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Have you been wondering how to cut the cable cord and watch tv for free or really cheap?
We were too! Our satellite TV contract was finally up and we wanted to find what was the best alternative to cable and satellite TV to get affordable service. We were paying about $80 per month and were ready to get rid of cable and satellite TV so we could save more money.
I was a little nervous and skeptical because I didn’t want to miss out on watching my favorite TV shows. Plus I really like to record things and watch them when I want rather than having to catch them on live TV. We found out that there are quite a few different ways to watch TV for free or cheap without cable or satellite. I’ll tell you all about them so you can decide which one is best for you.
We’ve tried them all. So I can give you our first hand experience and what we like and don’t like about each one so you can decide which alternative is best for you and your needs.
How to cut the cord on cable TV and watch TV for free or really cheap and save $928 a year!
This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure.
Get Free TV with an antenna
So this one is free except for the cost of buying an antenna if you don’t have one
. We have a big antenna on the outside of our house. So we didn’t even have to buy one. If you do need an antenna, you can get a cheap one and it should totally do the trick
. If you don’t have a newer TV and have the older box TV, you’ll also need a converter.
As I mentioned above, I don’t love having to watch my favorite TV shows on someone else’s schedule. So this wasn’t my favorite option, but if you’re almost always home and watching when your shows are on and you only have one show on at the same time, then this could be a great alternative to cable for you!
Get Cheap Live Television That You Can Record
I found this tv service that is really awesome because you can watch live tv on TONS of channels, but the really cool thing is that you can record any of them and watch later.
The reason I love this is because it’s the most like cable or satellite because of the recording feature. I really missed that sometimes when we cut the cable cord.
You can also watch movies and tv series. Another of the best features on there is Catch Up. It’s basically every tv show you can think of that you can watch on demand.
It’s compatible with Firestick, Fire TV, Android and Apple Devices.
If you’re looking for something really similar to cable or satellite without such a big price tag, this is the best option. At the time I’m writing this, it’s $29.95 per month and they have a free trial with no credit card required. Get your Vontronix 24hr Free Trial Accountto see if you love their tv service as much as I do!
Avoid high cable bills by streaming on Hulu
Let me just say I really love Hulu for the most part. They have a lot of shows plus their own shows and the price is so affordable. They have plans starting at $5.99 per month. You can get a free trial to see if it’s a good alternative to cable for you.
This is a great way to save money on your cable bill for sure. The only downside is that they don’t have every show. Some of the cable channel shows are not on there or they are only the past seasons. With that being said, they have a ton of shows and movies to watch and you can watch them at your convenience.
In order to use Hulu, you can use the app on your phone or tablet. You can also stream on your computer. You can get a cord to connect your laptop to your TV
if you want to stream from your computer and watch on your TV. You can use the Hulu app on your Smart TV if you have one. You can get a Roku
or Fire Stick to stream to your TV
if you don’t have a Smart TV. These are just small devices that connect to your TV to allow you to use streaming apps and they can be bought for under $40. I’ll get into more about the Fire Stick in just a minute.
If you use your free trial and decide you don’t love Hulu, it’s also really easy to cancel. You just log in to your account and cancel, no phone calls or runaround. Super simple!
Get affordable TV and movies with Netflix
Netflix only has past seasons of TV shows from regular and cable TV channels, but they have come out with a bunch of their own shows and a lot of them are pretty good! If you like Sci-fi, you have to check out Stranger Things and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina!
There are tons of movies available too! For Netflix, you also need to stream online through your computer, phone, or laptop or have a Smart TV, Roku
, or Fire Stick.
Netflix recently implemented a price increase. So I’m not 100% excited about that, but it’s still an affordable alternative to save money on your cable bill at around $12 per month. You can get a free trial month on their site. It’s also really easy to cancel if you don’t want to continue after the free month.
Cheap TV Streaming With Amazon Prime
If you have and Amazon Prime membership you can stream movies and tv shows for free. The cost is less than Netflix and you also get access to free music and books and free 2 day shipping. Out of all of the paid streaming options this is definitely the best value. You get so much more than just tv for the low price. You can get a 30 day free trial here. Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial
Watch TV and movies for free by Streaming With Firestick
So I told you a little about the Fire Stick above
, but besides being able to watch Hulu and Netflix on it, you can also stream TV shows and movies through other apps. The app that we’ve used is Kodi. Basically through the app you can stream free TV and movies through a bunch of sites online. You have access to virtually every TV show and movie imaginable.
Kodi says that they are completely legal, but they do use other site’s content. So, use this one at your own risk. It is a completely free alternative to cable, but does come with a few glitches. Sometimes the links might be broken or you may get some buffering. We’ve used it, but we also use Hulu to avoid some of the frustration when we watch the shows that are available on there. Here’s a tutorial to download Kodi on your Fire Stick.
Watch TV and movies without cable or satellite by streaming on Roku and Fire Stick with free apps
Roku and Fire Stick also have some free apps. Unfortunately, a lot of the TV channels like NBC, ABC, etc. still ask for you to login with your cable provider which I think is kind of ridiculous since you can get those channels with an antenna, but there are free apps that have movies and shows available. There are even some free apps with workouts!
One app that doesn’t require login with a cable or satellite provider is CW. You can watch all the CW shows for free through their app on Roku or Firestick. If you have one of these devices, just go on and browse the channels. You can search by free channels there.
Watch free movies and TV by streaming online
This is another questionable one like above with Kodi, but it is possible at this time to Google “watch tv free” and sites will come up that you can stream TV shows for free. Do this at your own risk as I can’t guarantee you won’t get in trouble, but it is possible. You can get a cord to connect your computer to your TV so you don’t have to watch on your small computer screen. This is another situation where you might come across broken links and buffering and it can get frustrating at times.
These are the best ways I’ve found to watch TV without cable or satellite to make the transition as stress-free as possible. It can seem a little overwhelming when you’re trying to figure out which way to go to get rid of your cable or satellite and find the best alternative. I hope this has helped you understand the options and makes cutting the cable cord and saving money on your cable bill easy. I’m sure there are other ways, but these are the simplest and least expensive ways I’ve found without going through too much hassle.
If you want to try Hulu, be sure to get your 30 Day Free Trial here!
If you have a sneaky way of how to save money on your cable bill or a great alternative to cable, I’d love to hear in the comments below!
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