What is Mubi? A look at the indie streamer

The streaming space is getting more crowded and it is difficult to choose a single service that covers all the bases. Netflix is ​​no longer alone. Of course, some of the most exciting players in the game don’t even try. Instead, they carve out a specific niche and serve it hard. Mubi is one of the best streaming services among these more specific options. So what is Mubi? Why should you subscribe? How does it compare to the competition?

Read on for a full breakdown of Mubi, the moviegoer-centric streaming service that might be exactly what you’re looking for.

Mubi is a global streaming service offering curated movie collections, focusing on classic and independent movies. Launched in 2007 as The Auteurs, when founder Efe Cakarel was frustrated that he couldn’t find anywhere to watch Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood For Love in Japan, the site has been growing ever since.

The service offers a wide variety of international films in various genres and throughout the history of cinema.

How does Mubi work?

For the most part, it works like any other subscription streaming service, with a library of titles organized into different categories, available to view on demand for anyone with a subscription. There are no levels. Members get access to the same content, much of it in HD.

The big differentiating factor is the structure of Mubi’s “Movie of the Day”. Each day, a title is added, although it remains available after that for varying lengths of time. New films are chosen by a team of curators to add to, and these are often organized thematically, like mini digital festivals. You may get movies from the same country one after another, or double movies from a single filmmaker or motion picture.

If you’ve ever found yourself wasting an evening scrolling through the movie or TV options on Netflix, you may understand the appeal of clicking through to the current movie of the day and being amazed.

How do I sign up?

Mubi is available as a standalone streaming service or as an Amazon Prime channel. You can register on the official website of the service, or through Amazon if you prefer as an additional channel.

How much does Mubi cost?

Mubi costs $ 10.99 per month, with a seven-day free trial period. You’ll save a lot of money with an annual membership for $ 83.88, which equates to $ 6.99 per month and 36% savings.

Students can get the cheapest rate of $ 6.99 per month without committing to a year. They also get an extended 30-day trial period. A student subscription includes everything that is found in a standard subscription.

As an Amazon channel, Mubi is available for the lower rate of $ 5.99 per month, but it is an add-on to your Amazon Prime Video subscription, which is priced at $ 12.99 per month. If you’re already an Amazon subscriber, it’s a great way to save money.

How do I get free Mubi?

When you sign up for Mubi, you get a seven-day free trial. If you cancel before the seven days are up, you will not be charged. If you are a student, the free trial period is extended to 30 days, which gives you approximately one month of free service.

Those are the only ways to get the service for free without stealing it. In theory, you can share an account, since Mubi allows two simultaneous streams, but it should not be shared between different households.

You can use your subscription in almost any way you want. You have many ways to see how you like it, on the device of your choice.

The full list of supported devices is as follows:

Streaming Media Players

• Apple TV HD / 4K
• Chromecast
• Amazon FireTV
• Year

Smart TVs

• Samsung (TVs from 2017 or newer)
• LG (2016 or newer TVs)
• Sony (Android)
• Android TV

Smartphones and tablets

web browsers

• Safari (13 and up)
• Chrome (95 and higher)
• Firefox (82 and higher)
• Edge (80 and up)

Game consoles

Can I download content from Mubi?

All content on Mubi can be downloaded in HD for viewing on the go when you can’t rely on a stable internet connection.

Where is Mubi available?

Mubi is available in more than 190 countries around the world. These include the US, Canada, Europe, Latin America, Africa, Japan, New Zealand, and many more. The availability of titles varies from country to country.

Films

There is no shortage of things to see on the platform. You can follow it every day, watching the movies as they are released. There is also a huge catalog of movies, as Mubi licenses them for more than one day they appear.

The titles available vary from country to country and change over time. They include works by authors such as Jean-Luc Godard, Xavier Dolan, Claire Denis, George Romero, Jia Zhangke, and many more.

Mubi “originals”

The company produces or co-produces and distributes independent films. That means your library includes its own titles, which are sometimes streamed exclusively on the service. Due to various distribution agreements, they sometimes only have broadcast rights in limited markets.

An example is Annette, co-produced by Mubi. The movie is an Amazon Prime Video original movie in the US, but viewers in Ireland, India, Latin America, and the US can see it included in their subscriptions.

However, many films produced or distributed by Mubi are available on the platform around the world. The streamer acquired the rights to Dead Pigs from Cathy Yan, director of Birds of Prey, in 2021, and the film is available exclusively on Mubi worldwide except China.

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Mubi is not limited to movies. You can also read film journalism on Notebook, the service’s daily film publication, which recently went from being exclusively online to a recurring print publication.

Mubi is relatively unique in the streaming space, so it’s hard to compare it to other services. Its closest competitor is the Criterion Channel, which also curates a selection of classic and contemporary films from Hollywood and around the world.

Other niche services have some overlap, including Shudder, which often features independent and classic horror films from around the world.

For a single streamer offering a mix of original and third-party content, services like Netflix and HBO Max continue to dominate the field, with massive libraries. But of course they will charge accordingly. HBO Max’s ad-free service will cost you $ 14.99 per month, and a Netflix premium account costs almost $ 20. Those prices are slightly higher than Mubi’s $ 10.99 price. And if you want to mix and match, you can go for Amazon Prime Video and get the even cheaper Mubi plugin at $ 5.99.

Mubi isn’t really trying to measure up to the greats, so he’s a pretty solid niche streamer in that regard.

Your final choice will likely come down to the individual titles you are looking for. Mubi houses movies that you won’t find anywhere else. Some of these films are only screened at festivals before finding a home exclusively on Mubi, with no major theatrical release, no home media options. If you want the mix of classic, indie, and auteur films on the platform, then Mubi is worth it.

On the other hand, if you’re looking for a one-stop shop to see the latest new releases that all your friends are talking about, Mubi will likely leave you feeling left out. It has a fairly specific niche appeal, even if the movies cover a wide range of genres and time periods.

If you’re like me and want to make sure your subscriptions cover some bases, Mubi will certainly add great value and give you access to cool stuff that you won’t find anywhere else.

Other frequently asked questions

Q: Who owns Mubi?
TO: The London-based streaming service is independently owned by founder and CEO Efe Cakarel. It receives funding from the European Union through Creative Europe Media.

Q: Is Mubi available in 4K?
TO: No, Mubi does not host 4K streams. The service offers movies in HD (1080p resolution) as long as they are available in that format. Some older movies are not available in HD.

Q: Can I download content from Mubi for offline viewing?
TO: Yes, all Mubi titles can be downloaded (even in HD) for offline viewing.

Q: Does Mubi have ads?
TO: Mubi is fully subscriber friendly and does not run any ads when it broadcasts.

Q: Can I watch Mubi on a Roku device?
TO: Yes, Mubi is available on various streaming platforms, including Roku. See our system requirements section for more details.

Q: How many screens can I use at the same time?
TO: Mubi allows you to use the service on up to five devices, with two simultaneous streams at any time.