Every European video streaming tool reviewed
London, United Kingdom
Founded 2007
From about €12/month; MUBI Go tier higher
Free trial
Best for: People who want to watch better films rather than more of them
MUBI is curated by people, and in a category defined by algorithmic recommendation that is the entire proposition. A small hand-picked selection chosen by programmers, changed regularly, with no infinite scroll and no thumbnail optimised to make you click. The premise is that the problem is not finding something to watch but finding something worth watching, and that a smaller set chosen with taste solves it better than a larger set sorted by prediction.
MUBI Ltd has operated from London since 2007 and does more than stream. The Notebook is a film journal carrying genuine criticism rather than marketing copy, so the context around a film comes from a writer.
MUBI Go adds a cinema ticket every week for a hand-picked release — a streaming subscription that gets you out of the house, which is unusual and valuable near a participating cinema.
And MUBI produces and distributes films itself, with a well-regarded distribution arm, so some of what you watch was released theatrically by MUBI. European and world cinema are particularly strong. From about €12 per month. The limits are honest: the catalogue is small and rotating, there is nothing for a family evening or a big-budget series, and MUBI works as a supplement rather than a household's only subscription.
What MUBI does well
- Genuinely curated by people, with no algorithmic feed
- Strong European and world cinema
- Weekly cinema ticket on MUBI Go
- The Notebook provides real film criticism
- Own production and distribution arm
Where MUBI falls short
- Small rotating catalogue — films leave
- No big-budget series or family content
- A supplement rather than a full replacement
- UK company, so adequacy rather than EU establishment
Standout feature. A cinema ticket every week: MUBI Go is the only streaming subscription here that sends you to an actual cinema rather than keeping you at home.
Strasbourg, France
Founded 1991
Free, funded by French and German public broadcasting
Free
Best for: Documentaries, arts, concerts and European current affairs
ARTE is free, carries no advertising, and is better than most paid services at the things it covers. Funded by the French and German public broadcasting systems, it has no engagement metric to optimise and no profile to build — nobody needs you to keep watching, which changes what gets commissioned and how it is presented.
What is actually there is documentary and investigative journalism, concerts and performance, and European cinema, at a standard that reflects public-service commissioning rather than retention testing. It runs in six European languages, and most content is available without creating an account at all — you open the site and watch. ARTE G.E.I.E. has operated from Strasbourg since 1991.
The limits come from rights rather than from ambition. Content has rolling availability windows rather than forming a permanent library, so something you meant to watch expires; some material is geo-restricted; and there is no drama series or children's programming. The sensible approach is to check ARTE first for anything documentary-shaped before paying for it elsewhere, because it costs nothing to look.
What ARTE does well
- Completely free with no advertising at all
- Outstanding documentary, investigation and concert output
- Six European languages
- No profiling and no engagement optimisation
- No account needed for most content
Where ARTE falls short
- Rolling availability windows rather than a permanent library
- No drama series or children's content
- Some geo-restrictions by rights
- Not a general-purpose entertainment service
Standout feature. Publicly funded and ad-free: ARTE is the only service here with no commercial reason to keep you watching, which is visible in what it commissions.
Barcelona, Spain
Founded 2007
From about €8/month
Free trial
Best for: Viewers who want breadth as well as quality in European cinema
Filmin holds the deepest European and independent film catalogue on the continent, and holds it permanently. That second part matters more than it sounds: MUBI's rotating selection means a film you meant to watch may be gone next month, while Filmin's thousands of titles stay, so you can plan a viewing rather than catching one. For anyone working through a director's filmography or a national cinema, permanence is the requirement.
Filmin was founded in Barcelona in 2007 by independent distributors, and it shows in what gets acquired and how it is presented — original language with subtitles rather than dubbing, curated collections assembled by people who know the material, and series alongside film. The online film festivals are the unusual addition, including Atlántida, which brings festival programming to people who cannot attend one.
From about €8 per month with EU processing. The constraints are practical rather than editorial: availability is limited outside Spain and Portugal, the apps are less polished than the major platforms, and there is little mainstream or family content — Filmin is for people who want European and independent cinema, and does not pretend otherwise.
