The 10 Best Ways to Watch Movies With Friends Online

How to host the coolest watch parties

By
Jerri Ledford
Jerri Ledford
Jerri Ledford
Writer, Editor, Fact Checker
  • Western Kentucky University
  • Gulf Coast Community College
Jerri L. Ledford has been writing, editing, and fact-checking tech stories since 1994. Her work has appeared in Computerworld, PC Magazine, Information Today, and many others.
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Updated on August 18, 2022
Reviewed by
Jessica Kormos
Jessica Kormos
Reviewed by Jessica Kormos
  • Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College
Jessica Kormos is a writer and editor with 15 years' experience writing articles, copy, and UX content for Tecca.com, Rosenfeld Media, and many others.
lifewire's editorial guidelines

It isn't always possible to get a group of friends together in the same place, and if you like sharing your movie time with friends, that makes it lonely to watch alone. But you can host a watch party and watch movies with friends online. These services make it easy.

Watch Parties and group watching features don't give non-service subscribers access to subscription content. Therefore, everyone who joins one of these watch parties will need to have their own subscription to whatever service you are using in order to participate.

01
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TeleParty home page
What We Like

  • Works with most popular streaming services.

  • Newer and older release movies.

  • User-friendly.

What We Don't Like

  • Only works on Chrome and Edge browsers.

  • Only available on desktop or laptop computers.

TeleParty (formerly Netflix Party) is the feature that started it all. Using Netflix in a browser, or on Chrome, Roku, or Apple TV, you can connect with up to 50 of your friends from anywhere Netflix is available. And now with TeleParty, you can do the same with most other currently available popular streaming services like HBO Max and Disney Plus. However, you and everyone who joins your party will have to install a Chrome or Edge extension to use TeleParty.

Once it's installed, choose a movie, select TeleParty, tweak some features, and start sharing an invitation. Then, start watching your faves with your friends, and chat about it right from the screen you're using.

To use Netflix Watch Party, find the content you want to share, click Watch Party, invite your friends and then you're good for chatting and watching together.

02
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Share Star Wars, Muppets, and More With Friends: Disney+ GroupWatch

GroupWatch on Disney Plus
What We Like

  • Can be used with all available content on Disney+.

  • Works on most smart TVs, computers, mobile devices, and gaming consoles.

  • Easy to invite friends and accept invites.

What We Don't Like

  • There's no option for text chat—only emoji reactions.

  • All participants must have a Disney+ subscription.

  • Only allows up to seven viewers.

  • Cannot share streams internationally.

Did you know that Disney+ has its own built-in stream sharing feature? GroupWatch is available for every single movie and show in the Disney+ library. Just select the GroupWatch icon on the details page of whatever you want to watch, then from the GroupWatch room select (+) Invite to get a shareable link. After that, copy and share the link with friends and family.

You can only have a maximum of seven people sharing a given stream, and international sharing isn't allowed. Additionally, unlike most other watch parties, there's no option for text chat—participants are only able to select emoji reactions while watching.

The GroupWatch feature is available for almost every single platform that currently supports Disney+ (from smart TVs to mobile devices). However it currently will not work on PlayStation 4 or on select Roku devices.

03
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Amazon Members Have More Fun: Prime Video Watch Party

The Amazon Watch Party Logo superimposed over a video on Amazon Prime.

Amazon 
What We Like

  • Anything in Amazon Prime is available for a watch party.

  • Users can chat and watch a movie together.

  • Available for Amazon Prime and Prime Video subscribers.

What We Don't Like

  • Only available on some browsers and smart TVs.

  • Cannot share watching premium titles.

Taking a clue from Netflix, Amazon Prime released its own version of watch party features—but Amazon Prime Video Watch Party allows you to connect with up to 100 of your friends, and you have access to all the movies and TV shows available through Amazon Prime.

Unfortunately, you cannot stream rental or new release titles or premium channels, but there's plenty to choose from in Prime. To start an Amazon Prime Video Watch Party, find the video you want to watch with the Watch Party icon. Select the icon, invite friends, and start watching and chatting with your friends.

