As cord-cutting became more and more popular and with so many different streaming services available now as an alternative to cable or satellite TV, it also brings more confusion. Each streaming service has its own quirks and caveats, and their prices and channel lineups are constantly in flux. But which one is the best live TV streaming service for you to choose from?
Most streaming services are more similar than different. Each one gives you a large selection of cable channels-including local stations in most cases, and each provides you with a cloud DVR and a set amount of users and streams per household.
In this guide, I will compare some of the most popular streaming services, what they offer for features and how much they currently cost, so you can get a better idea if it’s worth it or not switching from your cable or satellite provider to a streaming service like YouTube TV or Hulu + Live TV.
Best Live TV streaming Services
YouTube TV – $65
85+ Channels
If you are looking to replace cable TV with something cheaper, YouTube TV is your safest bet. YouTube TV offers 85+ channels of local channels, live news, national sports, and a broad selection of entertainment channels for $65 per month. It also includes a cloud DVR service at no extra cost, that you can record an unlimited number of programs and recordings expire after nine months, which is more generous than Hulu, FuboTV, or Sling TV, that have storage limits. You can have 3 simultaneous screens at the same time which is handy for avoiding fights over the remote in a household with wide-range tastes, and 6 accounts per household.
YouTube TV also offers a limited set of parental controls to make YouTube TV kid safe. You can block shows based on their rating, but it needs to be done on every device, rather that at profile level. Tech-familiar kids can easily disable those controls which is something parents need to consider.
on YouTube
Hulu + Live TV – $65
75+ Channels
Hulu + Live TV is another great alternative for cord cutters. Besides the Live TV it also includes Hulu’s on-demand service which has a large catalog of network shows and originals such as Castle Rock. It offers an impressive channel listing with local networks, sports networks like ESPN, and a good selection of entertainment channels. It includes a cloud DVR with 5o hours of recording storage, which is a little skimpy compared to YouTube TV (unlimited) or FuboTV (250 hours), and up to two streams at a time. Both can be upgraded but for an extra monthly charge.
Hulu + live TV parental controls are also not the best. When you create a new profile on Hulu, you have the option to create a Kids profile which only has access to kid-friendly programming. However, there are no tools to block or enable specific programming on Hulu accounts and you can’t lock profiles using a PIN, so there is no way to keep kids from simply switching accounts to view adult content.
on Hulu
FuboTV – $65
117+ Channels
Originally known as the streaming home for cord-cutting sports fans, FuboTV has since become a well-rounded streaming service. While it still features the widest array of sports channels on the market, its channels mix has become more like that of its competitors. Besides of having the biggest selection of sports channels, it lacks of Warner Media -owned channels like TNT and TBS which leaves some sporting events out of reach. Starting at $65 per month, it offers over 100 channels, has local channel coverage, which is great both for catching regional sports and tuning into your local news.
It includes a cloud DVR with 250 hours recording space, 3 screens at once, and 130+ events in 4K. For $5 more a month you can upgrade your cloud DVR to 1,000 hours of space and 10 screens at once at home plus 2 on the go. FuboTV also offers an Elite plan for $80 which includes 164 channels, 130+ events in 4k, DVR with 1,000 hours of space, and 10 screens at home plus 2 on the go.
FuboTV overall is a solid live TV streaming service, especially great for sports fans. However, it doesn’t have parental control options like other live TV streaming services. If parental controls are a necessity, you may want to consider a rival service like YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, or Sling.
on FuboTV
Sling TV – $35 or $50
32, 43, or 51 Channels
Sling TV is best for people that are using an antenna to get local channels, because it doesn’t include much local coverage. It offers two base packages, Sling Orange and Sling Blue which each start at $35 per month, or you can get both for $50 per month. When you compare that to the starting prices of $65 for Hulu + Live, YouTube TV, or FuboTV, Sling TV price is very appealing.
Some of the tradeoffs here is that Sling only allows 1 screen at a time with the Orange package and 3 screens with the Blue package. If you subscribe to both, you get 4 screens at a time but you can only watch on 1 screen from Orange channels and 3 screens from Blue channels. Also it only covers Fox and NBC channels in a small number of markets, and it doesn’t include local ABC, CBS, or PBS at all and regional Fox Sports networks are missing too.
Sling also includes 50 hours of cloud DVR storage with all packages but for $5 more a month you can get DVR Plus which gives you 200 hours of DVR storage and the ability to protect favorite recordings.
on Sling TV
