The best live TV streaming services to cut cable in 2025

Reduce your monthly TV bill with one of our favorite streaming options from YouTube TV, Sling TV, Hulu and more.

Engadget

There are a number of reasons to sign up for a live TV streaming service: live news shows, linear “cable-like” channels and — the biggest draw — live sports content. That’s only more true as we get closer to Super Bowl 2025. The good news for people who just need to see the event itself is that this year it will live-stream in 4K for free on the Tubi app. But if you want all the pre-game, post-game and other tangential programming surrounding the game, plus a bunch of additional sports, news, and live channels, then you may want a live TV streaming service.

A handful of major players operate these platforms — and all of the paid services we cover here (except Philo) carry the Fox network, which means they’ll all show Super Bowl 59. There are even a couple of new plans available that just focus on sports, such as DirecTV’s MySports package and Comcast’s Sports & News TV — no doubt both were launched in anticipation of the biggest sporting event of the year.

Deciding which service to get depends on what you want to watch and what you’re willing to pay. The going rate for most packages is currently between $70 and $120 and every subscription has a different channel lineup, interface and added features (such as DVR allowances). It can be a lot to suss out. To help, we tested out each service and broke down which service offers what to help you pick the best live TV streaming service for your cord-cutting needs.

YouTube TV

Monthly price: $83/mo. and up | Local channels: Yes | Sports coverage: National, local, international | On-demand: Yes | 4K live streams: Yes (with an add-on) | Total channels: 100+ (base plan) | DVR limits: Unlimited, 9 mo. expiration | Profiles per account: 6 | Simultaneous at-home streams: 3 | Picture-in-picture: Yes (mobile and computer) | Multiview: Yes (select programming) | Contract: No | Free trial: Yes (length varies)

Fubo

Monthly price: $85/mo. and up | Local channels: Yes | Sports coverage: National, local, international | On-demand: Yes | 4K live streams: Yes (mid- and high-tier plans) | Total channels: 215 (base plan) | DVR limits: Unlimited, 9 mo. expiration | Profiles per account: 6 | Simultaneous at-home streams: 10 | Picture-in-picture: Yes (mobile and computer) | Multiview: Yes (select programming, Apple TV) | Contract: No | Free trial: Yes (length varies)

Hulu + Live TV

Monthly price: $83/mo. and up | Local channels: Yes | Sports coverage: National, local, international | On-demand: Yes | 4K live streams: No | Total channels: 95+ (base plan) | DVR limits: Unlimited, 9 mo. expiration | Profiles per account: 6 | Simultaneous at-home streams: 2 | Picture-in-picture: Yes (mobile and computer) | Multiview: No | Contract: No | Free trial: Yes (3 days)

DirecTV Stream

Monthly price: $70/mo. and up | Local channels: Yes | Sports coverage: National, local, international | On-demand: Yes | 4K live streams: Yes (three channels) | Total channels: 90+ (base plan) | DVR limits: Unlimited (9-month expiration, maximum of 30 episodes per series) | Profiles per account: 1 | Simultaneous at-home streams: Unlimited | Picture-in-picture: Yes (mobile and computer) | Multiview: No | Contract: No | Free trial: Yes (5 days)

Sling TV

Monthly price: $46/mo. and up | Local channels: Yes (ABC, FOX, NBC in 20 markets) | Sports coverage: National, local | On-demand: Yes | 4K live streams: Yes (in 16 markets) | Total channels: 35 or 46 (base plans) | DVR limits: 50 hrs, no expiration | Profiles per account: 4 | Simultaneous at-home streams: 1 (Orange), 3 (Blue) | Picture-in-picture: Yes (mobile and computer) | Multiview: No | Contract: No | Free trial: No

Philo

Monthly price: $28/mo. and up | Local channels: No | Sports coverage: No | On-demand: Yes | 4K live streams: No | Total channels: 70+ (base plan), 100+ (free) | DVR limits: Unlimited, 1 yr. expiration | Profiles per account: 10 | Simultaneous at-home streams: 3 | Picture-in-picture: Yes (mobile and computer) | Multiview: No | Contract: No | Free trial: Yes (7 days)

Tubi

Local channels: A few | Sports coverage: Replays and shows about sports | On-demand: Yes | 4K live streams: No | Total channels: 260 | Profiles per account: 1 | Picture-in-picture: No | Multiview: No | Contract: No 

Plex

Local channels: No | Sports coverage: Replays and shows about sports | On-demand: Yes | 4K live streams: No | Total channels: 800+ | Profiles per account: 15 (with a free Plex Home acct) | Picture-in-picture: No | Multiview: No | Contract: No

Sling Freestream

Local channels: A few | Sports coverage: Replays and shows about sports | On-demand: Yes | 4K live streams: No | Total channels: 400+ | Profiles per account: 4 (with sign-up) | Picture-in-picture: Yes | Multiview: No | Contract: No

Amazon Freevee

Local channels: A few | Sports coverage: Replays and shows about sports | On-demand: Yes | 4K live streams: No | Total channels: 400+ | Profiles per account: 1 | Picture-in-picture: No | Multiview: No | Contract: No

Pluto TV

Local channels: A few | Sports coverage: Replays and shows about sports | On-demand: Yes | 4K live streams: No | Total channels: 250+ | Profiles per account: 1 | Picture-in-picture: No | Multiview: No | Contract: No