Crackle is a refreshing take on video on demand because it is free. For being free, Crackle is available on a lot of different devices so that you can enjoy your viewing experience on the go. The company has been in business for over ten years and is a great streaming TV option.

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The Good

Free service
High quality selection
Great features

Completely Free

Streaming media is completely free with Crackle from movies to original series.

Top-Rated Library

Crackle has a small library, but their library is of high-quality. The library has standard movie classics, original series, and many outstanding TV series.

User Watch List

Crackle has several "channels" in the form of watch lists. These lists organize shows by categories such as 90s Flashbacks, Award Winning Documentaries, etc. Crackle isn't one of the big players in the streaming TV industry but they definitely have some great features to their services. The big pull for Crackle is that they are free. Movies, TV episodes, and original series are all free to watch at any time.

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The Bad

No ad-free options
Small library
No HD quality

Streaming with Ads

All of Crackle's movies, TV episodes, and original series are available to watch for free, but with ads and commercials. There is no ad-free viewing.

Small Library

Crackle has a very small library for users to choose from. However, they are all free to watch.

Library doesn't Include Every TV Episode from Series

With a free service, subscribers can't expect to see every episode from every series. This makes it difficult to watch the series with any frequency and in order.

No HD Video Compatibilities

While Crackle runs with a decent streaming speed, at this time, the platform does not support HD video. Crackle has many great features to their streaming TV services, however, there are a few drawbacks. The main drawback is that users can't watch anything without ads and commercials. This is understandable considering Crackle is completely free, but a no-ads option could increase the user experience. Also, Crackle has a very small library for users to choose from and doesn't have all episodes in TV series. Users aren't able to watch all episodes in a series which is frustrating.

View Top Rated Companies

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The Bottom Line

For those who want to stream popular content for free, Crackle is an excellent option. While subscribers don't necessarily appreciate the repeated advertising, as well as the frequency of the commercial breaks, the great titles make up for some of the issues with this platform. Crackle has also been viewed as a great way to "fill in the gaps" with what you can't find on Netflix and Hulu. We recommend considering Crackle's streaming TV services. However, we recommend reviewing the top rated companies before making a final decision.

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User Reviews

Star Rating

2.8

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45 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

4 grade

29%

3 grade

24%

2 grade

1 grade

31%

Sentiment Criteria

Value

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Quality

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Service

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Trustworthiness

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Amanda George IL

Crackle is awesome! Very few ads on their streaming service. Great selection of movies and their site is easy to navigate. No hidden fees every and they are nice.

4 months ago

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Mona LC

Recently joined Crackle. I read a lot of reviews about buffering issues. I watch mainly on my Vizio Smart TV. My netgear modem is right next to it. (Just to give an idea as to how I have it set up). I have had no buffering issues at all. There are commercials. But that helps the service be free. With the cost of cable these days I'm happy to endure a commercial here and there to get free service in return. The movies seemlessly move to commercial and back to the movie with no buffering in between either. So far so good. :)

6 years ago

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Misty Peoples MO

Amazing movies. My family enjoys kicking back and watching movies together on crackle and my daughter just loves that they have the most kids movies and entertainment to offer

5 months ago Edited June 26, 2023

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Margaret Brown

I recently became aware of Crackle love the ability to create a profile Its content is good but stll small the commercials can be a distraction. Love the ability to access it on all devices and the fact that it is FREE is awesome. HD would be good but it's not necessary so far it runs glitch free What it really needs is promotion and big original hit to really put it on the map but I have to say it is far better than what I expected and am happy to be a new member. I rate a 6 out of 10 and expect it to move up.

6 years ago

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Snertl Pottstown, PA

Says uh-oh something went wrong, retry. It only does this when there's about 5 minutes left of a TV show. You never see the ending. Their contact number is not in service! Tried to set up an account and it won't let me. Don't give credit card numbers, it's a scam!

5 months ago

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Victoria Cummings Whiting, NJ

First of all there was no picture on my phone while watching the program but the ads came with no problem. The audio was fine. I first started watching the program on TV and after 7 attempts I gave up. It came up that there was an error. I'm paying $165 a month for Comcast and I'm not renting a program.

