You’re sitting there, remote in hand, eyeing that massive library of free movies on Pluto TV. Maybe it’s The Godfather or a nostalgic marathon of Classic Doctor Who. It looks great. It sounds great. But there’s that nagging question that stops every cord-cutter in their tracks: how much of my life am I about to trade for "free" content?
The short answer is yes. Pluto TV has commercials. It’s the entire reason the service doesn't cost you $15 a month. But honestly, the way these ads actually work—and how they differ from what you remember on old-school cable—is where things get a bit weird.
Does Pluto TV Have Commercials? (The 2026 Reality)
Pluto TV is what the industry nerds call a FAST service. That stands for Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV. Basically, they’ve built a digital version of the 1990s. You get a grid of channels, you flip through them, and you see ads.
If you’re watching a "Live" channel, you’re going to hit ad breaks just like you would on NBC or AMC. They happen at roughly the same intervals. However, if you're diving into the On-Demand section, the experience shifts. You might see a pre-roll ad (the one that plays before the movie starts) and then several mid-roll breaks.
How Many Ads are We Actually Talking About?
People love to complain about ads, but let’s look at the numbers. On traditional broadcast television, you’re usually looking at about 14 to 18 minutes of commercials for every hour of programming.
Pluto TV typically runs lighter than that. Most users report seeing about 8 to 12 minutes of ads per hour.
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- Standard Break: Usually 90 to 120 seconds.
- Frequency: Every 12 to 15 minutes.
- The "Pluto" Screen: Sometimes, you’ll see a blue screen that says "Pluto TV will be right back." This usually happens when the local ad slot hasn't been sold yet. It’s quiet, but it’s still a break.
Why You Can’t Just Skip Them
Here is the thing that frustrates everyone: you cannot skip commercials on Pluto TV.
There is no "Skip Ad" button after five seconds like on YouTube. If you try to fast-forward through an On-Demand movie, the player will often "catch" you at the next ad trigger and force you to watch the break before it lets you get back to the scene.
Some people try to use ad blockers on their browsers. While this might work for a week or two, Pluto TV (owned by Paramount) is constantly updating its tech stack to detect them. Often, an ad blocker will just cause the player to freeze or throw an error code, which is arguably more annoying than a 30-second commercial for car insurance.
The Repetition Factor
The real "Pluto TV experience" isn't just that there are ads; it’s that it’s often the same ad.
Because of how digital ad bidding works, you might see the same trailer for a Paramount+ original series four times in one hour. It feels like brainwashing. Honestly, it's the biggest trade-off for not opening your wallet.
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Is There a Way to Get Pluto TV Ad-Free?
I get asked this all the time. People want to pay $5 just to make the ads go away.
As of early 2026, Pluto TV does not offer a paid, ad-free tier. Paramount keeps Pluto as their "top of the funnel" product. They want you to watch Pluto for free, get annoyed by the ads, and eventually subscribe to Paramount+ (the paid service) to watch those same shows without the interruptions. It’s a deliberate business move.
Third-Party "Solutions"
You might see some apps or services like PlayOn Cloud claiming they can "record" Pluto TV and let you skip ads later. While these work by essentially "filming" the stream and then letting you watch the recording, they aren't officially supported. They also cost money, which sort of defeats the purpose of using a free service in the first place.
How Pluto TV Commercials Compare to Other Free Apps
If you’re looking for the "least annoying" free TV, Pluto has some stiff competition.
Tubi is often cited as having a slightly better ad-to-content ratio. Their ads feel a bit more like natural breaks. The Roku Channel is another big player, and they tend to have very high-quality ad integrations because they control the hardware too.
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But Pluto TV has the "Live" feel that others don't. There’s something comforting about putting on the Star Trek channel and just letting it run in the background while you fold laundry. In that context, the commercials just feel like a chance to grab a snack.
Tips for Dealing With the Commercials
If you're going to use Pluto, you have to play by their rules. But you can make it easier.
- Use the On-Demand Section: If you watch a movie "Live," you’re stuck with whatever the schedule says. If you find that same movie in the On-Demand library, you can sometimes get fewer breaks overall, especially if you watch late at night when ad inventory is lower.
- Don't Flip Channels Constantly: Every time you switch to a new channel, Pluto often triggers a "start-up" ad. If you're a chronic channel flipper, you’ll end up watching way more commercials than someone who just picks a show and stays put.
- Check the "Category" pop-ups: Sometimes Pluto runs limited-time "pop-up" channels (like for the 60th anniversary of Star Trek in 2026). These special event channels sometimes have unique sponsorship deals that result in fewer interruptions.
Ultimately, Pluto TV is a "get what you pay for" situation. The library is staggering. You can find everything from Survivor marathons to niche 70s cinema. The price is zero dollars. If that means sitting through a 90-second commercial for a local dental office every fifteen minutes, most people find it a fair deal.
If you want a truly premium, uninterrupted experience, you’ll have to move over to a paid subscription service. But for the casual viewer or the budget-conscious streamer, Pluto TV’s commercial load is a small hurdle for an endless stream of entertainment.
Next Steps for Your Streaming Setup
To get the most out of your free viewing, you should check if your smart TV has a "Game Mode" or "App Optimization" setting. Sometimes these settings can help the Pluto TV app load faster between ad transitions, reducing the chance of the app freezing during a commercial break. You might also want to sign up for a free Pluto TV account—not because it removes ads, but because it lets you "favorite" channels, so you spend less time scrolling and less time triggering those pesky channel-switching ads.