What Filmin does well
- Thousands of European and independent titles
- Permanent catalogue rather than rotation
- Online film festivals including Atlántida
- Original language with subtitles, curated collections
- Founded and run by independent distributors
Where Filmin falls short
- Availability limited outside Spain and Portugal
- Apps less polished than the major platforms
- Little mainstream or family content
- Interface primarily in Spanish
Standout feature. A permanent European catalogue: Filmin is the only service here where the film you added to your list will still be there next month.
Stockholm, Sweden
Founded 2007
From about €10/month; sport tiers higher
Free trial
Best for: Nordic drama and live sport in northern European markets
Viaplay does the two things a global catalogue structurally cannot: Nordic original drama in Nordic languages, and live sport bought under national rights. Sport is the harder one to substitute — football, motorsport and ice hockey rights are sold country by country, so a viewer who wants to watch live has to buy from whoever holds the rights where they live, and no amount of catalogue depth elsewhere replaces that.
On drama, Viaplay commissions substantial Nordic original series and carries the Nordic noir catalogue that made the region's television internationally known, across four Nordic languages. Viaplay Group AB operates from Stockholm under EU jurisdiction, with offline downloads, multiple profiles and live channels, from about €10 per month with higher tiers for sport.
Two warnings that belong up front rather than in a footnote. Content and rights vary sharply by country, so what a Swedish subscriber gets is not what a Danish or Dutch one gets — check availability where you actually live before subscribing. And Viaplay has been through a financial restructuring and exited several markets, which is worth knowing before committing to an annual plan. Outside the Nordics the catalogue is thin.
What Viaplay does well
- Substantial Nordic original drama in local languages
- Live football, motorsport and ice hockey under national rights
- Content across four Nordic languages
- Swedish company, EU jurisdiction
- Downloads, multiple profiles and live channels
Where Viaplay falls short
- Content and rights vary sharply by country
- Recent financial restructuring and market exits
- Thin catalogue outside the Nordics
- Sport tiers push the price well above the entry plan
Standout feature. Live sport rights: Viaplay is the only service here carrying something no catalogue can substitute for, because the match happens once.
Hilversum, Netherlands
Founded 2013
From about €8/month
Free trial
Best for: Dutch households wanting local-language series and RTL content
Videoland exists because international platforms commission for a global audience and localise afterwards, which is a different product from television made in Dutch for Dutch viewers. Videoland carries Dutch original series and RTL programming that no global platform produces, alongside Dutch and international films — and in a market Netflix serves perfectly adequately on volume, that local production is the entire reason to subscribe.
Videoland is operated by RTL Nederland from Hilversum, which means the broadcaster commissioning the programmes also runs the platform, so the RTL catalogue is available rather than licensed away. Practical household features are covered: offline downloads for travelling, kids profiles, and multiple simultaneous streams so a household is not negotiating over one login. From about €8 per month with EU processing.
The limits are what you would expect from a national service. The catalogue is much smaller than the international platforms, it is aimed at Dutch-speaking viewers so its value drops sharply outside the Netherlands and Flanders, and the international film selection is a supplement rather than a reason to subscribe. Videoland is the second subscription in a Dutch household rather than the only one.
What Videoland does well
- Dutch original series no global platform commissions
- RTL programming available rather than licensed elsewhere
- Kids profiles and multiple simultaneous streams
- Offline downloads for travel
- Dutch company, EU jurisdiction, from about €8/month
Where Videoland falls short
- Much smaller catalogue than international platforms
- Value drops sharply outside Dutch-speaking markets
- International film selection is a supplement, not a draw
- Typically a second subscription rather than the only one
Standout feature. The broadcaster runs the platform: Videoland has RTL's Dutch programming because RTL owns both, rather than licensing it to someone else.
Barcelona, Spain
Founded 2016
Free with ads; rentals from about €3
Free ad-supported channels
Best for: Watching new releases without committing to a subscription
Rakuten TV removes the monthly fee in two directions at once. Free ad-supported channels give you something to watch for nothing, and new-release rentals from about €3 in 4K and HDR give you the film you actually want without a subscription — with purchases staying in your library permanently rather than disappearing when a licence lapses.
