Fubo review: The live TV streaming service for sports fans

Fubo is certainly a contender for the title of best live TV streaming service.

This cable replacement gives you most of what you want: tons of channels, local sports via regional sports networks (availability depends on zip code) and features like 4K streaming (Elite plan or add-on required) and unlimited cloud DVR.

Fubo is also great for those of you with a lot of people at home. You get 10 simultaneous streams on your home network and another three on the go.

However, it also gives you two of the worst things about cable. Despite offering over 150 channels, it misses out on a lot of popular channels, meaning that there are a lot of channels thrown in that you might not ever watch.

Plus, there are hidden fees that add to your monthly bill.

These are due to the same regional sports networks (RSNs) that make Fubo appealing, so it's not a scam. But it is still a bummer to get a larger bill than expected.

So can Fubo prove to be a worthy option for cutting the cord? Or is this cable TV alternative best suited for sports fans — and sports fans only? Let's dive into our review of Fubo to find out.

Fubo: Pricing and availability

Fubo currently offers two main plans: Pro and Elite. There have been other plans in the past, but for now, those are your two main options.

Fubo Pro is $84.99 a month, and gives you 150+ channels. It also gives you access to regional NBA, NHL and MLB games (varies by zip code), unlimited cloud DVR (stores content up to 9 months and the ability to watch on 10 screens at once when on your home network.

It also gives you three streams on the go. Technically, it only gives you two, but Fubo Pro also includes Family Share, which gives you a third stream for when you're out and about.

Fubo Elite, meanwhile, is $94.99 a month and it gives you everything Fubo Pro has and more. It offers 200+ channels instead of just 150+, including the Fubo Extra (normally $7.99 a month) and News Plus (normally $2.99 a month) channel packages.

Most importantly, it also gives you access to 4K streams (when available for select content). However, you can also add on 4K streaming separately with the 4K Plus add-on for $4.99 a month if you don't want to pay up for the Elite package.

Both packages are available with a 7-day free trial, and often come with a discount on the first month. It's important to note that Fubo's pricing is not inclusive of taxes and fees, unlike many of its competitors.

Fubo also offers a Latino plan for Spanish-language channels. It's just $14.99 a month and still includes unlimited cloud DVR, but you only get 52 channels and are limited to two simultaneous screens.

Fubo is only available in the U.S., with limited availability in Canada and Spain. Your channel selection for Fubo's packages may vary by zip code.

You can watch on a whole range of devices, from smart TVs to streaming devices and more. The one quirk is that you can watch on an Xbox console, like the Xbox Series X, but you can't watch on PlayStation consoles, including the PS5.

For a full list, you can head over to Fubo's supported devices page to see every compatible device.

Fubo vs other live TV streaming services

Here's an overview of what you get with Fubo and how it compares to other live TV streaming services:

As you can see, Fubo leads the pack in a lot of categories.

However, that comes with a price. Fubo is the second most expensive live TV streaming service, and comes with taxes and fees on top of its advertised price tag.

Fubo: Channels and add-ons

When it comes to channels, plenty of cable TV alternatives offer you dozens — if not hundreds — of channels.

But as we all know from cable, just because you get hundreds of channels doesn't mean that there's anything worth watching on them.

So, I've put together a list of 35 channels that I think most people (myself included) want from a live TV streaming service. It's not comprehensive, but it's a good mix of news, sports, entertainment, local and popular channels.

Fubo, despite offering 150 channels (at minimum), misses out on a surprising number of these channels. It only offers 24 of the 35 channels we look for, missing out on every WBD-owned network, including TBS, TNT, Discovery and Food Network.

It's also worth mentioning that we looked for every channel on both the Pro and Elite plans.

So, unless you need sports channels like MLB Network, NBA TV, NHL Network, ESPN U or ESPNews, you might be better off going with the Pro plan and then adding on 4K streaming a la carte if you really want it.

Speaking of add-ons, there are several premium add-on channels you can include in your Fubo plan for a separate monthly fee.

