An IPTV free EPG is a publicly available Electronic Program Guide delivered as an XMLTV file, giving your player the schedule data it needs to show what is on now and what comes next. You do not need to pay for one. Several reliable sources publish updated XMLTV files covering thousands of channels, and adding one takes about two minutes.
What “IPTV free EPG” actually means
IPTV players display a grid of channels and times, exactly like a cable TV guide. That grid is populated from an EPG file, not from the stream itself. Your provider may supply an EPG URL automatically, or they may not. When they do not, or when their guide is incomplete, you add a third-party XMLTV source.
XMLTV is a plain XML format. Each channel has an id, a display name and a block of programme entries with start times, end times and titles. Your player matches those channel IDs against the tvg-id tags in your M3U playlist. If the IDs match, you see a guide. If they do not, you see “No Information”.
The best free EPG sources for IPTV in 2026
The sources below are free, publicly documented and actively maintained as of September 2026. None of them require registration for basic use.
EPG.lat
Covers Latin American and Spanish-language channels primarily, but the overall channel count exceeds 30,000 across multiple regions. The XMLTV files are updated frequently and the tvg-id naming is well documented on the site, which cuts down on mismatches considerably.
iptv-epg.org
Offers country-specific XMLTV files. You pick the country code (for example epg-us.xml or epg-gb.xml) and paste that URL into your player. Files are updated roughly every five hours. Channel counts per country range from around 23 in smaller markets to over 700 for the US and Canada. A gzip version is also available at the same URL with a .gz extension, which loads faster in players that support compressed feeds.
iptv-org/epg (GitHub)
An open-source project that scrapes EPG data from hundreds of broadcaster websites and compiles XMLTV output. The data accuracy is generally high because it pulls directly from official sources rather than aggregated community submissions. The tradeoff is complexity: you either run the scraper yourself or track down a mirror hosting the compiled XML. Not ideal for casual users, but worth knowing about if you need data from a specific regional broadcaster.
Your provider’s built-in EPG
Many providers include an EPG URL in the M3U header or list it on the account dashboard. Check there first. Using your provider’s own guide avoids ID mismatches because the IDs were built to match their playlist.
Free EPG source comparison
| Source | Cost | Coverage | Update Frequency | Ease of Setup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPG.lat | Free | Latin America, global mix | Every few hours | Paste URL, done |
| iptv-epg.org | Free | Country-specific files | ~5 hours | Pick country URL |
| iptv-org/epg | Free | Global, broadcaster-sourced | Varies by site | Requires technical setup |
| Provider EPG | Included | Provider’s own channels | Varies | Usually automatic |
| m3u4u.com | Free tier | Custom-matched | On demand | Manual channel matching |
If you are in the US or UK, start with iptv-epg.org. Grab the URL for your country, paste it into your player’s EPG settings, and check the result. If channels still show no data, the problem is almost certainly a tvg-id mismatch, not the source itself.
How to add a free EPG source in common players
TiviMate
- Open TiviMate and go to Settings > Playlists.
- Tap the playlist you want to add the EPG to.
- Tap “EPG” and then “Add EPG”.
- Paste the XMLTV URL.
- Force a refresh by going back to Settings > EPG > Update EPG Now.
TiviMate lets you add multiple EPG URLs per playlist. If your provider’s guide covers most channels but misses a few, add a second source to fill the gaps without removing the first.
Kodi (with PVR IPTV simple)
- Open the PVR IPTV Simple Client settings.
- Go to the EPG Settings tab.
- Set “XMLTV URL” to the address of your chosen free EPG file.
- Set the cache path if you want to store a local copy.
- Restart Kodi or force a reload from the EPG settings.
Kodi caches the EPG locally, so after the first load it is fast. That cache can go stale if Kodi does not refresh on schedule. If your guide stops updating, check the EPG cache expiry setting.
IPTV Smarters Pro
- Tap on your playlist and choose Edit.
- In the “EPG URL” field, paste the XMLTV source.
- Save and then pull down on the channel list to trigger a refresh.
Smarters only supports one EPG URL per playlist. If you need multiple sources, combine them externally first or choose whichever source covers the most channels in your setup.
Fixing the most common IPTV free EPG problems
Adding a URL and still seeing “No Information” is the most frequent complaint. Here is what actually causes it and how to fix each case.
| Problem | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| ”No Information” on all channels | EPG URL not saved or not refreshed | Re-save the URL, force a manual EPG update |
| ”No Information” on some channels | tvg-id in M3U does not match EPG channel id | Edit tvg-id in your M3U or use a player with manual channel mapping |
| Guide is accurate but one day behind | Player cached an old file | Clear EPG cache, force refresh |
| Guide shows wrong shows for a channel | Two channels share a similar name but different IDs | Check for duplicate IDs in the EPG file |
| EPG URL fails to load | Source is down or URL has changed | Try the gzip version or switch to an alternative source |
Before assuming your EPG source is broken, use the IPTV stream checker to confirm your streams are actually working. A dead stream can look like an EPG problem when the real issue is upstream.
If you want to browse your channels and check what is loading before committing to an EPG source, the IPTV channel viewer gives you a quick look at what your playlist contains without needing a full player setup.
Keeping your EPG accurate long-term
Free EPG sources can change URLs or stop updating without notice. A few habits keep things working:
Check the source periodically. If your guide goes blank, visit the source’s website directly to confirm the URL has not changed. This happens more often with community-maintained lists than with established sites.
Use the compressed version when available. Most sources offer .gz files alongside the plain XML. The compressed version is identical data but downloads faster and puts less load on the source’s server, which matters when you are refreshing every few hours.
Match tvg-id values carefully. If you edit your M3U playlist or switch providers, the tvg-id values will likely change. Run your updated playlist through the M3U to Xtream converter to standardise the format before adding it to your player, which makes EPG matching easier.
Test your connection speed if the EPG loads slowly. A large XMLTV file, and some US files run several megabytes, can time out on slow connections. Use the buffering and speed test to check whether your bandwidth is the limiting factor.
Free EPG is one of the more fixable parts of an IPTV setup. The sources are there, the format is open, and most players handle it well once the IDs line up. The work is in the matching, not in finding the data.
Frequently asked questions
What is an IPTV free EPG? An EPG (Electronic Program Guide) is the on-screen schedule that shows what is playing now and next on each channel. A free EPG is one delivered via a public XMLTV URL at no cost, rather than bundled by a paid provider.
Why does my EPG show ‘No Information’ even though I have an EPG URL? The most common cause is a mismatch between the channel IDs in your M3U playlist and the IDs in the EPG XML file. Open the XML in a text editor and compare the tvg-id values in your playlist against the channel id tags in the EPG. They must match exactly, including capitalisation.
How often do free EPG sources update? Most public XMLTV sources refresh every 4 to 12 hours. Some update once per day. Check the source’s own page or the XML file header for the actual refresh interval before assuming stale data is a bug.
Can I use more than one EPG source at the same time? Yes. TiviMate, Kodi with the XMLTV plugin, and most modern players let you add multiple XMLTV URLs. The player merges the guides, so one source can fill gaps left by another.
Will using a free EPG source slow down my streams? No. The EPG file is downloaded separately from the video stream and cached locally. It has no effect on stream speed or buffering. If you suspect buffering is EPG-related, run a check at /tools/iptv-speed-test to confirm the cause.