Rebel Tech AllianceMedia Consumption alternatives
Alternatives to: YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Spotify, Kindle
The major platforms for media consumption are great ways for Big Tech to hoover up data on what you like and dislike. So cut off that source of data by switching to a small tech alternative. In many cases that means switching mindset from rental to ownership. After all, do you really need access to every film/song on the planet, or just the ones you really like?
| App name | Focus | Structure; Business model | Features | Country of origin | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jellyfin | Films, TV series, Music, Books, Audiobooks | Free Open Source | Super easy set up of server on an old computer, then watch on any device in the house; Pulls in metadata and pictures so your collection looks great; Has a Roku app | Open Source | Jellyfin.org |
| Plex | Films, TV series | Freemium | Cloud-based; Has streaming channels too; Pulls in metadata and pictures so your collection looks great | USA | Plex.tv |
| Mubi | Film streaming | Private company; Subscription | Netflix alt for arthouse/high end films; They now make their own films; Curated choices | UK | Mubi.com |
| Kanopy | Film streaming | Private company; Free with library card | Free access to ebooks and audiobooks via your local library card; owned by Overdrive Inc.; Your library pays the content creators per stream | USA | Kanopy.com |
| Kobo | eBooks, Audiobooks | Private company; Paid products | Download ebooks in EPUB format (not Amazon's proprietaty format); Downloads contain DRM but this can be removed using Calibre (see below) | Japan | Kobo.com |
| Calibre | eBooks | Free Open Source; Donations | Host your eBook library easily on your local network from an old computer; Can strip DRM from books bought at Kobo or and Amazon | India (Open Source) | Calibre-ebook.com |
| Libby | eBooks & Audiobooks | Private company; Free with library card | Free access to ebooks and audiobooks via your local library card | USA | Libbyapp.com |
| Awesome Books | Books (physical) - new & used | Private company; Paid products | Not Amazon!; Great selection; Ethical; International shipping | UK | AwesomeBooks.com |
| Vimeo | Video streaming (like YouTube) | Private Company; Freemium | Not owned by Google, so not adding to your Google profile | USA | Vimeo.com |
| Peertube | Video streaming (like YouTube) | Open Source, Non-Profit; Donations or self-host | Operates on ActivityPub so federated with Mastodon, Pixelfed, Lemmy etc; No ads, tracking or spam | France / Open Source | JoinPeertube.org |
| Bandcamp | Music | Private company; Stream to discover and then purchase songs/albums to download/stream | Makes you focus on quality not quantity; Better than Spotify for discovering interesting music; Downloads are high quality and DRM free; Can buy physical media too | USA | Bandcamp.com |
| Subvert | Music | Co-operative; Subscription | Future-proofed successor to Bandcamp (in case Bandcamp enshittfies, which it hasn't yet (as of May 2025) | USA | Subvert.fm |
| Quobuz | Music | Private company; Subscription | Stream & Download; High quality file formats; Owned by French corporation Xandrie SA | France | Quobuz.com |
| Pocket Casts | Podcasts | Freemium (most features free) | Excellent free features; Good privacy policy; Owned by Automattic (same founder as Wordpress.org); Apps for all platforms | USA | PocketCasts.com |
| Roku | TV stick | Private company; Freemium | Has a Jellyfin app; Privacy policy not great, but better than Amazon | USA | Roku.com |
RTA's choice
We use Jellyfin, Plex and Bandcamp. We're looking into using Peertube and Subvert.