Watch Party is available in most web browsers and Fire TVs. The Prime Video app for mobile devices supports Watch Party chat, so you can interact with other viewers on your phone while watching on another device.

04
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A Movie and a Chat Brings Friends Closer Together: Hulu Watch Party

A Hulu watch party on a laptop.

Hulu 
What We Like

  • Participants can share same account on different devices.

  • Thousands of on-demand movies and TV shows.

What We Don't Like

  • Only 8 people can join watch party.

  • Only available to subscribers of Hulu and + Live TV packages.

  • Can only be used on a web browser.

Hulu is one of the top streaming services available, and Hulu subscribers who pay for the Hulu (No Ads) plan or the Hulu (No Ads) + Live TV plan have access to this (apparently beta) feature of the streaming service. Users can host a Hulu Watch Party that allows them to choose from movies with the Watch Party icon.

Up to 8 people can join a Hulu Watch Party, including multiple users on the same account, and playback is synced for all 8 people. There's also an option to chat as a group while the watch party is in progress.

To host a Watch Party on Hulu, find a title with the Watch Party icon and select it, choose Start Watching, then invite your friends and you're all set.

05
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A screenshot of setting up a Facebook Watch Party.
What We Like

  • Combines premium content and video sharing.

  • You can post videos and host Watch Parties.

  • Offers Facebook Originals.

  • Works on mobile devices.

What We Don't Like

  • Limited to Facebook curated content.

  • Facebook privacy is a concern for some users.

Facebook Watch isn't your typical Watch Party software or application. Instead, it's a feature on Facebook that lets you watch movies from Facebook that users have uploaded and from other sources. You can watch with friends, too, using the Watch Party feature of Facebook Watch.

The service includes user-generated videos, it can be used on mobile devices, and it's Facebook-simple to use. However, users are limited in the content they can share with others, and they cannot watch content from outside services. Still, if there are Facebook videos you and your friends enjoy, this is a decent solution.

To start a Facebook watch part, click in the What's on your mind text box as if you were writing a post. Then select the three-dots > Watch Party. Next, choose what you want to watch and share it with your friends.

06
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Watch Movies From Several Services With Your Friends: Scener

A Scener virtual movie theater ticket.

 Scener
What We Like

  • Access to popular and trending movies from Netflix and HBO.

  • Chat alongside the movie as you watch.

  • Private rooms have 50-person capacity.

What We Don't Like

  • Must sign into your streaming service account through Scener.

  • Chat disappears when viewing in fullscreen mode.

  • Some streaming services are only available in the U.S.

Scener is a Chrome browser extension that you can add to create and share watch parties with up to 50 of your friends. The service works with Netflix, HBO, Vimeo, Prime Video, Hulu, Funimation, and Disney+.

The crown jewel of the Scener product, however, is the ability to voice, video, and text chat alongside whatever movie or show you choose to watch. Nothing can replace a real theater, but Scener comes in a close second, which is probably why the company bills itself as the Virtual Movie Theater.

To start using Scener, you have to install the extension and then select Create Private Theater. Select your options for services and what to watch, then add friends and start chatting.

07
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Watch Videos With Friends Across the World: TwoSeven

Sharing a video on TwoSeven
What We Like

  • Can join for free.

  • Free tier supports YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO Max, and more.

  • Automatically syncs participants' video.

  • Can share web cam video for live reactions.

  • No sharing limits.

What We Don't Like

  • Some services, such as Disney+ and Hulu require a Patreon subscription.

  • Requires Firefox or Chrome web browsers for most features.

TwoSeven is a free watch party app that automatically syncs everyone's videos and has no participant limits. Any number of people can join, and many different services are supported—from YouTube to Netflix, and more. And if you want, you can connect a webcam to share video of your own live reactions while you all watch.

