Table of Contents
Best Chromecast Apps
Netflix
The first app that comes to mind when speaking about Chromecast is Netflix. This is an ideal Over-the-top (OTT) video streaming platform that offers high-quality movies and series. All the streams are usually in Full HD and using it is as simple as hitting a Cast button. You get to watch hundreds of movies, TV shows, and series and so it should be your first stop when building your Chromecast app library.
BubbleUPnP
This app enables you to transcode media outside the local network and can also be used to optimize any form of transcoding to Chromecast so that you can play formats that are not supported by Chromecast. In other words, this app can give your Chromecast a wide range of compatibility. As such, you can cast your TV shows, movies, music, and photos to virtually any Wi-Fi connected device in your home.
Google Photos
The days of photo albums are long gone and today cloud storage is the in-thing and it doesn't get better than Google Photos. This platform uploads all your photos for free provided that you don't have any qualms about a little degrade in quality. As a photo and video viewing app, you can use Google Photos to display pictures and videos and even cast them to your TV with just one click.
Hulu
Almost similar to Netflix, Hulu gives you access to various original TV shows and decent movies from a bunch of networks to ensure that you're always entertained. This is a good spot especially for anime fans and you can stream anything to your TV via Chromecast. Its User Interface (UI) can be a little awkward but it's a solid alternative if you have issues with Netflix.
Plex
This is a media server software that puts you in complete control of the large size of media collections. It enables you to play personal videos, TV shows, movies, and other media content. In short, it can stream any form of video content from your computer to your TV or any other place. You can stream from your computer to your smartphone and then to your Chromecast. Setting it up may take a bit of time since you need a home server on your computer but it will work exceptionally well once you do.
Spotify
With over 30 million music tracks along with many radio stations, podcasts, video content, and many more, Spotify is undoubtedly a great platform to listen to music and is considered one of the best Chromecast apps. Of course, it took time for Spotify to become compatible with Chromecast but once it did, it became the reigning king as far as the popularity of the music streaming business is concerned.
MediaMonkey
Although MediaMonkey doesn't have the latest UI features and doesn't even keep the icons on the front page like other apps, this app remains one of the best apps if you want to cast your local music to Chromecast. It's highly functional and is as close as Android ever came close to the legendary iTunes syncing experience. Save for its clunky UI features, this app works great with Chromecast and will keep you entertained.
iHeartRadio
As a radio app, you shouldn't expect to get movies or TV shows from this app but that's even better since it's free and doesn't have any hidden charges as long as you can tolerate a few ads here and there. It offers around 20 stations playing different genres of music, 15 million songs, and over 400,000 artists. Although you can't create a playlist of your favorite songs on this app, you can easily stream random music.
YouTube and YouTube TV
YouTube is owned by Google and so it would be weird if it doesn't make the list of the best Chromecast apps. The best thing about this is that the setup process is a breeze. In addition to the normal YouTube videos, you get access to YouTube TV but you'll have to pay a hefty subscription fee.
Movies Anywhere
This is a movie aggregate service that works as a bridge between movie vendors and consumers. It easily integrates with Amazon, Google Play Movies, Vudu, iTunes, and Disney Anywhere to make it a lot easier to buy a movie and it instantly becomes available on this app. It makes it possible to merge all your movie accounts in one and that feels great.
Pandora Music
This is a great platform for discovering new music and has been in use for years. You can use it to listen to random radio stations and music depending on your music taste. The best part of this app is that it's compatible with Chromecast and virtually everything else. It's simple to use and you can get rid of the annoying adverts by just paying a monthly subscription fee of $4.99.
Pocket Casts
This is one of the most powerful podcasts in the world and gives you the chance of enjoying your favorite shows for free. Thanks to its algorithm, the app can build a playback queue based on the casts that you normally listen to.
Chrome Browser
If you want to show some web pages on your TV, Chromecast enables you to do just that by casting your whole desktop straight to the TV. You can also cast music and video files with a very simple process. You can use Chromecast to essentially mirror what's happening on your Chrome Browser.
Twitch
If you're so much into games, Twitch is your paradise as you can stream thousands of online games straight to your TV via Chromecast. This is the leading streaming platform in the world for gamers and so you should mist it in your Chromecast app library if you love online games.
Podcast Addict
This is not only one of the best podcast apps out there but it is also among the best Chromecast apps. The UI may not be up there with the best as far as the latest features are concerned but this app will do everything that you expect a podcast player to do. It allows you to search and download over a million podcasts and you can get an ad-free version for $4.49 per month.
