Here are the 7 best live streaming TV services

In the era of streaming TV, services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney Plus have become popular ways for people to “cut the cord.” However, those services offer movies and TV shows (mostly) on demand. There is still an audience that wants to watch live television, particularly for sports, news, and other major live events. For those users, live streaming TV services are the way to go.

Here are the best live streaming services that are currently available. As you can see, they all have very different lineups of channels, prices, and features.

Best live streaming TV services

Editor’s note: We’ll be updating this list of the best live streaming TV services regularly as new ones launch.

Comparing the services

Sling TV – Cheapest service with local channels

What makes it “the best”

• Sling TV has two main plans to choose from, and each costs just $35 a month.
• It also offers lots of add-ons for extra channels, along with free cloud DVR.

The Sling Blue plan has over 50 cable TV channels for live streaming TV, which includes local Fox and NBC channels in select markets. It costs $35 a month. Sling Orange has over 30 different channels, including three ESPN sports cable channels. It also costs $35 a month. If you get both Sling Blue and Sling Orange plans, you pay $50 a month.

There are also extra plans that you can add to Sling Blue and Orange plans. The Sling Sports Extras plans cost $10 a month and add a number of sports cable channels to Blue and Orange. There are also Comedy, Kids, News, Lifestyle, and other plans you can add for $5 a month each. In addition, there are tons of other ala cart channels you can add to the plans, including most of the major pay cable movie channels (with the exception of HBO).

Sling TV includes 10 hours of free Cloud DVR storage which can be expanded to 50 hours for an extra $5 a month. There are also tons of free live tv streaming movies and TV shows available on-demand, and even more than you can rent online.

Hulu Plus Live TV – Most complete service with Disney Plus and ESPN Plus included

What makes it “the best”

• Hulu has lots of on-demand current movies and shows with a solid amount of live TV channels and most local stations.
• Its Cloud DVR features have 50 hours of space at no extra charge.

Hulu Plus Live TV is one of the best live streaming TV services you can get, either by itself or combined with a Hulu subscription. The basic package, with Hulu, currently costs $69.99 a month, or $75.99 a month with no ads on Hulu.  It offers access to over 65 channels and live channels from your local ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox stations. You can also add on major pay cable movie channels like HBO, Cinemax, Starz, and Epix for an extra fee.

Hulu Plus Live TV includes 50 hours of cloud DVR service, which can be boosted to 200 hours for an extra $15 a month. You can also get an unlimited amount of screens in your home streaming the service for an extra $15 a month or get both the boosted DVR and unlimited screens features for $20 a month.

Recently, subscribers got a price hike, but added two more streaming services, Disney Plus and ESPN Plus, at no additional cost.

YouTube TV – Best TV streaming service for local channels

What makes it “the best”

• YouTube TV has over 85 channels for the price of $65 a month.
• It also has a 14-day free trial and unlimited DVR storage.

Google’s YouTubeTV costs $72.99 a month. For that price, this live TV streaming service includes access to over 85 live TV channels. It also includes local ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox stations. You can add additional pay cable channels for additional monthly fees. You can have up to six people access your single YouTube TV account.

This service has unlimited cloud DVR storage, with the only limitation being that your recordings will disappear nine months after their creation. The service recently added a new sports tier add-on with several sports channels. It also recently added support for 4K video streaming and mobile downloads, but for an extra fee.

DirecTV Stream – Best for Max users

What makes it “the best”

• DirecTV Stream offers free access to the Max streaming service with its Premier plans.
• It also supports up to 20 devices on one account and you can get unlimited DVR storage.

DirecTV Stream (previously known as AT&T TV Now) has four main plans. The Entertainment plan includes over 65 channels for $70 a month (with a two-year agreement). The Choice plan has over 90 channels, plus HBO/Max, Cinemax, Showtime, and Epix included for the first three months, for $85 a month (with a two-year agreement).

The Ultimate plan, with 130 channels, costs $95 a month (with a two-year agreement) and HBO/HBO Max, Cinemax, Showtime, and Epix are also included for the first three months. Finally, the Premier plan has over 140 channels, including full access to HBO/HBO Max, Cinemax, Showtime, and Starz included for $140 a month (with a two-year agreement). Epix is available as an add-on.

Plus plan subscribers, and Choice and Ultimate subscribers after three months can also sign up for HBO/HBO Max for an extra fee. There are also other pay cable channels you can add for extra fees. Choice, Ultimate and, Premier plans all include regional sports channels.

All plans offer 20 hours of cloud DVR storage, but you can upgrade to unlimited storage for an extra fee of $10 a month. You can also access your local channels (although they do vary in some individual markets).

Fubo TV – Best TV streaming service for heavy sports users

What makes it “the best”

• Fubo TV is made for the major sports TV fan although it also has lots of other channels to choose from.
• It also has a 7-day free trial and up to 1,000 hours of cloud DVR storage.

Fubo TV started out as a live streaming TV sports service only. However, it has since evolved into a more mainstream streaming live TV service. Its Starter package costs $65 a month and has over 100 channels, including many local and international sports channels. It also includes 30 hours of cloud DVR storage and support for up to two streams at one time. The Pro plan costs $70 a month, and boosts the cloud DVR space to 500 hours, plus three streams at once, with unlimited streams while at home. For $80 a month, you can access the Elite plan, with over 150 channels, along with up to 1,000 hours of DVR storage. There are also lots of other channel lineups that you can add for additional fees.

Just recently, Fubo TV added the popular ESPN channels, which makes it even better for live sports viewing. Normally it has a 7-day free trial but as of this writing you can get two weeks to try it for free if you are a new subscriber.

Philo TV – Best TV streaming service for the money

What makes it “the best”

• Philo TV has 65 channels for the low price of $25 a month.
• It also has a 7-day free trial, unlimited DVR storage, and up to 10 profiles per account.

Philo TV is the definition of a bare-bones live streaming TV service. For just $25 a month, you get 61 live cable TV channels. You also get a seven-day free trial and a whopping 10 profiles per account. You can also stream on up to three devices at once. There’s also unlimited cloud DVR storage, although your recording will disappear after 30 days. Recently, the service added access to two movie channels, Epix and Starz. Both are available as add-on channels to Philo TV’s service.

Platforms for the service include Android, iOS, Android TV, Roku sticks, boxes, and TVs, and Amazon Fire TV sticks and TVs. It’s also available for the Apple TV box, Windows and Mac PCs.

Frndly TV – Lowest price for a live TV service

What makes it “the best”

• Frndly TV is a highly curated live streaming TV service made for family-friendly viewing.
• Plans begin at just $7 a month.

This is a very unusual live streaming TV service. Frndly TV is made specifically for family-friendly television watching. It includes channels like the many Hallmark cable TV outlets, along with UpTV and other channels that don’t offer more adult content. The basic plan costs just $6.99 a month for 37 channels, with a feature that automatically records shows up to 72 hours in the past. You can get unlimited DVR storage for 3 months for the $8.99 a month Classic plan. There’s also a $10.99 a month Premium plan that boosts the storage time to 9 months.