Rokuvs
Overcast
Overcast: The best podcast app for iPhone
Roku
Streaming made simple
As of 30 August 2026, Roku is free to use. Roku is a streaming platform that provides access to thousands of streaming channels plus The Roku Channel with free movies and TV. Softwr lists it under Entertainment. Roku is made by Roku Inc, launched in 2002, available on TV and console, iOS, Android.
Overview
What Roku does
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about Roku.
- Roku takes a 20 percent cut of all revenue channel publishers receive through Roku Pay (purchases, subscriptions, ads), paying out the remaining 80 percent no later than 60 days after the end of the month the payment was received, with non-US partners restricted to PayPal or wire transfer (ACH/direct deposit is US-only) and bank fees applying to wire and ACH payouts (archived developer documentation, 2 May 2021)
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Roku
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- RokuvsCastbox
Castbox: Podcast & radio app for everyone
- RokuvsApple TV+
Apple TV+: Original stories from the most creative minds
- RokuvsCastro
Castro: Podcast app with episode inbox
Pricing
What Roku costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Free
Free
- The Roku Channel
- Free content
- Ad-supported
Capabilities
Features
Streaming aggregation
Free content
Voice search
Private listening
All major streaming apps
Integration with All major streaming apps
Smart home
Integration with Smart home
PIN protection
PIN protection security feature
Parental controls
Parental controls security feature
Roku-devices support
Available on roku-devices
Smart-tv support
Available on smart-tv
Ios support
Available on ios
Android support
Available on android
Behind it
Who makes Roku
- Company
- Roku Inc
- Based in
- San Jose, CA
Keep looking
Where to go from Roku
- Roku alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Roku pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Roku badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Entertainment softwareThe full category
- Best Entertainment softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Entertainment software for
Compare Roku with
- Overcast
- Castbox
- Castro
- Apple TV+
- Discord
- DirecTV Stream
- Spotify
- Philo
- Netflix
- Criterion Channel
- ESPN+
- HBO Max
- BritBox
- Crunchyroll
- Dailymotion
- Criterion Channel
- Disney+
- Discovery+
Other Entertainment software
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From $89.99/mo11 researched notesCheap entertainment-only live TV streaming with no sports and no local broadcast channels
From $33/mo11 researched notes
Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Roku, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on Roku
Roku alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
Roku pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Compare Roku
Put it head to head with anything we hold
Roku badge
Its rating, and an embed for your own site
Best Entertainment software alternatives
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Per user per monthCheap entertainment-only live TV streaming with no sports and no local broadcast channels
Per household per month, single plan
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Free to browse, two sided transaction fees on buyers and sellers
Sports-first live TV streaming bundle with regional sports networks and a cloud DVR
Per household per month, tiered plans
Free open source Mac video player built on mpv, with a native macOS interface
Open source, no licence feeCable-replacement live TV streaming with local channels, RSNs and the widest premium channel tiers
Per household per month, tiered plans