What do you do when you have come close to smashing through the entire library of documentaries on Netflix? Head over to YouTube of course!
Just like Netflix, YouTube is great at providing content that sends you down that content rabbit hole. So here are 30 of the best YouTube documentaries that you can watch for free in 2022!
30 Of The Best FREE YouTube Documentaries You Can Watch Now!
1. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
This story follows Steve Wiebe in his journey to take the high score record for the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong. It is a fascinating story of competitive arcade games and humanity.
It was directed by Seth Gordon, and premiered at Sundance Music Festival
2. Inside North Korea
This story takes us into one of the most talked about nations in the news today. The hermit nation with a violent capability remains dark to the outside. It is dangerous to film anything unauthorized in North Korea, so this documentary definitely belongs on my list of the top 30 best YouTube documentaries.
3. Free To Play
Free To Play is an American documentary produced by video game company Valve. It was created in 2014 and is based on the video game Dota 2. The film was initially intended for a gaming audience, but it soon grabbed the attention of those outside the virtual world. The plot follows three players as they go to Germany to compete in a tournament.
The plot is especially unique because it focuses on how the game has affected their real lives. The documentary has a runtime of around 75 minutes and stars Benedict Lim, Danil Ishutin, and Clinton Loomis.
This is definitely one of the best YouTube documentaries out there because of it’s modern appeal.
4. Food Fight: How Corporations Ruined Food
This documentary examines subsidies and profit motives and their effect on our food choices.
Food Fight reveals how our food has changed for the worst, particularly in the 20th century, at the hands of big corporations. The documentary also describes the counter-movement that soon emerged in California during the 60s and 70s to protest these issues and the corporate monopoly.
5. Morgan Freeman: Inside the Whitehouse
Who wouldn’t love hearing Morgan Freeman talking about anything?
Morgan Freeman: Inside the Whitehouse was produced by National Geographic in 1996 in collaboration with the White House. Its goal was to show the White House, a place with a notoriously negative reputation, in a different light. The documentary even features stories and photographs that have never been mentioned before. From patriots to history buffs, the film has it all! If you’re interested in historic documentaries, you should definitely head over to YouTube to watch this documentary now!
6. Filming Wildlife: Behind the Scenes
Meet the photographers and people involved in capturing those stunning wildlife views. A 10 year study of Polar Bears, diving into caves to find bats, or a trek across wildest Africa, these behind the scenes insights are both thrilling and informative.
7. The Great Jungle War
This is about a World War I battle in Colonial Africa which few people know about.
8. This Is Paris: The Real Story of Paris Hilton
This documentary was released in mid September 2020 and quickly was a favorite from her loyal supporters and new fans. Whether you like her or don’t like her, her story is so much more disturbing and interesting than you think. If you haven’t seen it yet, I’d highly recommend! Definitely one of the best YouTube documentaries of 2020.
9. Life In A Day
This documentary is a true masterpiece. It basically recounts one day in time but tells it from a new media perspective. It includes hundreds of different types of stories and people.
The documentary instantly became famous at its first screening in 2011. People from all around the world sent in videos of all different events, all of which was combined to create a ninety-minute work of art. The purpose of the documentary was to serve as a time capsule and help future generations understand what life was like before them. Life In A Day is worth watching simply for its candidness!
10. Wisconsin Death Trip 1999
This doc tells a strange and sad story about mental illness, abuse, and extreme violence. Based on the book about these events, you’ll come away with a new appreciation for the anguished among us. Or you’ll be totally creeped out.
Wisconsin Death Trip 1999 is an American black and white documentary directed by James Marsh. The incredible drama, lasting one hour and sixteen minutes, is based on the book written by Michael Lesy in 1973. Its first screening took place in Denmark in March 2000. The documentary is narrated by Ian Holm and combines photos taken by Charles Van Schaick of incidents from Wisconsin in the 19th century. If you want to expand your horizons and learn something new, this documentary will surely enlighten you.
11. The Curious Life And Death Of Lizzie Borden
This is a truly disturbing story. Lizzie took an axe gave her mother forty whacks. When she saw what she had done, gave her father forty one. What really happened? Can we ever know the complete story? This documentary answers some questions and raises others.
12. Shale Cowboys: Fracking Under Trump
A good look into fracking and what it does to the environment and economy.
Although this documentary only lasts for forty-seven minutes, it conveys a truly important message. Due to recent controversies surrounding a fairly new process known as fracking, disapproval spiked even more under the Trump administration. Watch this documentary if you want to learn about something truly significant and worth your time!
