Entertainment · alternatives
Alternatives to Roku
20 entertainment tools sit alongside Roku in this directory. Below is what separates each from Roku on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 20
- With a free tier
- 11
- Cheaper to start
- 0
- Roku starts at
- Free
Why people look past Roku
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Roku entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
There is only one tier
Roku 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 Roku'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 freemium.
- 2 tiers to Roku's 1.
Podcast app with episode inbox
- Starts $24.99 a year dearer, at $24.99/year.
- 2 tiers to Roku'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 freemium.
- 2 tiers to Roku's 1.
Free open source command line video player with no graphical interface, built for scripting and precision
- Sold on a Open source, no licence fee model rather than freemium.
Every Roku 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roku (this page) | Free | Freemium | 1 | |
| OvercastThe best podcast app for iPhone | Free, then $9.95/year | - | 2 | vs Roku |
| CastboxPodcast & radio app for everyone | Free | - | 2 | vs Roku |
| Apple TV+Original stories from the most creative minds | Free, then $12.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Roku |
| CastroPodcast app with episode inbox | Free, then $24.99/year | - | 2 | vs Roku |
| StubHub | Free | Free to browse, two sided transaction fees on buyers and sellers | 2 | vs Roku |
| mpv | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Roku |
| Infuse | Free, then $1.99/month | Per user per month | 3 | vs Roku |
| IINA | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Roku |
| Emby | Free, then $4.99/month | Freemium | 2 | vs Roku |
| Crunchyroll | Free, then $7.99/month | Freemium | 3 | vs Roku |
| Dailymotion | Free | Free | 1 | vs Roku |
| Philo | $33/month | Per household per month, single plan | 1 | vs Roku |
| fuboTV | $73.99/month | Per household per month, tiered plans | 3 | vs Roku |
| DirecTV Stream | $89.99/month | Per household per month, tiered plans | 3 | vs Roku |
| Disney+ | $7.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Roku |
| ESPN+ | $10.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Roku |
| Discovery+ | $4.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Roku |
| Final Cut Pro | $12.99/month | - | 3 | vs Roku |
| Adobe Premiere Pro | $22.99/month | - | 4 | vs Roku |
| Apple Music | $10.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Roku |
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 Roku badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
What you would be giving up
Roku is most often brought in for tv streaming, content discovery, 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 Roku is broadly right and the question is cost, the Roku 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.
Roku runs on roku-devices, smart-tv, ios, android. 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 Roku alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Roku?
- 20 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 Roku?
- 11 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Overcast, Castbox, Apple TV+, Castro, StubHub.
- Why do people look for an alternative to Roku?
- 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 Roku?
- Roku is most often brought in for tv streaming, content discovery, 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 Roku?
- 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 Roku 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 Roku against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Roku 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, 20 tools beside Roku. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.