The best paid (and free) sports streaming sites in Australia

The rise of entertainment streaming in the wake of the gargantuan popularity of Netflix led to a lot of hope for cord-cutting sports lovers. Surely, with the sign-up-to-watch mentality of streaming services, there would be sports streaming sites – maybe even free sports streaming sites – in Australia.

The good news is there are lots of ways to watch sports online, including free options, but you may have to spread subscriptions to get the most out of lots of live sports viewing. We tackle the best sports streaming sites overall, the best free sports streaming sites, plus the ones where you can watch footy, cricket and/or soccer. Scroll on for the full scorecard.

In the past, the no-brainer sports streaming sites offered the same content. Either Kayo Sports or Foxtel Now with the Sport add-on. While that's still the case at the time of writing, consider this DAZN recommendation as one that's going to increase in value. Why? DAZN owns Foxtel as of December 2024. We figure it's only a matter of time before Kayo/Foxtel sports fans will be shifted over to DAZN for their sporting fix. Even without the extra content, DAZN still has a good selection of content, especially if you're a boxing fan, and more so if you're willing to pay for one or more add-ons (like NFL).

Alternatively, stick with Kayo Sports or Foxtel Now today, or check out the growing sports catalogue of content on Stan Sport or BeIN Sports.

While DAZN mostly pushes its boxing and NFL (Game Pass) content, here's a full list of popular sports you can find on the streaming site:

• Boxing
• American football
• Soccer
• Basketball
• Motorsport
• Esports
• Baseball
• MMA

Watching live sports on free-to-air tele can be a mess. 10 Play has some Aussie soccer, as does SBS On Demand, and there’s a smattering of live sport on 9Now. But 7plus is the best place for a consistently decent selection of free-to-air sports. Here’s where you’ll find some (but not all) matches for AFL Aussie cricket matches and Major League Cricket T20 games, plus motorsport. To help pad out the options, there’s also surfing, horse racing, athletics and extreme sports. Additionally, there are dedicated live channels if you don’t care which sports you watch. 7plus isn't perfect, but it competes on live sports quantity and occasionally quantity, depending on your sporting tastes.

Otherwise, consider the more limited free-to-air sports selections on 10 Play, 9Now and SBS On Demand. Alternatively, there are live sports on YouTube via the official channels for particular teams.

Here's a list of all of the sports categories you can find on 7plus (including the tenuous ones like "fishing"):

• AFL
• Cricket
• Horse racing
• Motorsport
• Surfing
• Golf
• Hockey
• Athletics
• Cycling
• Combat sports
• NFL
• Equestrian
• Fishing
• Extreme sports

Kayo Sports is still arguably the best place for a quantity of sports in Australia, and it's the only place to watch the vast majority of the two main footy leagues, for all in-season matches and (most) finals. The only proviso for NRL fans is that State of Origin streams live (and free) on 9Now. For AFL fans, a Kayo Sports subscription is a lot easier than navigating the specifics of state-based streaming rights: just watch it all live on Kayo, except for the Grand Final, which is free via 7plus. All other AFL matches should be available in 4K resolution for Kayo Premium subscribers, and a bunch of NRL matches are available in up to 4K res. There are also full match replays, highlights packages and a whole lot of other content if you can't get enough footy.

Outside of the abovementioned 9Now and 7plus footy provisos, you can catch other footy (rugby) on Stan Sport or BeIN Sports.

AFL and the NRL aren't the only popular sports on Kayo. You can access around 25+ sports as part of your subscription, including:

• Cricket
• Motorsport
• Golf
• Basketball
• Netball
• Ice hockey
• Baseball
• Cycling
• Darts
• Extreme sports
• Soccer

There are so many reasons to have a Prime Video subscription – great movies, quality TV shows, Prime Music, free shipping, and even a monthly Twitch sub – and now there's one more. At the end of 2023, Amazon snagged the exclusive rights to all ICC events in Australia. At least until the end of 2027, Prime is the place to go for men's and women's T20 and ODI World Cups, Champions Trophy events and the World Test Championship Final (2025 and 2027). Sure, it's not cricket all year round, but when a World Cup event is on, there's a lot of cricket to go stream. And for $79 a year (or $9.99 a month), with so much other value, it's appropriately priced for ICC fans.

For a bigger variety of cricket, check out Kayo Sports, and there are some free matches on 7plus for at-home Aussie matches and BBL bouts, plus the MLC T20 league. If you want more free cricket options, subscribe to YouTube channels like a href="https://www.youtube.com/@WindiesCricket" target="_blank">Windies Cricket, Cricket Ireland and Rabbitholebd Sports for live matches when they're not broadcast in Australia.

Paramount Plus is slowly growing its content library for TV shows and movies, but it's a must-have subscription for fans of Aussie soccer. That's because Paramount Plus is basically the home of Australian soccer. With a sub you'll get live matches for the Socceroos and Matildas, plus A-League football. It’s not so great if you're a sports fan after more than just soccer, but considering the comparatively reasonable pricing for Paramount Plus, it’s a nice bonus for those subscribing for the entertainment content. As far as we can tell, soccer matches are typically streamed at 1080p, but if you do have Paramount Plus Premium, you can stream on up to four devices, which is nice for sharing the (password) love.

Alternatively, check out Stan Sport for UEFA matches, Optus Sport for English Premier League (plus other leagues), DAZN for the FIFA Club World Cup (and others), BeIN Sports for a bunch of international soccer leagues, or SBS ON Demand for the FIFA World Cup.

DAZN and Kayo/Foxtel may be the leaders for a quantity of sports in Australia, but there are other unsung heroes to consider. Stan Sport is a $20 monthly add-on for a Stan subscription (starting at $12 per month), which offers tennis, motorsport, combat sport and cycling outside of the other sports listed above. Disney Plus added ESPN content to its offering, which means basketball (including NBA games), wrestling and soccer, on top of other aforementioned options from $15.99 per month. And apart from what's been flagged above, BeIN Sports also offers tennis, motorsport and padel from $14.99 per month.

The right sports streaming site for you is the one that has the sport/s you want to watch. Ideally, that’d all be in one place, but it’s not as easy to find these days. If you’re a fan of a variety of sports, start comparisons with DAZN, Kayo Sports or BeIN Sports.

Certain sports streaming sites offer different subscription tiers that include additional streams (and better quality, like with Stan Sport). This is important if you want to stream different or the same live sports on multiple screens under the same account. Most streaming sites offer 1080p streaming, but some can get as low as 720p. Alternatively, you can pay more for the most expensive Stan tier to access up to 4K live sports.

For sports streaming sites you don’t watch all year round, remember you can typically cancel your subscription and easily resubscribe whenever your favourite sports are in season. Follow the categories above for your streaming options when it comes to the most popular sports in Australia.