Roku streaming devices are considered one of the best streaming devices in the market. It is the best competitor for Amazon Fire TV Stick. Roku has many types of streaming devices and in all those devices, you can install apps and channels manually apart from the pre-installed apps. In this article, we have listed the best Roku channels that you must have on your streaming device. Check the list below.
We have picked 25 best Roku Channels from the Roku Channel Store. Install the apps that you like to stream your favourite movies, TV shows, series, live & on-demand contents. All the apps listed below can be installed on all the types of Roku streaming devices like Roku Express, Roku Premiere, Roku Ultra and Roku Streaming Stick.
Contents
Netflix
Netflix is the best streaming channel for your Roku streaming device.
It has an ocean of movies and series to watch. You can find almost 50 movies and series in every genre. In the app, all the movies and TV Shows are listed in separate columns. You can add your favourite video collection in the My List. With the search options, you can search for your favourite movies and TV shows. In the Coming Soon tab, you can see trailers of upcoming collections and set a reminder so that you won’t miss it. It supports offline viewing too.
Netflix subscription starts from $8.99 per month.
HBO NOW
HBO NOW is one of the best Roku channels.
HBO is one of the top competitors of Netflix. Home Box Office (HBO) is one of the oldest streaming channels in the world. It is responsible for some of the all-time greats like Game of Thrones, Gia, Westworld, and many more. The only disadvantage is that HBO NOW is available only in the USA. New movies and series are added every week. Apart from movies and TV shows, you’ll also get news, talk shows, and some other special events.
The subscription starts from $14.99 per month with a free trial of 30 days.
The Roku Channel
The Roku Channel app is a must-have app on your Roku device.
This is the best streaming app that you can have on your device. It offers you the collection of movies, TV shows, live news, and other popular video contents that are trending in the USA and Canada. You can also watch movies from HBO, SHOWTIME, EPIX, CINEMAX, STARZ, and much more. It is one of the most recommended channels in the Roku Channel Store. The app has more than thousands of video content to watch.
The app is available for free but you need to pay for some contents.
Apple TV
Apple TV is one of the newest streaming channels available for Roku streaming devices.
In Apple TV, you can find most of the popular movies and TV shows. In addition to that, it also produces some original shows. New episodes are added every week. Apple TV is known for its new originals, like Defending Jacob starring Chris Evans. The best thing about Apple TV on Roku is that it will allow you to see older episodes for free without any subscription. Apart from subscription, you can buy or rent movies from over 100,00 video collection.
It costs $4.99 per month with a free trial for seven days.
CBS All Access
CBS All Access is an all-round streaming app.
CBS All Access on Roku offers movies, TV shows, sports events, live, and on-demand television. You can access the app in two ways, either by using subscription or by using your cable TV credentials. If you are using the cable TV credentials, you can access the channel for free. Like Netflix and Apple TV, it also offers some original shows like The Twilight Zone, The Good Fight, Interrogation, One Dollar, and much more. It is one of the best Roku channels.
CBS All Access subscription starts from $4.99 per month with a one-week free trial.
Spotify Music
Spotify Music is the best Roku channel to listen to music and songs.
In the Spotify Music app, you can listen to music and podcasts that you love. You can also download songs to hear them in offline mode. In the app, there are millions of songs available. Unlike HBO NOW, Spotify is available in 65 countries around the globe. You can browse for your favourite artists, albums, songs, and playlists. Spotify has developed a standalone app for streaming devices, so you can control the app with your Roku remote easily.
You can listen to songs for free with ads. For no ads, the subscription price is $9.99.
YouTube
YouTube is one of the best Roku channels for you.
On YouTube, you can find videos about anything and everything. It is one of the most downloaded channels in the Roku Channel Store. To get the app working, you need to pair your smartphone or tablet to the Roku. In the app, you can make your own playlists, subscribe to your favourite channels, share videos to your friends, and even make your own channel to upload videos. You can also download videos to view them in offline mode.
You can use the app for free. But to get ad-free streaming, you need to buy YouTube Premium.
Disney Plus
Disney Plus is a streaming service owned by The Walt Disney Company.
Like Apple TV, Disney Plus is also a new streaming service. It was launched in November 2019. In Disney Plus (Disney+), you can get video content from Disney, Star Wars, Pixar, Marvel, and National Geographic. With one subscription, you can watch content on four devices at once and access it on up to 10 devices. It has more than hundreds of movies in 4K UHD and HDR. It also produces some original shows like The Mandalorian, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and many more.
