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Is your cable bill too expensive? Maybe you never signed up for cable in the first place, since shows and movies are more important to you than live TV. In any case, one or several video streaming services may be a better choice than a cable plan that forces you to pay for whole networks you'll never watch. Streaming services give you the flexibility to choose exactly what on-demand and live TV content you pay for each month.
Sounds great, right? You might have trouble choosing the best streaming service for your needs, since there's just an overwhelming amount of choice—we’ve reviewed more than 60 services. In fact, the streaming video services' collective monthly costs can quickly become unreasonable. That’s why we’ve broken down what we think are your best choices at several budget levels for a few different audiences. In this guide, we provide a brief overview of each service we mention and explain why we included it. For more details, check out our in-depth reviews.
Streaming vs. Cable
Our cord-cutting tips story covers much of what you should look out for when getting rid of cable, and we also make the argument for why you should consider keeping cable, but we’ll summarize some of the pricing-related points here.
The good news is that video streaming subscriptions tend to operate on a month-to-month basis, rather than an annual one. In other words, you aren’t locked into long-term contracts. Many services also offer limited free trials, too, which can help cut down on buyer’s remorse. The other advantage of this pricing model is that you can rotate out services every month (especially on-demand ones), so you only end up paying for what you have time to watch. Plan for show releases by following our guides on what is arriving on Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix, and Prime Video.
Consider, too, that most on-demand streaming services are either completely ad-free (think Disney+ and Netflix) or offer ad-free tiers (think Peacock and Paramount+). That may not be a huge incentive for all users, but it does give back as much as 16-18 minutes of your life for every hour you would otherwise be watching traditional cable TV. If time is money, this is a worthy chunk of both.
One major cost consideration with video streaming services is the amount of network bandwidth they require. Cutting the cord does not mean you can cut every cord; you still need an internet connection to stream. Streaming tons of HD or 4K content can eat up any monthly data limitations on your plan, and you’ll need to pay for those overages. If you like to leave the TV on for countless hours, you need to know about this potential hidden cost. Stick with cable if you don’t want to change your habits. You could also just stop streaming all the time and likely save on your energy bill in the process.
Streaming Video Decision Tools
Apart from popular original shows, you may find it difficult to keep track of what shows and movies are on which platforms in any given month. Thankfully, there are tools for finding where on-demand content lives. For example, JustWatch and ReelGood let you search for movies and TV shows (as well as add several to a watchlist) and find what services currently include them. TV Time and Watchworthy serve similar functions but as mobile apps.
On the live TV front, you may run into a similar problem, as not all services offer the same channels. If you are specifically looking for a single channel or regional sports network (RSN), you don’t need to go to each specific site to check what channels they offer. The Streamable’s Matchmaker tool lets you input several channels at once and returns the cheapest plan that fits your needs.
If you are willing to manage your video streaming subscriptions on a month-to-month basis, you can use these sites to fine-tune your subscriptions. If you are having trouble keeping track of which streaming services you need to cancel or keep each month, check out our guide on how to manage all your subscriptions.
Pick and Choose
We break down your options at several price ranges: free, under $10, under $25, under $50, and under $100. Then, we list what we think are the best services for multiple categories: kids and families; live TV; movies and documentaries; network TV shows; original shows; sports; and general audiences. A PCMag survey on video streaming found that respondents were willing to spend an average of only $33 per month on video streaming services. There’s no reasonable need to subscribe to more than two or three on-demand services at a time, so we don’t provide recommendations for on-demand streaming services beyond the $25-per-month budget level.
We don’t necessarily recommend spending up to your maximum budget, either. To help save costs, consider that the free video streaming services we list in the first section are truly free, and can be used by themselves or in conjunction with any other service on the list. There’s no better way to save money on entertainment than by not spending any money at all.
The Best Free Video Streaming Services
With free video streaming services, you are primarily giving up two things: choice and quality. That’s not to say you can’t find quality entertainment, but you will have to do some digging into the libraries and jump between services.
