swap_horiz Free dOCUmentaries Alternatives

1

Our Planet

Our Planet is a groundbreaking nature documentary series that showcases the Earths most incredible habitats and wildlife...

Nature High Definition Epic Streaming

9.8 Brilliant

2

Frontline

Frontline is the flagship documentary series of PBS, renowned for its uncompromising investigative journalism. It tackle...

High Quality Journalism Critical Political

9.8 Brilliant

3

Navalny

This gripping documentary meticulously investigates the poisoning and subsequent imprisonment of Russian opposition lead...

Movie Biographical Democracy United States

9.8 Brilliant

4

Shoah

Shoah is a 1985 documentary film examining the Holocaust through extended interviews conducted by Claude Lanzmann. The e...

France Powerful Historical Movie

9.6 Brilliant

5

The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst

This six-part HBO documentary series chronicles the bizarre life and suspected crimes of Robert Durst, a real estate hei...

New York Crime True Crime Real Estate

9.5 Brilliant

6

Citizen Four

Citizen Four (2014) remains a cornerstone of modern investigative documentary. Directed by Laura Poitras, the film metic...

Privacy Political Thriller Digital

9.5 Brilliant

7

O.J.: Made in America

O.J.: Made in America is a five-part 2016 documentary series produced for ESPN Films’ 30 for 30 initiative. The film pre...

Movie United States 2010S

9.4 Excellent

8

My Octopus Teacher

My Octopus Teacher is a profoundly moving documentary that chronicles a filmmaker's unlikely friendship with an octopus...

Nature Netflix Wildlife Award Winning

9.3 Excellent

9

Hoop Dreams

Hoop Dreams chronicles the lives of two young basketball players—William Gates and Arthur Agee—in Chicago during the 199...

American Coming Of Age 1990S Basketball

9.3 Excellent

10

Night and Fog

Alain Resnais’s *Night and Fog* (1956) is a profoundly impactful short film examining the atrocities committed during th...

French History 1950S Holocaust

9.3 Excellent

11

Making a Murderer

This Netflix docuseries follows the case of Steven Avery, a Wisconsin man convicted of murder after previously being exo...

Complex Long Form Netflix Crime

9.2 Excellent

12

Sans Soleil

Sans Soleil, directed by Chris Marker, presents a fragmented exploration of memory’s fallibility. The film combines obse...

France Movie 1980S

9.2 Excellent

13

Harlan County, USA

Harlan County, USA documents the 1973 Brookside Strike involving 180 coal miners and their families protesting against t...

Movie 1970S United States

9.2 Excellent

14

DW Documentary

DW Documentary is a production unit of Deutsche Welle, Germany’s international broadcaster. It creates factual documenta...

Analysis Global European Culture

9.1 Excellent

15

American Factory

American Factory is a poignant documentary that follows the story of a Chinese companys attempt to open a car glass fact...

Drama Automation China Netflix

9.1 Excellent

16

Honeyland

This visually stunning documentary follows Hatidze Muratova, a Macedonian beekeeper who uses ancient traditions to harve...

Nature Serbia Independent Wildlife

9.1 Excellent

17

The Civil War

Ken Burns’s *The Civil War* offers a comprehensive examination of this pivotal period in American history. The 1990 PBS...

History Series 1990S America

9.1 Excellent

18

The Up Series

The Up Series documents the lives of seven individuals initially featured in 1964’s *Seven Up!* It is a long-running Bri...

Life Classic Series Britain

9.1 Excellent

19

Netflix Documentaries

Netflix has revolutionized the documentary space by producing high-budget, bingeable non-fiction content. They excel in...

Streaming Variety True Crime

7.0 Good

20

CuriosityStream

CuriosityStream is a dedicated streaming service exclusively for high-quality documentaries. Unlike general platforms, i...

History Streaming Education Science

6.6 Fair