Entertainment · alternatives
Alternatives to Pluto TV
21 entertainment tools sit alongside Pluto TV in this directory. Below is what separates each from Pluto TV on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 21
- With a free tier
- 12
- Cheaper to start
- 0
- Pluto TV starts at
- Free
Why people look past Pluto TV
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Pluto TV entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
There is only one tier
Pluto TV publishes a single plan, Free at Free. There is no smaller tier to drop to if the fit is wrong or the budget moves.
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 $9.95 a year dearer, at $9.95/year.
- 2 tiers to Pluto TV's 1.
Podcast & radio app for everyone
- 2 tiers to Pluto TV's 1.
Original stories from the most creative minds
- Starts $12.99 a month dearer, at $12.99/month.
- Sold on a subscription model rather than free.
- 2 tiers to Pluto TV's 1.
Podcast app with episode inbox
- Starts $24.99 a year dearer, at $24.99/year.
- 2 tiers to Pluto TV's 1.
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 free.
- 2 tiers to Pluto TV's 1.
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 free.
- 2 tiers to Pluto TV's 1.
Every Pluto 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pluto TV (this page) | Free | Free | 1 | |
| OvercastThe best podcast app for iPhone | Free, then $9.95/year | - | 2 | vs Pluto TV |
| CastboxPodcast & radio app for everyone | Free | - | 2 | vs Pluto TV |
| Apple TV+Original stories from the most creative minds | Free, then $12.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Pluto TV |
| CastroPodcast app with episode inbox | Free, then $24.99/year | - | 2 | vs Pluto TV |
| StubHub | Free | Free to browse, two sided transaction fees on buyers and sellers | 2 | vs Pluto TV |
| The Roku Channel | Free | Free, ad-supported; individual paid channel add-ons | 2 | vs Pluto TV |
| mpv | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Pluto TV |
| Infuse | Free, then $1.99/month | Per user per month | 3 | vs Pluto TV |
| IINA | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Pluto TV |
| Emby | Free, then $4.99/month | Freemium | 2 | vs Pluto TV |
| Crunchyroll | Free, then $7.99/month | Freemium | 3 | vs Pluto TV |
| Dailymotion | Free | Free | 1 | vs Pluto TV |
| Philo | $33/month | Per household per month, single plan | 1 | vs Pluto TV |
| fuboTV | $73.99/month | Per household per month, tiered plans | 3 | vs Pluto TV |
| DirecTV Stream | $89.99/month | Per household per month, tiered plans | 3 | vs Pluto TV |
| Disney+ | $7.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Pluto TV |
| ESPN+ | $10.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Pluto TV |
| Discovery+ | $4.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Pluto TV |
| Final Cut Pro | $12.99/month | - | 3 | vs Pluto TV |
| Adobe Premiere Pro | $22.99/month | - | 4 | vs Pluto TV |
| Apple Music | $10.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Pluto 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 Pluto TV badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (12)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
What you would be giving up
Pluto TV is most often brought in for free streaming, live tv, on-demand content. 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 Pluto TV is broadly right and the question is cost, the Pluto 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.
Pluto TV runs on web, ios, android, smart-tv, roku, fire-tv. 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 Pluto TV alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Pluto TV?
- 21 other entertainment tools are listed in this directory, led by Overcast, Castbox, Apple TV+, Castro. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Pluto TV?
- 12 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Overcast, Castbox, Apple TV+, Castro, StubHub.
- Why do people look for an alternative to Pluto TV?
- On the figures on record, one thing stands out: there is only one tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from Pluto TV?
- Pluto TV is most often brought in for free streaming, live tv, on-demand content. 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 Pluto 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 Pluto 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 Pluto TV against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Pluto 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, 21 tools beside Pluto TV. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.