licensed services owned by major media and technology companies.
Do I need an account? Usually not. Most let you watch straight away; an account adds favourites and watch history.
Can I watch local channels free on these apps? Generally not the full live network feed. An antenna is the free way to get local ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and PBS.
Can I watch live sports free? Some, mostly niche sports and highlights. Major league games are occasional exceptions tied to specific deals.
Why are there so many adverts? Advertising is how the apps pay for their content. Expect a few minutes an hour, similar to broadcast TV.
Do these apps work outside the US? Several have separate international versions with different line-ups, and some content is limited to the US.
Free streaming line-ups change constantly as channels launch, close and move between apps, and one-off sports deals vary by season. Channel counts here are approximate. Checked September 2026.