Here's a list of the most important ones below:

• MLB.TV: $29.99 a month. Gives you every out-of-market MLB game live or on-demand
• Sports Plus with NFL RedZone: $10.99 a month. Gives you a selection of premium sports channels, including NFL RedZone
• NBA League Pass: $16.99 a month. Gives you access to up to 40 out-of-market games a week
• Paramount Plus with Showtime: $10.99 a month. Gives you access to the Paramount Plus with Showtime streaming service (some content only available through the Paramount Plus app)
• Starz: $10.99 a month. Gives you access to the Starz streaming service
• MGM Plus: $5 a month. Gives you access to the MGM Plus streaming service
• Paramount Plus with Showtime + Starz + MGM Plus: $19.99 a month. Gives you access to the Paramount Plus with Showtime, Starz and MGM Plus streaming services at a discounted bundle rate (some content only available through the Paramount Plus app)
• 4K Plus: $4.99 a month. Gives you access to select sports, shows, news and more in 4K streaming quality on compatible devices (included with Elite plan)

It's a decent offering of add-ons, most notably the Paramount Plus with Showtime + Starz + MGM Plus bundle that gives you the three streaming services for 30% off.

Fubo's 4K streaming add-on is also notably cheaper than YouTube TV's, though it's worth noting Sling TV includes its 4K content for free.

However, competitors like Sling TV and YouTube TV offer more add-ons than Fubo, including the ability to add on Max, which is our current pick for the best streaming service.

Fubo: Interface

Fubo's interface isn't drastically different from other live TV streaming services, but it does break things out a little differently.

Of course, you start on the Home page. This gives you an overview of what's available to watch, from live sports to news and more.

Scroll down and you get recommendations, as well as a look at what's trending on Fubo.

Including this Home page, Fubo's layout is composed of eight main sections: Home, Guide, My Stuff, Sports, Movies, Shows, Search and Settings.

It's important to note that there's one major difference to this layout if you're using Fubo on your phone, but I'll touch on that at the end of this section.

Fubo's channel guide will be a familiar sight for anyone who has used cable or a cable alternative.

You get a row of channels with a view of what's coming up next, as well as a marker that shows how far along in the show or movie you'd be if you hopped in live at that exact moment.

There are two things I like to varying degrees about Fubo's guide. First, I do like that it shows an icon for the show or movie, though I have concerns that it adds notably to load time. Second, you can filter channels by a ton of different filters.

You can do this on other live TV streaming services, though often from the home page rather than the guide. But I found Fubo's filtering worked a bit better than, say, YouTube TV's, which I often find frustrating..

My Stuff is where you find your DVR recordings. You can also manage your scheduled recordings and watchlist from here, and continue watching shows and movies you had to abandon.

Now here's where Fubo changes things up. First, it has a tab entirely devoted to live sports, so you can see every live and upcoming sporting event in one place.

Second, instead of having one big landing spot for all on-demand content, it has separate tabs for Shows and Movies.

I really like this change. Splitting the two makes searching through everything Fubo has to offer much easier, and I like the idea of not having to scroll through a bunch of movies if I only want TV shows, and vice versa.

Search is pretty self-explanatory, allowing you to search for content by name, channel and more, though notably not by genre or category.

Settings is a part of the UI that requires little further comment. It's where you find your settings.

In terms of the media player UI, direction controls on your remote matter. Hit the left or right directions on your remote and Fubo will rewind or fast forward you, respectively, by 15 seconds.

Hit down to and Fubo will bring you up recommended channels. I think I prefer YouTube's interface more when it comes to this, but I did love Fubo's filtering system coming back into play here to make it easier to find what you want to watch.

Okay, remember how I said that there was a big difference on mobile? It's that the on-demand tabs for Shows and Movies totally disappear.

You can still watch on-demand content. It hasn't gone away. But now you need to go through the home page and scroll or search for titles. It's a baffling omission.

Fubo features: Regional Sports Network access for less

If I had to boil down all the reasons to get Fubo into just one word, it would be sports.

