The best live TV streaming services of 2025: Expert tested

YouTube TV is my pick for the overall best live TV streaming service due to its unlimited DVR and more than 100 channels including AMC, FX, NBA TV, Disney Channel, and Nickelodeon. 

Why we like it: My family subscribes to YouTube TV largely because it’s the only streaming service that offers NFL Sunday Ticket — a package for watching out-of-market Sunday afternoon football games for an additional cost. This add-on is the one to consider for every football fan gearing up for next season. 

With the multiview feature, you can watch up to four channels on the same screen, so you’ll never miss a game, even if two are scheduled simultaneously.

You can tack on Max, Starz, Showtime, and more sports networks for an extra fee. For an additional $10 a month, you can add 4K viewing to certain content, enjoy unlimited simultaneous streams at home, and watch recorded content offline. 

Who it’s for: If you’re looking for the widest selection of channels — and/or NFL Sunday ticket — and don’t mind the price tag, YouTube TV is an excellent live TV streaming service. 

Ahead of Black Friday, the company is offering this service at $73 per month for the first three months.

Who should look elsewhere: The biggest downside is the price, which recently jumped from $73 to $83 a month. Even at its current sales price, it is expensive. In comparison, Hulu (With Ads) + Live TV costs the same and also includes access to Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+.

YouTube TV features: Channels: 100+ | Plan options: 1 | Video storage: Unlimited | Price: Starts at $83 per month ($73 per month on sale)

If you’re on a budget, Sling TV is my pick for the best TV streaming service with affordable options to tailor the service to the channels you actually watch. 

Why we like it: Sling TV offers two major plans. Orange is $5 per day and offers channels like Disney Channel and ESPN. Blue costs $46 a month and offers local channels including ABC, Fox, and NBC, as well as other premium cable channels like FX, Bravo, NFL Network, and FS1. 

Both plans include 25 base channels like AMC, CNN, Comedy Central, TBS, and TNT. You can also combine them for just $61 a month. For further savings, you can get half off your first month of any plan when you sign up, and add on premium channels like Showtime, Starz, AMC+, and MGM+ for additional monthly fees. 

There is also a slimline package available for $20 per month including channels like the NFL Network.

If you’re looking for international channels, Sling TV has more options than any other service including numerous Asian, European, Arabic, Brazilian, and Portuguese language options. 

Who it’s for: If you’re looking for a basic and affordable live TV streaming service that still gets you a good number of channels and an easy-to-use interface — and you’re not deterred by antennas — Sling TV is a great choice. 

Who should look elsewhere: Sling TV falls short when compared to other services’ DVR offerings — it only includes 50 hours of DVR storage unless you pay extra. It also doesn’t come with many local channels, though the platform suggests adding on an antenna — which you’ll have to buy if you don’t already have one.

Sling TV features: Channels: 30+ | Plan options: 3 | Video storage: 50 hours | Price: Starts at $20 per month

DirecTV Stream is the live TV streaming service that most resembles cable, both in terms of the user experience and the price tag. 

Why we like it: DirecTV Stream lets you keep the nostalgic channel-flipping experience with the ability to swipe left and right on your phone to change channels.

DirecTV Stream also offers unlimited in-home streams, three maximum out-of-home streams, and unlimited DVR storage. 

Who it’s for: Anyone who wants to cut the cord without losing the traditional cable experience.

The Entertainment plan costs $90 a month for more than 90 channels, the Choice plan costs $95 a month for more than 125 channels, and the Ultimate plan costs $125 a month for more than 160 channels. 

At the time of publication, DirecTV’s Entertainment, Choice, and Ultimate plans are on sale for $50, $60, and $90 per month, respectively. However, prices jump after the first month.

You can also add on a sports pack to each of these plans for an extra $15 a month, which includes ESPN, NFL Network, MLB Network, and more regional sports networks than many others on this list. 

Who should look elsewhere: This service is quite expensive outside of sales events, and so if you want something cheaper, check out my other recommendations.

DirecTV Stream features: Channels: 75+ | Plan options: 3 | Video storage: Unlimited | Price: Starts at $87 per month

If watching live sports is your main draw for a live TV streaming service, FuboTV is the best choice for you. 

Why we like it: Watch ESPN, BeIN Sports, the Big 10, FS1, FS2, and the Golf Channel in addition to most local networks, including ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox. With this package, you can access everything from NFL, NBA, and MLB games to English Premier League soccer games, NASCAR races, boxing, and more. 

Check FuboTV’s website below to see what specific local channels are available for your zip code.

Beyond sports, FuboTV also includes live channels like FX, Bravo, E!, HGTV, Food Network, Disney Channel, Hallmark, Fox, and MSNBC. Add on Starz, Showtime, or MGM+ for additional monthly fees. With 1,000 hours of DVR storage, you’re not likely to run out of space for a while, and you can stream on up to three devices simultaneously.

