The best Putlocker alternative in 2026
The original Putlocker went offline in 2016. Every Putlocker site since then is a copy with no link to it.
By the Rotten Brains team · Updated 23 September 2026 · 3 min read
The short answer
The real Putlocker has been gone since 2016, and the dozens of sites using the name are unrelated clones that keep getting blocked. Rotten Brains is free, needs no account, and finds a working source for you.
What happened to Putlocker?
Putlocker started in the UK in 2011 as a file host at putlocker.com. Hollywood put it on its list of notorious pirate sites that same year, and when Megaupload was shut down in January 2012 its daily visitors roughly doubled, from about 800,000 to about 1.6 million.
In 2014 the putlocker.com file host rebranded as Firedrive. In June 2014 the UK police unit PIPCU seized putlocker.bz and the streaming site moved to putlocker.is, which ranked among the 250 most visited websites in the world before it became unreachable in early October 2016.
Mirrors such as putlocker.today and putlocker9.com appeared within weeks. A Luxembourg court suspended putlockers.ch in February 2017, and Australian ISPs were ordered to block Putlocker in August 2017. The clones kept coming anyway: in 2023 the MPA counted Putlocker among the brands linked to the FMovies network, and in 2024 it asked for 13 Putlocker domains to be blocked.
In November 2022 putlocker.com itself sold at auction for $102,499. The broker said most of its 4,000 or so daily visitors were people typing the name while looking for one of about 75 clones.
Trending movies this week
What people liked about Putlocker, and where it is now
Almost any film you could name, years before the paid services had them
On Rotten Brains: every season and episode, with up next →Typing one famous name into the address bar and being there
On Rotten Brains: built for your phone too →A list of hosts under each title to try when the first link was dead
On Rotten Brains: the player finds a working source by itself →
Putlocker vs Rotten Brains
Status
Putlocker: Original offline since 2016
✓Rotten Brains: Online and updated every day
Who runs it
Putlocker: Unknown copies using the name
✓Rotten Brains: One site, one domain
Account needed to watch
Putlocker: Usually not
✓Rotten Brains: No
When a server fails
Putlocker: Pick another by hand
✓Rotten Brains: Switches source by itself
Subtitles
Putlocker: Varies
✓Rotten Brains: Many languages, several versions each
Watch parties
Putlocker: Rarely
✓Rotten Brains: Yes, friends join without an account
Resume on any device
Putlocker: Rarely
✓Rotten Brains: Yes, with a free account
| Putlocker today | Rotten Brains | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Original offline since 2016 | ✓Online and updated every day |
| Who runs it | Unknown copies using the name | ✓One site, one domain |
| Account needed to watch | Usually not | ✓No |
| When a server fails | Pick another by hand | ✓Switches source by itself |
| Subtitles | Varies | ✓Many languages, several versions each |
| Watch parties | Rarely | ✓Yes, friends join without an account |
| Resume on any device | Rarely | ✓Yes, with a free account |
A look around Rotten Brains
Real screenshots from the site, in the order that matters most to someone coming from Putlocker.
01
Every season and episode, with Up Next
Shows open on a watch page with every season beside the player. The episode you are on is marked, and Up Next sits right above the list, so finishing an episode is one tap from the next.
Anime is here too, with sub and dub where both exist.
02
Built for your phone too
The site works the same on a phone as on a laptop: the player pins to the top, the episode list scrolls underneath, and the controls are sized for thumbs.
Add it to your home screen and it opens full screen, like an app, with no store and no install.
Trending shows this week
03
The player finds a working source by itself
On Putlocker a dead server meant going back, picking the next one and hoping. Here every title is checked against several sources before you press play, and the player starts on the one that answers first.
If a source stalls, the player tries the next one and picks up where you were. You can still pick one yourself from the settings menu, with a note on which ones carry extra audio languages or subtitles.
04
Subtitles in dozens of languages
Subtitles come from more than one source, so most titles have several versions per language. If the first one is out of sync with the video, the next one usually is not.
Many get lined up with the dialogue automatically when you pick them, and there is a delay slider for the rest.
05
Watch parties with friends anywhere
Start a party from any movie or episode and send the link. Everyone who opens it watches the same second of the same video, with a chat alongside, and the player keeps them in sync.
Any free account can start one. Friends can join and watch without an account at all.
06
Pick up where you left off
With a free account, every movie and episode remembers the second you stopped, on every device. Continue Watching sits at the top of the home page, next to what is new in the shows you follow.
You never need the account to watch. It only adds the memory.
The best-rated films of all time
Questions
Is Putlocker still working?
Not the original. It went offline in 2016, and putlocker.com is now a parked domain. The Putlocker sites you find today are clones run by other people.
Why are there so many Putlocker sites?
The name is famous, so people copy it. A domain broker counted about 75 clones in 2022, and the MPA asked for 13 Putlocker domains to be blocked in 2024 alone.
Do I have to sign up to watch on Rotten Brains?
No. Open a title and press play. A free account is optional and adds resume on any device, watch history and playlists.