8 Best Free Sports Streaming Sites to Watch Live Games Without Paying a Dime
Sports fans want to watch live events as they happen, but cable can be costly The average cable bill in the United States sits between $40 and $145, depending on your service provider, location, and overall package. However, if you want to save some money, there are plenty of options to stream your games for free. Here are eight of the best free sports streaming sites that you can use.
Is Streaming Sports for Free Legal?
It is usually legal to stream sports games online as long as you are using an official source. That said, there are some websites that stream copyrighted content. This could have legal consequences. My advice would be to always use a VPN. This will allow you to access content that isn’t available in your country due to region locking. It will also help you ensure you aren’t viewing pirated content. Most streams that are available with a VPN are legal and official local streams.
The Best Sports Streaming Sites
All of that said, there are several options for the best sports streaming sites. Each one of these has been tested and is known to provide a decent stream, depending on what kind of sports you’d like to watch. So, let’s discuss the top eight.
Fox Sports Live
Fox Sports is a trusted name, which is why it is first on the list. Fox first launched a way for its customers to stream sports in 2013. This made it possible for fans to watch the game no matter where they were. Now, they have extended some services beyond their customer base. Anyone can get a free hour-long “Preview Pass” to stream certain Fox Sports channels, including FS1, FS2, Fox Desportes, or the Big Ten Network. Unfortunately, premium content won’t be available with this option. It’s only available to paid subscribers.
What’s needed to stream: You will need to be connected to an internet source in the United States or use a VPN to connect to a U.S. server to use it. After your free hour is up, you will be prompted to enter your cable TV provider, but there is a way around this. You could possibly change your U.S. IP address each hour, cleaning your cookies and using incognito windows.
YouTube
You can’t talk about the best free sports streaming sites without mentioning YouTube. Viewers can find just about anything on YT these days, including exclusive live sports. Depending on the day and time, you might be able to stream an MMA fight in Thailand or a soccer match in Argentina. Select Major League Baseball games are also available on YouTube occasionally. Some sports channels and organizations might even air championships live on YouTube.
What’s needed to stream: Just navigate to the Live or Sports section of YouTube. Here you will find free events streaming from around the world. It will take some research and may depend on specific promotions, but it is possible to find some free sports events streaming on YT.
Pluto TV
Pluto TV is also on the list of best free sports streaming sites. It is owned by Paramount Global, meaning Pluto TV has the right to air a lot of different sports events that other free channels might not. If you aren’t familiar with Pluto, it operates like old-school cable. You’ll have regular programming and ads. While you might not get many live events on Pluto, you can get highlights from channels like CBS Sports HQ, FOX Sports, the NFL, MLB, and PGA channels. You can also watch events for developing fighting leagues like Bellator MMA and Impact Wrestling, among others.
What’s needed to stream: Just download the Pluto TV app to start streaming and see what they have available. You can also change your IP address to catch replays and games abroad.
Peacock TV
Peacock has become a well-known streaming service and is owned by NBC, one of the leading sports broadcast channels in the United States. There is a free tier of Peacock that will provide you with highlights and programming. You’ll also get free access to live sports channels such as NBC Sports, WWE, Premier League channels, NBC Golf, and the NFL. That said, live premium events are usually only available via the paid plan, which is still fairly cheap at $7.99 per month.
What’s needed to stream: Peacock TV is only available in the United States. If you live outside the U.S., you’ll need a VPN to access this streaming platform. Otherwise, just download the app and start streaming.
StreamEast
This is the first lesser-known streaming site on the list. It hasn’t been around very long, but it has been recommended by other avid sports fans. Streams from StreamEast are mostly in 1080p, which is nice, and pop-ups aren’t as common as some other sports streaming sites. With a good ad blocker, you might not even have to deal with the pop-ups at all. This site is reportedly great for viewing UFC fights, PPV boxing matches, MLB baseball games, NFL events, NBA games, Formula 1 races, and Major League Soccer matches, among other sports.
What’s needed to stream: Just go to StreamEast’s website. The user interface is simple and caters to people watching live. If the game is actively on television, it’s probably available to stream on this platform. That said, the site hosts outside streams and links. So, you can’t know if they are 100% secure. For that reason, you should use a VPN and other security measures to make sure your streaming session is safe.
7Plus
7Plus isn’t well known in the United States. The Seven Network is Australia’s free-to-air network and it provides sports streaming on their 7Plus player. One great thing about this platform is that 7Plus usually has many NFL regular season games, including the playoffs and the Super Bowl. You can also stream other sports like cricket, boxing, surfing, and more.
What’s needed to stream: Because 7Plus is only available in Australia, you’ll need access to an Australian IP address to stream on this site. You can use a VPN to do this.
ESPN
ESPN has been a trusted name in sports for years. The website has a lot of great content available to stream for free, including highlights and analysis videos. That said, you will need a subscription to watch live events. You can do this with a TV/cable subscription login or purchase a streaming sub from the site. Occasionally, you might get access to a free live game, but it’s not often. It’s really easy to access though.
What’s needed to stream: You can get ESPN on PC, Mac, Android, and iPhone devices. Outside of the subscription that may be needed to stream your desired content, you just sign up and go.
Reddit is not an official sports streaming site, but you might be able to find some live games on it if you’re lucky. In the past, there have been communities that were dedicated to this. You could have easily found UFC matches or NFL games. Copyright complaints shut many of these subreddits down, but there are still some people who are able to get away with it.
What’s needed to stream: This isn’t the most ethical thing to do, but you can Google “Reddit free stream + (the event you are trying to watch).” This will provide you with recommendations for the sporting events you’re attempting to stream. However, it’s likely that they’ll redirect you to one of the sites mentioned here.
Streaming Your Favorite Sports for Free
When it comes to the best free sports streaming sites, you need to keep a few things in mind. First, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a quality streaming site that is putting this content out for free. The global sports industry is estimated to be worth $471 billion and $1.4 trillion. They don’t want to let one cent go by allowing people to stream major events for free. That said, it is possible. These eight sites will be able to get you some access to games and other events.
What platforms do you use to stream sports for free? Let us know in the comments below.
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Drew Blankenship is a former Porsche technician who writes and develops content full-time. He lives in North Carolina, where he enjoys spending time with his wife and two children. While Drew no longer gets his hands dirty modifying Porsches, he still loves motorsport and avidly watches Formula 1.