7 Fire TV Stick Apps You Shouldn't Miss

The Fire TV Stick comes pre-installed with all the popular streaming apps. But if you dig deeper than the usual options, you'll discover plenty of apps that offer free content, allow you to sideload APKs , and even cast your phone screen directly to your TV.

7. Tubi

If you find yourself constantly scrolling through apps like Netflix , Hulu, and Prime Video without finding anything worth watching, Tubi is a refreshing alternative. It's a free, ad-supported streaming service owned by Fox that offers a massive library of more than 50,000 movies and TV shows.

You don't even need to create an account to use Tubi, but if you skip this step, you'll miss out on features like watchlists and parental controls.

6. Plex

Plex doesn't try to compete with Netflix and similar services. Instead, it does something most other apps don't - lets you stream your own collection.

Finally, Plex can act as a hub for your streaming services. That way, instead of having to switch between apps wondering what show is hiding where, Plex will show you what show is playing where, all in one place.

5. The Roku Channel

Don't let the name fool you! The Roku Channel isn't limited to just Roku devices. It also works on Fire TV, and with a huge selection of free movies and TV shows, it's definitely worth adding to your streaming list. Ads are part of the deal, of course, but they're relatively brief and unobtrusive.

4. Downloader

The Fire TV operating system is built on Android, so you're not limited to apps in the Amazon Appstore. You can easily sideload APK files, and an app called Downloader makes the process seamless.

The app includes a built-in browser, which allows you to search for trusted APK sites, download the files, and install them directly from your Fire TV. This way, you don't have to transfer the APK files from your computer or phone.

3. Total Commander

Fire TV devices typically only come with 8GB of internal storage. Once the system has used it up, you're left with about 5GB for apps, downloads, and everything else. That's not a lot—especially if you like to try out new apps or sideload APKs from outside sources. That makes having a reliable file browser like Total Commander essential.

2. VLC

If there's one app that deserves to be on pretty much every device you own—including your Fire TV—it's VLC. It plays just about every video file format imaginable, and is especially handy for watching movies from a USB stick or streaming content from your local network.

VLC also supports subtitles out of the box. You have options to load external subtitle files from local storage or even download them directly.

1. AirScreen

Fire TV supports native screen mirroring from Android phones and tablets, but if you're using an iPhone or iPad, you'll need the free AirScreen app. This app makes it easy to mirror your screen to Fire TV from almost any device, whether it's an iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android phone, or Windows PC.

The app is especially handy for sharing content with a roomful of people on a much larger screen, whether it's a video from your phone's photo library or a vacation photo. To use it, you'll first need to install AirScreen on both your Fire TV and the device you want to mirror to.

Marvin Fry

Update 01 August 2025