The best live TV streaming services to cut cable in 2026

Worth: $83/mo. and up | Simultaneous at-home streams: 3 | Whole channels: 100+ (base plan) | DVR limits: Limitless, 9 mo. expiration | Multiview: Sure (choose programming) | Contract: No | Free trial: Sure (size varies)

In mid-December of 2024, subscribers acquired a bummer of an e-mail letting them know the value of YouTube TV can be going up yet again, this time to $83, which is a $10 hike from the final improve of $8 in March of 2023. Even nonetheless, Google’s choice makes a powerful case for delivering the most effective streaming service for stay TV. 

In comparison with our prime choose for sports activities, YouTube TV covers main and minor groups, regional video games and nationwide matchups nearly as effectively. It offers you clear navigation, an important search operate, limitless DVR and broad community protection. However, even past the value improve, YTTV is financially precarious for those who’re not nice at resisting temptation.

Upon signup, you’re introduced with practically 50 totally different add-ons, together with 4K decision, premium channels and themed packages. Even for those who battle the urge to roll Max, Shudder and AcornTV into the combo at signup, the enticement stays because it’s dangerously simple so as to add extra to your subscription — once I looked for a program on a community I didn’t have, I used to be prompted so as to add it. And naturally, you can even hire or purchase films that aren’t presently displaying on any channels, identical to you’ll be able to through YouTube. Whereas it’s handy to have the ability to order up something I’d need on a whim, I might simply see this pushing one’s invoice far above Google’s listed value per 30 days.

Nonetheless, it’s good to have all of your leisure in a single place. And for those who solely need the add-ons, you’ll be able to truly subscribe to many of the standalone networks with out paying for the bottom plan. Both approach, you get a well-known consumer expertise, with navigation you’ll acknowledge for those who’ve spent any time on common ol’ YouTube. Unsurprisingly, Google’s search operate was the most effective of the bunch, discovering the reveals and video games I looked for rapidly and giving me clear decisions for watch and document.

At signup, you’ll additionally choose the reveals, networks and groups you want, that are added to your library. YouTube TV then robotically data them. You get limitless cloud DVR house (although recordings expire after 9 months) and it’s lifeless easy so as to add programming to your library. Like an actual cable expertise, YouTube TV autoplays your last-watched program upon startup by default, but it surely was the one service that allowed me to show that function off by heading to the settings.

Trying to find and recording an upcoming sport was simple. As soon as the sport was recorded, I needed to hunt a bit to search out it in my library (seems single video games are listed below the Occasions heading, not Sports activities). However after that, playback was easy and included a captivating additional function: You’ll be able to both play a recorded sport from the start or hit Watch Key Performs. The latter offers you between 12 and 20 spotlight snippets, every about 10 seconds lengthy. It focuses on essentially the most spectacular photographs in an NBA bout and contains each purpose in an MLS matchup. The function was accessible for NCAA basketball and in-season main American leagues (hockey, soccer and basketball on the time of testing). Overseas and extra minor video games didn’t have the function.

Sports activities followers may also recognize the brand new multiview feature that YouTube TV added mid-2024 that permits you to choose as much as 4 sports activities, information and climate channels from a choose checklist and consider all of them on the identical time in your display. If you end up continuously flipping backwards and forwards between video games, this might prevent some problem.

YouTube TV additionally offers you essentially the most in-app settings. You’ll be able to add parental controls to a profile or pull up a stats menu that reveals your buffer well being and connection speeds. You’ll be able to decrease playback decision for sluggish connections and even ship suggestions to YouTube. It was additionally the most effective at integrating VOD and stay programming. For instance, once I looked for a present that occurred to be taking part in stay, a purple badge within the nook of the present’s picture let me understand it was on proper then. I do know it makes no distinction whether or not I watch an on-demand recording or a stay present, however I just like the imagined sense of neighborhood figuring out another person may be watching this episode of Portlandia too.

Worth: $74/mo. and up | Simultaneous at-home streams: 10 | Whole channels: 213 (base plan) | DVR limits: Limitless, 9 mo. expiration | Multiview: Sure (choose programming) | Contract: No | Free trial: Sure (size varies)

You might have heard in regards to the announcement of the merger between Fubo and Hulu + Stay TV and end up questioning how that’ll have an effect on the 2 providers. For now, the businesses plan to function as separate entities, however will use their mixed energy to leverage service and content material offers.

