Entertainment · alternatives
Alternatives to Apple TV+
19 entertainment tools sit alongside Apple TV+ in this directory. Below is what separates each from Apple TV+ on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 19
- With a free tier
- 11
- Cheaper to start
- 8
- Apple TV+ starts at
- Free, then $12.99/month
Why people look past Apple TV+
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Apple TV+ entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
It costs more than the category median
Apple TV+ starts at $12.99/month. Across the 13 entertainment tools listed beside it that publish a price, the median entry point is $10.99/month.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
The best podcast app for iPhone
- Starts $3.040000000000001 a year cheaper, at $9.95/year.
Podcast & radio app for everyone
Priced and rated the same as Apple TV+ on the figures we hold. The difference, if there is one, is in the feature records.
Podcast app with episode inbox
- Starts $11.999999999999998 a year dearer, at $24.99/year.
Your personal entertainment server
- Starts $8 a month cheaper, at $4.99/month.
- Sold on a freemium model rather than subscription.
Ticket resale marketplace charging both buyers and sellers, with combined fees often a large share of face value
- Sold on a Free to browse, two sided transaction fees on buyers and sellers model rather than subscription.
Free ad-supported streaming from Roku, with an optional paid live TV add-on layer
- Sold on a Free, ad-supported; individual paid channel add-ons model rather than subscription.
Every Apple TV+ alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple TV+ (this page) | Free, then $12.99/month | Subscription | 2 | |
| OvercastThe best podcast app for iPhone | Free, then $9.95/year | - | 2 | vs Apple TV+ |
| CastboxPodcast & radio app for everyone | Free | - | 2 | vs Apple TV+ |
| CastroPodcast app with episode inbox | Free, then $24.99/year | - | 2 | vs Apple TV+ |
| EmbyYour personal entertainment server | Free, then $4.99/month | Freemium | 2 | vs Apple TV+ |
| StubHub | Free | Free to browse, two sided transaction fees on buyers and sellers | 2 | vs Apple TV+ |
| The Roku Channel | Free | Free, ad-supported; individual paid channel add-ons | 2 | vs Apple TV+ |
| mpv | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Apple TV+ |
| Infuse | Free, then $1.99/month | Per user per month | 3 | vs Apple TV+ |
| IINA | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Apple TV+ |
| Crunchyroll | Free, then $7.99/month | Freemium | 3 | vs Apple TV+ |
| Dailymotion | Free | Free | 1 | vs Apple TV+ |
| Philo | $33/month | Per household per month, single plan | 1 | vs Apple TV+ |
| fuboTV | $73.99/month | Per household per month, tiered plans | 3 | vs Apple TV+ |
| DirecTV Stream | $89.99/month | Per household per month, tiered plans | 3 | vs Apple TV+ |
| Disney+ | $7.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Apple TV+ |
| ESPN+ | $10.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Apple TV+ |
| Discovery+ | $4.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Apple TV+ |
| Final Cut Pro | $12.99/month | - | 3 | vs Apple TV+ |
| Adobe Premiere Pro | $22.99/month | - | 4 | vs Apple TV+ |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Apple TV+ badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Cheaper than Apple TV+ (8)
Entry price under Apple TV+'s $12.99/month. The record does not say what unit that price is charged in, so confirm per-seat versus flat rate before comparing budgets.
- Overcast , Free, then $9.95/year
- Emby , Free, then $4.99/month
- Infuse , Free, then $1.99/month
- Crunchyroll , Free, then $7.99/month
- Dailymotion , Free
- Disney+ , $7.99/month
- ESPN+ , $10.99/month
- Discovery+ , $4.99/month
What you would be giving up
Apple TV+ is most often brought in for streaming exclusive tv shows and movies, sports viewing (friday night baseball, upcoming mls and formula 1 content), ad-free entertainment. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Apple TV+ is broadly right and the question is cost, the Apple TV+ pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Entertainment category lists everything the directory holds, and best entertainment tools ranks them.
Apple TV+ runs on ios, macos, smart-tv, gaming-consoles, web. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Apple TV+ alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Apple TV+?
- 19 other entertainment tools are listed in this directory, led by Overcast, Castbox, Castro, Emby. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Apple TV+?
- 11 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Overcast, Castbox, Castro, Emby, StubHub.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to Apple TV+?
- Yes. 8 of the alternatives below start under Apple TV+'s $12.99/month: Overcast at Free, then $9.95/year, Emby at Free, then $4.99/month, Infuse at Free, then $1.99/month, Crunchyroll at Free, then $7.99/month.
- Why do people look for an alternative to Apple TV+?
- On the figures on record, one thing stands out: it costs more than the category median. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from Apple TV+?
- Apple TV+ is most often brought in for streaming exclusive tv shows and movies, sports viewing (friday night baseball, upcoming mls and formula 1 content), ad-free entertainment. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Apple TV+?
- None of the entertainment tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these Apple TV+ alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Entertainment, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Apple TV+ against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Apple TV+ covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every entertainment tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Entertainment category, 19 tools beside Apple TV+. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.