Our team has scoured the web to find the best legal ways to watch Friends online. We have decided that Netflix is the top option for viewing the entirety of the classic tv series (season 1 through season 10).
For those located outside of the United States, you may not be able to stream Friends due to the content being region blocked in your area. Fortunately, you can sign up with NordVPN to spoof your location to the US. This is a legal loophole which will allow you to be able to access all the episodes of Friends straight from Netflix.
If this seems like a hassle, an alternative option is to purchase the digital episodes or seasons of Friends digitally. We prefer doing this through Amazon Instant Video where episodes start at $0.99 or $14.99 for an entire season.
Which US Streaming Services Offer Friends?
How To Watch Friends Online (Seasons 1-10)
Netflix
A popular streaming platform across the world, Netflix, offers the entire ten seasons of Friends for instant viewing on an unlimited basis. The monthly subscription cost starts at $7.99 and goes up to $13.99 depending on your streaming needs (resolution, number of devices, etc.).
Many of you probably already have a Netflix subscription or know someone that has one. (maybe a friend, family member or roommate), so you might be able to borrow access to their subscription to watch Friends free.
For those in another country which doesn't support Netflix or has Friends content blocked in your region, a virtual private network like NordVPN can help gain access.
In this case, NordVPN can spoof your IP location to the United States and stream all the episodes of Friends that you'd like without being blacklisted from accessing this TV content. However, you will still need a valid Netflix subscription on top of an active NordVPN account.
Amazon Instant Video
While Amazon has their Prime Video service with unlimited viewing, it does not offer free streaming of Friends seasons (they do for Suits). However, the company does sell digital episodes and seasons through Amazon Instant Video, which is available for all users (no Prime access required).
Unlike most of their digital content, purchasing Friends episodes or seasons do not differ in price when you are choosing SD versus HD. This is likely since the Friends was not shot originally in high definition (it didn't technically exist back in the 90s). This means Friends “high-definition” episodes are just upscaled standard definition footage.
The price per episode of Friends is lower than a lot of other series on Amazon Instant Video starting at just $0.99 per episode or $14.99 for an entire season. Once you purchase the digital rights to watch Friends through Amazon, you can load up episodes through your smartphone, computer, Smart TV, or supported media streaming device.
Apple iTunes
iTunes allows you to purchase episodes or seasons of Friends under the same pricing structure as Amazon ($0.99 per episode or $14.99 a season). Like Amazon, their cost is the same for the high definition episodes as it is for the standard definition versions.
However, there is one notable benefit to iTunes pricing structure, and that is their package deal of $99.99 for Friends: The Complete Series. This bundle offers all 234 from the ten seasons, which equals about $49.90 in savings if you were to purchase each season individually from another competing digital video service.
Device compatibility with iTunes is fewer as this platform is designed for Apple devices like an iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, or Mac computer. Due to this, we prefer to purchase through Amazon Instant Video over iTunes, but diehard Apple fans might see more incentive to go this route.
Vudu
Not everyone is familiar with Vudu, but they are an online video distribution service that is both reputable and well-supported. Following the trend of their competition, you can purchase individual episodes of Friends for $0.99 for SD/HD or full seasons for $14.99.
Similar to iTunes, Vudu is offering the complete series bundle although it is priced significantly higher at $139.99. This is still $10 cheaper than it would be to buy all ten seasons for their regular price. However, it doesn't match the discount that iTunes is offering for the entire series bundle.
Vudu support is widely available with dedicated applications for mobile, third-party streaming devices like the Roku and game consoles like the Xbox One.
Is Friends Available To Stream On Hulu?
We know that some of you prefer to subscribe to Hulu over Netflix and are looking to see if Friends is available on the popular on-demand streaming service. Unfortunately, it is not currently offered for streaming on Hulu. You'll have to stick to Netflix if you want to be able to stream the show on an unlimited basis.
Licensing deals between major networks (NBC owns the rights to Friends) and content streaming services like Netflix or Hulu are very complicated. Most of the time, these deals are negotiated with exclusivity to a particular streaming platform. This allows one specific streaming service the ability to gain a content advantage over another if it is a big enough TV series.
While Netflix has the exclusive streaming right at this time, it could change hands to Hulu at any time in the future. We know this is possible as it is what happened with Lost which was available for free streaming only through Netflix for several years until recently making the switch to Hulu.
The only way you'd be able to watch Friends through Hulu would be using their live TV subscription, which starts at $39.99 per month. In this event, you'd have to catch reruns of the show which are air regularly on a variety of different channels. Hulu does offer a free 7-day trial for first-time users of their live TV subscription.
Final Thoughts
You've come to the conclusion of this guide and shown you plenty of ways to tune into the grand storyline based the lives of six longtime friends Rachel Green, Monica Geller, Phoebe Buffay, Joey Tribbiani, Chandler Bing and Ross Geller. We hope that we introduced you to a safe and legal method to watch Friends online that fits your needs and budget.
