Tech
Best live TV streaming service: The top 5 picks for entertainment, sports, and more
When you’re finally ready to cut the cord, shopping for a live TV streaming service is an obvious starting point. They offer many of the same channels you had with cable or satellite TV, but deliver them over the internet to your smart TV or streaming device.
All that said, live TV streaming services have been getting more and more expensive, and in some ways they won’t be exactly like what you had with cable or satellite. Our top picks will help you avoid overpaying and get the TV channels you care about the most.
YouTube TV – Best TV streaming service overall
Pros
- Simple interface makes live TV easy to navigate
- Unlimited DVR allows for a huge on-demand library (with skippable ads)
- Broad selection of local, news, sports, and entertainment channels
Cons
- Can’t delete recordings or mark them as watched on TV devices
- One-off recordings only work for live sporting events
- Menu doesn’t clearly separate DVR and on-demand video (with unskippable ads)
Who should use YouTube TV?
If you want to cut the cable cord without overthinking it, YouTube TV is the easiest starting point to recommend. It’s the best drop-in replacement for cable or satellite TV.
It’s not exactly cheap at $83 per month, but it offers a broad mix of the local stations, live news, national sports, and entertainment channels you’d get with a typical pay TV package, almost certainly at a lower price.
Its interface is easy to comprehend, its cloud DVR lets you record an unlimited number of programs for up to nine months, and you can even bundle NFL Sunday Ticket at a discount.
YouTube TV: Further considerations
Other services may offer a better value—either by bundling other services or omitting popular channels—or by delivering more regional sports coverage. Also, persistent price hikes mean that YouTube TV is no longer the leader on value that it once was.
Another thing to note is that the service streams at up to 720p resolutions for most cable channels, with 1080p support for on-demand recordings. There is also wide device support with Roku, Apple TV, most Fire TV devices, and most smart TVs from 2021 onwards.
Read our full
YouTube TV review
Hulu + Live TV – Best TV streaming service, runner-up
Pros
- Excellent value for Disney bundle subscribers
- Expansive on-demand catalog
- Recommendations and staff picks make the app fun to explore
Cons
- Live TV can be inefficient to navigate
- Hard to figure out which programs allow ad skipping
- Can’t watch on TV devices while traveling
Who should use Hulu + Live TV?
The main thing that distinguishes Hulu + Live TV from YouTube TV is its inclusion of the full Disney bundle, so you get Hulu’s on-demand catalog, Disney+ (with ads, unless you were grandfathered in), and ESPN+ in the $90-per-month base package.
Hulu’s cloud DVR service lets you save an unlimited number of shows for up to nine months, and while the interface can be busy, it ties everything together in a way that encourages discovery.
Hulu + Live TV: Further considerations
Hulu’s live TV package makes a lot of sense if you’re paying for any of Disney’s other streaming services. Disney+ and Hulu each cost $10 per month on their own (or $11 per month together), while ESPN+ is even pricier at $12 per month (also available with Disney+ and Hulu for $17 per month). With Hulu + Live TV, you get all those services at no extra cost.
Read our full
Hulu + Live TV review
DirecTV Stream – Best TV streaming service for sports fans
Pros
- Excellent grid guide with useful sorting options
- More sports (at least in its $108-per-month tier) than other streaming services
- DVR is easy to navigate and has its own dedicated menu section
Cons
- No visual preview when fast forwarding on Fire TV and Android TV
- Sluggish performance on some lower-end streaming devices
- Some national sports channels are pushed out to more-expensive packages
Who should use DirecTV Stream?
YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV only offer patchy regional sports coverage, and standalone streaming options are still limited. Sports fans who can’t stream their local baseball, basketball, or hockey teams any other way would be wise to consider DirecTV Stream despite its steep price.
DirecTV Stream’s starting price is $94.99 per month, but the main attraction is its $114.98-per-month “Choice” package, which includes more sports coverage than other live TV streaming services. In some markets, it’s the only way to stream certain regional sports channels that remain tied to pay TV bundles.
DirecTV Stream: Further considerations
DirecTV Stream’s cloud DVR and grid guide are notable highlights of the service as well, with an interface that will make cable or satellite converts feel at home.
As mentioned above, the starting price is already high, and if you opt for the full “Choice” package it can be one of the most expensive live streaming options on the market. Sports really has to be a priority, or potential users might be better suited looking for other, less expensive options instead.
Read our full
DirecTV Stream review
Sling TV – Best budget-priced TV streaming service
Pros
- Lower entry price than any other streaming bundle
- Simple menu system with easy access to favorites
- DVR supports ad-skipping, partial recordings, and time-shifting
Cons
- Price can quickly escalate to get certain channels
- Most channels top out at 30 frames per second
- Only supports one user profile
Who should use Sling TV?
Sling TV is an invaluable option for those who can skate by without a full range of local channels. Sling TV’s starting price of $46 per month is a lot lower than most other bundles, which it accomplishes by splitting its channels into two base packages and omitting local broadcasts in many markets. The DVR feels a bit stingy—you get 50 recording hours, or 200 hours for an extra $5 per month—but it’s still the cheapest way to access certain cable channels without a big cable bundle.
