Kosmi Alternatives in 2026: Where to Watch and Play With Friends Instead

The best Kosmi alternative depends on what you used Kosmi for. For Netflix and other streaming services, use Teleparty, or SharePlay if everyone has an iPhone. For YouTube, Watch2Gether and Discord’s Watch Together are free. Hyperbeam and WatchParty give you a shared browser like Kosmi’s, Jackbox and skribbl.io cover game night, and Glint or the revived here.fm are for groups who mostly want a room to hang out in.

Full disclosure: I make Glint, one of the picks below. It has no built-in games and doesn’t play Netflix, so I’ll say where something else is the better choice. We checked Kosmi and each alternative in October 2026.

Is Kosmi still free in 2026?

Yes, mostly. Kosmi is still running, and its status page shows no outages from August to October 2026. The free plan covers rooms, voice and video, watching together and the games. When we tried to make a room, though, Kosmi asked us to sign in first: “Creating a room requires an account.” The friends you invite can still join without one.

Kosmi Premium costs $7.99 a month, or $59.99 a year. It adds unlimited time in the shared browser, 1080p and 4K screen sharing, unlimited casting to a TV, themes and a members-only lounge. On the free plan, screen sharing tops out at 720p, and the shared browser has a time limit.

Why do people look for Kosmi alternatives?

From app reviews and Kosmi’s own subreddit, the same few reasons come up:

• Premium prompts. One Google Play reviewer in July 2026 got a Premium pop-up in the middle of a movie and couldn’t close it.
• The phone apps. Kosmi’s iPhone and Android apps are both rated around 2.7 stars, and Kosmi itself says “desktop or tablet recommended for the full experience.”
• Streaming that breaks. Posts on r/kosmi from the past year report friends who can’t hear a stream and videos with no sound, though some were later sorted out.
• The free limits. 720p screen sharing and a shared browser on a timer are fine for a clip, and annoying for a movie.

None of this means Kosmi is bad. It does a lot of things in one place. If you only used one of those things, a tool built for that one thing is usually smoother.

What are the best Kosmi alternatives at a glance?

Alternative	Best for	Free?	Phones	Talk while watching
Teleparty	Netflix, Disney+, Max, Prime	Yes, sync and text chat	iPhone app, desktop browsers	Sending voice and video is paid
SharePlay	All-Apple groups	Yes	iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV	FaceTime
Watch2Gether	YouTube, no sign-up	Yes, with ads	Phone browser	Chat, webcams
Discord	Groups already on Discord	Yes	Apps	Voice, video
Hyperbeam	A shared browser	Free tier	Browser	Voice, video
Jackbox	Party games	Host buys a pack	Phones as controllers	Over your call
Syncplay	Your own video files	Yes	No	Over your call
Glint	A room to hang out in	Yes	Phone browser	Voice, video, chat
here.fm	Former here.fm groups	Yes	Phone browser, Android test app	Video bubbles

Which Kosmi alternative is best for Netflix and streaming services?

Teleparty

Teleparty (once Netflix Party) syncs playback on Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Max, Prime Video and YouTube through a browser extension for Chrome, Edge and Safari, and there’s now an iPhone app too. The free plan syncs the video and adds a text chat. To turn on your own camera and mic, you need Premium. Everyone also needs access to what you’re watching, which for Netflix or Disney+ usually means a subscription on their own account. Kosmi says the same about its watch parties.

SharePlay

If everyone has an iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple TV, SharePlay in FaceTime is free and built in. Apple’s own guide says every person needs access to the content on their own device. Friends on Android or Windows can join a FaceTime call from a browser, but not SharePlay.

Scener

Scener syncs streaming services in rooms of up to 10 people with video chat, but video and audio chat need Premium for everyone in the party, and you can’t host from a phone. It’s the pick if your group wants to see each other’s faces during a Netflix movie and doesn’t mind paying.

What’s the best free Kosmi alternative for YouTube?

Watch2Gether

Watch2Gether is the lightest option: make a room without an account, paste a YouTube link and send the invite link. It’s free with banner ads, and its paid plans remove them. For a step by step comparison of every YouTube option, including Discord, FaceTime and what to do when a video won’t play, see how to watch YouTube together online.

Discord Watch Together

If your friends are already on Discord, start a voice call and open Watch Together from the Activities menu. It’s free. Discord’s FAQ says each viewer can watch for up to 180 minutes in a group, or 30 minutes alone, before a 10 minute cooldown, while the video keeps playing for everyone else. It also notes ads even for YouTube Premium members.

Is there a Kosmi alternative with a shared virtual browser?

