Want to watch that movie on your schedule? Download it to your device so you can watch it (aka “stream 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 Download Sites

The biggest issue with searching for “free movies”, though, is that pretty much everything you find will be illegal. The last thing you want is to download something from one of those sites, so I’ve done the work for you and scoured the internet to find all the best, completely legal free movie download sources. They are filtered to remove any of the shady options (you’re welcome, trust me), and waiting for you below.

If you don’t already have a great TV to watch these on, check out our TV buying guide for help settling on one that’s right for you. Then get the popcorn and settle in to enjoy!

1 PublicDomainMovie.net

Of the hundreds of free movie download websites available on the internet, public domain movies should be your go-to so there’s no question about their legality. PublicDomainMovie.net is a great source for these kinds of films.

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

There are a handful of genres along the top of the site to help you find dramas, horrors, comedies, etc., among the several hundreds of movies that are offered here. Every movie page shows the film’s cover image, release date, synopsis, and cast list.

I like that I can stream these movies directly from the website for a preview of what I’m getting before I start the download. However, I don’t like all the ads. There are loads of them all over the place; fortunately, they aren’t included in the videos themselves.

2 The Public Domain Review

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

The link below directs you to the films section, where you can filter by century, genre, theme, and type. For instance, you might want to 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.

3 Internet Archive

Internet Archive is a trove of digital information. It has not only movies for download, but also software, web pages, books, and more. Like the above two sites, this one offers free movie downloads because they’re in the public domain.

There are lots of categories here where you might find movies, so the link below, which takes you to Feature Films, is just one example. There are tens of thousands of free films in over a dozen languages.

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

4 The Library of Congress

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’re a selection of films from the National Film Registry (NFR), which is a collection of movies selected by the United States National Film Preservation Board.

A couple of things I like about downloading movies here is that the website is ad-free and all the options are on a single page because there are only a couple dozen movies to pick from.

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

5 Netflix

Netflix is one 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.

As someone who has been using 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 allowed through the Netflix app for iOS, Android, and Windows.

6 Amazon Prime Video

If you subscribe to Amazon Prime Video, you can download movies from the same screen where you can stream the video. Downloading movies also works for rented and purchased titles (but not the Freevee collection).

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 super easy to download Amazon Prime movies. Just look for the Download button in the Prime Video app. This works on iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows.

7 YouTube

To my surprise, 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. Just open the video for viewing in the Android or iOS app, and tap Download to pick the quality and preferred audio track.

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