If you want to watch live broadcasts, there’s really only one free streaming service option: PBS Video. With this service, you can tune in to a live broadcast of your local PBS station. Other free streaming services that advertise live TV, such as Pluto TV and Xumo, primarily offer continuous, preprogrammed channels of content, instead. Alternatively, for a one-time startup cost and free service thereafter, you could consider setting up a digital TV antenna as well.
Among free services, Kanopy is the best choice for families. To get access to the service, you need either a valid library card or an email address associated with an educational institution. In addition to its huge collection of documentaries and movies from A24, Bleecker Street, HBO Documentary Films, Paramount, PBS, and Samuel Goldwyn Films, Kanopy also has a dedicated section of movies, TV series, animated storybooks, and more for kids ages two and older. Better yet, the streaming limit that applies to Kanopy’s main library (you get 10 credits each month), does not affect the Kids section. Kanopy is also the best free option for watching movies and documentaries, but if you prefer more mainstream movies, IMDb TV is a better bet.
Our top pick for network TV shows and original series is Peacock, because a free account unlocks streaming access to many popular NBC network shows and select original shows. Most original shows restrict you to watching the first few episodes, but some do not. There’s not much competition from other free services for original shows.
If you want to watch live sports, you won’t be able to do that for free (legally). The best free alternative is Pluto TV because it has about a dozen sports channels that show older events or highlights. Top sports channels on Pluto TV include Bellator MMA, CBS Sports HQ, Fox Sports, Glory Kickboxing, Major League Soccer, MLB, NFL Channel, PGA Tour, and Stadium.
As mentioned, you don’t need to choose between using any of the free video streaming services. Use them all. Just know that, as with any free product, your data is the product.
Our Free Video Streaming Picks:
Live TV: PBS Video
Kids and Families: Kanopy
Movies and Documentaries: Kanopy or IMDb TV
Network TV Shows: Peacock
Original Series: Peacock
Sports: Pluto TV
General Audiences: Any and all of them
The Best Video Streaming Services for Less Than $10 per Month
Your video streaming options increase substantially when you stretch your budget to $10 per month. Most on-demand streaming services cost (or at least start) under $10 per month and many include a live TV component, too.
Locast used to be our top choice for streaming live TV in this price range, but that service has since shut down. Now, our pick is Paramount+ Premium because it lets you stream a decent amount of live news and sports programming from your local CBS station.
Disney+’s streaming library brings together classic Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic shows and movies, so it’s no surprise that this is an ideal service for kids and families. The parental control tools could improve, but no other service offers as complete a library for families looking for high-quality content that’s broadly appropriate for kids of all ages.
If you want to watch movies and documentaries, consider subscribing to both CuriosityStream and Ovid.tv. CuriosityStream offers a tremendous number of educational and entertaining documentaries within categories such as history, lifestyle, nature, science, society, and technology. Ovid.tv is not the most complete movie streaming service, but it is inexpensive and has an excellent library of indie and international films. Filmatique is similar in scope to Ovid.tv, but it focuses more on tightly curated collections of movies.
Hulu’s ad-supported plan offers a better selection of network TV shows for most people than Peacock’s Premium Plus tier or Paramount+ Premium. However, if you are partial to NBC's or CBS's shows, then you should pick one of those services, instead. Hulu’s on-demand library also benefits from Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox’s shows (now 21st Century Studio); many of those shows are not suitable for younger audiences and landed on Hulu rather than Disney+.
Prime Video is our pick for original series in this price range; Fleabag, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Patriot, The Boys, and The Expanse are all excellent. Amazon’s streaming service has better and more highly regarded shows than Hulu and is several dollars cheaper than Netflix, which charges extra for streaming in HD and on more devices simultaneously. If you prefer HBO shows, such as Doom Patrol, Flight Attendant, and Harley Quinn, HBO Max now offers an ad-supported and feature-limited for $9.99 per month, too.
