Looking for an alternative to 123movies? Here are the best. (2024)

The 123Movies website is filled with great movies and shows, has a convenient categorization, and a good player, but... it's completely illegal. We offer you a list of legal free and paid 123Movies alternatives. These sites are safe, and some even offer additional benefits (like Amazon). Read on to learn about top streaming platforms and ways to unblock them if unavailable in your country.

What is 123movies

Let's start with a few words about 123Movies and its current status. 123Movies was a free movie streaming service. All videos posted there were pirated copies and should not have been freely available under the laws of many countries.

The website was extremely popular, attracting up to 98 million monthly users. It went to great lengths to conceal its identity and location, but it was still prosecuted for distributing pirated content.

Has 123movies been shut down

The original 123Movies website was shut down in 2018 under pressure from governments and film industry representatives. However, the service itself did not disappear. Since then, proxy servers of 123Movies and clones (like GoMovies) with similar names or domains have been constantly popping up. Domain names are often changed to avoid blocking or legal consequences for distributing pirated content. But even now, you're likely to find a few free movie websites by simply googling 123Movies.

However, it is important to understand that pirated websites may be unreliable or dangerous from a cybersecurity perspective and may contain malware or viruses.

Best 123movies alternative sites that work

Now, let's jump to the paid and free platforms offering a great user experience, from creating your playlists to watching a movie with your friends remotely.

Crackle – free movies and shows

One of the best free legal services for watching movies is Crackle. It offers much more than you might expect from a free service in exchange for minor inconveniences like short ads or an imperfect interface.

Crackle is an online video streaming site with thousands of movies and TV shows. You can enjoy an extensive collection of classic movies (some dating back to the 1930s) as well as modern rom-coms, horror films, documentaries, anime, and more.

You probably won't find the latest top movies and TV series here, but you can watch rated shows from previous years, such as Everybody Hates Chris, Alf, and Wilfred.

As expected, Crackle has commercials: they appear before and during the movie, but they are not annoying.

The website works smoothly, and the video quality is also high. But there are almost no user-friendly features: for example, you can filter movies by genre but not by rating or year.

Tip: To access geo-restricted websites, use ClearVPN.

Price: Free.

Popcornflix – free older movies and shows

Popcornflix looks a lot like Crackle in terms of interface and movie selection since both services have the same owner. It contains mostly older shows, including some real hits and legends: Shameless and The Weird Al Show.

If you encounter intrusive ads while browsing websites, use AdLock. It works with browsers and apps, blocking unwanted and dangerous pop-ups and other ads.

However, some websites will prevent you from viewing content if an ad blocker is enabled. If you really need to access this content, add the website to your AdLock exclusion list and enjoy watching.

Movies & TV on YouTube – free and paid top-rated movies

For more free movies, check outYouTube's Movies & TV section. It has plenty of free content, including Pride and Prejudice, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and The Grand Budapest Hotel. The videos contain ads, but you can block them with AdLock.

If you want to download other videos from YouTube for your own use, try apps like Pulltube and Downie. All you need is the URL of the content you want to download; the apps do the rest.

Here's how Downie works: the download starts automatically and takes a few seconds to several minutes, depending on the file size. Also, you can download an audio track or the thumbnail separately.

Pulltube has a similar flow, allowing you to download the whole video and its fragments. You can easily cut out and save the fragment you need or the desired timecode segment.

If you need to download several videos at once, just create a queue and set up options individually for each file. They'll be saved one by one.

As for paid content, Movies & TV has two options: rent or buy individual movies or subscribe to primetime channels (NFL, Paramount Plus, ViX, etc.), but this is rarely profitable compared to streaming platforms.

Price: Free + Paid.

The Roku Channel – famous movies and shows for free

Roku, commonly known for its streaming devices, also offers a robust streaming service through The Roku Channel – a great free alternative to the 123Movie site. Registering on the website gives you access to thousands of free TV shows and movies, including Roku Originals. You'll find here top-rated movies and shows like Angels & Demons, The Reader, The English Patient, Home Alone, The Mentalist, 2 Broke Girls, and more.

Price: Free

Netflix – the best and newest movies and shows

When you hear "streaming service," Netflix is usually the first thing that comes to mind. It has made a name for itself with original shows loved by critics and viewers: One Piece, The Umbrella Academy, The Crown, Black Mirror, Wednesday, Picky Blinders, and dozens of other hits.

