The best free comedy shows in NYC

If you're looking for some good laughs in Bushwick while sticking to a budget, then your best bet is to head to Starr Bar's free stand up comedy shows every Wednesday at 10pm. Hosts James Donlon, Aditya Mayya, and Paddy DeFino will showcase new sets of comedians every week with no cover charge, drink minimum or ticket fee. 

Every week, Janet Hyde and Mary Cella host stand-up comedians at Bed-Stuy's Tip Top Bar & Grill. After a short break, they're back this week with a celebratory show featuring some of their favorite comedians, including Billy Prinsell (Comedy Central), Khalid Rahmaan (Conan), Natasha Vaynblat (The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon) and Subhah Agarwal (HBO's Westworld)! This is an indoor show so you must show proof of vaccination to enter the bar. Come for the laughs, stay for the $3 PBRs!

Head to the Greenwich Village Comedy Club on Wednesdays for a night of laughs on the house. The Wednesday Wind Up takes place at 9:30pm—perfect timing after your happy hour hang. The cast of comedians shifts weekly, so be prepared to see a wide variety of jokes.

Ambush Comedy is a weekly standup comedy show at Two Boots Pizza (558 Driggs Ave, Brooklyn) featuring Josh Johnson (Comedy Central's The Daily Show), Lucas Connolly (Comedy Central), and Brittany Cardwell (Drule) who host stacked lineups of top comics from NYC and beyond! It takes place every Wednesday at 7.30pm. Free beer is given out until 8pm and reserving a ticket enters you into a pizza raffle!

This free weekly comedy show on Sundays features comedians who have appeared on Comedy Central, TruTV, and NBC in the backroom of Vig Bar (12 Spring St.). While there is no cover or item minimum for the show, it is recommended that you get a drink (soda, beer, wine, etc.) to support the venue.

The Bomb Shelter Comedy Show gathers national headlining comedians who have been on Comedy Central, The Late Show, Conan, Netflix, NBC Last Comic Standing, in an intimate setting (at the Gaf West, 401 West 48th Street). Best yet, there's no cover, no drink minimum and free pizza. The show begins at 8pm on Thursdays.

Zach Sims (Comedy Central, Sirius XM) and Dan Wilbur (How Not To Read, The Onion) team up for a weekly stand-up show featuring the best comics from NYC and around the country. Lineups include comedians featured on The Late Show, Conan, Comedy Central, and more! The free show is on Wednesdays at 7:30pm at Young Ethels (506 5th Avenue, Brooklyn).

Barrow’s Intense New York Tasting Room in Sunset Park hosts a monthly comedy show called Holy Hand Grenade with a pretty great line-up of NYC comedians, including folks like Alex Koltchak, Raj Belani and more. The three-hour show starts at 8pm.

Head to Nicky’s Unisex on South 4th Street in Brooklyn for a great lineup of comedians on February 21 with Dina Hashem, Jason Choi and J.P. McDade. Hosted by Andrew Manning and Max Antonucci, this is the first Happy Trails show. Doors open at 7. The show begins at 8pm.