Six Years of Passion
Six years ago, BestFreeStreaming started as a small side project fueled by curiosity, a passion for coding, and a love for movies and TV shows. Since then, it has grown into something far bigger than I ever expected—a site that now serves 70,000 to 100,000 people every day, sometimes even more.
That kind of growth is incredible, and I'm genuinely grateful for it. But it also comes with a reality I can't ignore anymore: running a site at this scale is no longer something that can be sustained on passion alone.
Hosting costs increase. Maintenance takes more time. What started as a hobby has become a full-time responsibility with real expenses behind it. And if BestFreeStreaming is going to continue to exist—and improve—it needs a sustainable foundation.
Why Not Ads or Donations?
There are a few common ways websites support themselves, and I've spent a lot of time thinking about each of them.
Advertising is the most obvious option, but it comes with trade-offs that don't align with what I want this site to be. Many users already block ads, and the typical response is to make ads more aggressive to compensate. That often leads to pop-ups, auto-play videos, and a generally frustrating experience. That's not something I'm willing to introduce here.
Donations are another possibility, but in practice they tend to be unpredictable. A small percentage of users end up supporting the majority of the costs, which can make long-term planning difficult. I also don't want to rely on constant reminders or pressure to encourage contributions.
A Member-Funded Approach
That's what led me to a different path: a member-funded model.
Instead of relying on ads or inconsistent donations, BestFreeStreaming will be supported by people who choose to become members. The goal is simple—to create a more stable, transparent way to keep the site running and improving over time.
Membership is priced at $5 per month or $30 per year, and directly supports the ongoing costs of running the website: hosting, development, maintenance, research, and new features.
In return, members get a more complete and streamlined experience, including:
- Full access to all pages and posts
- Website uptime status and previews
- Bulk link checking tools
- Access to removed or archived links
- Early access to newly submitted links
- An ad-free, sponsor-free experience
Most importantly, your membership provides the direct support needed to keep BFS running.
What Stays Free
At the same time, I want to stay true to what made BestFreeStreaming what it is.
A selection of posts and pages—including the first 10 to 20 websites on the homepage list—will remain freely accessible to everyone. The goal isn't to lock everything behind a paywall, but to strike a balance between accessibility and sustainability.
There may occasionally be sponsored placements on the public side of the site, but those will never appear for members.
Looking Ahead
Starting May 1st, BestFreeStreaming moves into this new phase.
I won't pretend it isn't a big change—it is. But it's also a necessary one if the site is going to continue to grow and improve in a meaningful way.
If you've been using BestFreeStreaming and found it valuable, I hope you'll consider becoming a member and helping support its future.
And whether you do or not, thank you for being part of the journey so far.
Unlock full access to all pages, posts, and features, and help support the ongoing research, development, and maintenance of BestFreeStreaming.
