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After YouTube TV ramped its price up to $82.99 per month in January 2025, I hit the cancel subscription button almost instantly. Now, I’m switching to these cheaper YouTube TV alternatives and barely missing any programming from my old subscription.
1Free TV Streaming Services
It doesn’t come cheaper than free, and there is an impressive selection ofno-cost TV streaming channelsfor those who don’t mind sitting through ads. Here are some of my favorite options:
However, if the free services don’t have what you want to watch, there are paid streaming options, too.
If you enjoy live TV, with a focus on lifestyle channels and documentaries,Frndlyoffers an affordable service. Frndly has three plans:
The channel selection on Frndly is relatively modest compared to its more expensive on-demand counterparts, but as a cheap cable TV alternative, it still represents good value. Over 50 channels are available, including History, Ion, Hallmark, A&E, INSP, Game Show Network, and The Weather Channel. There is also a sizeable selection of movies and local TV channels to keep you entertained.
At $28 per month,Philois significantly more expensive than Frndly. However, it is less than half the price of YouTube TV and still feels like a premium service.Philo has heaps of brilliant features, with over 70 live channels, a DVR service with unlimited storage for up to one year, and over 100 free channels offering preprogrammed content.
While it isn’t comprehensive enough to replace cable TV entirely, with few news channels and nothing to offer sports fans, Philo has plenty to justify its price tag. Channels include BBC America, BET, Discovery Channel, Comedy Central, Hallmark, SCI, Lifetime, and the Travel Channel, with AMC+ shows and movies added at no extra charge. These are navigable via a very user-friendly interface, although viewing quality maxes out at 1080p, with no 4K streaming, and some ads are placed throughout Philo’s content.
Cord cutters looking for a cable TV alternative won’t find a better solution than Sling TV. At an entry-level price of $45 per month, it’s certainly not cheap, with extra costs added for services like DVR storage and additional channels. With that said,Sling TV is one of the most comprehensive YouTube substitutes, with plenty to shout about.
Channels include many lifestyle options, including Hallmark, Cooking, Discovery, History, BBC America, Lifetime, Science Channel, Vice, and the Weather Channel. However, it lacks sports channels, and movies are not as well represented as on-demand streaming channels like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Benefits include up to 20 hours of DVR storage and a friendly UI for live and streamed content with a nifty mini-guide that lets you channel surf while watching.
