Mubi is a film-first streaming service, unlike Netflix and other famous platforms.
A subscription here makes more sense if you want a hand-picked lineup and a distinct editorial voice. It is not ideal if your goal is to open an app and scroll through thousands of familiar studio titles every night.
Before you pay, here are the top five things to keep in mind about the platform:
1. Mubi is a curated cinema service first
This service is selling taste as much as access. It focuses on:
- International cinema
- Art-house films
- Documentaries
- Independent work
- Award winners
- Selected classics
- Mubi Releases.
Every film is chosen by its editorial team rather than dropped into a giant all-purpose library.
The above sounds appealing if you already know what this service is for. It could feel limiting if you expect the usual streaming-service composition of sitcoms, reality TV, kids’ brands, and so on.
2. The catalog is bigger and rotates
Mubi no longer works like the old “one new film a day, 30 films at a time” version that some people still remember. Hundreds of films are available to stream at any given time, and the platform organizes them through collections such as Now Showing, New on Mubi, Curator’s Spotlight, and Mubi Releases.
Still, the library does rotate. Films stay for different lengths of time. Mubi marks titles that are leaving within the next 14 days.
There is another point that trips people up. Mubi’s site includes a very large film database, and not every title listed there is available to stream. So seeing a film page inside Mubi does not always mean your subscription unlocks that film right now.
3. Standard Mubi and Mubi GO are not the same subscription
A regular Mubi membership gives you streaming access. This plan costs $14.99 per month or $119.88 per year. It gives you a seven-day free trial, has no ads, and supports downloads on iOS and Android.
Mubi GO is a different product. In the U.S., it is tied to a premium plan. This costs $19.99 per month and includes streaming plus one cinema ticket each week for the selected Film of the Week.
GO is not available everywhere. In the U.S., it is currently limited to select cities. These are:
- Atlanta
- Boston
- Chicago
- Dallas
- Denver
- Los Angeles
- New York City
- Portland
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- Seattle
- Washington, DC.
4. You can save on the pricing
Mubi is not cheap in the way ad-supported mainstream services are cheap. At $14.99 per month in the U.S., it sits closer to premium specialty pricing. The annual plan cuts that cost meaningfully, and Mubi presents it as a 33% saving compared with paying monthly.
There is also a student option. Eligible university students in the U.S. pay $9.99 per month and start with a 30-day free trial. That plan is one of the easier ways to justify Mubi if you are curious about the service but unsure you will use it year-round.
Mubi does give subscribers a bit more billing flexibility than some rivals. You are allowed to pause the subscription for one or three months. Canceling keeps access through the paid period.
5. Device support is broad
Mubi works on far more devices than you assume. The current lineup has all major operating systems and all gaming consoles.
This is not an unlimited household plan. Each account should be logged into five devices, and only two of them can watch at the same time.
Offline viewing also has conditions. Downloads work only on iOS and Android. They are not available on computers or TVs. What’s more, the films you download stay available for 30 days, then for 48 hours once playback starts. External memory cards are off-limits for these files.