Entertainment · alternatives
Alternatives to Criterion Channel
22 entertainment tools sit alongside Criterion Channel in this directory. Below is what separates each from Criterion Channel on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 22
- With a free tier
- 11
- Cheaper to start
- 8
- Criterion Channel starts at
- $10.99/month
Why people look past Criterion Channel
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Criterion Channel entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
There is no free tier
The record for Criterion Channel carries no free tier, so evaluating it means paying first. 11 of the 22 alternatives below can be used without paying.
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.
Discover extraordinary cinema
- Starts $3 a month cheaper, at $7.99/month.
- 1 tier to Criterion Channel's 2.
Stream TV and movies live and online
- Starts $3 a month cheaper, at $7.99/month.
- 3 tiers to Criterion Channel's 2.
Original stories from the most creative minds
- Can be used without paying; Criterion Channel cannot.
- Starts $2 a month dearer, at $12.99/month.
Ticket resale marketplace charging both buyers and sellers, with combined fees often a large share of face value
- Can be used without paying; Criterion Channel cannot.
Free ad-supported streaming from Roku, with an optional paid live TV add-on layer
- Can be used without paying; Criterion Channel cannot.
Free open source command line video player with no graphical interface, built for scripting and precision
- Can be used without paying; Criterion Channel cannot.
- 1 tier to Criterion Channel's 2.
Every Criterion Channel 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Criterion Channel (this page) | $10.99/month | - | 2 | |
| MUBICurated indie and art-house films with a similar focus on cinema as critical art form | $7.99/month | Subscription | 1 | vs Criterion Channel |
| HuluBroader streaming library including film content, though less curated and more commercial | $7.99/month | Subscription | 3 | vs Criterion Channel |
| Apple TV+Premium streaming service with theatrical film releases and original content | Free, then $12.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Criterion Channel |
| StubHub | Free | Free to browse, two sided transaction fees on buyers and sellers | 2 | vs Criterion Channel |
| The Roku Channel | Free | Free, ad-supported; individual paid channel add-ons | 2 | vs Criterion Channel |
| mpv | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Criterion Channel |
| Infuse | Free, then $1.99/month | Per user per month | 3 | vs Criterion Channel |
| IINA | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Criterion Channel |
| Castro | Free, then $24.99/year | - | 2 | vs Criterion Channel |
| Castbox | Free | - | 2 | vs Criterion Channel |
| Emby | Free, then $4.99/month | Freemium | 2 | vs Criterion Channel |
| Crunchyroll | Free, then $7.99/month | Freemium | 3 | vs Criterion Channel |
| Dailymotion | Free | Free | 1 | vs Criterion Channel |
| Philo | $33/month | Per household per month, single plan | 1 | vs Criterion Channel |
| fuboTV | $73.99/month | Per household per month, tiered plans | 3 | vs Criterion Channel |
| DirecTV Stream | $89.99/month | Per household per month, tiered plans | 3 | vs Criterion Channel |
| Disney+ | $7.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Criterion Channel |
| ESPN+ | $10.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Criterion Channel |
| Discovery+ | $4.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Criterion Channel |
| Final Cut Pro | $12.99/month | - | 3 | vs Criterion Channel |
| Adobe Premiere Pro | $22.99/month | - | 4 | vs Criterion Channel |
| Apple Music | $10.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Criterion Channel |
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 Criterion Channel badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Cheaper than Criterion Channel (8)
Entry price under Criterion Channel's $10.99/month. The record does not say what unit that price is charged in, so confirm per-seat versus flat rate before comparing budgets.
- MUBI , $7.99/month
- Hulu , $7.99/month
- Infuse , Free, then $1.99/month
- Emby , Free, then $4.99/month
- Crunchyroll , Free, then $7.99/month
- Dailymotion , Free
- Disney+ , $7.99/month
- Discovery+ , $4.99/month
What you would be giving up
Criterion Channel is most often brought in for streaming classic, foreign, and independent films with curated collections and retrospectives, watching filmmaker interviews, commentary tracks, and bonus/supplemental content, following themed programming such as double features and director/actor spotlights, educational and film-study use due to curated context and extras. 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 Criterion Channel is broadly right and the question is cost, the Criterion Channel 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.
Criterion Channel runs on web, android, apple tv, ios, roku, samsung tv, amazon fire tv, xbox. 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 Criterion Channel alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Criterion Channel?
- 22 other entertainment tools are listed in this directory, led by MUBI, Hulu, Apple TV+, StubHub. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Criterion Channel?
- 11 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Apple TV+, StubHub, The Roku Channel, mpv, Infuse.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to Criterion Channel?
- Yes. 8 of the alternatives below start under Criterion Channel's $10.99/month: MUBI at $7.99/month, Hulu at $7.99/month, Infuse at Free, then $1.99/month, Emby at Free, then $4.99/month.
- Why do people look for an alternative to Criterion Channel?
- On the figures on record, one thing stands out: there is no free tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from Criterion Channel?
- Criterion Channel is most often brought in for streaming classic, foreign, and independent films with curated collections and retrospectives, watching filmmaker interviews, commentary tracks, and bonus/supplemental content, following themed programming such as double features and director/actor spotlights, educational and film-study use due to curated context and extras. 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 Criterion Channel?
- 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 Criterion Channel 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 Criterion Channel against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Criterion Channel 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, 22 tools beside Criterion Channel. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.