8 months ago

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DM Carter Houston, TX

Crackle has made it painfully clear they don't care about their viewers. They do't care about what they want to watch, how they want to watch, or any problems they have finding, accessing or streaming what they want. This issue is made apparent by the fact that I have not been able to choose what I want to watch. When I log in, their system almost immediately starts streaming something of their choice, a show I have no say in the streaming of plays behind the menu. When and if I manage to find a show I want to watch, the menu may disappear, but the show they chose does not, and my selection does not start to play. If, for whatever insane reason there might be, I choose to ride out their selection, maybe in the hope of seeing the show I was hoping to see show up next, I am out of luck. Instead the autoplay function, which cannot be disabled at all, starts in another of Crackle's selections. If I leave the service and come back, the "Continue Watching" menu in stocked with shows that Crackle had previously chosen to show me, which I left in the middle of, and none of them can be removed. Contacting customer support does nothing. All it gets you is a fake apology and someone saying they can't help you, and you aren't allowed to change for yourself what is destroying your experience. Crackle is garbage. Crackle is worthless, useless, and unwatchable. What's worse is Crackle doesn't care.

4 years ago

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Randy Krapf Elgin, TX

I recently started streaming Crackle using Roku. It’s nice that the service is free, but it regularly stops and closes the app altogether, forcing me to restart it and go back to re-select the movie I was watching. It seems to do it at spots where there is a commercial break scheduled (as it always goes to commercial after I restart it). I’ve only watched a few movies so far, but it has stopped and closed the app 4 or 5 times in both. I’ve been streaming for years thru many other paid and free services, and this is my only experience with this problem, so I know it’s not my Roku device or internet connection. Sony needs to do some work on Crackle if it hopes to continue the advertisement revenue. The service is subpar as is, but I would happily give it another shot if they fix this flaw.

6 years ago

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Zac Cannon Long Beach, MS

Crackle is a great service if you want to watch several movies for free. The only downfall is the fact it has multiple ads, but I know that is mostly due to the fact that the service is free. Every now and then, the service can get a little buggy and take too long to buffer, but overall it is great!

3 years ago

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Ashley Pleasant Grove, UT

Crackle is very easy to navigate. I like how they have the channels in categories. The movies from the Creature Features Channel are my favorite! I also enjoy the Crime TV Channel, it is totally different than Netflix and I love it!

4 years ago

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Dee Farquharson Washington, DC

I've been using Crackle since before Sony acquired it. The shows and movies aren't really aren't the most popular, but a great time killer if you're just looking for something to watch. I do recommend letting the titles load a little before watching. I had a couple of issues with shows buffering and then timing out, Not on the same ladder as Netflix or Hulu, but holds its own

5 years ago

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Eric San Diego, CA

Crackle is another great streaming service that joins the ranks of other greats. Like the others it has its own unique style to offer to those who want something different. Crackle has a unique style to it that I definitely enjoy. They provide quick streaming and quality shows and movies to stream.

5 years ago

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Carla Tam

Everything I read online says you don't have to create an account to watch crackle and that you don't need to input a credit card number, but if you go to crackle and try to watch a movie, you get a pop-up that forces you to create an account and you can not create an account without a credit card.

10 months ago

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Kim Taylor Washington, DC

Not impressed. I can stream Netflix just fine using my Moto G Power's hotspot and my Roku stick that is plugged into my Vizio TV. I can watch an entire movie on Netflix without the stream giving me a single hiccup. But when I try to watch a movie the same way on Crackle, the stream stops and buffers after almost every minute of viewing. Why is this streaming service so inferior to Netflix? I don't mind the ads, but the constant buffering makes the service unwatchable.

2 years ago

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Tony Lorenzano Urbandale, IA

OH, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! I'M BACK WITH MORE TO "REVIEW" ABOUT THE SONY NAME PRODUCT! I have been able to continue watching the Crackle movie without it crashing my system, but I SEE NOW THAT EVERY 1 0 ----TEN----MINUTES CRACKLE IS SHOVING 6----SIX----COMMERCIALS AT ME! WOW! 99% OF MY STREAMING IS TUBI--IT'S FLAWLESS--I'LL BET THAT ON THE AVERAGE MOVIE THEY SHOW ME 4 OR 4V4N 5 TIMES FEWER COMMERCIALS AND THEIR LIBRARY IS IMMENSE! i WON'T COME BACK FOR MONTHS!

3 years ago

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Bob Folstad Yorktown, VA

Hideous. Most of the movies I want to watch won't play. I get 'Uh-oh something went wrong'. The display of incompetence is shocking. There are so many other services where you can ACTUALLY WATCH THE MOVIE, but Sony can't even muster that. I can handle a few commercial and oh, gee, Sony can run those in your face. I'm not sure how it could be worse. It's bad bad bad.

3 years ago

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Nathan D. Warrendale, PA

Crackle has a limited streaming selection but has some great throwback 90's title if you're looking for something quick to put on. The commercials are often much louder than the program you are watching and kind of scare you when they come on.

4 years ago

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DONNA SHAW South Glens Falls, NY

5 stars if commercials didn't force me to mute them. They cone on too loud, annoying.

