# Kanopy

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/kanopy/

11 people recommended Kanopy in Hacker News comments, 2 had mixed feelings and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 5 of 12 months, in 7 threads. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Free with a library card, with a large ad-free catalog of films and documentaries. Most common caveat: selection is smaller than major streaming services.

Summary written by Claude from 14 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Free with a library membership (3 comments in the sample): "was surprised by the amount of A-tier movies you can stream there for free with a library membership" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47709631)) "It's also worth looking into if your local library offers Kanopy services." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47709965)) "thanks to kanopy, another public-library resource paid for by tax money" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48821974))
- Large selection of films and documentaries (3 comments in the sample): "The available library of films, documentaries, books, and so forth is enormous. All bereft of ads, and mostly bereft of slop." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49789023)) "Kanopy has a wonderful selection, and ironically its website UI is better than Netflix et al." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47719098)) "it really does have a wider range of stuff to watch" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49014294))
- No ads (1 comment in the sample): "a good streaming service with no ads" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49832390))

## What people warn about

- Selection not as complete as major services (1 comment in the sample): "The selection is NO WHERE NEAR as complete as major streaming services" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49886313))

## Other streaming services people recommend

- [YouTube Premium](https://hackerapproved.com/p/youtube-premium/): 143 recommend, 38 mixed, 183 criticize
- [Netflix](https://hackerapproved.com/p/netflix/): 82 recommend, 85 mixed, 517 criticize
- [Nebula](https://hackerapproved.com/p/nebula/): 28 recommend, 9 mixed, 14 criticize
- [PBS](https://hackerapproved.com/p/pbs/): 23 recommend, 0 mixed, 8 criticize

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://www.kanopy.com/)

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Kanopy", https://hackerapproved.com/p/kanopy/ (11 recommend, 2 mixed, 1 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.