Sadly, Fubo hasn’t begun to wield that leverage with regards to contract negotiations with different media organizations. Starting in November 2025, Fubo misplaced entry to NBC Common properties together with native NBC associates (which means no Sunday Evening Soccer) in addition to Bravo, USA Community and Telemundo. A previous dispute with Warner Bros Discovery eliminated channels like HGTV, Discovery, Meals Community, TNT and TBS. For that purpose, Fubo has modified its pricing; Its least expensive plan now goes for $74.

The low cost makes Fubo $9 cheaper per 30 days than YouTube TV and $16 cheaper than Hulu+ Stay TV. So that you might use the financial savings to sign up for Peacock ($11 or $17 month-to-month) to get the lacking NBC sports activities and leisure. If you happen to’re keen so as to add the additional subscription to your life, you’ll discover lots to love with Fubo’s service — notably for sports activities followers. If you first enroll, it asks which groups you observe throughout all types of associations. Choose groups from in-season leagues and also you’ll rapidly have DVR content material to observe. That’s as a result of Fubo data each sport your chosen groups play so long as it’s aired on a supported channel – and its sports activities protection is huge.

I examined out the top-tier bundle and had round 100 sports activities networks to select from. Along with the same old suspects from ESPN, Fox and CBS, you’ll be able to watch motorsports, worldwide leagues, journey sports activities and even poker. Add-ons provide you with NBA TV, NFL Purple Zone and MLB Community.

Fubo even has its personal sports activities channels. And in August 2025, Fubo added entry to ESPN+ for subscribers to its Professional and Elite plans. It does require establishing a MyDisney account, which you can learn about here.

The UI designers clearly put effort into making content material simple to search out with limitless categorization, together with breaking down sports activities choices by kind, giving a number of filtering choices for stay information and on-demand content material, in addition to together with attention-grabbing groupings on the house web page.

Fubo additionally makes discovering and recording your favourite video games simple. Trying to find an upcoming match was easy, as was sifting by way of the ample quantity of recorded video games I ended up with. I notably favored FanView for stay video games, which inserts the video right into a smaller window and surrounds that window with frequently updating stats plus a clickable checklist of different video games presently airing. However, sadly, the function is not presently accessible. Hopefully Fubo will deliver it again, because it was a differentiating perk for the service.

Fubo did just lately broaden its multiview function, letting you watch as much as 4 stay channels without delay. This function used to solely be accessible on Apple TV packing containers and solely with sports activities fare, however I used it in January 2025 with a Roku machine and was in a position to have two NCAA males’s video games, my native night information and CSI Miami from ion Thriller all up on the display on the identical time.

Fubo delivers on the stay TV expertise as effectively. The information was spectacular within the variety of methods it allow you to set up stay TV, but all the things felt clear and uncluttered. The Dwelling, Sports activities, Reveals and Motion pictures pages had been full of suggestions and lots of iterations of classes, with nearly all solutions being stay TV.

The concentrate on stay TV could make the VOD and DVR playback features really feel second-rate. The search operate wasn’t the most effective at discovering the reveals I regarded for, and navigating accessible VOD content material wasn’t as breezy as shopping by way of stay programming. The dearth of a pop-up preview window as you quick ahead or rewind by way of recordings makes it powerful to gauge the place you’re in a present.

It’s price noting {that a} lapsed Fubo subscription will allow you to entry a truncated model of the service for free. When my subscription expired after testing, I obtained an e-mail detailing the content material I might nonetheless watch with out re-upping my funds. It’s just like different free advert supported TV streamers, with a restricted channel choice by way of the identical Fubo interface.

Worth: $90/mo. and up | Simultaneous at-home streams: 2 | Whole channels: 95+ (base plan) | DVR limits: Limitless, 9 mo. expiration | Multiview: No | Contract: No | Free trial: Sure (3 days)

In what appears to be a yearly custom, the value of Hulu+ Live TV has gone up once more. In October 2023, the bottom tier jumped to $77 per 30 days. In October the next 12 months, it went to $83. And within the blessed 12 months 2025, Hulu+ Stay TV subscriptions nudged as much as $90 per 30 days (for reference, the service was $40 month-to-month when it debuted in 2017). 