The subscription price starts from $6.99 per month.
TWiT
If you are a tech freak, TWiT is one of the best Roku channels for you.
TWiT (This Week in Tech) will provide you with all the latest information in the tech industry. Apart from that, it has also tech-related TV shows like All About Android, Coding 101, Home Theatre Geeks, The Social Hour, Windows Weekly, and much more. In the app, you will get to know things that are happening on Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and everything about Tech. The channel has a rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars in the Roku Channel Store.
You can get the channel for free.
Newsy
Newsy is the best Roku channel to get all the trending news around the world.
Using the Newsy app, you will stay updated on what’s happening in the world. The app will provide the news in a shorter format allowing you to grasp easily. It is one of the fewest channels that provide unbiased information. Apart from news, it has documentaries that give you deep insights into the world’s important things. In the Newsy archive, you can find all the older news and past events. If you want a new channel for your Roku device, Newsy is the best choice you have.
The app is available for free.
Pluto TV
If you want the best free streaming channel, Pluto TV is a good option for you.
Pluto TV is one of the fewest channels that are legal and available for free. The app has more than thousands of on-demand movies. You can also watch live TV for free. In Pluto TV, you can access more than 250+ TV channels like IGN, World Poker Tour, Ice Pilots, Minecraft, and Ghost Dimension. The app has contents for kids and children too as it also has animation shows. The app is available in the USA, Puerto Rico, and Europe.
You can download the app for free, no subscription is needed.
Philo
Philo is one of the affordable live and on-demand Roku Channels.
In Philo, you will get 59 live & on-demand channels and 40,000+ TV shows. You can access popular US channels like AMC, Oprah Winfrey Network, MTV, Discovery Channel, and many more. It will allow you to save any live or scheduled program when you are busy. The saved programs will be available for 30 days. In one subscribed account, you can make 10 unique profiles. You can use the Philo credentials to access any of the TV Everywhere apps.
The subscription for Philo is $20 per month with a free trial of 7 days.
America’s Test Kitchen
America’s Test Kitchen is the best cooking app for your Roku device.
The app has more than 10,000 recipes that you can make. If you are learning to cook or a seasoned cook, this app will help you to make tasty recipes. All the recipes are made with the guidelines of highly qualified cooks and professionals. You can add your favourite food collections in the My Collection tab and access them instantly. The recipes are categorized into Vegetables, Seafood, Chinese, and many more. It is one of the best Roku channels.
The subscription for this app costs $9.99 per month and $49.99 per year.
TED
TED is one of the best educational channels for the Roku streaming device.
In TED, you can find more than 3000 talks from different peoples around the world. If you want, you can enable subtitles. The subtitles are available in 100 languages. You can bookmark your favourite talks and download videos for offline playback. The app has more videos in Tech and Science category. The channel has access to podcasts too. You can find famous peoples like Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, Bil Gates, and many more.
The channel is available for free.
Tubi
Tubi is one of the best Roku channels.
Like Pluto TV, Tubi is a legal platform and available for free. In Tubi, you can find more than thousands of movies and TV shows. It has video content from almost all the categories. It has Korean dramas, anime, British series, and Hollywood movies. New movies and TV shows are added every Friday. It is a cross-platform application and allows multiple devices to syncing. You can find some Oscar-winning movies and movies starring famous actors like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dwayne Johnson, Samuel Jackson, and many more.
You can download the channel for free.
Hulu
Hulu is yet another US-only streaming platform.
It is a subscription-based service. It offers movies and TV shows in a separate pack, live & on-demand contents in a separate pack, leaving the user to pick their preferences. With one subscription, you can access the platform in six profiles. It has video contents from HBO, SHOWTIME, STARZ, and CINEMAX. In Hulu, you can get access to more than 80,000 episodes of TV shows and 60+ live channels. Hulu is one of the best streaming channels for Roku.
Hulu subscription starts from $5.99 per month.
ESPN
ESPN is a dedicated sports streaming platform.
In the app, you can get access to all the sports events that are going on in the world. Other than the live sports events, it has some originals that are based on sports like Why We Fight, NBA Rooks, and many more. The 30 for 30 libraries is the standout thing in ESPN. It has on-demand sports news, highlights, post-match analysis, and out-of-market games. If you are a sports fan and want all the sports news in one place, ESPN is the best choice for you.
