# What is the best app on a smart TV?

> The apps that ended up printed on the remote control, and the ones that earned their place later.

*By YPB Team · Published August 6, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-best-app-on-a-smart-tv*

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## Current results (0 votes)

1. **YouTube**
   Nielsen has it taking a larger share of US TV time than any other distributor.
2. **Netflix**
   The button that got printed onto remote controls.
3. **Disney+**
   Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar and the back catalogue in one place.
4. **Prime Video**
   Bundled with a shipping subscription, which is how most people got it.
5. **HBO Max**
   The prestige-drama library, renamed more often than it is rebuilt.
6. **Spotify**
   Music and podcasts through the only decent speakers in the room.
7. **Plex**
   Plays the media you already own, from your own machine.
8. **Twitch**
   Live streams on a screen big enough to read the chat.
9. **Apple TV**
   A small, expensive slate of originals and a decent rental store.
10. **Hulu**
   Next-day network television, a US habit no rival replaced.
11. **Peacock**
   NBC's library plus the sports rights that actually sell it.
12. **Kodi**
   An open-source media centre that predates most of this list.
13. **ESPN**
   Live sport without a cable subscription attached to it.
14. **Crunchyroll**
   Simulcast anime, subtitled within hours of the Japanese broadcast.
15. **Steam Link**
   Streams a PC game library onto the television.

Tags: streaming, apps, tv shows