There are some drawbacks, however. While TwoSeven's free tier does support a lot of services, you'll have to become a Patreon subscriber to use it with Hulu or Disney Plus. You'll also need to sign up with Patreon to use Screen Share. And unless you're using Screen Share, everyone in the watch party will need to have their own access to whatever you're watching. So if you want to watch something on Netflix, everybody needs to have their own Netflix subscription.

If you're watching something on Disney Plus or Hulu, all participants will need to have a Patreon subscription to TwoSeven. You can share downloaded videos without these restrictions, so if you own any digital copies of a movie or TV show, there is a workaround to watching with friends.

Once you create a TwoSeven account you can share the Watch Now URL with as many people as you want to get started.

08
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Watch Streaming Media With Friends: Metastream

Using Metastream
What We Like

  • Can share any videos that have a URL.

  • Able to set up a queue for continuous play.

  • Supports chat and timestamp markers.

What We Don't Like

  • Only offers text chat (no voice).

  • More complicated to set up and run than other services.

  • Requires Firefox or Chrome web browser.

Metastream is a browser extension for Firefox and Chrome that allows you to set up watch parties for virtually any video with a URL. Once you get things set up, start a session and share your friend code to invite anyone.

Text chat is supported, and if the linked videos use timestamps those are also included. What's more, you can set up a queue of multiple videos that will automatically play when each video finishes. Meaning you won't have to find something else to watch after the current show ends.

Currently, Metastream is only available for Firefox and Chrome, so other web browsers won't work.

09
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Watch Parties Made Easy: Kast

Kast on a laptop screen
What We Like

  • Premium account supports Screen Share and Kast's own media library.

  • Supports video and text chatting.

  • Share with up to 100 people.

  • Free accounts aren't limited in what they can watch—only what they can share.

What We Don't Like

  • Free accounts are limited to sharing Tubi and YouTube streams.

  • Includes ads unless the host has a premium subscription.

Kast is a solid option in situations where not everybody has access to the same streaming services. A free account allows anyone to create or join a watch party to stream content from YouTube or Tubi, and supports up to 100 simultaneous watchers. But a premium account can also share anything in Kast's video library, or use Screen Share, with no watch restrictions placed on free accounts.

The downside to this is watch parties hosted by free accounts will encounter ads, and what's available to share is somewhat limited. While premium accounts do have more sharing options, streaming services like Netflix and Disney Plus aren't directly supported.

10
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For a Good Old-fashioned Movie Night: Plex Watch Together

Plex streaming on multiple devices
What We Like

  • Supports several platforms like Android, iOS, Fire TV, Roku, and PlayStation 5.

  • Automatically syncs everyone's video.

  • Anyone can control playback.

What We Don't Like

  • Must be friends with someone before inviting them to join.

  • Does not support any chat features.

Plex Watch Together works for free Plex "Movies & TV" streaming and any videos you have saved on a Plex Media Server. In addition, watching content with friends and family online is free.

Watch Together works with a lot of different platforms, too. Everything from Android and iOS to smart TVs and video game consoles are supported. And once you set up a lobby, all you have to do is wait for everyone to show up before you start, so there's no need to worry about synching the video. Once playing, anyone participating can also control video playback.

However, Plex Watch Together doesn't offer any chat options. And if you want to invite someone to join, you have to be friends with them first. So if you aren't already friends in the app, you'll need to jump through a few extra hoops before you can add them to the group.

Once you're ready, find the video you want to share and select More, then choose Watch Together to open a lobby. After that, you just have to start inviting people to join.

FAQ
  • How do I watch movies with friends on Discord?

    You can watch movies, TV shows, and other video content with friends by using Disord's built-in Screen Share feature. However, Discord limits screen sharing to a maximum of 10 users.

  • How do I watch movies with friends on FaceTime?

    As long as you and everyone you want to watch with has an iPhone or iPad with the latest OS installed, it's pretty straightforward. Once a FaceTime call has been started, swipe up from the bottom of the screen and open a streaming app that supports SharePlay. Then choose something to watch.

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