These value jumps are a bit simpler to take when you think about that you just get a number of content material you’ll be able to’t discover elsewhere; the service comes bundled with Disney+, ESPN+ and contains Hulu’s unique programming. So for those who’re already a Hulu and Disney+ subscriber, it in all probability makes essentially the most sense so that you can go together with Hulu’s stay part. Word that $90 will get you that content material with advertisements — for ad-free Disney+ and Hulu, it’s $100 month-to-month.

There’s no telling if pricing will change additional when Hulu undergoes anticipated modifications. First, there was the announcement of the merger between the service and Fubo. Then in August 2025, Disney shared its plans to mix the on-demand Hulu with Disney+ in 2026. For now, Fubo, Hulu + Stay TV and Disney+ will all function as separate entities, however Variety reported on plans for Hulu+ Stay TV to even be rolled into Disney+ in some unspecified time in the future subsequent 12 months.

Because it stands now, Hulu + Stay TV carries your native associates and many of the prime cable channels. For sports activities, you get all accessible ESPN iterations plus FS1, FS2, TBS, USA, NBC Golf, the NFL Community and TNT (Turner Community Tv). You too can add on premium VOD channels like Max and Showtime, and it’s the one supplier that features Disney+ at no additional price.

Navigation isn’t as clean as many of the different choices — as I used Hulu + Stay TV, it felt just like the stay part had been shoehorned into the usual Hulu app. However for viewers who’re already snug with (and paying for) Hulu and Disney+, this may be the most effective choose to your stay TV subscription.

Worth: $0 – $90/mo. and up | Simultaneous at-home streams: Limitless | Whole channels: 105 (free), 9 – 185 (paid) | DVR limits: Limitless (9-month expiration, most of 30 episodes per sequence) | Multiview: Sure (choose mixes) | Contract: No | Free trial: Sure (5 days)

In mid-April, DirecTV Stream rebranded. Streaming is now the corporate’s main providing and is solely known as DirecTV. Clients searching for the unique satellite tv for pc TV service can nonetheless discover it, but it surely’s nested throughout the streaming choice on the web site, with a disclaimer that states the dish-enabled plan is simply for many who don’t have high-speed web at house. It’s attention-grabbing to see a extra conventional satellite tv for pc supplier shift its focus to streaming — a transfer that’s clearly supposed to raised compete with YouTube TV and different related providers.

The excellent news is that streaming with DirecTV requires no contract (the satellite tv for pc plan nonetheless assesses a $20-per-month early termination price). There’s no particular tools concerned until you wish to get the Gemini Air streaming machine. The HDMI streaming dongle helps 4K decision, Dolby Atmos, Dolby Imaginative and prescient and HDR10+, just like the 4K streaming sticks from Roku or Amazon that price round $50. However you’ll be able to’t purchase the Gemini Air. As an alternative, you lease it for $10 per 30 days, which, after 5 months or so, would possibly begin to really feel like a foul deal.

It’s nonetheless the service that almost all carefully resembles cable, full with numbered channels and considerably complicated plan buildings. You’ll be able to go for Signature packages, which vary from $85 per 30 days to $170 per 30 days — these are most corresponding to YouTube TV, Hulu + Stay TV and Fubo. Or you’ll be able to join one of many 4 Genre Packs which price $35, $40 or $70 month-to-month. These slimmed-down channel lineups concentrate on sports activities, leisure, information or Spanish language stations. The leisure pack jogs my memory of Philo and the sports activities choices have a whiff of Sling’s Orange and Blue plans. 

The corporate just lately introduced that subscribers to any DirecTV Signature Package deal or the MySports Style Pack will achieve entry to the of ESPN’s service at no additional cost. DirecTV prospects who pay month-to-month for the Gemini machine may also get entry to the Disney+ and Hulu fundamental bundle.

No matter which plan you find yourself going with, it’s all primarily based on the DirecTV streaming app, which you’ll be able to obtain and watch without cost, (like Tubi or Pluto TV), however when you add a plan or pack, the channels you paid for are unlocked.

