Watch cartoons online free: the legal sites that played for us in 2026
Test record
- Tested on
- Chrome 156 on a MacBook, going out through our own server in New Jersey so each site saw a US visitor
- Versions
- Chrome 156. PBS KIDS, Pluto TV (433 US channels, 16 for kids, cartoons or anime), Tubi, Internet Archive, Nick.com, Cartoon Network
Short answer
PBS KIDS, Pluto TV, Tubi and the Internet Archive let you watch cartoons free and legally, and Kanopy Kids does with a library card. A full PBS KIDS episode and a 1941 Superman cartoon played for us with no account. Cartoon Network's website now sends you to paid HBO Max.
On this page
You can watch cartoons online free and legally on PBS KIDS, Pluto TV, Tubi and the Internet Archive, and on Kanopy Kids if your library card works with it. We opened each one from a US connection on 24 October 2026. A full PBS KIDS episode and a 1941 Superman cartoon played without an account, and Pluto TV’s live channels started straight away. Cartoon Network’s own website no longer streams anything free: it now sends you to HBO Max, which is paid.
How we tested: Rahul ran the checks in Chrome 156 on a MacBook, going out through our server in New Jersey so each site saw a US visitor. On each site we opened a cartoon, pressed play and waited up to 20 seconds, then noted whether it played, asked us to sign in or blocked us. We also pulled Pluto TV’s channel list that day to count its kids and cartoon channels.
Where can you watch cartoons free and legally?
Five sites played cartoons for us without an account, and Kanopy Kids is free through participating libraries.
| Site | What we played on 24 Oct 2026 | Account needed | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| PBS KIDS | A full 23-minute Donkey Hodie episode | No | Young children |
| Pluto TV | A live channel, started on its own | No, on the website | Channel surfing: Nickelodeon, Nick Jr. and anime channels |
| Tubi | Transformers: Generation 1, episode 1 (opened, no sign-in asked) | No | Older series and anime |
| Internet Archive | Superman (1941), marked public domain | No | Classic cartoons from the 1930s and 1940s |
| Nick.com | A SpongeBob clip | No, for clips | Short clips |
| Kanopy Kids | Not tested | Library card | Ad-free viewing for younger kids |
PBS KIDS: full episodes, no account
PBS KIDS is the safest place to start for young children. PBS says families can stream it with no subscription, and pbskids.org needs no account. The full Donkey Hodie episode we picked played on the website within seconds. The PBS KIDS Video app is free too, on phones, tablets, Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, Android TV and Chromecast.
PBS says its online video is geo-filtered, so outside the US expect some episodes to be blocked. There’s also a paid PBS KIDS channel on Prime Video, but PBS says the free website and app still carry the shows.
Pluto TV: cartoon channels running all day
Pluto TV works like cable, with channels playing on a schedule. Of the 433 channels in its US line-up on 24 October, 16 were for kids, cartoons or anime. They include Nickelodeon Pluto TV, Nick Jr. Pluto TV, Dora TV, Kartoon Channel!, LEGO Kids TV, Kids Movie Club, Baby Shark TV and two Pluto TV Anime channels.
The website started a live channel for us without signing in. Pluto’s phone and TV apps have been pushing free accounts since 2025, and some live channels need one there, so use pluto.tv in a browser if the app nags.
Tubi: older series and anime on demand
Tubi is better when you want a particular show rather than whatever’s on. It has a Tubi Kids section in the menu, and its catalogue of more than 375,000 movies and TV episodes includes older cartoon series and anime. The first episode of Transformers: Generation 1 opened for us with no sign-in request. As with every protected stream we tried, our test browser couldn’t start the video itself, so try it in your normal browser.
Internet Archive: classic cartoons in the public domain
For the golden-age stuff, the Internet Archive is free, ad-free and needs no account. Its page for the 1941 Superman cartoons by Dave Fleischer is labelled public domain, and the cartoon played as soon as we pressed play.
Anyone can upload to the Archive, so not everything there is public domain. Check the “Usage” line on each item’s page before you share or download it.
Kanopy Kids: ad-free with a library card
If your library offers Kanopy, its Kids section is the best ad-free option here. Kanopy’s help pages say “Kanopy Kids videos never use tickets”, so they don’t count against your library’s monthly limit. You sign in with your library card at kanopy.com on a computer, or in the Kanopy app, since it won’t play video in a phone’s web browser.
What about Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon?
Cartoon Network’s website is no longer a free option. When we opened cartoonnetwork.com/video from the US, it redirected to hbomax.com/channel/cartoon-network, Cartoon Network’s page on HBO Max, a paid service. Nick.com played a SpongeBob clip for us without signing in, but we only checked clips. For full Nickelodeon episodes for free, the Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. channels on Pluto TV are the legal route.
Is YouTube a legal place to watch cartoons?
Yes, when the channel belongs to the studio or the show itself. Many official channels post full episodes and compilations. Look for the verification tick next to the channel name, and check that the channel’s About page names the studio. Full episodes uploaded by random channels usually aren’t licensed, and they disappear when the studio files a takedown.
Are free cartoon websites safe?
The ones in this guide are, because they license their cartoons and pay for them with ads, donations or library fees. Sites that offer every new episode of a paid show for free don’t have the rights, and many are full of pop-ups and fake download buttons. If a site isn’t on this list and wants you to install something, close the tab.
Frequently asked questions
Can I watch Cartoon Network shows for free?
Not on Cartoon Network’s own site any more. Its video page now sends you to HBO Max, which needs a paid plan.
Is PBS KIDS really free?
Yes. PBS says families can stream PBS KIDS with no subscription, and the website and the PBS KIDS Video app are both free.
Where can I watch old cartoons for free?
The Internet Archive has public-domain classics like the 1941 Fleischer Superman shorts, with no ads and no account. Check each item’s usage line, since uploads aren’t all public domain.
Do I need an account for Pluto TV?
Not on the website, where a live channel played for us straight away. The apps ask more often, and some live channels need a free account there.
What to do now
For a young child, open pbskids.org and pick a show: nothing to sign up for and no ads. For older kids who want Nickelodeon or anime, open pluto.tv in a browser and go to its kids channels. If you have a library card, check whether your library offers Kanopy, and use Kanopy Kids.
Sources
- Our test log from 24 October 2026: one cartoon per site from a US connection, with screenshots, plus Pluto TV’s US channel list from that day, kept with this guide
- PBS: Where to watch PBS KIDS, About PBS KIDS, is there a fee for the PBS KIDS Video app watching PBS videos on other streaming services and PBS on Passport and free viewing
- Pluto TV and its FAQ, and Cord Cutters News on Pluto TV’s account push (May 2026)
- Tubi press release on its catalogue (August 2026)
- Internet Archive: Superman (1941) and Internet Archive help
- Kanopy Help on tickets and supported devices
Changelog
24 Oct 2026: rewritten after testing free cartoon sites from a US connection. It replaces a how-to first published on 13 February 2018.