Roku TV _ Streaming Players, The Roku Channel & Setup

Roku is one of the simplest ways to stream TV. You plug a small Roku player into your TV, or buy a TV with Roku built in, and you get Netflix, YouTube, Disney+, Prime Video and hundreds of other channels on one clean home screen. There is no monthly fee for the Roku platform itself. You only pay for the device once, plus any subscriptions you choose to add.

This page covers the full picture: the current players and what they cost, Roku TVs, the free Roku Channel, Roku OS, the free mobile app, and how activation works at my.roku.com. If you just bought a device, start with setup. If you are still deciding, start with the prices.

Quick facts

What it is: a streaming platform by Roku, Inc. — players, streaming sticks, soundbars and Roku TVs made with partner brands
Device prices (US, after the July 2026 rise): Streaming Stick $39.99, Streaming Stick Plus $59.99, Streaming Stick 4K $79.99, Roku Ultra $149.99
Platform fee: none. A Roku account is free, and activation is free
Free content: The Roku Channel carries 500+ free live channels and 80,000+ free movies and shows with ads
Mobile app: The Roku App (Official) is free on Google Play and the App Store
Activation: enter the code shown on your TV at my.roku.com/link
Official site: roku.com

Roku streaming players

Roku sells four main players right now, and they all do the same basic job. The differences are picture quality, speed and the remote you get.

The Roku Streaming Stick is the entry model at $39.99. It plugs straight into an HDMI port, hides behind the TV, and streams in HD up to 1080p. It replaced the old Roku Express line, which Roku no longer sells. For a spare-room TV or an older HD set, this is enough.

The Roku Streaming Stick Plus at $59.99 is the one most people should look at for a 4K TV. It streams 4K at up to 60 frames per second with HDR10+ and HLG, and it can run off your TV's USB port for power. It does not support Dolby Vision, so check that detail if your TV and your discs depend on it.

The Roku Streaming Stick 4K at $79.99 adds Dolby Vision and a long-range Wi-Fi receiver. If your router sits far from the TV, that receiver matters more than the spec sheet suggests.

The Roku Ultra at $149.99 is the top box. You get Dolby Vision, HDR10+, Dolby Atmos support, Wi-Fi 6, an Ethernet port for a wired connection, a USB port, and the rechargeable, backlit Voice Remote Pro with a lost-remote finder. If you hate buffering and your router is near the TV, the wired connection alone can justify it. Roku also sells the Streambar SE, a compact soundbar with a player built in, at $149.99.

Roku TVs

You do not need a separate player if your TV already runs Roku OS. Partner brands such as TCL, Hisense and onn. sell Roku TVs in sizes from small bedroom sets to 85-inch living-room screens, and Roku also sells its own Roku-branded TVs. Setup, channels and the home screen work the same as on a stick or box, and one remote runs the whole TV, volume included. If your TV is old but the screen is still good, a stick is the cheaper fix. If you are buying a TV anyway, a Roku TV saves you a device and a remote.

The Roku Channel

The Roku Channel is Roku's own free streaming service, and it is the best reason to leave the home screen unexplored no longer. It launched in September 2017 and now reaches around 145 million people. Inside you get more than 500 free live channels — news, sports, cooking, true crime, kids, and a Spanish-language section — plus over 80,000 free movies and shows on demand, including Roku Originals. Ads pay for all of it, so you watch commercial breaks instead of paying a subscription.

You can also add paid premium subscriptions inside The Roku Channel, such as Starz or Paramount+, and manage them under one Roku bill. And you do not need Roku hardware to watch: The Roku Channel also runs on the web, in the Roku mobile app, and on several other platforms. It is available in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom. Our breakdown of what is free on The Roku Channel and what needs a subscription goes through the split in detail.

Roku OS and the home screen

Every Roku device runs Roku OS, and the layout is deliberately plain. Your channels sit in a grid on the home screen. You move tiles, remove what you never open, and use one search that looks across your services at once, so you can see whether a film is free on one channel before you rent it on another. Roku pushes software updates automatically, and older devices keep getting them for years, which is a big reason cheap sticks stay usable. Features like the Live TV guide, the Save List for shows you want later, and voice search through the remote or the app all live in the same system.

The Roku mobile app

The Roku App (Official) is free on Google Play, where it has passed 100 million downloads, and free on Apple's App Store. Connect your phone to the same Wi-Fi network as your Roku and the app becomes a full remote, with a keyboard that makes typing passwords and searches far less painful than arrow-key typing. You also get voice search, private listening through your headphones, and the ability to watch The Roku Channel on the phone itself in the US. Lost your remote under the sofa? The app is the fix, and our post on Roku remote and mobile app tips covers the pairing and connection fixes too. When you are ready, the download page explains how to get the official app safely.

Setup and activation

Setup takes about ten minutes. Plug the player in, connect it to Wi-Fi, let it update, and your TV shows an activation code. On your phone or computer, open my.roku.com/link, sign in or create a free Roku account, and type the code. Your channels then load onto the device. One warning worth repeating: Roku never charges for activation or support. Sites that ask for a payment to activate your device are scams. You only ever pay for hardware and for subscriptions you pick yourself. The full walkthrough, step by step, is in our post on how to set up and activate a Roku TV or player.

The Roku Channel Store

Channels are Roku's word for apps. From the home screen, open Streaming Channels to reach the Roku Channel Store. Browse by category, search by name, and add channels with one click — they appear on your home screen within seconds. Big names like Netflix, YouTube, Disney+, Hulu, Max and Prime Video are all there, next to thousands of smaller free channels for everything from local news to fireplace screens. Free channels cost nothing to add. Paid ones bill through your Roku account if you added a payment method, and a PIN can stop accidental purchases.

What Roku costs in total

Keep it simple: $39.99 to $149.99 once for the hardware, $0 for the account and activation, $0 for The Roku Channel and other free channels, and then only the subscriptions you actually choose. Many households run a Roku for years on one stick and The Roku Channel alone. Pick the player that matches your TV, activate it on the official site, and you are done.