For anyone whose viewing is occasional, that arithmetic is decisive: two rentals a month costs less than any subscription here, and there is nothing to cancel or forget. Coverage is unusually broad for a European service, operating in more than 40 European markets, so it works when you move or travel within Europe rather than only in one country.
One fact belongs in plain sight: Rakuten TV is operated from Barcelona under EU processing, but its parent, Rakuten Group, is Japanese. That is European operation rather than European ownership, and matters if ownership is the reason you are here. The other limits are practical — rentals become expensive if you watch often, at which point a subscription wins, and the quality of the free ad-supported channels varies considerably.
What Rakuten TV does well
- No subscription required at all
- New releases in 4K and HDR from about €3
- Free ad-supported channels alongside rentals
- Available in more than 40 European markets
- Purchases stay in your library permanently
Where Rakuten TV falls short
- Japanese parent company — European operation, not ownership
- Rentals expensive if you watch frequently
- Free channel quality varies considerably
- No original commissioning
Standout feature. Purchases that stay yours: Rakuten TV is the only service here where a film you buy remains in your library rather than vanishing when a licence expires.
Munich, Germany
Founded 2014
Per title, typically from about €3
No subscription required
Best for: Occasional viewers who refuse subscriptions entirely
Pantaflix has no subscription, no tier and no account commitment — you pay for the film you watch, typically from about €3, and that is the whole arrangement. For someone who watches a couple of films a month and resents paying twelve times a year for a service used four times, that is not a compromise but the correct product.
Pantaflix AG operates from Munich with EU processing, focused on German and international film with original language options. The other side of the platform matters to a different audience: Pantaflix offers filmmakers a direct distribution route, which for independent German cinema is a way to reach viewers without a traditional distributor deciding whether it is commercial enough.
The honest assessment is that this is a small platform. The catalogue is limited and uneven, so the film you want may simply not be there, and for a frequent viewer the per-title cost quickly exceeds a subscription. Pantaflix has also had a turbulent commercial history, which is worth knowing before assuming it will be around indefinitely. It is best treated as somewhere to check for a specific German or independent title rather than as a general destination.
What Pantaflix does well
- No subscription or commitment of any kind
- Pay only for what you actually watch
- German and independent film focus
- Direct distribution route for filmmakers
- German company, EU jurisdiction
Where Pantaflix falls short
- Small and uneven catalogue
- More expensive than a subscription for frequent viewers
- Turbulent commercial history
- Best for specific titles rather than browsing
Standout feature. No subscription at all: Pantaflix is the only service here with nothing to cancel, because there was never anything recurring to begin with.
Cologne, Germany
Basic about €5.99/month; Premium with limited ads about €9.99/month; Premium Werbefrei (ad-free) about €12.99/month
Best for: German households wanting shows, podcasts and audiobooks together
RTL+ is Germany's largest private-broadcaster streaming app, and the case for it is breadth within one country rather than depth across Europe. Live channels including RTL, VOX, ntv, Super RTL, Nitro and GEO sit alongside a full on-demand library, and RTL+ folds in podcasts and audiobooks as well, so a household that already watches RTL's shows gets its news, true-crime podcasts and audiobooks in the same subscription rather than three separate apps.
RTL interactive GmbH, a company of RTL Deutschland GmbH, operates RTL+ from Cologne, and RTL Deutschland sits inside RTL Group and ultimately Bertelsmann, so the whole chain stays German and European. Sport is a genuine draw: the German national football team, the UEFA Europa League and Conference League, and the DFB-Pokal all sit on RTL+. Pricing runs from about €5.99 a month for Basic, €9.99 for Premium with a lighter ad load, and €12.99 for fully ad-free Premium.
The limits are what you would expect from a national broadcaster's app: content is overwhelmingly German-language and the value drops sharply outside Germany. RTL+ also sells an HBO Max bundle on top, which is convenient but is someone else's catalogue resold rather than RTL's own, and the price climbs quickly once the ad-free tier and a bundle are both added.
