JustWatch TV Is Here: What's Free, What It Costs and Is the Lifetime Deal Worth It?

JustWatch, the app millions of people use to find out where a film is streaming, now streams films itself.

The new service, JustWatch TV, launched on 20 October with a free tier, a movie rental store and a $3.99 ad-free plan.

The free part is worth a look, and it costs nothing to try.

The $49.99 lifetime deal is the real question, so here is what you get before you decide.

What JustWatch TV Offers

• JustWatch TV Free. A curated set of movies and shows you can watch with ads - a little over 200 titles at launch, according to early reports.
• JustWatch TV Store. Newer and popular movies to rent one at a time.
• JustWatch TV Plus. The free catalogue without ads, 10% off every rental and ad-free browsing on JustWatch itself, for $3.99 a month after a 7-day free trial.

The films come from about 30 partners, including Paramount, New Regency and Fremantle, TechCrunch reports. Expect indie films, documentaries and older favourites rather than this year's blockbusters.

JustWatch's own Plus page lists titles such as Aftersun, Captain Fantastic, First Cow and Under the Skin.

Where It Works

There is no new app to install. JustWatch TV lives inside the existing JustWatch app and website, so update the app and look for the new JustWatch TV section.

It launches in 12 countries: the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, Australia and New Zealand.

Some features reach some countries later - the rental store starts in the US, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

Is JustWatch TV Plus Worth It?

Plus costs $3.99 a month, or about the same in euros (€3.99). For a limited time, JustWatch also sells a lifetime plan for $49.99 (€49.99).

• The lifetime plan pays off after about a year. $49.99 is roughly 12 and a half months of Plus.
• Good fit: you already use JustWatch, you like indie and arthouse films, and ads would spoil them for you.
• Wait if: you mainly want new releases - those are rentals, and Plus only takes 10% off.

Free Alternatives Worth Comparing

JustWatch TV is entering a crowded field of free, ad-supported streaming. Two older services already offer much bigger libraries for nothing:

• Tubi TV. Thousands of free movies and shows on demand, with ads.
• Pluto TV. Hundreds of free live channels laid out like normal TV, with no sign-up.

Prefer live channels in your own player? These free, legal M3U playlists for TiviMate load cleanly. Building a full cable-free setup is covered in our free streaming setup guide.

And if you are cutting costs because the big services keep charging more for less, you are not imagining it - see Disney+ dropping 4K in parts of Europe.

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