Evaluating the $85-per-month Leisure Signature Package deal (to not be confused with the $35 MyEntertainment Style Pack) to YouTube TV and Hulu + Stay TV’s $83 base plans, the choices are fairly related. You get your space’s 5 main native channels (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, PBS), practically the entire 20 most popular channels (aside from Ion and the Historical past Channel), sports activities channels that embody ESPN, TNT, and FS1, plus limitless DVR house with a nine-month expiration.

The navigation and efficiency of the service stays largely unchanged from once we first began recommending it. I just like the expertise of flipping from one numbered channel to the following — it jogs my memory of watching TV as a child, plus it’s nice for serendipitously discovering one thing to observe if you’re bored. The highest navigation is fairly easy, with choices for search, house, the stay TV information, your DVR library and on-demand content material. The information doesn’t break up the channels right into a ton of classes, simply latest, sports activities, children, films and TV reveals. There’s additionally a favorites channels checklist, which you’ll be able to add to from the information.

There’s nonetheless no method to cease no matter is taking part in as you browse the information — one thing I discover irritating, but it surely won’t hassle everybody. As you watch a present within the stay information, you’ll be able to press your distant’s proper D-pad button to advance to the following numbered channel and hitting the left button takes you to the previous channel. If you wish to rewind or quick ahead, you need to first hit the middle/enter/OK button after which you’ll be able to management playback. That took me a minute to get used to, however wasn’t an enormous studying curve. Urgent up reveals you a number of latest channels and the down button creates an inset of the present you’re watching alongside some steered related programming, widespread channels, your continue-watching content material and extra shopping classes.

A brand new multiview function allows you to pick from seven “mixes,” every of which incorporates 4 channels you can watch abruptly in a grid on the identical display. There’s a combination for sports activities, information, enterprise, children, native and extra and it’s accessible to subscribers to the Signature packages and the MySports style pack.

I discovered it fairly easy to navigate DirecTV as soon as I acquired the grasp of it. That simplicity extends to the best way it seems to be as effectively, with plain grids in gray and blue tones. Some would possibly discover that minimalism refreshing and clear. I discovered it a bit uninspired — I wasn’t as excited to browse as I’ve been with different apps. Navigation can be a bit sluggish. In comparison with watching different stay content material (on the identical TV with the identical web connection), DirecTV channels all the time took a second or two longer to load.

The search operate requires you to enter your complete question then hit Finished to see your outcomes. Different providers begin displaying findings as you kind. Once more, the outcomes are organized into three classes: reveals, films or all. If there’s one thing on a channel you’re not subscribed to, it’ll immediate you to go surfing and join the channel. You’ll be able to’t do it by way of the app, like you’ll be able to with some providers. You would possibly discover that annoying or be pleased about the slight little bit of friction it provides to spending more cash.

Worth: Free, $30/mo. and up | Simultaneous at-home streams: 1 (Orange), 3 (Blue), 3 (Choose) | Whole channels: 600+ (free), 10 – 50 | DVR limits: 50 hours | Multiview: No | Contract: No | Free trial: No

To me, the concept of spending time fine-tuning channel decisions sounds exhausting. However for those who’re the sort who desires to get precisely what you need with out paying for an excessive amount of of what you don’t, could also be your finest guess. It breaks its base plan into three packages, Blue, Orange and Choose, with totally different channels on every.

In contrast to most suppliers, Sling didn’t change its pricing construction in 2025. As an alternative, it launched that allow you to watch channels on the Orange plan for simply $5. There are additionally to select from, so if there’s only a sport or two you wish to watch, this may very well be the most cost effective method to do it — simply be certain that Sling Orange contains the channels that air what you wish to watch.

The Orange plan contains ESPN, TNT and HGTV together with about 24 different channels. Blue contains the NFL Community, Fox Information and USA plus 35 extra. Each carry CNN and TNT. The $30 month-to-month Choose plan contains Nationwide Geographic, FX, the NFL Community, FS1, Fox Information and a pair others. In some markets, subscribers may also get their native ABC, NBC and Fox stations.

After choosing a plan, you’ll be able to select from add-on packages together with blocks extras together with a sports activities additional, information additional, and leisure additional. Premium choices, together with HBO, AMC+, Starz and Paramount+ with Showtime. Sling has pay-per-view films, too.