What RTL+ does well
- Live RTL, VOX, ntv, Super RTL and more, plus full on-demand
- Podcasts and audiobooks bundled into the same subscription
- Genuine live football: national team, DFB-Pokal, UEFA Europa and Conference League
- Ad-free Premium tier removes advertising entirely
- German company, part of Bertelsmann, EU jurisdiction
Where RTL+ falls short
- German-language content only, little value outside Germany
- Ad-supported tiers still carry mid-roll advertising
- HBO Max bundle is resold third-party content, not RTL's own
- Price climbs quickly once ad-free and a bundle are both added
Standout feature. Podcasts and audiobooks live in the same app as the TV shows, rather than a separate RTL product entirely.
Tres Cantos (Madrid), Spain
From about €4.99/month (entry plan); most popular plan about €9.99/month; sport and premium channel packs cost more
Best for: Spanish households wanting live football and Movistar original series
Movistar Plus+ is Telefónica's pay-TV and streaming platform, and its clearest advantage over a pure VOD catalogue is live Spanish football: La Liga and the UEFA Champions League sit on the service in a way no international streaming platform can replicate for a Spanish audience, because those rights are sold nationally.
Alongside sport, Movistar Plus+ produces its own Spanish drama, comedy and documentary — Hierro, El Inmortal and Muros among the recent titles — rather than relying only on acquired content.
The operating entity is Telefónica Audiovisual Digital S.L.U., based in Tres Cantos outside Madrid, with the service delivered through Telefónica de España S.A.U. — both part of the Telefónica Group, one of Europe's largest telecom companies. Pricing starts from about €4.99 a month for the entry-level plan, with the most popular plan around €9.99, and further packs for sport, cinema or children's content configurable on top of the base subscription.
The trade-off is that this is built as a telecom bundle rather than a lean streaming app: the full sport and premium packages raise the price well past the entry point, the plan structure takes some reading to configure correctly, and the content is overwhelmingly aimed at a Spanish-speaking audience with little reason to subscribe from outside Spain.
What Movistar Plus+ does well
- Live La Liga and UEFA Champions League football
- Movistar Plus+ original Spanish series, comedy and documentary
- Entry plan from about €4.99 a month
- Configurable channel packs for sport, cinema and kids
- Spanish company, part of Telefónica Group, EU jurisdiction
Where Movistar Plus+ falls short
- Full sport and premium packs raise the price well past the entry plan
- Spanish-language focus, little value outside Spain
- Pack and plan structure takes some reading to configure
- Live sport rights can change from one season to the next
Standout feature. Movistar Plus+ carries La Liga football rights that no international streaming platform can offer to viewers outside Spain.
Munich, Germany
Perfect Plus from about €7.49/month; add-on bundles with Netflix, Disney+, DAZN or WOW live sport cost more
1-month free trial (Perfect Plus)
Best for: German households replacing cable or satellite with live IPTV
waipu.tv is Germany's largest Open IPTV platform, with more than two million subscribers as of mid-2025, and it does two things at once: live TV over the internet with cloud recording, restart and pause, and a separate on-demand library of more than 30,000 films and series.
That combination — a cable replacement and a VOD library in the same app — is not something MUBI, Filmin or ARTE attempt, and it is the reason waipu.tv sits alongside them rather than competing directly.
The operator is EXARING AG, based in Munich, and 72% of EXARING is owned by Freenet Group, a listed German telecommunications company — a clean, disclosed line of German ownership rather than an opaque structure. The core Perfect Plus package starts from about €7.49 a month, and waipu.tv sells further add-on bundles on top for Netflix, Disney+, DAZN and WOW live sport for customers who want those platforms folded into one bill.
The limits are practical: waipu.tv can only be booked from within Germany, with a paid option for use elsewhere in the EU; there is no HDR support and non-subscribed channels stream only in SD; and, as with RTL+, the Netflix, Disney+ and DAZN bundles are resold third-party catalogues rather than waipu.tv's own content.