Tidal
Even though Spotify leads the market when it comes to music streaming, many Tidal fans and users may feel left out in the cold but that shouldn't be the case. This app is a great platform that offers over 60 million high-quality songs from various genres. You can play the songs with no hassle, view the latest album release, create your favorite music playlists, and even listen to music offline.
Angry Birds Friends
Probably the most popular puzzle game in the world, Angry Birds is still a hit with many kids and can be a great way to keep your kids, nephews, or nieces busy. It's one of the best Chromecast apps and lets you see titular birds destroying different structures of varying sizes and shapes. You can also play it competitively and you don't have to worry about which friends have the highest score. All you have to do is invite them into your living room, connect the app to your TV through Chromecast and settle the debate once and for all.
Just Dance Now
This is a great app if you want to entertain your kids, especially when it's extremely cold and you don't want them playing outside. You can download numerous songs and get up and get your groove on. The best thing about this app is perhaps its simplicity. All you need is the app on your smartphone, Chromecast, a TV and you'll be good to go.
AllCast
This is what we refer to as the Swiss Army Knife of all Chromecast-compatible apps. It gives you an all-under-one-roof way of getting pictures, music, videos, and movies from your small screens on your mobile devices to your big TV screen. The free version might be frustrating with the adverts but the premium version is much more efficient at a monthly cost of around $5.
Google Play Music
This is certainly the ultimate option if you're so much invested in Google's audio store. It allows you to stream a huge catalog of on-demand music straight to your music library. The fact that it's Google's product makes it easily compatible with Chromecast. It's free to download but you'll have to part with a monthly subscription fee of $10 to stream music.
HBO Go
HBO is widely revered for producing and broadcasting some of the world's best TV shows and should be a must-have if you love movies and TV shows. It's only available in the US for those who already have HBO subscriptions and is an excellent way of accessing some of the best entertainment shows on TV.
Crackle
A product of Sony Picture Entertainment, you are guaranteed that Crackle will offer you some of the best free movies and TV shows from around the world. The only downside is that it's free and the adverts may be quite frustrating. Again, the app doesn't have many latest movies but can be a great option if you love old movies and TV shows.
BBC iPlayer
BBC is, without a doubt, a public treasure for British citizens but is also revered in other parts of the world including in the United States. If you love BBC programs and want to listen to them from wherever you are, you can go for the BBC iPlayer, which is compatible with Chromecast and perfect for streaming BBC TV programs, radio, and random movies.
Disney+
This is an app that allows you to watch various types of movies, animation films, and web series straight to your TV. You can watch your favorite content in various languages and Full HD quality. In addition to animations, you get a plethora of options including comedy, crime, romance, drama, as well as kid-friendly content.
Vudu
This is a Chromecast app that is great if you're looking for a free content library or anything that you can watch without necessarily having to sign up. All you are required to do is pay for what you want to watch. It has some of the latest movies and gives you the chance to keep all your movies and videos in one secure cloud storage locker.
Kodi
This an all-purpose home media center that streams, records, and stores all content. It is open-source and 100% free but you have to keep in mind that it always changes and adapts its features to enhance user experience. This Chromecast-compatible app is a great platform for downloading and recording content from any form of digital TV and music stream from around the world.
Solid Explorer
This is an excellent cloud manager with two independent panels to offer you an outstanding file browsing experience directly into your TV. It has the basic features that you expect to get on a normal file manager as well as a material design interface and dual-panel support. It also supports various file formats so you don't have to worry about changing the format of your file to be compatible with Chromecast.
VRV and Funimation
This is a merger of some of the best anime and cartoon streaming channels including Rooster Teeth, HiDive, Crunchyroll, Geek & Sundry, and RiffTrax. This is much better than getting subscriptions for each of these services as it can be quite expensive especially if you're a big anime fan.
MLB.TV Premium
If you're a huge baseball fan, then having this app is a must. It allows you to watch the best baseball games as it's the official app of Major League Baseball. In addition to games, you can have easier access to all baseball-related info including news, statistics, and analysis. You can even watch 8 games at the same time on Game Mix!
Doodlecast for Chromecast
This is an adventurous drawing game that is compatible with Chromecast. As a player, this app allows you to choose a secret word that you can draw on your phone or tablet while the other players in the room try to guess that word. You can do the same simultaneously and is a great game for the entire family.
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