Watchly Our pick
Native watch party app for phones and laptops
Watchly is the only option here with native iOS and Android apps plus a Chrome extension, so one friend on a couch with a phone and another at a laptop stay in the same synced room. Play, pause and seek land for everyone at once, frame-accurate. Push-to-talk voice chat, live reactions and text chat are all built in and free.
YouTube, Prime Video, Netflix, SoundCloud and Hulu work on the free tier with full sync, voice and reactions. Watchly Pro ($4.99/month or $29.99/year, 3-day free trial) adds HBO Max, Disney+, Twitch, Crunchyroll, Apple TV+, Peacock, Paramount+ and more, plus no ads and unlimited room members.
Pros
- Real native iOS and Android apps, not just a desktop extension
- Voice chat, reactions and text chat included free
- Five popular services free, including Netflix and Prime Video
- Friends join in the browser with no account
- Frame-accurate sync across phones and laptops together
Cons
- Pro services need the $4.99/mo plan
- Each viewer needs their own streaming subscription