Streaming is great, but sometimes you want to watch that movie during the camping trip in the middle of nowhere, or on the plane when the internet is much slower than at home. The solution is to download the movie to your device so you can watch it (aka "stream it locally") later on, when the internet isn't so great.
It's easy to search for "free movies" to download, but pretty much everything you find will be illegal. Fortunately, there are plenty of completely legal free movie download sources out there. Some of them offer movies in the public domain, but most are actually not-so-well-known, free features of the streaming plans you may already subscribe to!
I scoured the internet and found all the best free movie download sources, filtered through them to remove any of the shady ones (you're welcome, trust me), and wrote about them below. Enjoy!
As you know, streaming is usually a better way to get free movies because there are simply a lot more free and legal movie streaming options out there vs movie download sites or services. Check out the streaming advice at the bottom of this page for more.
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PublicDomainMovie.net
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What We Like
Several genres to choose from.
Downloading is straightforward.
Most can be streamed as well.
No payment necessary.
What We Don't Like
Only older movies.
No search or sort options.
Lots of website ads.
Of the hundreds of free movie download websites available on the internet, public domain movies should be your go-to so that there's no question about their legality. PublicDomainMovie.net is a great source for these kinds of films.
When a movie is public domain, itmeans the copyright is no longer held by any one individual—the public owns the movie. In other words, you can watch and download the films as many times as you like, completely legally.
There are a handful of genres along the top of the site to help you find the dramas, horrors, comedies, etc., among the several hundreds of movies that are offered here.
Every movie page shows the film's cover image, release date, synopsis, and cast members. You can even select one of the actors to see their other movie downloads on this website.
I like that I can stream these movies directly from the website for a preview of what I'm getting before I start the download. However, I don't like all the ads. There are actually loads of them all over the place; fortunately, they aren't included in the videos themselves.
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The Public Domain Review
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What We Like
Useful filtering options.
Includes a search utility.
Ad-free website.
Completely free.
What We Don't Like
Solely older films.
Fewer than 200 movies.
This one is very similar to the above site. Most of the films at The Public Domain Review are from the same source as the previous site's collection, but I've added it here for two reasons: the lack of ads and the great filtering options.
The link below takes you to the films section specifically, but once you're there, you can filter by century, genre, theme, and type. For example, maybe you're looking for 20th century movies, or only shorts or silent films, or movies that fall under the fashion, ghost, or natural world theme.
Every movie can be streamed. The movie download links are on the bottom of each page.
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Internet Archive
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What We Like
Lets you stream before downloading.
Filter by year and topic.
Huge listings, all totally free.
What We Don't Like
You won't find newer films here.
Internet Archive is a trove of digital information. It has not only movies for download, but also software, web pages, books, and more. Like the above two sites, this one offers free movie downloads because they're in the public domain.
There are lots of categories here where you might find movies, so the link below, which takes you to Feature Films, is just one example. There are tens of thousands of free films in over a dozen languages.
Most if not all the movies from the sites listed above are actually sourced from Internet Archive, but I prefer those movie download sites over this one because there's just too much to sift through here. Still, I like to use this website for its filtering options, which can include language, creator, year, topic, and more.
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The Library of Congress
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What We Like
Lets you stream before downloading.
Nothing costs.
What We Don't Like
Only includes older films.
Tiny collection.
Another way to download movies is through the Library of Congress. According to the LOC, the purpose of this list of movies is to "showcase the range and diversity of American film heritage."
They're a selection of films from the National Film Registry (NFR), which is a collection of movies selected by the United States National Film Preservation Board.
A couple of things I like about downloading movies here is that the website is ad-free and all the options are on a single page because there are only a couple dozen movies to pick from.
These titles can be downloaded directly from the Library of Congress' website in formats like MP4 and MOV.
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Netflix
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What We Like
Includes both movies and TV shows.
Big library of films that updates often.
Browse for just downloadable movies.
What We Don't Like
Must be a paying user.
Ad-supported plans don't include downloads.
Must download from the app (not the website).
Not all titles can be downloaded.
Downloads are automatically removed in no later than seven days (some sooner).
Netflix is one example of a subscription service that lets you save its movies and TV shows to a download portion of the app so you can watch even without an internet connection.
As a long-time Netflixuser, this is an obvious choice for me when I want to save a movie offline. If you don't use Netflix, there are several other, similar options, listed below.
Downloads are permitted from both the mobile app and the desktop app. See How to Download Netflix Shows and Movies to learn how this works.
Streaming services like Netflix, and the other options listed below, don't give you the video file to save wherever you want. You can only download the movie in their approved app, which helps them control further copying or burning to discs.
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Amazon Prime Video
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What We Like
Download purchased, rented, and subscription titles.
Purchased movies can be saved to up to four compatible download devices.
Includes a section for just downloadable content.
Filter by genre.
What We Don't Like
Must use the app to save movies.
Downloading isn't available for all films.
Subscription and rented movie downloads expire after a set time.
If you subscribe to Amazon Prime Video, you can download moviesfrom the same screen where you can stream the video. Downloading movies also works for rented and purchased titles (but not the Freevee collection).
