The 21 Best Apps for Google Chromecast

You just bought a Google Chromecast. Well done. You have already installed the Google Home app. And now that?

The small multimedia content transmission device created by Google has become, over the years, one of the most famous and sold products made by Google around. It is no wonder since it offers the possibility of converting any television on Smart TV for 39 euros, and 79 in the edition with support for 4K video and HDR.

First thing: How do you use the apps on the Chromecast?

First of all, you should know that you will not install any application on Chromecast unless you have the Google Chromecast model with Google TV. Everything is centralized on the smartphone so that whatever application you want to use on your Chromecast will have to be installed on your mobile and transmit the content you want.

This is as simple as connecting your mobile to the Chromecast, configuring it with Google Home, and then clicking on the Chromecast button in the app we are using. If you are still unsure, we recommend you visit our complete guide to configure the Google Chromecast.

Best apps for free Google Chromecast

The usefulness of the Chromecast does not reside in the device itself but in all those applications on Google Play that allow you to take advantage of it. Therefore, today we have decided to collect the 21 best applications for the Google Chromecast (they are also valid for the Chromecast Ultra that can be downloaded on Android currently.

TV, video, and movie apps

Watching series and movies on your mobile is fine, but doing it on TV is much better. Thanks to the Chromecast, it is possible to play our favorite multimedia content on any television, either through the main video-on-demand platforms or by sending the content stored on our phone.

Netflix

Is it essential to explain what Netflix is ​​for? The streaming platform for series, movies and documentaries par excellence has, of course, its Android application with support for Google Chromecast. Thanks to it, we can broadcast content directly to the TV without cables and quickly and easily.

HBO

One of Netflix’s great rivals, such as HBO, was not going to be out of the game in terms of Chromecast support. The HBO application also offers the possibility of broadcasting our favorite series and movies to a Chromecast connected to the television and later control aspects of playback such as volume or video directly from the mobile.

Amazon Prime Video

And of course, Amazon Prime Video could not be missing, which for some time has offered the possibility of casting content to a TV with Google Chromecast. The series and movies platform has a varied catalog that you can also enjoy for free with your Amazon Prime subscription.

Disney +

Another essential app for Chromecast is Disney +. The Disney platform has its own app for Android, with support for Chromecast that allows us to send the content to the TV easily.

VLC

After years of waiting, just a few weeks ago, the most famous open-source audio and video player was updated to version 3.0 to receive, among other things, support for Chromecast. Thanks to VLC, it is possible to reproduce both audio and video on a television, either stored locally or through an external server.

Kodi

The most popular open-source media center, Kodi, also offers the possibility to watch free series and movies on the TV through Chromecast and even TV channels. That, added to the fact that it is an open-source, multiplatform, free, and extremely versatile platform, makes Kodi an essential tool for any Google Chromecast owner.

Twitch

The fashion streaming platform app could not be absent either. The Twitch app for Android has support for Google Chromecast, so it is possible to see the streams of our favorite creators on a screen larger than that of our mobile.

Plex

Plex is probably the most popular and widely used multimedia content suite on Android. And how could it be otherwise? It offers the ability to cast content to a nearby Google Chromecast. In addition to video, it is possible to play audio and display images, all perfectly organized in our own library.

LocalCast

LocalCast for Android is a straightforward yet handy application. Its only function is to allow the playback of local content –that is, stored in the phone’s memory– to the Google Chromecast connected to our same Wi-Fi network. Everything, with a meticulous interface that perfectly follows the Material Design guidelines.

Caster

When it seems that the Chromecast platform can no longer give itself more, applications like Caster arrive to prove wrong. In this case, we face a media aggregator, which shows us all those sources that allow us to broadcast content to the Google device. It offers simple controls within the app, as well as support for Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive, among other platforms.

Web Video Cast

How many times have you wanted to play a video from a web page on your Chromecast? Surely more than once, and unless it is hosted on YouTube, it is most likely that the attempt has been unsuccessful. Luckily, there is Web Video Caster, a browser app that allows us to send any video from any web page to the big screen, thanks to Chromecast.

Music and audio apps

Since the speakers of your television are –probably– much more powerful than those of your mobile, why not take advantage of them to listen to your favorite music? Thanks to Chromecast, you can play songs from your mobile or streaming services on your TV with these applications.

Google Play Music

Playing our favorite music through the Chromecast is also possible, and Google Play Music is one of the applications with the best integration with the big G streaming device. In addition to reproducing the immense catalog of music available on the platform, Play Music allows us to upload up to 50,000 songs to its servers.

Spotify

But if you are one of those who prefer Spotify over Google’s music service, don’t worry: your favorite music app also has support for Chromecast. There is not much left to tell about Spotify at this point, beyond the fact that you can bring the best songs on the platform to the big screen or a Chromecast Audio to play them on your stereo.

TuneIn Radio

Those more classic users who prefer to listen to the radio of a lifetime can also take advantage of the capabilities of the Google Chromecast. TuneIn is an app that, despite having a design anchored in the past, allows you to choose from more than 100,000 different radio stations from around the world. In addition, your mobile doesn’t need to have an enabled FM radio chip since the audio transmission is carried out over the Internet.

MusiXMatch

Your brand new Google Chromecast can also be turned into karaoke with the right app. MusiXMatch synchronizes with the music that we play from sources such as Spotify, Youtube, Pandora, Apple Music, SoundCloud, or Google Play Music to show the lyrics of the songs, which of course, can be reflected on the Google Chromecast with an exquisite design.

Pocket Casts

If listening to podcasts is your thing, Pocket Casts is the app you need. Although it is indeed a paid application, today it has no rival, thanks to a neat and clean interface with simple controls and a good number of features so that you can listen to podcasts, either on your smartphone or on Chromecast. Be a complete experience. For some time now, the app has been completely free, so you no longer have an excuse not to try it.

Other useful apps

Other applications allow you to take advantage of the Chromecast in different ways. In this section, we choose some of the most interesting that you can download to your mobile.

Stadia

All you need to play the titles available on Google Stadia on your TV is a Chromecast Ultra. If you already have it, you can start enjoying Google’s streaming gaming platform in style without the need for a subscription to the Pro plan.

Solid Explorer

There are hundreds of file browsers on Google Play, but not all of them have Google Chromecast support. Solid Explorer is one of them, and it combines a Material Design style interface with a myriad of different features, as well as allowing the content of all kinds to be played on a television.

CastGBC

Among the apps for the Google Chromecast, there is also room for nostalgia. CastBGC is a simulator of the historic Nintendo Game Boy Color console, with which you can bring your favorite titles to the big screen and control them from your mobile as if it were remote control. The application is free and, of course, does not include games.

Crunchyroll – Anime & Drama

Crunchyroll claims to be the largest library of anime series, with more than 25,000 episodes and 15,000 hours of the most popular series in this sector. It has support for Google Chromecast and, although it is based on a paid subscription service, it offers 14 free days to see if it is worth shelling out the monthly fee. Although we already anticipate that, after testing the app thoroughly, it is worth it, and a lot.

BubbleUPnP

Another useful application that allows us to transmit any content stored on the mobile to a television through the Google Chromecast is BubbleUPnP. Among its advantages are the possibility of playing content incompatible with the Chromecast, integration with cloud storage services such as Dropbox, Google Photos, or Google Drive, and the possibility of activating subtitles.

This is our pick of the best apps for this year’s Google Chromecast. Little by little, new apps and tools are emerging that promise to squeeze the capabilities of this useful device further, and that we will be adding to this list as they arrive on Google Play.