Not everyone can afford a dozen cable channels. Thankfully, the Internet provides. Here is a list of my favourite free and legal platforms, where you can access movies, music, books, and lessons from the comfort of your homes.
The services are available in Singapore where I live, and mostly accessible in other countries. This is for anyone out there, who may be under quarantine or staying home during the COVID-19 outbreak. Be safe, and stay sane!
Binge on movies and series:
- Archive Films
- Classic Cinema Online
- Korean Classic Film
- Onleihe – Goethe Institut’s library (German movies for rent – free account)
- Tubi (great selection of modern movies – free with ads)
- Open Culture
| Streaming Service | Free | Paid Subscription (/mth) |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon Prime Video | 30-day trial | S$2.99 |
| CatchPlay+ | 10 selected movies per month | From S$9.90 |
| HBO GO Asia | 7-day trial / first season of 15 shows from Apr 15 – May 15 | From S$13.98 |
| HOOQ | 30-day trial | From S$4.90 |
| Netflix | 30-day trial | From S$11.98 |
| Viu (Asian content) | Selected series with ads | From S$7.98 |
Watch quality short films:
- ALTER (Horror)
- ANTIMITY (Horror)
- DUST (Sci-fi)
- Film Shortage
- Omeleto
- Short of the Week
- Viddsee
- Vimeo Staff Picks
Listen to music and podcasts:
- iHeartRadio Podcasts
- SoundCloud
- Spotify (free with ads)
- YouTube Music
- #TogetherAtHome Virtual Gigs (including Hozier!)
Take virtual tours of arts venues and enjoy “live” performances:
- Esplanade Offstage
- Google Arts and Culture (take museum tours via Google)
- Social Distancing Festival (live streams of performances on one calendar by Nick Green)
- The Shows Must Go On! (free Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals for 48 hours only)
- National Theatre (free full-length plays every Thursday)
Load up your Kindles or phones with e-books and audiobooks:
- Audible (free for limited period)
- Feedbooks
- Planet eBook (classic literature)
- Project Gutenberg
- LibriVox Audiobooks
- Scribd (30-day trial)
- Standard Ebooks
- Open Library
- Overdrive (connect to your local library)
Learn about the world via YouTube Edu or these channels:
- Crash Course
- In A Nutshell: Kurzgesagt
- It’s Okay to be Smart
- Minute Physics
- Sabaton History
- Sci-Show
- TED Education
Attend university lectures online:
- Alison
- Coursera
- EdX
- Harvard University
- Khan Academy
- The Open University: Open Learning
- Peer 2 Peer University
- New York University Open Education
- Wikiversity
Learn new languages:
- BBC Languages
- Duolingo
- Easy Languages: Learn Languages from the Streets
- Memrise: Language Flashcards
Play the guitar:
- Goliath Guitar Tutorials
- Justin Guitar
- LickNRiff (fingerstyle lessons)
- Martyz Songs
- Ultimate Guitar Lessons
- Youcisian (one free lesson per day)
Make good art:
Thank you for this comprehensive list. Never before have I been so desperate to detach from the news and social media. Re-learning math or re-taking a language course has never sounded so good! And Planet eBook is a life saver! Couldn’t find my copies of 1984 (no reason!) or Great Gatsby so that link is a godsend I never knew about.
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Hey Adrian, hope all is well with you. So glad you found this list useful! 🙂 Planet eBook has a great collection. Overdrive has been amazing for me too, I wouldn’t have discovered half the books I read without it.
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Not gonna lie, quarantine’s been rough, but I’ve begun a new daily routine where I’m actively learning and engaging my brain instead of panic-reading the news. Figured this is an opportune time to re-read or discover good literature 🤓
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Good plan, sometimes you just need a break from the news. And a page turner always helps make the day better. Hang in there!
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You are awesome with a capital A. Taking a break from the reviews and writing to share this information and compile such a nice list is a cool thing to do. Thank you.
So far we have managed, but cabin fever has crept in a couple of times and financially I can’t even describe it. My business currently is shut down, my wife’s too. My 20, 17, 10 and 6 year old daughters all out of school and the 17 year old furloughed from work as well, and my 20 year old sometimes making $8 a day in tips since she’s in food industry. And we have our 7 month boy, and my in-laws retired and here 24×7. The walls have closed in! But we’ve kept our sanity by extending screen time to the little ones, watching movies together as a family, playing a lot of board games, and their schools have online lessons for them.
I’ll check out a few of these, and thanks again. Please stay safe.
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Thank you, Tony! It was fun putting together the list. Hope it helps anyone out there looking for things to do, without putting a dent on their finances.
It’s an awfully difficult situation to be in… I hope you and your family are coping well. Hang in there, and stay positive. Always here if you need a chat. Take good care!
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Thank you, and you take care too and be safe.
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