Updated on: September 3, 2024
Short on time? Here’s the best SolarMovie alternative in 2024:
- YouTube. It has plenty of channels that offer a variety of movies you can legally watch for free. Unlike most legal alternatives, it’s available anywhere in the world. Viewers in the US have an added bonus in the form of YouTube Movies & TV, which is an additional large catalog of movies and TV shows curated by YouTube itself.
SolarMovie isn’t a good way to stream movies for free. The site has a large number of mirror sites as well as similarly named domains, so it’s hard to determine if the content is real or a potentially malicious fake website. What’s more, since SolarMovie claims to only aggregate videos from third parties and doesn’t host content on its servers, a lot of its videos are poor quality, incomplete, or don’t work. The videos that do work, on the other hand, are usually pirated content that infringes on copyright, so they’re illegal in most of the world.
I compiled this list of 5 free and completely legal alternatives to SolarMovie, so you can legally watch your favorite movies and shows without much hassle. I picked the sites based on the size of their video libraries, as well as their global availability.
Pro Tip: A good VPN like ExpressVPN will help protect your data and devices when you stream online. All the best VPNs offer extensive server networks and are able to access the streaming platforms on my list. Bear in mind that the VPNs we recommend don’t keep logs of your online activities — you’re completely responsible for following all applicable regulations. None of the SafetyDetectives team condone copyright infringement.
Editors' Note: ExpressVPN and this site are in the same ownership group.
5 Best SolarMovie Alternatives in 2024
1. YouTube
YouTube is my top streaming site as a free alternative to SolarMovie. There are plenty of movies uploaded in whole to YouTube, spread across thousands of legitimate, licensed channels. While YouTube’s ads policy is notoriously aggressive, the ads and monetization allow these channels to keep operating and offer many movies for you to watch for free.
In addition, my US colleague confirmed that YouTube Movies & TV, which is currently only available in the US, offers a large library of both paid and free movies to watch.
When it comes to privacy, sadly, YouTube isn’t the best out there. As it belongs to Google, it collects a lot of your data and activity, so it can show you targeted ads and video recommendations.
2. Rakuten TV
Rakuten TV is a great choice if you’re in Europe and want to stream movies for free. It’s available in 15+ European countries, including the UK, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy. Aside from a variety of ad-supported free movies, it also offers a movie rental service.
I like that you don’t have to make an account to get onto Rakuten TV and start streaming, so you have access to Rakuten TV’s library without having to hand over a lot of personal information. However, regardless of whether you register or not, the service will gather some data to fine-tune its recommended content.
3. Amazon Freevee
Amazon Freevee is a spin-off of Amazon Prime Video and shows ad-supported free movies. While it exists within Amazon Prime Video’s app interface as a separate section, there is also a standalone app that doesn’t require you to register with Amazon Prime Video. It’s currently available only in the US, UK, and Germany.
It’s owned by Amazon and collects quite a lot of personal data, such as your IP address, location, device metrics, as well as any info you have to give upon registration.
4. Tubi
Tubi is another great alternative to SolarMovie, letting you stream for free. Sadly, it’s currently only available to users in the US. However, if you’re in the US, Tubi offers a large number of classic titles, as well as recent and popular movies.
Tubi records your activity on the site and your IP address, but I think it’s neat that you don’t have to register an account and give it more personal info to stream movies for free.
5. Kanopy
Kanopy is a great way to stream movies for free if you have a public library card. It works by collaborating with public libraries in 10 countries (the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Australia, New Zealand, and the UAE). They are usually large library systems that have a lot of movies available to stream. Note that not all movies are available in all locations; it depends on what your local library system has licensed.
You can sign up with a valid student ID or a library card from a library that belongs to Kanopy, which you can check in the interactive map on the Kanopy website.
As for privacy, Kanopy has access to all the info on the document you use to sign up for the service, and it collects your IP address and location data, among other bits of information.
Is SolarMovie Legal?
It depends on where you’re accessing the site from, but overall, no. SolarMovie and all of its mirror sites have a disclaimer that says the sites don’t host any content on their servers — the sites only serve as search engines or aggregators for the movies and shows you want to watch. This puts it in a legal gray area since different countries have different laws that govern copyright, and more specifically, whether search engines are liable for the content they link to, and not host.
Since SolarMovie does undeniably offer viewers a way to reach copyrighted content without a license, it has been targeted with cease-and-desist orders and DMCA takedowns in an attempt to shut it down. Despite this, it always pops back up — there are currently several mirrors and alternate domains for the site.
The legal consequences for viewers watching copyrighted content also vary from country to country. Some countries are very strict about enforcing copyright and punishing viewers, while others are much more lenient, even allowing piracy as long as it’s exclusively for personal use.
Any which way, I always recommend being on the safe side and going to legal, vetted platforms for watching copyrighted movies and TV shows.
Why You Need a VPN for Streaming Sites Like YouTube
A VPN is a great way to protect your data from being collected by free streaming sites.
A VPN maintains your anonymity on streaming sites. It replaces your real IP address with the IP address of the server you connect to, so it’s harder for streaming sites to track your streaming habits and build a recommendation profile for you.
Another really important benefit of using a high-quality VPN is that it has good security that can protect you against shady sites that pose as streaming sites. A lot of these fake streaming sites are full of malware, and they can attempt to harvest your personal info for malicious ends.
Lastly, ISPs will often throttle your internet speeds during high-bandwidth activities like streaming. This leads to a lot of buffering and an overall worse viewing experience. A VPN masks your online activities, preventing ISPs from detecting your stream, and thereby reducing the chances of throttling.
Quick summary of the best VPNs for streaming sites like YouTube:
- 1. 🥇 ExpressVPN — Best VPN for streaming SolarMovie alternatives (super fast speeds).
- 2. 🥈 Private Internet Access — Excellent VPN for safe streaming (servers in all 50 US states).
- 3. 🥉 CyberGhost VPN — Beginner-friendly VPN for streaming SolarMovie alternatives.
Editors' Note: Intego, Private Internet Access, CyberGhost and ExpressVPN are owned by Kape Technologies, our parent company
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the best free alternative to SolarMovie?
My top suggestion is YouTube. It’s free to use and has plenty of channels that legally host a large variety of movies. While YouTube is available to users worldwide, there’s a dedicated YouTube movies and TV section available only to viewers in the US. YouTube Movies & TV has a large catalog of movies you can watch for free.
Are streaming sites like SolarMovie legal?
This is a fairly complicated question which mostly depends on your local copyright laws. SolarMovie and its mirrors all feature disclaimers stating they don’t host anything on their servers and that all content comes from unaffiliated third parties.
Still, sites like SolarMovie often face legal issues like DMCA takedowns, so they can be really unreliable. You’re definitely better off using a fully legal streaming platform like YouTube or Rakuten TV.
How safe are free streaming sites like SolarMovie?
Illegal (and vaguely legal) streaming sites can be very unsafe. Many sites that host pirated content or links to it are rife with intrusive, potentially malicious ads. There are also plenty of fake sites that claim to offer streaming but are just there to infect your device with malware, steal your data, or scam you somehow. When streaming, I always recommend getting a high-quality VPN to protect your data and maintain your privacy.
What are some good free alternatives to SolarMovie in the US?
Out of the 5 sites I recommend on this list, only Rakuten TV is currently unavailable in the US. YouTube is available worldwide, Tubi is a US-exclusive, and Amazon Freevee is available in the US, UK, and Germany. Kanopy is available in 10 countries, including the US, but it requires registering with a public library card or a student ID card.
