The best live TV streaming services for cord cutters: Expert tested

Sling TV features: Channels: 30+ | Plan options: 3 | Video storage: 50 hours | Price: Starts at $40 per month

Sling TV is my pick for best live TV streaming service overall thanks to its affordable price and options that help you tailor the service to the channels you actually want to watch. 

Choose from two plans: Orange ($40 a month), which exclusively includes seven channels like Disney Channel and ESPN, or Blue ($45 a month), which exclusively includes a few local channels like ABC, Fox, and NBC, as well as 14 more 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 also have the option to combine both plans for $60 a month. 

Get half off your first month of any plan when you sign up. Add on premium channels like Showtime, Starz, AMC+, and MGM+ for additional monthly fees. Right now, there's also a deal to prepay for six months of Sling Orange plus NBA League Pass at a discounted rate.

If you're looking for non-English channels, Sling TV has more options than any other service, including numerous Asian, European, Arabic, Brazilian, and Portuguese options. 

Where Sling TV falls short compared to other services is its DVR offering: 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 for that.

Bottom line: 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, Sling TV is a great choice. However, you should note that this is the only live TV streaming option on this list that will not be streaming Super Bowl 2024, as its channels don't include CBS.

Hulu Plus Live TV features: Channels: 90+ | Plan options: 2 | Video storage: Unlimited | Price: Starts at $77 per month

For those looking to take advantage of both live TV streaming and premium VoD streaming, Hulu Plus Live TV is a solid pick and gets you a lot of bang for your buck. For $77 a month, you get 90+ channels of live TV, plus Hulu's VoD catalog (with original shows like Only Murders In the Building and The Bear), plus access to Disney+ and ESPN+. 

Hulu Plus Live TV's live channels include your local ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox stations in most areas, as well as the ESPN and Fox sports networks. You'll also get popular channels like HGTV, Comedy Central, TNT, TLC, USA, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, and Disney Channel. You can add on Max, Showtime, Starz, Cinemax, NFL RedZone, and more for an extra fee.

Hulu Plus Live TV also includes unlimited DVR storage, and two simultaneous streams (though you can add on more). The only downside of this plan is that Hulu, Disney, and ESPN content has ads -- you can upgrade to the $90 a month plan to get ad-free content and downloads. If you can afford it, it's worth it to not have to deal with the ads.

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

My family is currently a YouTube TV subscriber, in large part this is because it's the only streaming service that offers NFL Sunday Ticket, for watching out-of-market Sunday afternoon football games, for an additional cost. 

YouTube TV offers lots of perks, including more channels than its competitors (like AMC, Bravo, Comedy Central, FX, NBA TV, TLC, TNT, US, Disney Channel, and Nickelodeon), and unlimited DVR. You can add on Max, Starz, Showtime, and more sports networks for an extra fee. And for an additional $10 a month, you can add 4K viewing to certain content, unlimited simultaneous streams at home, and the ability to watch recorded content offline. 

The reason why it isn't higher up on this list is largely because the price has gone up fairly substantially this year, from $65 a month to $73 a month. (In comparison, Hulu TV costs just $5 more per month, and also includes access to Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+.) 

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 a great live TV streaming service. 

DirecTV Stream features: Channels: 75+ | Plan options: 3 | Video storage: Unlimited | Price: Starts at $80 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. Its base offer costs $80 a month for 75+ channels. The next two tiers go up to $109 a month (for 105+ channels) and $120 a month (for 140+ channels). You can 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. (At the time of this writing, there are deals to bundle each package with the sports pack for a discounted price.)

The base Entertainment package includes 75+ live channels (including AMC, FX, HGTV, TBS, TCL, and Nickelodeon) and local news channels (like ABC, NBC, Fox, and CBS) in most areas. Add-on channels Max, Showtime, Starz, MGM+, and Cinemax are included free for the first three months, and then for extra fees. 

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

One fun feature that makes DirecTV Stream a good choice for those who still want a channel-flipping experience is the ability to swipe left and right to change channels. 

Fubo TV features: Channels: 175+ | Plan options: 3 | Video storage: 1,000 hours | Price: Starts at $75 per month

If you're primarily looking for a live TV streaming service to watch sports, Fubo is likely the best choice for you. Watch ESPN, BeIN Sports, the Big 10, FS1, FS2, and the Golf channel, along with most local networks like ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox. That means you can access everything from NFL, NBA, and MLB games to English Premier League soccer games, NASCAR races, boxing, and more. Check Fubo TV's website below to see what specific local channels are available for your zip code.

Beyond sports, Fubo TV 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. You can stream on up to three devices at the same time.

Choose from three different plan tiers, ranging from $75 to $95 per month. All plans offer local ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC channels in many regions. However, Fubo TV 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 either upgrade your plan or add them on. 

Through the end of March Fubo is offering $20 off for the first month or first quarterly package, including all English plans (Pro, Elite, and Premier). 

Philo features: Channels: 115+ | Plan options: 1 | Video storage: Unlimited | Price: Starts at $25 per month

If you're looking for a cheaper live TV streaming option and aren't interested in sports or local programming, Philo is a great option: At just $25 a month, you can stream more than 70 channels live, 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. Add on MGM+ for $6 a month or Starz for $10 a month to access their content as well. 

A major plus: Philo offers unlimited DVR, so you can rewind and fast forward through commercials as you like. 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, too.

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.