I cut the cord for YouTube TV years ago. But this year, I decided to test all of the best live TV streaming services for Tom's Guide, so I could determine which one was the best, and possibly even ditch my current service.
I've been a loyal YouTube TV customer for close to five years now. It's been far superior to cable, but I will admit, I wasn't sure it was better than the other live TV services.
It's tough to change, though, so I wasn't in a rush to leave. But I had to test and review all six of the current live TV streaming services, and if I found a better option, I was going to leave YouTube TV.
3 live TV streaming services stand above the rest
As I started reviewing all six services, I pretty quickly eliminated three of them.
DirecTV has a ton of channels, but its pricing veers close to cable territory, and I didn't love the user interface. Philo simply lacks enough channels to be worth it, even at just $28 a month. Fubo offers a ton of channels, but it misses out on a lot of the most popular ones and it has hidden fees thanks to regional sports networks (RSNs).
So that left me with three options: Sling TV, which has been our top live TV streaming service for a while, Hulu with Live TV, and, of course, YouTube TV.
Each had things going for them. Sling TV costs just $45.99 a month for its base plan and even its most expensive plan tops out at just $65.99. That's significantly less than YouTube TV and Hulu with Live TV, which both cost $82.99.
Hulu with Live TV makes that higher price point easier to swallow, though, because it includes the streaming services Hulu, Disney Plus and ESPN Plus (all with ads) in your subscription for free. That's a $16.99 bundle normally, so we're talking about serious value.
Of course, YouTube TV is no slouch. Its user interface is clean and easy to use, and it offers features like multiview and catching up with key plays. If you're a football fan, it'll even give you a discount on NFL Sunday Ticket and integrate it into your YouTube TV app.
After testing every live TV streaming service, I still pick YouTube TV — but only just
Ultimately, I'm sticking with YouTube TV and it's still the live TV streaming service I'd recommend to most people. But it was very close.
Sling TV's big problem is that, while it's a great budget live TV streaming service, it can't fully replicate what you get from the full-flavored live TV services.
Missing out on local channels (you can't get CBS in any market) was essentially a dealbreaker for me, but it might not be a dealbreaker for everyone. Still, it didn't help that you don't get quite a few popular channels even in its highest tier plan.
The lack of unlimited cloud DVR wasn't great either, but at least that's fixable by paying $5 extra a month.
Hulu with Live TV is better than Sling, and beats YouTube TV on value. It has the popular channels I want (save AMC), includes unlimited cloud DVR and gives you the Disney Plus, Hulu and ESPN Plus Basic Bundle.
But it still has some notable shortcomings. It's limited to just two streams, and the user interface is not conducive to live TV viewing, even though for streaming on-demand content, it's perfectly fine. If you can live with those negative aspects of Hulu with Live TV, it might be the best choice for you.
Still, in the end, I found YouTube TV to be the best overall live TV experience.
It's not perfect — it's not as good a value as Hulu with Live TV, and it misses out on a few popular channels. But overall, it gives you all the features you'd expect from a live TV service and more and it's enjoyable to use.
That's ultimately what matters the most to me, and that's why YouTube TV remains my pick for the live TV streaming service I’d use to cut the cord.
Malcolm has been with Tom's Guide since 2022, and has been covering the latest in streaming shows and movies since 2023. He's not one to shy away from a hot take, including that "John Wick" is one of the four greatest films ever made.
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