Netflix is paid, but regarding content quality and quantity, it can be considered one of the most cost-effective alternative sites to 123movies. The subscription gives you access to all the movies and shows on the platform (unlike other services, such as Amazon Prime Video, which requires an additional fee for some content). What's more, your subscription is not just for you but for up to 5 people in your household. For kids, you can set up parental controls.

Movies and TV series have a dozen voice-overs in different languages and even more subtitles. And best of all, you can watch many of them offline by downloading them through the Netflix app.

Price: From $9.99 in the USA.

Hulu – top-rated original content and older shows

When you're ready, we've got a great how to get started with Hulu guide that will get you up and running with the service in no time.

Hulu is an excellent option for those looking to stream older TV shows as well as original content. It's got award-winning shows like The Handmaid's Tale, and older TV shows like The Simpsons. It's also part of the Disney Plus streaming package, which includes Disney Plus (of course) and ESPN (including ESPN Plus).

The most basic Hulu package is $7.99 per month, though it does have commercials. Happily, those commercial breaks are limited, and there's typically only one commercial rather than the 5-6 you'd get with traditional TV service. If you want the full Disney Plus package, it's $14.99 per month.

Price: From $7.99

Amazon Prime – award-winning original movies and shows

Amazon Prime Video is part of the Amazon Prime subscription, which provides multiple services at once, such as free same-day shipping on many products, a catalog of podcasts and Kindle books, and photo/video storage.

Amazon is known for its award-winning original shows and movies, including Fleabag, The Boys, The Lost Flowers, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, She Said, and more. You can watch them as part of your basic subscription, but many other movies and shows can also be rented or purchased for an additional fee.

Amazon not only replaces 123movies, but vastly enhances your experience. One of the coolest features you'll get is X-Ray. While watching a movie, you can get information about the actors in the scene, additional materials, trivia, music, or even related products.

You can also host Watch Parties. This is a way to watch movies and shows online with up to 100 friends – other Amazon Prime members. You can chat with each other, and each member can customize the video (for example, by turning on subtitles).

Price:

• $14.99 per month or $139 per year.
• Prime Video only – $8.99 per month.

Is 123movies a safe site

"This is all great," you might say, "but I'm already used to 123Movies. Is it safe to use its clones?" Well, 123Movies and other similar pirate sites have security risks.

First, they violate copyright laws and operate in a legal gray area or even illegally.

Second, they may contain intrusive ads, and clicking on banners can infect your computer.

There may also be privacy issues. You can't be sure that illegal sites will handle your personal data properly.

If you still choose to use such websites, at least protect yourself by accessing them through a VPN (we recommend the powerful ClearVPN) and with an ad blocker enabled (try AdLock).

Is it legal to use 123movies

And what about copyright law? Anti-piracy laws tend to focus on those who own, distribute, or download pirated content. For example, the US Protecting Lawful Streaming Act of 2020 targets illegal websites themselves, not internet users.

However, the legality of using services like 123Movies is in a gray area, and in some countries (e.g., Germany), it can be punishable by fines.

How to unblock 123movies alternatives?

When switching to legal platforms, you may face an unexpected obstacle – geographic restrictions. Most top platforms are available in the United States, but if you're outside, you may not have access to Crackle, Hulu, Roku, and other legal live websites like 123Moves.

To get around this obstacle, try ClearVPN. You can simply change your location or use a special Streaming feature that allows you to connect to restricted streaming services.

With some services, only the second method will work because they track the use of classic VPNs.

Unblock sites similar to 123Movies

As you can see, there are many free alternatives to 123Movies: Crackle, Popcornflix, Movies & TV on YouTube, and The Roku Channel. If you want the ultimate viewing experience, try paid streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. They offer new movies and shows, different audio and subtitle tracks, joint remote viewing, and more.

Let us remind you of the most important hacks for watching content on these platforms:

• If you can't access these websites due to geographical or other restrictions, try ClearVPN. It has a special option for connecting to streaming services that will unblock access to your favorite shows.
• To reduce the number of embedded ads on YouTube or pop-ups on websites, use AdLock.
• To download videos from websites, use PullTube and Downie.

All the apps mentioned here are free as part of a 7-day trial of Setapp, a great suite of apps for your Mac. Sign up to try these apps and dozens more, from video editors to AI assistants.