How to Download Shows and Movies from Crave

By Kevin Kearney

Last updated 30 November 2023

Television with shows available on Crave — Crave allows you to download your favorite movies and shows and watch offline.
Credit: Bell

Contents

In this guide:

How to download on Crave
Free Crave subscriptions
Internet speed for Crave
Frequently asked questions

Crave is a streaming service and app owned by Bell that offers a gigantic library of films and shows from HBO, HBO Max, Showtime, and more. Like many other streamers, the Crave app offers Premium Ad-free subscribers the ability to download content so they can access their favorite movies and episodes whenever they want, even if they’re offline. Unfortunately, this option isn’t available for Crave’s Basic with Ads and Standard with Ads subscribers.

In this guide, we’ll break down how to download Crave shows to watch offline, explain how to pick up two-years’ worth of free Crave access, and detail the best internet plans for streaming.

Read on to learn everything you need to know about how to download on the Crave app.

What's happening

WhistleOut Canada watches for trends in the internet industry. Here's what's going on this month:

We've updated our list of the best internet providers in Canada, including several hot deals on high-speed plans.
Starlink is now available in most of Canada, making their satellite internet service an enticing option for remote areas.
We’ve got our eyes on the best cheap internet plans and the best internet plans for students.

How to download on Crave

Downloading your favorite movies and episodes from Crave is a simple process, so long as you’re a Premium Ad-free subscriber. Basic with Ads and Standard with Ads subscribers cannot save content to offline.

Here’s how to download from Crave:

In the Crave app, find a movie or show you want to download.
Press the download icon to the right of the title.
When the title begins downloading, you’ll see a progress wheel appear.
When the download has finished, a checkmark will appear.
After that, your downloads can then be accessed via the My Downloads tab.

Screenshot of Crave My Downloads page — *On your “My Downloads” page, the status of your downloads will appear to the right of the video. Credit: Bell*

Crave downloads last for 30 days and you’re limited to a maximum of 20 pieces of downloaded content at one time. If you’re worried that’s not enough to sustain your whole family for a long flight, don’t worry: Crave accounts allow for five devices and each one is eligible for 20 downloads, meaning you can technically save 100 pieces of content offline!

Free Crave subscriptions

Bell owns Crave and offers the streaming service as a perk on some of their plans. The deal is nothing to sneeze at: right now, you can grab 24-months of Crave for free when you activate or upgrade to any of their Ultimate cell phone plans.

The downside? Bell is only offering Crave Basic with Ads with these plans. The upside? You get two years of free Crave along with an unlimited data plan on one of the country’s largest wireless networks. If you’re in the market for a new plan, we think this is a great deal.

Bell’s Ultimate 30GB plan provides unlimited talk and text plus 30GB of full-speed 5G data for an affordable monthly price. It’s an ideal plan for the everyday phone user who prioritizes practicality and reliability above all else. In the process, you’ll also pick up two free years of your favorite shows and movies.

Carrier	Bell
Data	Unlimited Data
Type	Contract (24 mths)
Current Deal	This plan includes $20/mo. credit with Autopay
Total Price	$45 per month (includes $20/mo. credit with Autopay)
	View Details

If you’re someone who uses your phone as your primary streaming device, you’ll need more than 30GB per month. We recommend Bell’s Ultimate 100GB Canada-US plan. Like other Ultimate plans, it offers unlimited talk and text, but this plan provides 100GB of full-speed 5G data. That’s more than enough to ensure you’ll be able to watch all your favorite episodes on the go–without having to save them offline.

Internet speed for Crave

A streaming service is only as good as the internet it runs on. If you’ve been frustrated by lag, slow downloads, or service interruptions while using Crave, you should consider a new home internet plan.

What's a good internet speed?

A “good internet speed” depends on your unique needs, but the CRTC defined 50Mbps download and 10MBps uploads as the minimum qualifications for “good internet speed.”

If you’re using any kind of streaming service, Crave or otherwise, you’ll need an internet plan with at least 50Mbps downloads to ensure you can receive high-quality video. If you’re in a household that uses multiple devices to stream simultaneously, we recommend 50-100Mbps downloads.

Not sure about the speed of your current internet plan? Take our internet speed test to find out.

Internet Speed Test

Is your internet fast enough? Test internet speeds at your location with a single click.

Best internet plans for Crave

oxio’s Internet 100 plan offers 100Mbps downloads, 10Mbps uploads, unlimited data, and a free Wi-Fi modem for a low monthly payment, making it one of the best internet plans in Canada. It’s an ideal plan to help Crave run to its full potential and allow you to rewatch The Sopranos (again) without any interruptions.

Provider	oxio
Speed	Up to 100 Mbps
Data	Unlimited
Connection	Cable
Type	No Term Contract
Total Price	$57 per month Available in select locations
	View Plan

If you’re in a large household filled with both streamers and gamers (bless you!), you might be interested in an even faster plan to all but guarantee high-speed playback across all of your home’s devices. We recommend Virgin Plus’ 300Mbps plan, which is perfect for heavier internet users. The plan offers 300Mbps downloads, 100Mbps uploads, unlimited data, and a rent-free modem.

Provider	Virgin Plus
Speed	Up to 300 Mbps
Data	Unlimited
Connection	Mobile Broadband
Type	No Term Contract
Total Price	$55 per month for 12 months then $95.00/month. Prices may increase during subscription.
	View Plan

Want to see more options? You can read our guide to the best internet plans in Canada or check out some of the most popular plans in the country below.

#1	Diallog	Diallog Plus Cable 75/10 Mbps $25/mo Go	$25/mo	Go
#2	Cogeco	Cogeco UltraFibre 1Gig Unlimited Fibre 1000/1000 Mbps $54.99/mo Go	$54.99/mo	Go
#3	oxio	oxio 1000 Mbps Cable 1000/50 Mbps $85/mo Go	$85/mo	Go
#4	Bell	Bell Wireless Home Internet 25 Fixed Wireless 25/5 Mbps $50/mo Go	$50/mo	Go
#5	Telus	Telus PureFibre Internet 250 Fibre 250/250 Mbps Contract (24 mths) $80/mo Go	$80/mo	Go

How to download from Crave: FAQs

How many downloads can you have on Crave?

You can have 20 downloads on Crave at a time. With that being said, you can have up to five devices on a Crave account, each one able to have 20 downloads. That means, technically speaking, you can have up to 100 downloads on Crave at a time.

How long do downloads stay on Crave?

Downloads stay on Crave for 30 days at a time.

How can I watch Crave outside Canada?

Crave is only available to watch in Canada. If you download videos while in Canada, you can watch them outside of the country, though they’ll expire 48 hours after they’ve been watched. If they go unwatched for 30 days, they will expire.

If you live outside of the country but want to subscribe to Crave, you can try using a VPN and setting it to a location within Canada. With that being said, we don’t condone any illegal activity and would never, ever try this ourselves…

Why am I unable to download content from Crave?

There could be a number of reasons for why you’re unable to download content from Crave, but the most common is that you’ve reached the maximum amount of downloads: users are only allowed 20 offline downloads per device. If you’ve reached that number, Crave won’t allow you to download additional videos. Try removing an older video from My Cravings to make space in your download queue, then return to the title you’d like to download. You now should be able to save the video to offline.

Still having trouble with downloading content from Crave? You can contact their customer support at +1-888-CRAVE88, Monday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET. You can also use the live chat function on their website Monday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET.