Cutting cable? We compared prices to find the ‘best’ live TV streaming service
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Plans offering live TV range from $46 to about $100 per month.
- The number of channels vary by plan, and not all plans offer local channels.
- Prices of most plans remained the same or decreased since 2025.
Streaming services marketing themselves as alternatives to cable TV have been adding new plans intended to give customers more choice over their subscriptions.
Earlier this year, YouTube TV announced it would launch more than 10 new plans. Offering channels focusing on news, sports, entertainment and “family” programming, each plan is cheaper than the YouTube TV Base Plan, which remains the company’s most comprehensive offering.
Sling TV is another example. In December, the company added a new three-day pass, which gives customers short-term access to one of its plans.
Many U.S. families have been feeling the strain from price increases of groceries, gas, mail services or other expenses, and may be looking for ways to cut costs.
The News & Observer collected and compared prices of streaming alternatives to cable TV, which offer live television channels. (Click here to see details and costs about streaming plans that offer other kinds of content, including previously released TV shows and movies.)
Prices of streaming services offering live TV
Hulu, YouTube TV, Sling and Fubo all offer monthly subscriptions for watching live television.
- Owned by The Walt Disney Co., Hulu offers a live TV-only subscription for about $89 per month, giving customers access to around 90 channels. However, the streamer also has bundles, where customers can package their live TV plan with access to Disney+ and ESPN Select.
- YouTube TV’s Base Plan, which costs about $83 per month, includes access to more than 100 live channels, including local NBC, CBS, Fox and ABC channels, and is the most expensive plan the Google-owned streamer offers. This year, YouTube TV added new, genre-specific plans, for people who only want access to sports, news and/or entertainment channels.
- At $46 per month, Sling’s Orange and Blue plans are the cheapest options among the streamers analyzed for this story. However, they offer a limited number of channels — only around 30-40, compared to more than 75 on Hulu’s live TV plan and 100 on the YouTube TV Base Plan.
- Fubo offers Pro and Elite plans, each with more than 200 channels and ESPN Unlimited, for around $74-$84 per month.
Are streaming services more expensive?
Prices of most streaming services offering live TV analyzed by The N&O have stayed the same or declined since 2025.
While Fubo has lowered prices for its plans since last year, customers may now get fewer channels.
Hulu’s live TV only plan increased by $7 per month.
Before signing up for streaming services
Before signing up for a streaming service, check which channels are available in your area. Fubo, for example, includes Fox 50, ABC11 and CBS 17 but not WRAL in the Raleigh area.
Many streaming services offer free trials and promotional rates. Costs will increase after those periods end.
Watching live TV without cable or subscription
Triangle residents may be able to watch local TV channels with a digital antenna.
The antennas, available for purchase online and at hardware stores, usually pick up signals from towers within about 30-40 miles.
See which channels are available at your home at TVFool.com.