For watching live sports, you can choose between ESPN+, Paramount+ Premium, and Peacock Premium. ESPN+ features some MLB and NHL games (with streaming rights to many more NHL games arriving next season), lots of college sports, and extensive coverage of international soccer leagues. Paramount+ Premium lets you stream all the sports that air on your local CBS station including Sunday afternoon NFL games, the NCAA March Madness tournament, and select PGA Tour events. Paramount+ also includes tons of national and international soccer (Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, Concacaf, Liga Profesional de Fútbol, National Women’s Soccer League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and UEFA Europa Conference League). Peacock’s Premium tier, on the other hand, includes Sunday Night Football games, Premier League matches, IndyCar coverage, and WWE PPV events.
If you are strict about staying under $10 per month on streaming services, the best combination for most people is CuriositySteam and Peacock Premium. CuriosityStream gets you lots of high-quality and entertaining documentaries, while Peacock Premium provides a more mainstream selection of live sports and popular on-demand movies and shows.
Our Video Streaming Picks for Less Than $10 per Month:
Live TV: Paramount+ Premium ($9.99 per month)
Kids and Families: Disney+ ($7.99 per month)
Movies and Documentaries: CuriosityStream ($2.99 per month) and Ovid.tv ($6.99 per month) or Filmatique ($4.95 per month)
Network TV Shows: Hulu Ad-Supported ($6.99 per month) or Paramount+ Premium ($9.99 per month) or Peacock Premium Plus ($9.99 per month)
Original Series: Prime Video ($8.99 per month)
Sports: Paramount+ Premium ($9.99 per month) or Peacock Premium ($4.99 per month) or ESPN+ ($6.99 per month)
General Audiences: CuriosityStream ($2.99 per month) and Peacock Premium ($4.99 per month)
The Best Video Streaming Services for Less Than $25 per Month
Once you get to a $25-per-month budget, every on-demand streaming service we’ve reviewed is within reach. Compared with the previous budget category, you get a better variety of content and more of it.
At this price tier, Philo is the best live TV option. Philo's library focuses on those cable channels within the entertainment and lifestyle genre. Among its catalog of 60+ channels are AMC, Animal Planet, BBC America, BET, Cooking Channel, Comedy Central, Discovery Channel, Food Network, HGTV, IFC, Lifetime, and the Travel Channel. Those looking for local, news, and sports channels need to move on to the next pricing category, unfortunately.
Disney+ still makes the list for kids and families at this price range, but you can now afford to add CuriosityStream and Netflix’s Standard plan. Netflix’s library includes lots of top-notch animated series and movies for kids, including original titles. The service also has excellent parental control tools, which make it easy for parents to keep control over what their kids watch. There are plenty of shows and movies on Netflix for families of older kids, too. If your family enjoys watching cooking- and home-related shows, such as Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives; House Hunters; or Chopped together, then you should substitute discovery+'s ad-free plan for Netflix and save some money in the process.
Deciding on the best streaming service for movies and documentaries depends on what you want to watch. For watching documentaries and popular movies, you should upgrade to CuriosityStream’s 4K plan and add HBO Max, which has a growing library of 4K content. HBO’s service has tons of popular and recent movies, include the full 2021 lineup of Warner Bros. films. If you are willing to pass up CuriosityStream’s 4K offerings, you can subscribe to both Prime Video and The Criterion Channel along with it. Prime Video includes an ever-changing mix of classic and popular movies, while The Criterion Channel features a highly curated selection of classic and top-rated films. Mubi is an alternative to The Criterion Channel; it has a new film every day and excellent community-building features.
For watching network TV shows, it’s only logical to subscribe to the three streaming services that cover the four major broadcast networks in the US: Hulu (ABC and 21st Century Studio shows), Paramount+ (CBS), and Peacock (NBC). If you want to watch original shows, our top picks are Prime Video and Netflix (Black Mirror, Bojack Horseman, Stranger Things, The Crown, and The Witcher). Again, we recommend that you opt for Netflix’s Standard plan, given the cheaper tier’s streaming limitations.
We’ve already made the case for ESPN+ for sports fans, but at this tier, you can also add the premium version of Paramount+ and the cheaper of Peacock's two premium plans. Paramount+ Premium is the only tier that gets you access to your local CBS channel for sports, but you don't have to pay for Peacock's top-end plan to get the sports on that service.