So far as native protection, Sling Blue grants entry to ABC, Fox and NBC native associates in about 20 of the bigger US markets together with Los Angeles, Seattle, Dallas, NYC, Miami and DC.

Sling now provides . You will want a Roku, Amazon Fireplace or Apple TV machine that helps 4K (and a appropriate TV) however for no additional cost, you will get to see sure sports activities occasions with a bump in decision.

Sling’s navigation is speedy and the interface is properly organized, placing an emphasis on what you want to observe, with suggestions which can be fairly correct. The UI additionally makes the add-ons you’ve chosen simple to search out. In my checks, although, the app froze various instances as I navigated. Whereas most providers froze a few times, it occurred sufficient instances with Sling to frustrate me. I needed to power give up or again out of the app and begin over 5 or 6 instances in the course of the three weeks of testing. In comparison with others, Sling’s DVR allowance is on the stingy aspect, solely providing you with 50 hours of recordings, although they will not expire. You’ll be able to pay for extra DVR storage, however that may improve your total prices.

I attempted to not wander too far off-path throughout testing, however I really feel it’s my responsibility to tell you that Sling has an Elvis channel, a Bob Ross channel and ALF TV (sure, a complete station dedicated to the ‘80s sitcom starring a puppet). There’s additionally a Dog TV network supposed to be performed to your canine if you go away the home, which you’ll be able to add to Sling or get as a standalone app for $10 per 30 days.

Worth: $28/mo. and up | Simultaneous at-home streams: 3 | Whole channels: 70+ (base plan) | DVR limits: Limitless, 1 yr. expiration | Multiview: No | Contract: No | Free trial: Sure (7 days)

Philo held out at $25 month-to-month for a number of years however elevated to $28 in 2024 and added add AMC+ to reduce the blow (and it has some good shows!). Then in late 2025, the value went up once more — this time to $33 month-to-month — however added entry to the ad-supported tiers of HBO Max and Discovery+. Customers will have the ability to watch these channels by way of the HBO or Discovery app, utilizing their Philo account for entry.

Regardless of the bump, it’s nonetheless one of many least expensive methods to get a cordless stay TV expertise. Philo’s free choices just lately elevated as effectively, bumping as much as more than 100 channels.

The largest caveat is that you just received’t discover any native stations or sports activities programming on Philo. If that’s not a difficulty, the service is nice, with a clear, streamlined interface and beneficiant DVR limits.

I’m a fan of minimalist design, so I appreciated presentation of the menus and information. There are simply 4 prime navigation headings: Dwelling, Information, Saved and Search. And as an alternative of the same old information format that stretches out or shortens a present’s itemizing to characterize its air time, Philo’s information options monospaced squares in chronological order with the length of this system contained in the sq.. One other good contact is if you navigate to a sq., it fills with a stay video of the present or film.

Philo doesn’t restrict the quantity of programming you’ll be able to DVR and allows you to hold recordings for a full 12 months, which is greater than the 9 months different suppliers permit. Like all stay TV streamers, Philo received’t allow you to quick ahead VOD programming. If skipping commercials is necessary to you, I like to recommend profiting from that limitless DVR coverage and hitting “Save” on any present or film you suppose chances are you’ll wish to watch, then quick forwarding it on playback (you are able to do this with all of the providers we tried).

So far as channels, Philo covers lots of the prime cable networks, with notable exceptions together with Fox Information, CNN, ESPN and MSNBC. Anybody searching for nice information protection ought to look elsewhere anyway, however the lack of some must-have leisure retailers like Bravo and Freeform was a bit disappointing.

The 100 or so channels in Philo’s free service are baked into the paid plan, bringing the whole to 170, which is a reasonably whole lot for below $30 month-to-month.

Native channels: A number of | Sports activities protection: Replays and reveals about sports activities | On-demand: Sure | Whole channels: 260 | Profiles per account: 1

You’ll be able to watch Tubi with out signing up, however doing so allows you to make lists, add your favourite reveals and channels, and keep in mind the place you left off in a program. There are a pair hundred stay channels together with dozens of regional Fox stations (which of them you see will rely in your location). You additionally get news-stream channels like NBC Information Now, Fox Stay Now and ABC Information Stay. Fox is Tubi’s mum or dad firm so there are picks like Fox Sports activities on Tubi, Fox Soul and Fox Climate as effectively. Round a dozen sports activities channels, channels dedicated to true crime, dramas, comedy and life-style reveals spherical out the complete lineup.