Most rented movies, and films purchased through a Prime subscription, expire 48 hours after you download them. Purchased movie downloads can be saved on up to four devices, but subscription titles can be stored on only two devices at a time.
Much like with Netflix, downloading Amazon Prime movies is super easy. Just look for the Download button. To do this, you need a Fire tablet, or the Prime Video app for iOS, Android, macOS, or Windows 11/10.
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Vudu
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What We Like
Lots of high-quality movies.
You can download purchased and rented movies.
What We Don't Like
Downloading requires the mobile app.
Free movies can't be saved.
Generic genres to pick from when sorting the movie list.
Vudumovie downloads are allowed through the official mobile app. Just like with Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, this is possible only if you've already purchased the video.
The app can sort movies by most watched or release date. Another thing I like about using this app for movie downloads is the option to show only "Fresh" movies, as determined by Rotten Tomatoes. There's also a genre picker.
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YouTube
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What We Like
Download movies you've purchased or rented.
View comments, ratings, and trailers.
What We Don't Like
Can't download free titles.
Millions of other videos get in the way of viewing the full movies.
No filtering options.
To my surprise, YouTube permitsoffline viewing for purchased or rented movies, and it's not restricted to YouTube Premium subscribers!
Anyone who buys or rents a movie through YouTube can save it for offline playback. Just open the video for viewing in the Android or iOS app, and tap Downloadto pick the quality and preferred audio track.
Now, if this worked for YouTube's free movie collection, it'd top this list in a heartbeat.
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Disney+
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What We Like
Download the same movie on up to 10 supported mobile devices.
Includes movie trailers.
Suggests similar movies.
What We Don't Like
'Basic' subscribers can't download movies.
Downloaded content gets removed if you're offline longer than 30 days.
Some titles may be unavailable for download.
Few genres to pick from.
You can download movies from Disney+ through the mobile app if you're a Disney+ Premium, Disney Bundle Trio Premium, or Legacy Disney Bundle subscriber. Just press Download on the movie page.
I've seen lots of great movies on Disney+, many of which would be awesome to watch on a long plane ride. So it's disappointing to learn that an entire subset of members, namely paying subscribers of the Basic plans, can't get movie downloads.
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Hulu
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What We Like
It's easy to locate just the titles that support being downloaded.
You can have up to 25 downloads on five supported mobile devices at one time.
What We Don't Like
Ad-supported plans don't include movie download support.
Not all movies can be saved offline.
Requires a supported mobile device.
Must occasionally renew expired downloads to keep them offline.
Hulu is another subscription-based service that offers full legal movies and original programming. This means it's a totally legit way to get movie downloads.
To watch stuff offline, use the download button next to the film you want to save.
My biggest gripe? Like these other services, downloading a movie only works on some of the plans, Hulu (No Ads) and Hulu (No Ads) + Live TV. In addition to plans with ads, movies from premium add-ons and Live TV on-demand movies, are not downloadable.
This works on iPhone, iPad, Android, and Amazon Fire devices.
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iTunes
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What We Like
Download movies on your computer, phone, or tablet.
Helpful categories for finding a movie to purchase.
What We Don't Like
Downloaded films play only in an approved app.
If you use iTunes to buy movies, you'll be pleased to know you can download movies via iTunes Store by selectingDownloadafter you purchase it. Movies can also be downloaded on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
There Are Few Legal Movie Download Sites
It's obvious from the above list that there are very few free and legal movie download sites. This isn't from a lack of trying on my part. In fact, every month, I look over this list and check for any new sites I can add to it.
A quick Google search for 'movie download site' will show you lots of options. In fact, you likely won't even see any of the above websites on the first page of the search results.
Why is that? There are two reasons:
- Most websites offering movie downloads are doing so illegally.
- Most movie download sites are really just movie streaming sites.
The top sites people are visiting for movie downloads often don't deliver on the 'download' part and instead let you stream movies (here's the difference), but they still shouldn't. Usually, the films you can get on those sites were released this year, and some are even still in theaters! That's the first red flag that the website isn't complying with most copyright laws.
Movies obtained that way are almost always rips of Blu-rays or DVDs, meaning that a random person is simply sharing their purchased (or rented, or filmed, or pre-released) movie with the world. This is how most movie torrent sites work.
If a movie isn't in the public domain, or the creator hasn't given permission for their movie to be shared this way, then it's not yours to keep. The first few sites in the list above are totally free because they're public domain films, and the others don't have any legal concerns because of the agreements those companies have with the studios that produced the movies they're letting you download.
Consider Streaming Movies
If you don't have to, don't limit yourself to downloading when there's the option of streaming.
This is what I do 99% of the time. There are many more choices if you consider watching films on free movie websites instead of downloading them. The films may not be yours to keep, but you'll get to watch them often in high-quality, and stream them directly from the websites, usually as many times as you like.
If you want to download a movie so it can be played on your phone or tablet, I recommend using a free movie watching app instead. It's all the same movies you can find on free movie sites, but packaged for a smaller screen.
If you're into old-fashioned disc rentals, you can even often take advantage offree Redbox rental codes to keep entertainment on the cheap.
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