Kodi Popcorn Time addon

Kodi is one of the most user-friendly media center apps around, and Popcorn Time has long been known for its Netflix-like interface that makes it easy to scroll through movies until you find something you’d like to watch. In other words, these two services should be a great combination. However, the reality is that Popcorn Time has several issues that make it unsuitable for most people.

Warning: Kodi should only be used for content to which you have the legal right to access. Neither the Kodi Foundation nor Comparitech advocates the use of Kodi for piracy.

Important: Always use a VPN with Kodi

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What is the Popcorn Time addon?

Popcorn Time Kodi addon

Popcorn Time is an addon that allows the user to find and download torrents from peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. This means that as you download a file, you’ll also be allowing other users to download the parts that you have. As a result, when you use a P2P addon, you’re allowing external computers to access your system, which compounds the risk that comes with installing any Kodi addon.

While torrenting isn’t inherently illegal, it has become one of the most popular ways to share unlicensed content. A cursory glance at Popcorn Time’s “Most Popular” section shows numerous movies that haven’t been released on home media yet. This is a telltale sign that the addon doesn’t cater to users looking for properly licensed content. If that isn’t enough evidence, the number of lawsuits filed against Popcorn Time and its users should prove this beyond all doubt.

Popcorn Time has lots of options but there’s no way to see the sources it uses to find torrents. Also, we searched for several public domain titles (1968’s Night of the Living Dead, 1960’s Little Shop of Horrors, 1963’s Dementia 13) to see if there was a case for using Popcorn Time legitimately. However, none of the films were found (although some more obscure public domain titles where).

Finally, there’s the security aspect to consider. Popcorn Time isn’t included in the official repository, so you’ll have to download it for yourself. This poses a problem since there’s no easy way to verify whether the files you’re installed are packaged with malware or not. Besides, even if the addon works as expected, there’s no guarantee it’ll continue to do so in the face of continued legal pressure.

For the reasons above, we do not recommend Kodi users install the Popcorn Time addon or use it for streaming.

Best Popcorn Time alternatives

Popcorn Time offers a large selection of recently released movies but does not use official sources and comes with significant risk to your system. However, there are many official Kodi addons that offer higher quality content and are completely legitimate. Here are a few of our favorites:

PopcornFlix

Popcornflix Kodi addon

PopcornFlix is a Kodi addon that offers TV shows and movies, both new and old. These are separated by genre, however there’s no search function and no way to view only TV shows. Instead, the user has to search through a given category to see if the title they want is available.

There are very few official Kodi addons that cater to Spanish speakers and PopcornFlix is one of the best. There’s an entire folder containing movies with hardcoded Spanish subtitles. This removes the need to manually set up subtitles and makes it easy to watch movies even if you aren’t particularly tech literate.

It should be noted that PopcornFlix is only available in the US and Canada. Users in other locations can still browse available titles. Nevertheless, you will have to connect via VPN to a North American server before you can actually watch anything.

The PopcornFlix addon can be found in the official Kodi addon repository.

Crackle

Crackle Kodi addon

Crackle is a very basic Kodi addon for finding movies and TV shows. Each content type has a single folder and there’s no search function. However, as with Tubi TV, all results are shown on one page. This makes it easy to search for a specific title or to sort the results alphabetically.

While some addons focus on quantity over quality, Crackle offers a smaller selection of well-known titles such as 21 Jump StreetMidsomer Murders, and Train to Busan. Considering Crackle is free to use and doesn’t require registration, the lack of new releases is understandable.

The Crackle addon can be found in the official Kodi repo.

Pluto TV

Pluto.TV Kodi Addon

Pluto TV is perfect for those times when you’re not sure what you’d like to watch. It has over a hundred live channels, with around a dozen dedicated to broadcasting movies 24/7. The lineup is always changing but at the time of writing, this service was showing hits like What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Rat Race, and cult classic Nosferatu.

Better still, Pluto TV is completely free to use and there’s no need to sign in. This addon can be found in the official Kodi addon repository.

Streaming on Kodi: Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get into trouble for using Kodi?

Kodi is simply a media center app. It doesn’t include any content of its own, and the official repository only contains legitimate addons that pull from properly licensed sources. In other words, there’s no reason you’d get into any legal trouble for using this software.

Unfortunately, there are plenty of third-party addons that get their content from piracy sites. However, to access these, users have to seek them out and install them manually, so it’s not like you can accidentally stumble onto them. Stick to the official Kodi repository and you should be fine.

Disclaimer: Although we’ve spent hours researching this topic, we are not legal experts. As such, nothing we’ve said above should be taken as legal advice. We encourage you to consult local laws before attempting to use P2P networks or third-party Kodi addons.

Is Popcorn Time legal?

Popcorn Time might seem legit at first glance but a slick interface can’t hide the fact that it offers unrestricted access to movies that aren’t even out yet. Multiple courts agree, with access to Popcorn Time being restricted in several countries including the UK and Denmark.

Downloading copyrighted content is against the law, but remember: P2P networks also automatically share the parts of a file you have with other users. This means that, by using Popcorn Time, you’re also guilty of distributing copyrighted material without permission. These are just a few of the many reasons to avoid this service.

What kind of things can I watch on Kodi?

Because Kodi allows users to create their own addons, the range of content you can access is effectively limitless. The community has built its own addons for popular streaming services like Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and YouTube, and there are new addons arriving all the time.

To help you find the best of the best, we’ve put together regularly-updated guides to our favorite Kodi addons for movies, kid’s cartoons and live TV.