Who it’s for: This is an ideal live TV streaming service for sports fans. 

Choose from three different plan tiers ranging from $56 to $105 per month outside of promotional pricing. However, you can take advantage of a one-month discount, cutting the price to $46 – $75.

All plans offer local ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC channels in many regions. However, FuboTV doesn’t include TNT and TBS, both of which show a lot of sports. It also doesn’t include the Fox regional sports networks, and if you want to watch league-specific channels — like MLB TV or NHL Network — you’ll have to upgrade or expand your plan. 

A free trial is available.

Who should look elsewhere: There’s plenty of storage and channel options, but if sports aren’t your priority, shop around.

FuboTV features: Channels: 175+ | Plan options: 3 | Video storage: 1,000 hours | Price: Starts at $56 per month

Philo is a great option if you’re looking for a cheaper live TV streaming option and aren’t super interested in sports or local programming. 

Why we like it: At just $33 a month, you can stream more than 70 live channels and 100 free channels and access an on-demand library of over 70,000 titles.

Philo’s live TV channels include Comedy Central, HGTV, AMC, Discovery, TLC, Discovery, BET, Nickelodeon, Lifetime, and Food Network. AMC+ is now built into Philo’s core package, giving access to that platform’s premium shows and movies.

A major plus — Philo offers unlimited DVR, so you can rewind and fast forward through commercials on your recorded programming. Even without the DVR, most of the platform’s shows and movies remain available on demand for a few days after their first live airing.

Stream on up to three devices at once and create up to 10 user profiles. If you do want to try to access some local channels and sports, you can supplement Philo with a TV antenna. 

Who it’s for: Anyone who wants an affordable live TV service. You can also take advantage of a number of free channels before taking the plunge.

Who should look elsewhere: It’s cheap, has plenty of channels, and generous storage options — but you might want to explore our other favorites if you are focused on local or sports TV.

Philo features: Channels: 170+ | Plan options: 1 | Video storage: Unlimited | Price: Starts at $33 per month

The best live TV streaming service is FuboTV, which features both mainstream sports like football and hockey and non-mainstream sports like F1 racing and cricket. There are also several sports channel add-ons to choose from, including an NBA League Pass channel and International Sports Plus, so you’ll find something for every sports fan.

There are a number of different streaming services that you can use to watch NFL games, but they can vary considerably in their coverage types. For example, YouTube TV is where you’ll find NFL Sunday Ticket, which lets you watch all out-of-market games. The NFL Plus streaming service also includes RedZone and the NFL network, though you’ll only be able to watch local and primetime games on your phone, not your TV or computer. For more, check out our guide for how to watch NFL games live.

YouTube TV and Hulu Plus Live TV support 1080p/60fps live streams on select platforms, so if picture quality is something that’s important to you, these are both good options. 

Short answer: It depends. When people first started cutting the cord over a decade ago, it was possible to save over $100 per month and still get to watch the shows you wanted. But today, internet streaming service bills have crept up closer to cable TV levels. However, if you’re savvy about which services you subscribe to — and if you can share subscriptions at times — it’s still possible to save.

The live TV streaming services on this list all have something to offer. While YouTube TV is my top pick generally, if you’re looking for the closest thing to cable in terms of number of channels and user experience, I’d say go for DirecTV Stream.

The cheapest live TV streaming service is Philo TV which carries more than 115 channels, and includes A&E, Discovery Channel, Comedy Central, and more, for just $25 per month.

Of the bigger streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video are the only two that offer any kind of live TV streaming at the moment. Hulu has a partnership with ESPN+, meaning that certain live sports events can be streamed through the basic Hulu plan without any additional cost. Amazon Prime Video has rights to Thursday Night NFL games, which allows Prime members to stream live football games from the Prime Video app.

To make use of any of these services, you’ll need broadband internet. If you’re living on your own, you may be able to get by with as little as 10Mbp. If you’re sharing your home with others and/or you want to watch 4K videos, we recommend you have at least a 25Mbps internet connection. Not sure how fast your connection is? Run the Ookla Speedtest.

And, by the way, you won’t lose anything by switching from a cable box to a Roku or Amazon Fire TV 4K stick. The only real difference between conventional cable and internet TV is that live streaming sports lag 15 seconds to a minute behind live broadcasts.

For the most part, all of these support the most popular streaming devices. For example, no matter which service you subscribe to, an Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV Cube, Roku Express, or Google Chromecast will almost certainly support it. But if you’re using a more obscure streaming gadget, such as an Nvidia Shield TV Pro, it might not work with your preferred service. Smart TVs also frequently don’t support newer streaming offerings. In short, make sure the service will work with your hardware before subscribing. 

Also: The best streaming devices