Best Chromecast Apps in 2026: What to Cast From Your Phone, PC and Google TV Streamer

Google Home (iOS) sets up the Chromecast on Wi-Fi, names devices, and manages every Cast target in the house. It also casts your phone's entire screen on Android from the device page, which is the fallback when an app has no Cast button.

Cast from the phone app or Chrome browser. The Chromecast pulls the stream directly, so your phone becomes a remote and you can lock the screen. 4K and HDR work on Chromecast Ultra, Chromecast with Google TV, and the Google TV Streamer.

The Cast button sits at the top of every video, and the queue lets several phones add clips to the same TV session. YouTube TV and YouTube Kids cast the same way. Android | iOS

Google TV replaced Google Play Movies. Purchases and rentals live here, and the app aggregates watchlists across Netflix, Prime, and others. On the Google TV Streamer it is the home screen itself.

Prime Video added Cast support years ago and now works from Android and iOS, including 4K on supported hardware.

Disney+, Hulu, Max, Paramount+, Peacock, Apple TV, Crunchyroll, and in India JioHotstar, SonyLIV, and Zee5 all support Cast from their phone apps. Look for the Cast icon in the player. If one is missing, use the screen-mirroring fallback below.

Run the free Plex Media Server on a PC or NAS, then cast anything in your library from the Plex app. It transcodes on the fly when the Chromecast cannot play the source format. Jellyfin is the open source alternative and also casts.

VLC for Android casts local files from your phone. Desktop VLC on Windows, Mac, or Linux can render to a Chromecast from Playback, then Renderer. It transcodes unsupported formats at the cost of some CPU.

LocalCast (iOS) casts videos, music, and photos from your phone, SMB or DLNA shares, and Google Drive or Dropbox, with subtitle support. Use it when the file is on your phone and you want it on the TV fast. Free with ads.

On a computer, Chrome's three-dot menu has Cast. Send a single tab (with audio), the whole desktop, or a local file by dragging it into a tab first. Tab casting gets a website's video onto the TV when the site has no Cast button. Edge and Brave offer the same feature.

Open any photo or album and tap Cast to show it on the TV. Swipe on your phone to move through the album. Videos in your library cast too. Android | iOS

Spotify Connect and Cast both work from the Now Playing screen. Playback continues if your phone leaves the house because the Chromecast streams directly. Free tier included. Android | iOS

Casts like YouTube with the same queue. YouTube Premium subscribers already have access. Android | iOS

Large Indian music catalogue with Cast in the free tier. Android | iOS

Casts synced lyrics to the TV for whatever plays on Spotify or YouTube Music. A free karaoke screen.

One of the few podcast apps that casts properly with chapter support. Android | iOS

For MP3 and FLAC on your phone or NAS, BubbleUPnP handles DLNA and Cast, and Pulsar is a simpler player with Cast built in.