The subscription starts from $4.99 per month.
BBC iPlayer
BBC iPlayer is one of the best streaming platform for Roku.
In the app, you can watch all the video contents from the BBC. It has live, on-demand, movies, and TV shows. You can pause, play, restart any live TV shows. It also supports offline viewing too. You can also build your own playlist, by tapping the +Add button. If you turn on Allow Personalisation, it will recommend you contents that are curated for you. Most of the BBC iPlayer TV programs are available only in the UK regions. Radio programs can be accessed globally.
The subscription is priced at £147 per year.
DC Universe
If you are a fan of DC comics and movies, DC Universe is a must-have app for you.
Get into the universe of DC Comics. In the app, you can watch DC original series, movies like Titans, Doom Patrol, and many more. You can access over 22,000 DC comics and get to know about the superheroes like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman. You can also connect with other DC fans and discuss fan theories. In the app, you can purchase exclusive Justice League Animated action figures and DC apparel.
It costs $7.99 per month and $74.99 per year.
YouTube TV
YouTube TV is yet another Roku channel that is available only in the USA.
In YouTube TV, you can access to more than 70 live channels from all the categories like News, Sports, and Movies. It is the only streaming platform that offers unlimited DVR storage. The recorded video can be kept for 9 months. With one subscription, you can share up to 6 accounts and 3 simultaneous live streamings. The availability of the channels may differ according to your locality. YouTube TV is one of the best Roku channels.
YouTube TV subscription costs $49.99 per month.
Red Bull TV
Like ESPN, Red Bull TV is a dedicated sports streaming app.
In the channel, you can live stream competitions, dance battles, concerts, and any Red Bull events. You can get to watch event previews, post-match highlights, and exclusive bonus features. It also has original movies, documentaries, TV series, short films, and videos. You can also download content for offline viewing. The channel covers sports like Mountainbike, Motorbike, Formula 1, Drift. Rally, eSports, and Batalla De Los Gallos. It also has 360-degree videos.
The Red Bull TV is available for free.
Plex
If you want to manage your own media library, Plex is the best app for you.
With the Plex app, you can access your own media library on any time you want. By uploading your favourite media files on the Plex Media Server app on supported devices, you can access it on your Roku device. In this way, you can easily manage your libraries. Apart from that, it also offers thousands of movies and TV shows. It has collections from Oscar movies, Anime, Documentaries, and much more. In Plex, you can access 190 global channels like CBS and Euronews.
The app is available for free. It also has a premium version that starts from $4.99 per month.
Google Play Movies & TV
Google Play Movies & TV is the best place to buy or rent movies.
In Google Play Movies & TV, you can find all the latest movies and TV shows. You can buy or rent its contents. If the movie you are looking for is not available, you can add it to the wishlist and you will get a notification when it is added. Like Netflix, you can find tons and tons of video content in the Google Play Movies & TV. As of now, TV shows are only available in the USA, UK, Japan, Australia, and Canada. The movies and TV shows are added frequently.
You can download the app for free.
Kidoodle TV
Kidoodle TV is the perfect app for your kids and children.
The channel has all the kids-related shows like LEGO City, Talking Tome, Sunny Bunnies, Little Baby Bum, and many more. New shows are added to the app weekly. Kidoodle TV is one of the most downloaded channels in the Kids & Family category. You can add up to 5 profiles. The app has parental controls like Passcode protection, Watch limits, Bedtime curfews, and Age filtered contents. All the contents of the channel are kid-safe.
The app is available for free.
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video is yet another subscription-based streaming platform.
Like Netflix and Hulu, there are numerous movies. series, originals shows available in Prime Video. With the Prime subscription, you can get benefits from Amazon shopping and other Amazon services. If you want, you can buy the subscription for Amazon Prime Video alone. In Amazon Prime, you can download movies for offline viewing. For some of the older episodes, you can watch it for free without any subscription. It has some popular original series like Bosch and Sneaky Pete.
The subscription starts from $8.99 per month with a free trial of 30 days.
Our opinion
These are the best and must-have Roku channels. Explore the Roku Channel Store to find more channels. All the apps and channels listed above are chosen and tested by our editor’s team. Comment your favourite Roku Channel in the comments section below. Do follow our Facebook and Twitter accounts for more related tech updates.