The stay TV class lives within the aspect rail navigation, together with tabs for on-demand films, TV reveals, children stuff and a classes part. These sub-categories are prolonged with subjects like Actors Turned Administrators, Martial Arts Mayhem and Werewolf Mysteries. Inside the stay TV tab, the channels are additionally divided into classes so you could find information, sports activities and native fare together with genres like comedy, drama and sci-fi channels. Navigation is speedy and settings embody helpful options like parental controls, autoplay choices and closed captioning modifiers. It’s an total clean expertise — the one delicate irritants I discovered is that the TV information solely stays open for 10 seconds for those who’re not actively clicking round and your present present retains taking part in as you browse the information.

Native channels: No | Sports activities protection: Replays and reveals about sports activities | On-demand: Sure | Whole channels: 800+ | Profiles per account: 15 (with a free Plex Dwelling acct) 

isn’t just an expansive FAST service with greater than 500 stay TV channels in most areas — it’s additionally an important instrument to your different streaming pursuits. The search operate will inform you which different providers presently carry a specific title. I looked for Dept. Q, Excessive Potential, Sinners and Willow and located I might watch these reveals and flicks with a subscription to Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max and Disney+, respectively. You too can seek for content material by actor or director and hire films instantly from Plex.

In 2024, Plex culled from different Plex customers {and professional} critics — customers may even share their critiques with associates on the service, making a -like social media aspect. The search operate might be sluggish (although it has improved over time) and, from what I’ve seen, it precisely directs you to the right supplier. It’s a totally nice stay TV service too, with loads of channels, good group and a straightforward to navigate interface.

Native channels: A number of | Sports activities protection: Replays and reveals about sports activities | On-demand: Sure | Whole channels: 400+ | Profiles per account: 4 (with sign-up) |

Like DirecTV, Prime Video and Fubo, Sling provides a no-cost model of its paid service throughout the identical app. If you happen to pay for Sling, you received’t see the Freestream framing, however the channels are nonetheless accessible. With no subscription, you’ll be able to entry greater than 400 channels of free stuff, together with information networks like BBC Information, CBS Information 24/7, ABC Information stay, Bloomberg and Cheddar information, together with a slew of regional Fox and CBS information stations. The sports activities choices are fairly slim, however there are many leisure channels, AMC content material, true crime stations and plenty of channels dedicated to a single present (Physician Who, Farscape, Portlandia and Kim’s Comfort to call a number of).

The navigation is a bit clunkier to navigate than different providers, with a mixture of nested vertical and horizontal menus and totally different features to your distant’s buttons relying on what display you’re on. No matter you’re watching pops up in a small picture-in-picture window if you go to the information — and I notably recognize that the window is simple to shut so you’ll be able to browse in peace.

Native channels: A number of | Sports activities protection: Replays and reveals about sports activities | On-demand: Sure | 4K stay streams: No | Whole channels: 250+ | Profiles per account: 1 | Image-in-picture: No | Multiview: No | Contract: No

is granularly organized, separating out practically two dozen classes for its stay content material — together with native CBS information and a sports activities part that features CBS Sports activities HQ, NBC Sports activities Now, channels for NFL, NBA and MLB, NBC Golf Cross and about two dozen extra. There’s additionally loads of Star Trek to go round and a bunch of Pluto’s personal stations like Pluto Historical past, Nick Jr Pluto, CSI Pluto, Pluto True Crime and some Pluto Traditional TV stations. Lots of that content material, after all, comes courtesy of Pluto’s mum or dad firm, .

The stay news-stream choice is pretty stacked and contains NBC Information Now, ABC Information Stay, CNN Headlines, BBC Information, Sky Information and others. One factor I’ve to level out is that no matter you’re watching retains taking part in and you may simply see a sliver of the present above the information as you browse, which I discovered distracting. However I did take pleasure in having the ability to flip from channel to channel utilizing the up and down buttons on my distant’s D-pad, identical to old-school cable browsing.