Start with why you're looking for an alternative, because the free landscape splits cleanly:
If it's platform coverage
— you watch beyond Netflix and YouTube — **Trancy's free tier** is the answer: bilingual subtitles and unlimited word/sentence translation on YouTube, Netflix, HBO, Disney+, TED, Coursera, Udemy and more, permanently free. Caps to know: 100 saved words, 50 saved sentences, no AI features. Our full breakdown: Trancy free vs Premium.
If it's Firefox
— Language Reactor doesn't support it — Trancy again; it's the maintained Firefox option in this category. Details: Language Reactor on Firefox.
If you're a power user who wants everything free and doesn't mind setup
— **asbplayer**, an open-source subtitle-mining extension maintained by the immersion-learning community. It works with your own subtitle files, supports Anki card creation with audio and images, and costs nothing. The trade-offs are real: you supply subtitles for streaming sites yourself in many cases, setup is manual, and there's no hand-holding — it's a tool by and for people who already know their workflow.
What no free option gives you
— and when paying starts making sense: automatic capture of audio + screenshot onto every flashcard with zero setup, a maintained SRS with mobile review apps, and study-grade dictionaries (pitch accent, tones). That bundle is what LangPanda's $8.88/month actually buys, and Language Reactor's own Pro tier ($5.95/month) is the budget path to part of it (word saving + Anki export of saved words). Free is a great way to build the habit; the paid tools exist to remove the friction once the habit is real.