13. Mediums: We See Dead People
This doc takes you on a journey through the eyes of mediums and how the perceive death.
14. Haunted House: An Original Documentary
This haunting paranormal documentary follows three people investigating an abandoned house overnight.
15. The Bible’s Buried Secrets
Walk in the same land as the Prophets and Kings did, gaze upon sites of momentous battles and powerful civilizations. One extremely important aspect is the origins of monotheism, a basic tenet of three of the world’s major religions practiced by nearly 3/4s of the population of the modern world.
16. The Raid: Area 51
This is a story about the September 2019 events that lead to mass skepticism about Area 51. Millions of people signed up to see what’s really going on.
What exactly is the mystery behind this location? Are there aliens? Are their UFO’s or even more sinister things that the government is keeping from us? You’ll have to find out…
17. Sex In the Civil War
This is part of the History Channel series History Undercover and uncovers many facts about things we ordinary people would never waste a passing thought on.
18. The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off
This documentary brings us an interesting story that is bit odd and scary, medically speaking, but very moving.
19. Australia, The Great White Shark
This documentary follows a series of dives by explorers searching for the awesome predator shark as it hunts for its favorite food, sea lions. Along the way, we are dazzled by a stunning variety of underwater scenes.
20. The Essex Boys: The Whole Truth
If you are into crime and mystery documentaries, this deeply disturbing story will be perfect for you. This doc takes you through 3 puzzling murders.
21. The Golden Age of Pirates
Many pirates were ruthless criminals that preyed on ships in port and even sometimes on the ports themselves. That’s why so many islands had cannon armed forts with the guns pointing out to sea. This documentary is a great walk through history and tells you about the fascinating origins of pirates.
22. Inner City Sailing
This is a story of a teacher training 10 inner city youths all about sailing and entered them in a competition.
23. The History of Toys and Games
This documentary identifies the need for toys for people of various ages from various ages of human history. Marbles, models, dolls, darts… Some toys from thousands of years ago would entertain kids today.
24. My Mother the Monster
This is truly a disturbing story that takes you through many mysterious hoops. Be careful, it’s a super intense film!
25. Ansel Adams: A Documentary Film
This is the story of Ansel Adams. We travel to Hernandez, Yosemite, the Sierra Nevadas, and in studio to examine a perfectionist in action. Adams perfected the Zone System, a method of previsualizing and controlling the entire photographic process which is still followed in this digital age by artist photographers today.
26. Prince
This documentary explains a little bit of his complicated and fascinating life of Prince. Eccentric, talented, and troubled, the musical genius often is often revered as a musical pioneer.
27. U.S. Navy Seal vs Somali Pirates
The state of affairs on the seas surrounding certain areas is troubling. Extreme violence and brutality is the norm for these ocean going criminals and they are met with the full force of modern military. A sobering look at a serious modern day problem.
28. Putin’s Revenge Part 1
PBS Frontline brings us a 2017 documentary series about Vladimir Putin that details inside information about this enigmatic ruler of one of the most powerful nations on Earth.
Putin’s Revenge Part 2 continues the series.
29. The Real Jigsaw Murderer
Jigsaw is one of the most recognizable and scary figures in modern horror media. This twisted tale takes you through real life accounts of this Saw-esque murderer.
30. Shark Attacks of 1916
Whenever I think of the Jersey Shore, my mind’s thoughts automatically gravitate towards concerns of SHARK ATTACKS! In 1916 in the area of Matawan and Beach Haven, New Jersey a series of events occurred which inspired Steven Spielberg’s 1975 blockbuster movie, Jaws.
Two weeks, four deaths, and the beginning of America’s fear of sharks.
YouTube has provided us with what seems like BILLIONS of hours of content. And the best part is that it is (mostly) free. You can learn so much on the platform, but there are also stories that give you pure entertainment. You can always choose to go with Netflix or Hulu but YouTube is super easy and fast.
If you are mainly into crime/murder/mystery documentaries, (which I think we all are), I recommend checking out the YouTube channel Real Crime.
Hopefully this list has provided with a couple good options so you can enjoy one of the best YouTube documentaries! If there are any other documentaries that you think belong in this list, leave a comment below!
If you are thinking about creating your own YouTube videos, you can check out some of our helpful resources below.
- Best Ring Lights For Your Videos
- How to Monetize Your YouTube Videos
- How To Get More Subscribers
- Best Video Editing Software For YouTubers
- Best Photo Editing Software
Griffin says
Thank you for using the reuploads that I put in my playlist.