Alex Honnold doesn't have a death wish. If you watch him for even five minutes in the 2018 documentary Free Solo, you realize he’s actually the most calculated person in the room. He's just playing a game where the stakes are "perfection or literal death." It's heavy. It’s also visually stunning, which is why everyone is still looking for where to stream Free Solo years after its release. You want to see those granite walls of El Capitan in 4K, or at least high enough resolution to see the chalk on his fingers.
Finding it isn't hard, but it's shifted around lately.
The film is a National Geographic production. Because of that, your first and most reliable stop is Disney+. Since the Disney-Fox merger, almost the entire Nat Geo library has lived there. If you already pay for the Disney bundle to watch Marvel or Star Wars, you already have it. Just search for it. No extra cost. It's sitting there waiting for you to get stressed out by the "Boulder Problem" sequence.
The Best Ways to Watch Free Solo Today
Streaming rights are a bit like a game of musical chairs. While Disney+ is the "forever home," you can actually find it elsewhere if you're willing to look. Hulu is another big one. Because Disney owns a majority stake in Hulu and has been integrating the two apps, Free Solo often pops up in the Hulu library for subscribers of the ad-supported or no-ads plans.
What if you don't want a subscription?
You can buy or rent it. Honestly, for a movie this beautiful, sometimes buying the digital 4K version on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, or Vudu is the way to go. It’s usually around $3.99 to rent or $14.99 to own. If you have a massive OLED TV, the bitrate on a purchased 4K file is often slightly better than what you’ll get through a standard streaming app. It matters here. You want to see the texture of the rock. You want to feel the 3,000 feet of empty air below his feet.
📖 Related: Why River Song's Sonic Screwdriver Is Actually the Most Tragic Prop in Doctor Who
Is it on Netflix?
Short answer: No.
Longer answer: It almost certainly won't be anytime soon. Netflix and Disney are rivals. Disney isn't exactly in the business of licensing its Oscar-winning documentaries to the competition when they are trying to grow their own platform. If you see a site claiming it's on Netflix, they’re probably looking at outdated info from a specific international region or they're just flat-out wrong.
Why This Movie Still Dominates the Conversation
Directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin did something crazy. They didn't just film a climb; they filmed the ethics of filming a climb. You see the camera crew—professional climbers themselves—turning their heads away because they think they’re about to record their friend’s death. It’s meta. It’s raw.
When you're figuring out where to stream Free Solo, you're really looking for an experience that explores the limits of human fear. Honnold’s amygdala (the fear center of the brain) literally doesn't fire like yours or mine. They put him in an fMRI during the filming. The scientists showed him gruesome images that would make most people recoil. His brain barely registered a blip.
That’s the "secret sauce" of the film. It’s a character study masquerading as a sports doc.
- The Gear: Or lack thereof. He uses a chalk bag and climbing shoes. That’s it.
- The Preparation: He spent years practicing the route with ropes. He memorized every single thumb-press and toe-hook.
- The Stakes: El Capitan is 3,000 feet of sheer granite. One slip, one loose pebble, one bird flying into his face, and it's over.
Technical Specs and Viewing Tips
If you’re watching this on a phone, you’re doing it wrong. I’m serious. The scale of Yosemite National Park is lost on a six-inch screen.
Try to stream it on a device that supports HDR. The way the morning light hits the Sierras in the opening shots is breathtaking. If you’re using Disney+, look for the "4K Ultra HD" and "Dolby Vision" tags in the info section. If your internet speed is at least 25 Mbps, you should be able to pull the full 4K stream without buffering.
For those using a VPN to find where to stream Free Solo in different regions, keep in mind that the Nat Geo catalog varies slightly by country, but the Disney+ UK and Disney+ Canada libraries almost always mirror the US version for this specific title.
Beyond the Stream: What to Watch Next
Once the credits roll and your heart rate finally slows down, you’re probably going to want more. The "climbing doc" genre exploded after this.
- The Alpinist: This is on Netflix (usually). It follows Marc-André Leclerc. If you thought Honnold was intense, Leclerc is on another planet. He climbed massive alpine faces solo, in winter, with ice axes. It’s a haunting, beautiful film.
- The Dawn Wall: Also on various platforms like Prime and YouTube. It features Tommy Caldwell, who actually appears in Free Solo as Honnold’s mentor. It’s about a different kind of climb—not solo, but incredibly difficult and technical.
- Meru: Jimmy Chin’s earlier work. It’s about the "Shark's Fin" on Mount Meru in the Himalayas. It’s more about the struggle of high-altitude mountaineering than the precision of rock climbing.
Actionable Steps for the Best Experience
Don't just turn it on as background noise while you fold laundry. This movie requires your full attention.
First, check your existing subscriptions. Open Disney+ or Hulu first. If you don't have those, head to YouTube or Amazon to rent it for a few bucks. It's cheaper than a movie ticket and arguably more thrilling than any blockbuster released in the last five years.
🔗 Read more: Basket Case Release Date: Why the 1982 Cult Classic Still Gives Us the Creeps
Second, check your audio. The sound design in Free Solo is incredible. You can hear the wind whistling past the rock and the scratch of rubber against stone. If you have headphones or a decent soundbar, use them.
Finally, watch the "making of" features if your streaming platform provides them. Seeing how the camera operators had to hang from ropes for days just to get the shots makes the whole feat even more impressive. They were doing their own version of extreme climbing while carrying heavy cinema cameras.
You're now ready to experience one of the greatest physical achievements in human history from the safety of your couch. Just try to remember to breathe when he gets to the Freerider section.
Next Steps:
Go to your Disney+ app and search for "Free Solo." If it's not appearing, check your content ratings—it's rated PG-13, so some "kids' profiles" might hide it. If you're looking for the highest possible visual fidelity, purchase the 4K version on Apple TV or Amazon Prime Video rather than streaming it through a standard subscription to ensure the highest bitrate for those sweeping Yosemite vistas.