For people who want to stream all types of content, subscribe to Peacock Premium and get the Hulu Ad-Free, Disney+, and ESPN+ bundle. With these four services, you can stream live sports, plus watch some of the best available on-demand shows and movies.
Our Video Streaming Picks for Less Than $25 per Month:
Live TV: Philo ($25 per month)
Kids and Families: CuriosityStream ($2.99 per month), Disney+ ($7.99 per month), and Netflix Standard ($15.49 per month) or discovery+ Ad-free ($6.99 per month)
Movies and Documentaries: CuriosityStream 4K ($9.99 per month) and HBO Max ($14.99 per month) or CuriosityStream ($2.99 per month), Prime Video ($8.99 per month), and The Criterion Channel ($10.99 per month) or Mubi ($10.99 per month)
Network TV Shows: Hulu Ad-Free ($12.99 per month), Peacock Premium ($4.99 per month), and Paramount+ ($4.99 per month)
Original Series: Prime Video ($8.99 per month) and Netflix Standard ($15.49 per month)
Sports: ESPN+ ($6.99 per month), Paramount+ Premium ($9.99 per month), and Peacock Premium ($4.99 per month)
General Audiences: Peacock Premium ($4.99 per month) and Hulu Ad-Free, Disney+, and ESPN+ bundle ($19.99 per month)
The Best Video Streaming Services for Less Than $50 per Month
As you may have guessed, spending $50 per month on video streaming services delivers more on-demand streaming services, not different ones. Because it’s virtually impossible for you to make it through any one service’s entire catalog, we do not recommend you spend $50 per month for on-demand streaming services alone. Doing so negates one of the most significant advantages of streaming services: pricing flexibility.
A $50-per-month budget opens up more live TV streaming options, such as Sling TV’s Orange and Blue plan. By choosing the combined plan, you avoid the problem of Sling TV splitting popular channels such as ESPN, Fox News, Disney Channel, MSNBC, and USA between plans. However, one problem with Sling TV is that none of its plans include CBS or ABC (at least not without additional hardware in the latter’s case).
Without spending significantly more money on a full-fledged live TV streaming service, the best sports streaming services are those that we introduced in the last section. With an expanded budget, you can afford both Paramount+ Premium and Peacock Premium Plus. Prime Video also adds some value with its broadcasts of Thursday Night Football, WNBA, and select MLB games. Prime Video will become more important in 2022 when it gains exclusive rights to Thursday Night Football broadcasts. Showtime adds some live boxing and MMA events, too.
For general audiences, we stick by our recommendation for the former price category and add Philo, with its valuable trove of entertainment and lifestyle cable channels.
Our Video Streaming Picks for Less Than $50 per Month:
Live TV: Sling TV's Orange & Blue plan ($50 per month)
Sports: ESPN+ ($6.99 per month), Paramount+ Premium ($9.99 per month), Peacock Premium Plus ($9.99 per month), Prime Video ($8.99 per month), and Showtime ($10.99 per month)
General Audiences: Hulu Ad-Free, Disney+, and ESPN+ bundle ($19.99 per month), Philo ($25 per month), and Peacock Premium ($4.99 per month)
The Best Video Streaming Services for Less Than $75 per Month
At a budget of $75 per month, you can afford either of our highest-rated live TV streaming services: YouTube TV or Hulu + Live TV. YouTube TV has the edge in terms of channel offerings and DVR features, but Hulu + Live TV includes Hulu’s on-demand library of shows and movies. For under $75 per month, you can even afford to get the Hulu + Live TV plan that doesn’t show ads during on-demand content. Both services include all the news, local, sports, entertainment, and lifestyle fare you're used to watching with cable.
Sports fans are best off with ESPN+ for its exclusive live sports and either YouTube TV or Hulu + Live TV. YouTube TV used to have the advantage over Hulu for NFL fans, since it includes NFL Network, but Hulu has since added that channel. Both services have Comcast (NBC Sports) RSNs but lack those owned by Sinclair (Bally Sports) and AT&T (SportsNet). Both services also support 1080p/60fps live streams at no extra charge on select channels—a higher frame rate is important for streaming fast-paced action.
