Top 10 Legal Free Movie Download Websites for 2025

The Download

• You can download free movies from legal sites like PublicDomainMovie.net and The Public Domain Review.
• Subscription services like Netflix and Hulu allow downloads for users, but not all titles are available.
• Often, streaming movies online is a better option because of the wider selection available.

Want to watch that movie on your schedule? Download it to your device so you can watch it (also known as “streaming it locally”) later on, whenever and wherever you want. That’s the beauty of downloading a movie: It’s ready when you are, even without an internet connection.

Our Favorite Sites for Downloading Movies

The biggest issue with searching for “free movies” is that nearly everything you find will be illegal.

I’ve done the work for you and scoured the internet to find the best, completely legal free movie download sources. They are filtered to remove any shady options, and they are waiting for you below. Get the popcorn and settle in to enjoy!

What We Like

• Every movie is free to download.

• Most can be streamed as well.

• Several genres to choose from.

Of the hundreds of free movie download websites available, public domain movies should be your go-to to ensure their legality. PublicDomainMovie.net is a great source for these types of films.

When a movie is in the public domain, the copyright is no longer held by any individual—the public owns the movie. In other words, you can watch and download these films as many times as you like, completely legally.

At the top of the site, you’ll find several genres to help locate dramas, horrors, comedies, and more, among the hundreds of available movies. Each movie page displays the film’s cover image, release date, synopsis, and cast list.

I appreciate being able to stream movies directly from the website to preview them before downloading. However, there are many ads throughout the site; fortunately, they are not included in the videos themselves.

This site is very similar to the one above. Most films at The Public Domain Review originate from the same source as the previous site’s collection. However, I’ve included it here for two reasons: its lack of ads and great filtering options.

The link below directs you to the films section, where you can filter by century, genre, theme, and type. For example, you might explore 20th-century movies, specifically shorts or silent films, or perhaps movies centered around themes like food, architecture, or the natural world.

Everything here can be streamed. The movie download links are at the bottom of each page.

What We Like

• Lets you stream before downloading.

• No ads, and nothing costs.

• Multiple file format options.

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 are a selection of films from the National Film Registry (NFR), a collection of movies chosen by the United States National Film Preservation Board.

I appreciate that the website is ad-free and all options are on a single page, as there are only a couple dozen movies to choose from.

These titles can be downloaded directly from the Library of Congress website in formats such as MP4 and MOV.

What We Like

• Lets you stream before downloading.

• Filter by year and topic.

• Huge listings, all totally free.

• Free from ads.

Internet Archive offers a trove of digital information. In addition to movies for download, it includes software, web pages, books, and more. Like the two sites above, this one offers free movie downloads because they’re in the public domain.

There are many categories here where you might find movies, so it could be wise to explore the Feature Films page. There are tens of thousands of free films in over a dozen languages.

Most, if not all, movies from the sites listed above are sourced from Internet Archive. 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, like language, creator, year, topic, and more.

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 an 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.

Having used Netflix for a long time, it’s my top choice for saving movies offline. If you don’t use Netflix, there are several other similar options listed below.

Downloads are available through the Netflix app for iOS, Android, and Windows.

Streaming services like Netflix don’t allow you to save the video file wherever you want. You can only download the movie on their approved app, which helps them control further copying or burning to discs.

What We Like

• Download movies you’ve purchased or rented.

• View comments, ratings, and trailers.

Surprisingly, YouTube permits offline 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. Simply open the video for viewing in the Android or iOS app, and tap Download to select the quality and preferred audio track.

If only this worked for YouTube’s free movie collection, it would top this list in a heartbeat!

This works in the Google TV app too. Go to Your stuff > Movies, then tap a movie to see the download option.

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 movies from the same screen where you stream the video. Downloading movies also applies to rented and purchased titles.

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.

It’s easy to download Amazon Prime movies. Simply look for the Download button in the app for iOS, Android, macOS, or Windows.

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.

I’ve seen many great movies on Disney+, lots of which would be excellent to watch on a long flight. To download movies from the Disney+ mobile app, tap Download on the movie page.

Unfortunately, this only works on certain plans. Specifically, subscribers of the Basic plans can’t download 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.

Fandango at Home (formerly Vudu) permits movie downloads through the official mobile app. Just like with Netflix and similar streaming services, this is possible only if you’ve already purchased the video.

The app can sort movies by most watched or release date. Another feature I like about this app is the ability to show only “Fresh” movies, as determined by Rotten Tomatoes. There’s also a genre picker.

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, making it a legitimate way to download movies.

To watch content offline, use the download button next to the film you wish to save.

A major downside? Like these other services, downloading a movie only works on certain plans, Hulu (No Ads) and Hulu (No Ads) + Live TV. Additionally, plans with ads, movies from premium add-ons, and Live TV on-demand movies are not downloadable.

This works on the Hulu app for iPhone, iPad, Android, and Amazon Fire devices.

There Are Few Legal Movie Download Sites

It’s clear from the list above that there are very few free and legal movie download sites. This scarcity isn’t from a lack of effort on my part. In fact, every month, I review this list and check for any new sites I can add.

A quick Google search for ‘movie download site’ will list many options, but you likely won’t see any of the above websites on the first page of the search results.

Why is that? There are two reasons:

1. Most websites offering movie downloads are doing so illegally.
2. Most “movie download” sites are really just movie streaming sites.

The terms stream and download are different. The top sites people visit for movie downloads often don’t deliver on the ‘download’ part and instead let you stream movies. Usually, the films available on those sites were released this year, and some are even still in theaters! That’s a major red flag indicating that the website isn’t complying with most copyright laws.

Movies obtained that way are nearly always rips of Blu-rays or DVDs, meaning someone is sharing their purchased (or rented, filmed, or pre-released) movie with others. This is how most movie torrent sites function.

If a movie isn’t in the public domain or if the creator hasn’t authorized its sharing, then it’s not yours to keep. The first few sites in the list above offer completely free content because they host public domain films, while the others are legally compliant due to agreements those companies have with the movie studios, allowing them to offer authorized downloads.

Consider Streaming Movies Instead

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 . The films may not be yours to keep and can’t be distributed through flash drives or burned onto DVDs, but you’ll 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 to play on your phone or tablet, I recommend using a free movie app. It’s all the same titles you can find on movie websites, but packaged for a smaller screen.

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