Kosmi’s shared browser lets everyone click around the same website together. Two alternatives do the same:

• Hyperbeam still runs its watch party site, with a shared browser, voice and video and private rooms. The company now focuses on selling its technology to developers, and the consumer site hasn’t visibly changed since 2022, so don’t plan around new features.
• WatchParty is open source and still updated. It has a shared virtual browser, screen sharing, video chat and synced YouTube.

What should you use instead of Kosmi for game night?

Kosmi bundles poker, mini golf, Cards Against Humanity and retro console rooms. Without Kosmi, pick a game first and add a call next to it:

• Jackbox is the classic party game. Only the host needs to own a pack, everyone else plays from their phone’s browser, and for a remote group the host shares their screen on Discord or Zoom.
• skribbl.io is free drawing and guessing in the browser, with private rooms for 2 to 20 players.
• Discord Activities puts games into a Discord voice call, if your group is already there.

If it’s just the two of you, our guide to online games for couples has free games that work with exactly two players.

What if you want to watch your own video files together?

Syncplay is free and keeps everyone’s video player in sync, in players like VLC, mpv and IINA. Everyone needs their own copy of the video, and it only works on computers, but the picture is as good as your own file, with no streaming in between.

What if you mostly used Kosmi to hang out?

For a lot of groups, Kosmi was less about any one feature and more about having a room where everyone shows up.

Glint

Glint is built around that room. You build it tile by tile and decorate it with illustrated stickers like sofas, lamps, plants and sleeping cats, then hang out in it over voice, video and chat, with messages popping up as bubbles over your avatar. You can watch YouTube together in sync, share your screen, and the room stays the way you left it for next time.

Glint is free to use, with optional sticker packs. It runs in any browser on a computer or phone, you can try a room without signing up, and friends join from your link as guests. Glint has friends, DMs, RSVP and reminder events, polls, a shared timer, a photo booth and face effects. See our November 2026 release notes. Those social toys are different from Kosmi’s multiplayer games. Glint does not offer Netflix sync or Kosmi’s shared virtual browser. Our Glint vs Kosmi comparison has the dated feature table and test limits.

here.fm

here.fm shut down in 2024 and came back in 2026 as “Here, revived”. It’s free, you sign in with Google, and it has video bubbles, synced YouTube and Twitch, drawing and screen sharing. Old accounts and rooms didn’t carry over, an Android APK beta is available outside the Play Store, and an iPhone app is planned for later. Here also supports phone and tablet browsers, according to its current product page, checked November 1, 2026. If your group used to hang out on here.fm, it’s worth a look. We wrote more about it in our here.fm alternatives guide.

Kosmi vs Watch2Gether: which is better?

They’re built for different nights. Watch2Gether is lighter: no account to make a room, a player, a chat and webcams, and it’s at its best with YouTube. Kosmi does more, with games, a shared browser, screen sharing and themed rooms, but it’s heavier, asks you to sign in to create a room and puts more behind Premium. For a quick YouTube night, Watch2Gether. For a long evening that moves from a video to poker, Kosmi.

Which watch party services have shut down or changed?

Plenty of “Kosmi alternatives” lists still recommend these:

• Kast now shows only a page saying it’s joining the Amaze family, and its iPhone app is gone.
• Rave was removed from Apple’s App Store in 2025 and is suing Apple, BetaKit reports. Apple says it removed the app over repeated guideline violations. Rave still works on Android.
• Plex Watch Together isn’t in Plex’s new apps, and only the web app kept it.
• Amazon Prime Video Watch Party ended in spring 2024, and Disney+ GroupWatch ended in September 2023.
• Rabb.it closed in 2019.
• Gather still runs, but it no longer has a free plan and is now built for work teams.

Does it matter which one you pick?

Less than you’d think. In a 2023 Dartmouth study, the researchers start from a simple observation: “People structure their days to experience events with others. We gather to eat meals, watch TV, and attend concerts together.” They found that the more in step two viewers’ reactions were, the more connected they said they felt. They studied people sitting side by side, not online, but the point carries over: what matters is the shared moment, not the software. Pick the tool your least techy friend can open in one click.

Frequently asked questions

Is Kosmi shutting down? No. Kosmi is still running in October 2026, its status page shows no outages since August, and its Android app was updated in August 2026.

Does Kosmi cost money? Kosmi is free to use. Premium costs $7.99 a month or $59.99 a year and adds unlimited shared browsing, sharper screen sharing and TV casting.

Do you need an account for Kosmi? You need one to create a room. Friends you invite can join from the link without signing up.

What’s the best Kosmi alternative on iPhone? SharePlay on FaceTime for streaming services, and Teleparty’s iPhone app for mixed groups. Watch2Gether and Glint work in Safari without an app. Rave is no longer in Apple’s App Store.

What is the closest app to Kosmi? For shared browsing, consider Hyperbeam. For watching and games, consider Discord; it does not provide the same shared virtual browser. For the feeling of a shared room, Glint and here.fm.