Sling TV: Further considerations
The service pairs especially well with an over-the-air antenna for local channels, and you can even use an AirTV device to feed those channels into Sling’s app.
The price can grow very quickly if you decide to opt for more channels. If you find that you need more, it might be better (and more affordable) to go with another service that bundles everything together rather than adding additional channels to your Sling TV subscription.
Read our full
Sling TV review
Philo – Best budget-priced TV streaming service, runner-up
Pros
- DVR has helpful ad-skipping features
- Easy to find your favorites and recently-watched shows
- Integrates well with Fire TV, Google TV, and Apple TV devices
Cons
- No sports, major cable news, or local broadcast channels
- Channel guide layout is disorienting
- No surround sound or adjustable streaming quality
Who should use Philo?
Cord-cutters who favor reality shows, documentaries, and other forms of comfort food TV will find plenty to watch on Philo. Cheaper standalone services such as Max or Netflix might scratch a similar itch at lower prices, but they don’t have the same live TV and DVR features.
For $33 per month, Philo offers lots of entertainment channels in an easy-to-navigate interface, and its cloud DVR even marks up commercial breaks to help you skip through them.
Philo: Further considerations
It’s important to know what Philo is missing: It doesn’t include any local channels, sports channels, or major cable news networks, which is a big part of why it’s much cheaper than other live TV streaming services.
Read our full
Philo review
Other live TV streaming services we like
Fubo prides itself on live sports and is only rivaled by DirecTV Stream on regional sports, but its lack of Warner-owned channels (including postseason sports staples TNT and TBS) leaves some serious gaps in its coverage. It costs $85 per month, including regional sports fees. Frndly TV is the cheapest live TV streaming service by far, starting at $9 per month (on an annual plan), with a channel lineup that leans heavily into classic TV reruns. It probably won’t fulfil many cord-cutters’ needs on its own, but might be worth considering as a supplement to other services.
How we test live TV streaming services
Beyond just watching a lot of TV, we evaluate each service’s channel lineup to point out any important omissions, while also comparing basic features such as simulataneous streams and out-of-home viewing restrictions. We scrutinize each service’s DVR capabilities, including the ease with which you can access recordings, manage your storage, and skip through commercials. To evaluate video quality, we look for features such as 60-frames-per-second video support across a broad range of channels.
We also examine every corner of each service’s interface, comparing features such as the grid guide, on-demand menu, and home screen. Our in-depth reviews include plenty of screenshots, so you can see for yourself what each service looks like.
Why you should trust us
As TechHive’s resident cord-cutting expert, I’ve been reviewing live TV streaming services ever since the launch of Sling TV back in 2015, and I’ve been a cord-cutter myself since 2008. Beyond just product reviews, I write a weekly column about streaming and over-the-air TV for TechHive, and my Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter has more than 30,000 readers.
Who curated this article?
Jared Newman has been a freelance technology journalist for more than 15 years and is a regular contributor to PCWorld, Fast Company, and TechHive, where he’s written a weekly cord-cutting column since 2014. His Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter has more than 30,000 subscribers, and his Advisorator tech advice newsletter is read by nearly 10,000 people each week.
Frequently asked questions about streaming live TV
What is the best live TV streaming service?
YouTube TV is the best live TV streaming service thanks to a broad mix of local stations, live news, national sports, and entertainment channels. It also has an easy-to-use interface and generous DVR package as well.
What is the best cheap live TV streaming service?
Sling TV is the best cheap live TV streaming service. It might lack some local channels, but it’s still the cheapest way to access certain cable channels without an expensive cable bundle.
How are live TV streaming services different from services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video?
On-demand video services such as Netflix (also known as SVOD, or streaming video on demand) offer original programming you can’t find on cable, along with catalogs of movies and shows licensed from Hollywood studios. Some of these streamers are dabbling in live sports—most notably, HBO Max’s B/R Sports add-on offers every event that airs on its cable channels—but for the most part this coverage is different from what’s on cable.
By comparison, live TV services carry the exact same channels you’d find in a cable or satellite package, including major networks such as ABC and CBS, news channels such MSNBC and Fox News, and sports channels such as ESPN. They have similar grid-style channels guides and DVR features as well.
How do I watch live TV streaming services?
Each of these services offer their own apps, which you can install on your smart TV, streaming device, smartphone, or tablet. You can subscribe to these services through their own websites, or in some cases directly through the app.
Can I watch live TV streaming services while traveling?
Yes, though some services have restrictions on what you can watch and how you can watch it.
Are there equipment or activation fees for live TV streaming services?
No, live TV streaming services do not charge activation fees, and you can log in to watch on as many devices as you want at no extra charge. You might hit a limit on how many devices can be actively streaming at the same time—usually it’s two or three, depending on the service—and some services allow you to pay for more simultaneous streams if you need them.
