Is Tubi free?
I understand why you’re asking. The free ad-supported TV (FAST) streaming service Tubi has 52,000+ movies and shows—more than any other streaming service, free or paid. There must be a catch, especially since Tubi is live streaming Super Bowl LIX this year.
I’m happy to report that Tubi is free, but its free price tag comes with some tradeoffs. Read on for more of my detailed thoughts on what you’ll have to give Tubi in exchange for free TV.
You pay for Tubi by signing up for an account
Although you can use Tubi without creating an account, you should sign up anyway. Accounts unlock desirable features like watchlists (I’d be lost on Tubi without mine), the ability to rate titles (for tuning Tubi’s algorithm), and parental controls.
That recommendation aside, why does Tubi put these features behind a soft paywall? Does Tubi sell our email addresses? Seana Sullivan, Tubi’s VP of Communications and Publicity, says no. “We do not make a business of selling email lists, harvesting data, or requiring users to provide privacy-related permissions on mobile.”
Tubi does, however, collect some data: registration information, customer service feedback, content you upload through Tubi services, public info and posts, social media, activity info, and info from other sources (offline and online).
Tubi’s privacy policy states that it uses the data for a number of reasons. Targeted advertising is the big one. Tubi may also share information with affiliates and business partners. That’s all fairly standard—and unavoidable—across streaming TV apps, but Tubi does allow users to opt out of tailored ads.
You also pay for Tubi by watching ads
Tubi shows 4–6 minutes of ads per hour of content. “It is true that we offer one of the lowest ad loads,” Sullivan says. Even so, time is money.
Say you make $20 an hour at work. Four to six minutes of ads is about 7–10% of an hour, so you’re paying $1.34–$2.00 hourly to watch Tubi’s 52,000+ movies and shows. Let’s calculate the cost of watching movies and shows of varying duration.
Cost of watching Tubi broken down by ad frequency
| Program | Hourly cost* | Total cost |
|---|---|---|
| One-hour special | $1.34–$2.00/hr. | $1.34–$2.00 |
| 90-minute movie | $1.34–$2.00/hr. | $2.01–$3.00 |
| 3-hour movie | $1.34–$2.00/hr. | $4.02–$6.00 |
| 10-episode series (30-minute episodes) | $1.34–$2.00/hr. | $6.70–$10.00 |
| 10-episode series (60-minute episodes) | $1.34–$2.00/hr. | $11.34–$20.00 |
Data as of post date
* Based on $20/hr. wage
You’re right: Few people get paid to watch TV. But how much do you value your free time? If you watch a 90-minute movie on Tubi, you could’ve earned $3.00 in that time, worked on a hobby, spent time with loved ones, or— You get it.
In terms of value, do you get your money’s worth watching FAST streaming services? Watching six 90-minute movies on Tubi in a month is like paying $18.00 a month for the service. For perspective, Hulu (No Ads) costs $18.99 monthly for 40,000+ hours of movies and shows. The Disney Bundle is $26.99 monthly for Disney+, Hulu (No Ads), and ESPN+ (the same as watching nine 90-minute films on Tubi).
The thing is, watching Tubi doesn’t take real money out of your pocket. The “cost” of Tubi amounts to a choice in how you spend your free time. Watching Tubi, by the way, is a perfectly fine pastime (even if you watch Deadly DILF). I’m just pointing out that Tubi is free, but it does have a price. And about that …
Tubi can raise its “price” anytime
Sullivan’s right: Tubi’s ad load—aka its “price”—is low. In fact, nScreenMedia, “the independent voice of the digital TV industry,” citing streaming data company Wurl’s CTV Trends Report 2024, says FAST services run 8–9.5 ad minutes per hour, so Tubi’s ad load is 37–50% lighter than average.
nScreenMedia also says FAST service ad loads will increase in 2025, with Amazon Prime Video already announcing their intentions. Will Tubi? “We do not have plans to increase our ad load,” Sullivan says.
Based on those figures from Wurl, we can see how Tubi investors might see the potential to double ad revenue by jacking up the load. And we’ve all seen how streaming services like to give themselves raises. So, nothing is stopping Tubi from effectively raising its “price.” But if it ever comes to that, Tubi and its awesomely massive library will remain (technically) free.
Why you should trust us
The team of TV experts at CableTV.com regularly research and test TV services like Tubi in order to give our readers the most accurate information on plans, pricing, fees, features, and functionality. For more on our process, see our How We Rank page.