What waipu.tv does well
- Germany's largest Open IPTV platform, over two million subscribers
- Cloud recording, restart and pause on live channels
- Over 30,000 films and series on demand
- 72%-owned by Freenet Group, a listed German telecom operator
- Public broadcasters available free even without a paid plan
Where waipu.tv falls short
- Bookable only from Germany, with a paid option for EU travel
- No HDR support; unsubscribed channels stream only in SD
- Netflix, Disney+ and DAZN bundles are resold third-party content
- Tier and promotional pricing structure is genuinely complex
Standout feature. Two million subscribers make waipu.tv Germany's largest Open IPTV platform, and it is majority-owned by a listed German telecom group.
Zürich, Switzerland
Free ad-supported tier (30 hours/month); Smart HD about €6.99/month, HiQ about €9.99/month, Ultimate about €13.99/month
30-day free trial on paid tiers
Best for: Replacing a TV aerial or cable box with live channels online
Zattoo does something none of the other services here do: it streams live linear TV channels over the internet with cloud recording and multi-day replay, aimed squarely at replacing an aerial, satellite dish or cable box rather than building a film library. It carries channels from Switzerland, Germany, Austria and further afield, and — unusually for this category — offers a genuinely free ad-supported tier with no subscription needed at all, alongside paid tiers with more channels and recording.
Zattoo AG is registered in Zürich, active in the Swiss central commercial register under UID CHE-113.854.561. Paid tiers run from about €6.99 a month for Smart HD, €9.99 for HiQ and €13.99 for Ultimate, each with a 30-day free trial before billing starts, and monthly cancellation throughout.
The honest caveat is jurisdiction: Switzerland sits outside both the EU and the EEA, covered by an adequacy decision rather than membership, which matters if that distinction is the point of shortlisting European services. The free tier is also capped at 30 hours a month, and because Zattoo is a channel replacement rather than a curated library, it carries little original content of its own — the opposite trade-off to MUBI or Filmin.
What Zattoo does well
- Free ad-supported tier with no subscription required
- Live channels from Switzerland, Germany, Austria and more
- Cloud recording and multi-day replay on paid tiers
- 30-day free trial on every paid subscription
- Independent Swiss company, active in the Zürich commercial register
Where Zattoo falls short
- Switzerland sits outside the EU and EEA, though GDPR-adequate
- Free tier capped at 30 hours of viewing a month
- Little original content — a channel replacement, not a library
- Channel line-up varies by country
Standout feature. Zattoo's free tier needs no subscription at all: 30 hours of live European television a month at no cost.
Milan, Italy
TIMVISION Play from about €7.99/month; add-on bundles with Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, Prime Video or DAZN cost more
Best for: Italian households wanting catch-up TV plus a streaming marketplace
TIMVISION Play is TIM's streaming service, and its base tier already includes something distinctly Italian: live Mediaset and La7 channels with seven days of catch-up, alongside Eurosport live and on-demand and the discovery+ catalogue. From about €7.99 a month, that is a reasonable entry point for Italian catch-up television, and it sits under one of Italy's largest telecom brands rather than a niche streaming startup.
TIM S.p.A. is headquartered in Milan and listed on Borsa Italiana, and TIMVISION functions as much as a marketplace as a standalone service: TIM sells bundles that fold Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, Prime Video or DAZN into one subscription and one bill, at prices that undercut buying each platform separately for a limited period.
The honest read is that most of what makes TIMVISION's higher tiers appealing is other companies' content rather than TIM's own. Genuinely Italian original production is thin next to the catch-up channels and Eurosport, the tier and promotion structure is intricate even by this category's standards, and the whole proposition is built around the Italian market — TIMVISION is best understood as a bundling marketplace with a catch-up TV service attached, rather than a streaming library in its own right.
What TIMVISION does well
- Live Mediaset and La7 with 7-day catch-up included
- Eurosport and discovery+ content in the base tier
- One Italian bill for Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, Prime or DAZN bundles
- Entry tier from about €7.99 a month
- Italian company, TIM S.p.A., EU jurisdiction
Where TIMVISION falls short
- Most of the content upsell is resold third-party platforms, not TIM's own
- Genuinely Italian original content is thin next to the catch-up TV
- Tier and promotional pricing structure is intricate
- Built around the Italian market, with little reason to subscribe elsewhere
Standout feature. TIMVISION works less as a streaming library and more as a single Italian phone bill for every major platform.
