Best Sling Alternatives in 2022
By Aneeca Younas • Published Aug 05, 2022
Sling TV is a live streaming service with a decent channel selection available at an affordable cost. But combining packages and adding more channels could be pricey and confusing. If you'd like to learn about the potential alternatives, we gathered them below.
Before we go into details, here are the available alternatives:
Now, let's dive deeper and learn more about each Sling TV alternative!
Philo
The great thing about Sling TV is it maintains an affordable price compared to the majority of streaming services available. And if budget is an essential factor, you'll appreciate Philo puts its prices even lower. You'll even get a seven-day free trial to check if Philo meets your expectations.
The platform offers a decent channel selection. You can watch Discovery, AMC, HGTV, MTV, and over 60 other channels. However, it doesn't provide live sports channels or even news stations like CNN. Philo focuses on entertainment, offering many TV shows and movies. You'll find over 25,000 titles in its VOD library, and some premium add-ons like Starz are also available.
Philo has decent device support, although it's not accessible on AirTV and some other devices. Check out our detailed Philo vs. Sling TV guide to compare these two services to the smallest detail.
fuboTV
As you can see from our Sling TV channel guide, you need the Orange package to unlock ESPN channels. And even if you pick the Sports Extra add-on, you won't have such good sports coverage as with fuboTV.
It's not an exaggeration to say that fuboTV dominates the market in the category of sports channels. You get ESPN, Fox Sports, NFL, BeIN, and TUDN in the standard Pro plan. It costs $69.99 monthly and also secures access to 100+ channels in news, entertainment, and other categories.
The more expensive fuboTV pricing plans have even more sports channels. It's cheaper than Sling TV and offers more than 40 Spanish-language channels, including premium sports options. fuboTV also has a decent VOD library and supports up to two simultaneous streams.
Hulu + Live TV
Live streaming is the focus of our article, but we can't underestimate Hulu's strongest suit. It's a vast VOD library with original programming and titles like Pam & Tommy, American Horror Stories, and The Handmaid's Tale.
Hulu + Live TV is a special package that bundles the famous VOD library with a live TV channel package. It's a bit more expensive than Sling TV, but you get a well-rounded channel list in each category. Hulu + Live TV comes with major national networks and reputable news channels like CNN and Fox News.
Sports fans can watch three ESPN channels, Fox Sports and NFL Network. The impressive entertainment content is rounded up with fine documentaries on National Geographic and kid-friendly content on Universal Kids and Disney Channel. Hulu + Live TV has only 50 hours of DVR storage and support for two simultaneous streams.
DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream is among the industry's most expensive internet live TV services. The basic package is $69.99, but even that is double more expensive than Sling TV.
So, why would you choose DirecTV Stream? The platform has more channels than Sling TV. Even if you count Sling TV's add-ons, DirecTV still beats its number of channels with the essential subscription. You can enjoy national networks and premium channels like Disney Channel, Telemundo, and CNN.
DirecTV Stream offers up to 20 simultaneous streams, but only for the home network (three on the go). Its device support is flawless, and its apps are fast and reliable. However, you only get 20 hours of DVR storage. That's less than the Sling TV package, which offers 50 hours at half the price.
Vidgo
Vidgo might not be a major brand in the streaming service market, but it does many things right. Its basic subscription offers over 90 channels. The list includes beIN Sports, ESPN, Fox, ABC, Hallmark, Pac-12 Network, VH1, etc.
If we compare it to Sling TV, you get more channels and a sports-centric approach. Vidgo has a Premium package with more channels and a Spanish Mas subscription.
Unlike Sling, which offers three days of a free trial, you get an entire day with Vidgo. However, Sling seems to have better device support, and Vidgo doesn't have free cloud storage.
YouTube TV
YouTube TV takes a simpler approach to Sling TV when it comes to subscription options. There's no mandatory contract signing, and you get access to over 80 channels. It's an excellent lineup, including news giants like BBC World News, NBA TV, PBS Kids, AMC, TLC, Discovery, etc.
A considerable advantage of YouTube TV is its DVR. Compared to modest cloud storage on Sling, this platform offers unlimited storage. It will store each recording for up to nine months. The device support is impressive, and you can enjoy up to three simultaneous streams on any network. Check out this detailed YouTube vs. Sling TV article for more suggestions on picking the best streaming service.
Aneeca Younas
Aneeca Younas is a graduated journalist with years of experience writing in different niches based in Oakland, CA. She is a huge movie fan that also enjoys watching sports. That's why she spends hours daily using various streaming services. Over the years, Aneeca profiled herself as an expert in cable-free and VOD platforms.