As for people who want to watch a little bit of everything, we recommend the bundle with Hulu + Live TV (ad-supported), Disney+, and ESPN+. Alternatively, you can subscribe to YouTube TV and Prime Video. Either way, you get an excellent live TV streaming service, tons of sports, and top-notch on-demand shows and movies, including original productions.
Our Video Streaming Picks for Less Than $75 per Month:
Live TV: YouTube TV ($64.99 per month) or Hulu (No Ads) + Live TV ($70.99 per month)
Sports: ESPN+ ($6.99 per month) and YouTube TV ($64.99 per month) or Hulu + Live TV ($64.99 per month)
General Audiences: Hulu + Live TV (Ad-supported) bundle with Disney+ and ESPN+ ($72.99 per month) or YouTube TV ($64.99 per month) and Prime Video ($8.99 per month)
The Best Video Streaming Services for Less Than $100 per Month
At the $100 per month price range, you are getting into cable pricing territory. This budget can take you far in the video streaming world and, at the very least, get you a better variety of content than a cable subscription ever would.
Our live TV picks for the $100-and-under price range don’t change. Rather, with the extra money, you could respectively expand YouTube TV’s and Hulu + Live TV’s streaming libraries and capabilities. For instance, YouTube TV’s Entertainment Plus add-on gets you HBO Max, Showtime, and Starz subscriptions at a slight discount. Alternatively, YouTube TV's 4K Plus add-on lets you stream select live content in 4K, stream from an unlimited number of devices on a home network, and watch DVR content offline on mobile devices. The Enhanced Cloud DVR add-on for Hulu increases your DVR storage limit from 50 hours to 200 hours, while the Unlimited Screens add-on allows you to stream on an unlimited number of devices on your home network (up from two concurrent streams) and up to three mobile devices away from it.
DirecTV Stream's Choice plan makes it onto the list for sports fans solely because it is the only live TV streaming service we’ve reviewed with RSNs from all three major owners: AT&T, Comcast (it is missing a few of these), and Sinclair. It is more expensive than other sports streaming services with similar lineups, however, and you will want to pay for the DVR storage upgrade, which increased your storage limit from 20 hours to an unlimited number of hours. Whether you need an RSN that only DirecTV Stream has depends on your location, but, if not, then YouTube TV with the Sports Plus package (includes NFL RedZone, FOX College Sports, GOLTV, and Stadium, among others) is an excellent, more affordable option. You can even throw in ESPN+ on top of that YouTube TV plan and pay less than for DirecTV Stream’s Choice plan.
As explained earlier, you don’t get much more for your money at a higher price range if you are just after general streaming content. For under $100, you can upgrade to the Hulu + Live TV (ad-free), Disney+, and ESPN+ bundle, and afford to add Prime Video and HBO Max. Or you could stick with YouTube TV, and add HBO Max and Netflix’s Standard Plan. Either option is a comprehensive alternative to cable.
Our Video Streaming Picks for Less Than $100 per Month:
Live TV: YouTube TV with Entertainment Plus add-on ($94.99 per month) or YouTube TV with 4K Plus add-on ($84.98 per month) or Hulu (No Ads) + Live TV with Enhanced Cloud DVR and Unlimited Screens add-ons ($85.97 per month)
Sports: DirecTV Stream's Choice Plan with unlimited DVR add-on ($94.99 per month) or ESPN+ ($6.99 per month) and YouTube TV with Sports Plus add-on ($75.98 per month)
General Audiences: Hulu + Live TV (Ad-free) bundle with Disney+ and ESPN+ ($72.99 per month), Prime Video ($8.99 per month), and HBO Max ($14.99 per month) or YouTube TV ($64.99 per month), HBO Max ($14.99 per month) and Netflix Standard ($15.49 per month)
Our Top Video Streaming Services
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