4 Essential TV And Streaming Apps You May Not Have Heard Of

If you like to stream a lot of movies or TV shows, there are plenty of streaming services worth your hard-earned cash. You also have the option to stick with free streaming apps to save a bit of cash as streamers continue to hike subscription fees. However, having legitimate and reliable sources to watch content is only half the battle.

The real challenge starts after you sit down to watch something. It's not uncommon to spend more time scrolling than actually watching something, as finding your next "must-watch" isn't always easy. Many times, you've heard about a trending movie or show, but aren't sure where it's streaming or if it's actually worth your precious time. This is where apps like JustWatch and Marathon come into play. 

These often-overlooked tools bring much-needed utility to your entertainment experience, offering the kind of deep information you won't find on a standard streaming service. Here are four such TV and streaming apps you'll want to install on your smart TV or smartphone. We selected these apps after careful consideration of the features, general usefulness, and user feedback on the Android and iOS app stores.

Justwatch is a great app to find where every movie or TV show is streaming. Simply search the name of the content you're looking to watch, and it will tell you which streaming services are playing it in your country, or from where you can rent or buy its digital copy. However, this insanely useful feature is only the tip of the Justwatch iceberg. It also tells you what's popular today on various streaming services and lists newly added content to your selected services. Moreover, you can create your own lists to track specific TV shows to get a ping when a new episode or season drops.

Other features include content recommendations based on your browsing history, information about which content is about to leave specific services, or is coming soon to a service. Additionally, besides movies and TV shows, Justwatch can tell you whether you can catch your favorite sport live, including football, soccer, Tennis, Basketball, and Ice Hockey. It has official apps for all major platforms, including mobile devices and smart TVs, making it seamlessly accessible anywhere you want. The one complaint folks sometimes have with Justwatch is that it can occasionally be inaccurate, which stems from title mismatches, constantly changing licensing deals of streaming services, and confusing catalogs of add-on services.

It's not uncommon for your favorite movies and TV shows to disappear from streaming services, and it can be a frustrating experience when you want to rewatch them. While you can't rely on the streaming services to keep your favorite content forever, you can own their digital copies for on-demand access. However, digital media purchases can quickly add up in cost, which is why the CheapCharts app can be super handy to spot deals and purchase your favorite content on the cheap.

It can tell the ongoing discounts and sales on Apple TV, Amazon, Fandango, and Google Play, including special collections and bundle deals. More importantly, it shows the lowest and highest price a particular title has seen, helping you avoid bad deals and discounts. The app also lets you create a wishlist of the content you're looking to buy, and then informs you whenever there is a price drop.

Besides content-related discounts, the app shares any deals on Apple Gift Cards, which you can stock up on and use-to-buy content. CheapCharts has apps for both Android and iOS; however, the iOS app only tells you about the deals for the Apple TV store.  Unfortunately, CheapCharts won't be helpful if you're into physical media, as it strictly tracks the prices of the digital versions.

Often referred to as "Goodreads for movies," Letterboxd is the app where movie enthusiasts come together and share their opinions through reviews and comments about what they are watching. It also allows you to create lists and put them out in the world, for others to discover movies that they may not have heard about. Letterboxd also has built-in Justwatch integration to find sources where you can stream the movies that you discover on the app. Moreover, you can follow friends and other reviewers to see what they are watching and react to their activity with likes.

In other features, you can keep track of the movies that you have watched and rate them out of five, and highlight your top four favorite films on your profile. It has official apps for Android, iOS, and Apple TV. While you can access the app for free, paid subscribers get an ad-free experience, personalized stats pages, watchlist notifications, and more.

Notably, recent UI changes to Letterboxd's Android app have gone down well with everyone, and many users have voiced their dislike in Google Play Store reviews. Finally, the one thing you may not appreciate about the popular reviews on Letterboxd is that they are sometimes memes or one-liners, which don't add anything concrete to the serious discourse around the movie.

Think of Serializd as a Letterboxd for TV shows. It's a great app for TV show enthusiasts and essentially functions as a community hub with a built-in tracking feature. If you are someone who likes to track what you watch, read about your favorite shows, and discuss them with others, you can use Serializd. It can tell you when the next episode or the season of the shows you're watching is going to be available. But more importantly, you can jot down your thoughts about specific episodes of different TV shows and discuss them with the community at large. You can also follow people or critics to read their thoughts about TV shows.

You can create lists to share your favorite shows. There is also a separate watchlist feature to add any shows that you're looking forward to. Plus, the app lets you migrate your watch histories from Trakt, IMDb, and Letterboxd, which means you don't have to start from scratch and can seamlessly join the platform. You can download Serializd for both Android and iOS. Keep in mind, Serializd is managed by a couple of people, and a single person is responsible for all the development, which can sometimes cause bugs to slip through and result in unintended experience.

While selecting the TV and streaming apps that you may not have heard of, we focused on apps and services that aren't major streaming services that you likely already know about. We chose apps that complement your online movie and TV watching journey by offering helpful tools and utilities, or add a social aspect to your entertainment experience. 

While you may spot some similar apps on app stores, our recommendations are generally recognized for their good user experience, a solid feature set, and cross-platform availability. The same also shows in their user ratings on app stores. Letterboxd's Android app is a notable exception, as many users aren't a fan of recent changes to its UI and experience and have voiced the same in their reviews. However, its community is hard to top by any other apps, making it worth recommending for movie enthusiasts. Finally, all our recommendations are free to use, with some offering optional paid subscriptions to remove ads or get additional features.