Fubo offers a ton of sports. You get local broadcasts and nationally televised games on ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC.

You also get tons of domestic collegiate and professional sports with ACC Network, ESPN, ESPN2, SEC Network, BTN, CBS Sports Network, FS1, FS2, NBC Sports, NFL Network, and more, with some of these channels available in 4K streaming resolution.

There's even international sports coverage through beIN Sports. If you opt for the elite package, you also get access to MLB Network, NBA TV, NHL Network, ESPN U and ESPNews.

But the biggest selling point of Fubo is its inclusion of regional sports networks (RSNs).

These channels offer access to local NBA, NHL and MLB games (varies by zip code) and are often missing from live TV streaming services like Sling or YouTube TV. Only DirecTV (formerly DirecTV Stream) offers RSN availability on par with Fubo.

Even better, you can sign up for just the RSNs in select regions.

For example, in Atlanta, I can get access to just FanDuel Sports Network South and Southeast for $29.99 a month (plus taxes and fees). I even still get unlimited cloud DVR and 10 streams at once on my home network (plus two on the go).

Of course, there's a notable catch to this. RSNs come with RSN fees. These fees can be as high as $16.99 a month, bumping your monthly subscription into the $100 range. It's why live TV streaming services like YouTube TV will often exclude RSNs, because then they'd have to charge RSN fees.

But if you have to have all the sports possible, you can't avoid RSN fees. And Fubo is the most affordable way to get access to these regional sports networks

Fubo: DVR

Unlimited DVR used to be an uncommon feature. But now it's standard for most of the best live TV streaming services, including Fubo.

Saving shows and movies is easy. You can either manage your recording options for a show by searching for it or selecting it from the guide, or you can hit the record button in the media player interface to record content you're watching live.

For recording shows, you can either set Fubo to record only new episodes or all episodes of a series.

Recorded content is available for nine months after you record it.

Fubo video and audio: 4K streaming, but no 5.1 surround

Fubo offers 4K content through the 4K Plus add-on for $4.99 a month, or includes it in your plan if you sign up for the Elite tier.

This gives you access to select broadcasts from Fox, FS1 and NBC Sports in 4K streaming resolution. That last part is notable, as Fubo is the only live TV streaming service I've found to offer NBC Sports in 4K included in a plan.

Unfortunately, aside from select 4K content, live shows and movies are limited to 720p at 60fps.

That's a step below YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV, both of which cost less and offer a number of live channels in 1080p resolution on select devices. Thankfully, much of the on-demand content Fubo offers is available in 1080p.

Regarding audio quality, Fubo is limited to 2.0 stereo audio. Fubo isn't the only live streaming service with this limitation, but it's a disappointment nonetheless.

Should you cut the cord with Fubo?

Fubo is great if you love live sports. If you love live sports, you should strongly consider Fubo for cutting the cord.

The only reason not to choose Fubo if you must watch every game of every sport possible is if, for some reason, Fubo doesn't carry the RSNs for your area.

It's rare, but it happens, and sometimes you'll need to choose DirecTV instead to get your local games while cutting the cord.

If you don't need every live sporting event imaginable, though, I'd be hard pressed to recommend Fubo. Not unless three simultaneous streams at home isn't enough for you and you need the full 10 that Fubo offers.

This isn't because it's a terrible product. But compared to YouTube TV, it's more expensive and offers fewer of the most popular channels (no Warner Bros. Discovery channels on Fubo).

Plus, I'd argue that YouTube TV offers a better viewing experience than Fubo. The streaming resolution is often better on the former, as YouTube TV offers a lot of live content in 1080p as opposed to Fubo's 720p (excluding limited 4K streams).

Similarly, while Fubo offers multiview on Apple TV and Roku, overall, the feature isn't as robust as its YouTube TV counterpart.

Even Sling Orange and Blue has Fubo beat out when it comes to popular channels, and at $61-66, it's cheaper.

Ultimately, it just comes down to the fact that — sports offerings aside — Fubo does most of the stuff you want, but others do it better and/or for less.