5 months ago

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Debbie “Ratmom” Lowell, MA

You can find some decent stuff on Crackle the only thing I don't like is you can't watch a small preview of the movie before playing it

10 months ago

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Denise Timberlake Roseville, CA

App keeps freezing. U can only start the program from the beginning not resume it. Way too many ads the same one’s over and over. 2 minutes if ads to 5 minutes of selected program. I will avoid this app

11 months ago

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Mad Max OR

Streaming movie, and keeps getting error messages, have to reload from start and fast forward, intermittent volume. Watched many streaming services since Covid began, this has been the worst.

1 year ago

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Bill Kelley Austin, TX

DONT SIGN UP! THEY WILL SPAM YOU FOREVER! Signed up to try it. Terrible library content, small volume second rate stuff. VERY LOUD and obnoxious commercials. Much loader than content volume. Worst of all they keep spamming my email, even after unsubscribing 3 times.

5 years ago

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abby becht Pleasant Grove, UT

Ok product. It was convenient to use however it didn't have the best shows. Searching the catalog reminds me of when you're watching the TV and you cant find anything to watch.

4 years ago

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Rischelle Mikkelson American Fork, UT

Crackle is a reliable service for streaming videos and tv shows. The variety is a little lacking, but the price is fair for the amount of shows offered.

4 years ago

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Shawn American Fork, UT

Crackle is my 4 or 5th go to streaming service. Decent variety available. I wish they didn’t have commercials, but understand the need for a free service. Decent selection.

5 years ago

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Teresa Bills Little Rock, AR

I love Crackle, great selection of movies. Customer service was a bit terrible in the beginning of my subscription but it better now

1 month ago

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No Name Seattle, WA

WTH I thought I was watching the 2020 Extraction turned out it's the 2013 Extraction movie. Nice try Crackle and a waste of time on your deceiving viewers on Netflixs movie. I should of known

1 year ago

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Joseph from Virginia Miami, FL

Great free streaming service with free movies and tv shows… but there are some commercials.

2 years ago

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Kentosaurus Guanlong Lecompton, KS

Far too many ads, in fact I feel it’s unwatchable. They repeat the same ads every break, and they blast the audio. It is absolutely an awful experience to watch anything on crackle.

3 years ago

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William Monday Knoxville, TN

I have used Crackle quite a bit since buying my Roku player and have enjoyed watching several different series.

4 years ago

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DavidM Port Royal, SC

Would be nice if I could watch a whole movie. I have tried to watch two movies only to get “oops something went wrong” right at the mid point of each movie. I probably will delete the app.

4 years ago

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Audrey Mitchell Managua, MN

Crackle did have some video to stream and watch, but I was not impressed with pricing and having to search hard for a movie to watch.

3 years ago

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Don Boren American Fork, UT

I liked the original programming like "Comedians in Cars...Getting Coffee." I had a hard time finding the channel sometimes.

4 years ago

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Taylor Walker Provo, UT

A nice little free streaming service. Not the largest selection of movies or the best but I've been able to find a few decent movies to watch.

4 years ago

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Michelle Mortimer Saratoga Springs, UT

I love to keep this on my phone as an app. I am able to watch movies and shows wherever I am at.

4 years ago

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Alain Orem, UT

Crackle is a better Hulu. Faster internet, faster advertisements and all the movies and shows I want plus more.

4 years ago

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Tiffany Tempe, AZ

FREE!!!!!Great shows free entertainment. Funny movies and more love this app. LOVE!!

4 years ago

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Abigail scoville American Fork, UT

crackle is a confusing mess. I can never navigate it and know what I am doing. The way it is set up is overall confusing and frustrating to figure out.

5 years ago

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Zac Marx Brighton, CO

Crackle is fairly good. Not as popular as other options, but comes for a great price and is easy to use.

4 years ago

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Lucas Lehi, UT

I like crackle. It has great movies but way too many repetitive commercials. Good movies though.

4 years ago

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Daniel Sweet Home, OR

It’s worth taking a look at because every once in a wile they have a good movie or two on

4 years ago

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Hadibulah Fnu Fredericksburg, VA

I HATE CRACKLE IT SAYS YOU CAN WATCH ANY MOVIE FOR FREE BUT WHEN I SEARCH UP SOMETHING IT DOESNT COME UP

2 years ago

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Jesse Rice Long Beach, MS

It’s not the best thing to watch because they don’t have a lot of shows for you to pick from

3 years ago

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Mackenzie Taylor Portland, OR

Overall a good app. I downloaded once when I was bored, old selections but it's free.

4 years ago

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Carolynn West Jordan, UT

More older movies on here when I checked it out. Not what I was looking for.

5 years ago

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