You can’t call yourself a cord cutter if you don’t have at least one Fire Stick in your home. The tiny Amazon dongles are one of the most powerful weapons at your disposal.
Sounds good, but a streaming device is only as useful as the apps you install. So, which are the best Fire Stick apps? Keep reading to learn about our top picks across a few different categories.
Live TV on a Fire Stick
You can use both mainstream and gray area apps to watch live TV on a Fire Stick. The legal apps will typically have geo-restrictions, whereas the gray area apps will let you watch live TV from around the world.
Both categories of apps can be further subdivided into free apps and paid apps. Some of the top free and legal ways to watch live TV on a Fire Stick in the US include Pluto TV and USTV Now. Pluto has channels such as Sky News, Bloomberg, and FOX Sports; USTV Now offers major networks like CNBC, FOX News, ABC, and CBS.
The best paid apps for live TV on a Fire Stick are the same as those on other platforms. Sling TV, Hulu + Live TV, and FuboTV are all options worth checking out.
If you’re happy to explore other methods, try using one of the best IPTV services for Fire Sticks. We really like Jarvis and/or BBTV, depending on whether you’re in the US or UK. Read our guide to IPTV before you commit to a provider if you’re new to such services. You’ll also need to download an IPTV player.
Check out our list of the best Fire Stick apps for live TV to learn more.
Best Movie and TV Apps for Fire Stick
What about films—which are the best movie app for a Fire Stick in 2020?
Well, some of the best Flixtor alternatives have an Android app that you can sideload (Popcorn Time being perhaps the most well-known), as do some of the best sites to torrent HD movies directly (check out the Russian service, Zona, for example).
Alternative free apps for watching TV shows on a Fire Stick include CyberFlix, CatMouse, TVZion, and Viva TV.
Of course, if you’re happy to pay a subscription fee, you can install apps like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
And don’t forget to also consider downloading TV shows and movies onto your local storage, then using an app like Plex to stream them around your home. Have a look at the best direct download sites for movies and the best direct download sites for TV shows if you need more information.
Best Free Apps for Fire Stick
One of the most common reasons that people cut the cord is to save money. If you are one such person, you might not want to spend money on paid apps for your Fire Stick.
Don’t worry, there are plenty of free apps for a Fire Stick. You don’t need to spend a penny and you’ll still have access to masses of content.
For example, why not check out Crackle? The Sony-owned service has a large library of original content and TV hits. And what about Popcornflix? It has a selection of more than 700 free movies across several genres. You can download the app from the Google Play Store and sideload it.
There are also services like Mobdro. It’s a free IPTV app that you can watch on any Android-based operating system, including the Fire Stick. It is one of the best IPTV apps for the platform. Just make sure you understand the potential safety implications of Mobdro before you install it, and understand that it will never have enough server capacity to act as a reliable way to watch Sky Sports.
(Note: There are several free IPTV apps for Android worth checking out.)
VPNs on a Fire Stick
It is vital to run a VPN on your Fire Stick. Not only does a VPN help to keep you safe from ISPs and other authorities if you ever stream legally-questionable content, but it also provides a way for you to get around geoblocking on Netflix and other services.
Read our article to discover the best VPNs for a Fire Stick in 2020.
Best Fire Stick Remote App
Many sideloaded Android apps will not work smoothly with your Fire Stick remote.
You can either use a third-party Fire Stick remote app on your phone or install a mouse app.
Learn More About Fire Sticks
Once you’ve installed all the best Fire Stick apps, it’s time to learn some more about the device.
For example, if your Fire Stick keeps freezing, we’ve written about to solve the issue. We’ve also looked at how to install Eternal TV on a Fire Stick and
