Sling TV vs. fuboTV

Sling TV’s service is broken into two unique plans, each with its own lineup of channels. The two plans are called Orange and Blue. (Any Broncos or Knicks fans out there?) You can get either plan for $40 a month or both plans together for $55.

You’ll get 46 channels on Orange + Blue, which works out to be about $1.20 per channel. That’s a decent deal, especially if you use most of the channels. (We’ll talk more about the specific channel lineup in a moment.) The low price tag makes Sling the ideal starter service for cord-cutters.

fuboTV’s plans cost about twice as much as Sling’s, but they get you significantly more channels.

If you break down fuboTV’s plans, they cost about $0.32 to $0.53 per channel. While the monthly price tag is higher, the price-per-channel ratio is much better than Sling’s. This is part of what makes fuboTV one of the best live TV streaming services on the market.

One of the nice things about live TV streaming services is that, unlike cable TV, you don’t have to pay a pesky installation fee or an early cancellation charge. It’s all contract free, and there are basically no additional charges.

We said basically no charges because there is one. If you go with fuboTV and you want to watch local sports coverage, you will need to pay a $14 regional sports fee. We don’t love it, but it’s still a good deal if you’re the type that wants to catch every game.

So what channels will you actually get with fuboTV and Sling TV? We’re not going to list every single one here, but we’ll go over the most important parts of each package. You can see the full line-up when you visit fubo and Sling’s sign up pages.

fuboTV’s three packages come with different channels, but all of them include some popular picks, like the Disney Channel, HGTV, ESPN, ESPN2, Food Network, and Paramount Network.

When you opt for the pricier Elite Package, you’ll also get more news, lifestyle, and sports channels, like NBA TV.

Here’s a partial list of fuboTV’s basic channel lineup:

• Disney Channel
• ESPN, ESPN2
• Food Network
• FOX News
• FOX Sports (FS1)
• Hallmark Channel
• HGTV
• Lifetime
• MSNBC
• National Geographic
• NFL Network
• Nickelodeon
• Paramount Network
• Telemundo
• Univision
• USA Network

Sling TV’s channel lineup is much more limited than fuboTV’s. Between both Orange and Blue plans, Sling only offers 46 channels. These include popular channels like Cartoon Network, Comedy Central, Disney Channel, and MSNBC.

Here’s a partial list of Sling TV’s channel offerings:

• A&E
• AMC
• CNN
• Cartoon Network
• Comedy Central
• Disney Channel
• Food Network
• HGTV
• HISTORY
• Lifetime Channel
• TNT
• HISTORY
• Lifetime Channel
• MSNBC
• NBC
• Nick Jr.
• TBS
• TNT
• USA Network

fuboTV is hands-down the best streaming service for sports fans. Even the basic package comes with over 20 sports channels, including big hitters like ESPN and FOX Sports.

Other channels that fuboTV offers fans include: Big Ten Network, PAC-12 Networks, Tennis Channel, TUDN, Zona Fútbol, NFL Network, MLB Network, NBA TV, and NHL Network.

NFL fans can watch the entire playoff series and the Super Bowl on fuboTV, as well as most regular season games.

Sling TV’s sports coverage is more limited. With the normal Orange + Blue plan, you’ll get to watch some NFL, NBA, and other professional sports matches on FS1, TNT, NFL Network, ESPN, and ESPN 2.

However, if you want more sports coverage, you’ll have to pay extra for Sling’s add-on packages, like NBA LEAGUE PASS and the Sports Extra package, which gives you 12 additional sports channels.

If you want to get the fancy movie channels with your streaming service, you’ll have to pay extra. Here’s what it will cost with Sling and fubo.

You might have noticed that neither service offers HBO. That’s a bummer, but it makes sense. HBO has launched its own streaming service (which is actually pretty great) that you’ll have to sign up for separately if you want to watch the new season of True Detective.

Sling TV and fuboTV also offer other premium content via channel add-ons. fuboTV sells packages like Sports Plus with NFL RedZone and International Sports Plus. Sling TV has add-ons like Comedy Extras and Kids Extras.

Sling TV comes with 50 hours of free cloud-based DVR storage. That’s great for casual users who want to record a couple of off-season games or a few reruns of The Office every once in a while. But it pales in comparison to the 1,000 hours that fuboTV gives users with its core plans.

With Sling TV, you can buy more storage space on your DVR. It costs $5 for an additional 200 hours. With fubo, there is no way to buy more DVR storage. But honestly, you’d be hard pressed to use 1,000 hours. You could easily record every normal season game from your favorite team and still have enough space to store every episode of Game of Thrones.

When you open up the Sling TV or fuboTV app, you’ll see pretty much the same thing: a sleek black background, a set of tabs at the top, and some recommended things to watch on the home page. Neither company offers anything too revolutionary, but that’s probably a good thing.

fuboTV’s interface has a few more tabs to choose from at the start, including Sports and My Stuff. These tabs break down into further categories when you click on them.

WIth fuboTV, you can easily differentiate between what’s airing live and what is a recorded show, movie, or game. That makes it easy to keep up with the news or latest sports games.

Sling TV’s interface also makes it easy to catch what’s on air right now. There’s a channel guide that’s similar to what you’d see with a cable TV subscription. You can see what’s airing now and what’s scheduled for later in the day.

On both services, you can easily navigate to your recorded content via the DVR tab.

Honestly, if you squint, it’s hard to tell the Sling TV and fuboTV apps apart. That’s totally fine with us. We want avant garde television shows, not app menus.

If you’re not a big sports person or you’re on a budget, we recommend Sling TV. It’s remarkably cheap and has several popular channels to fill your evenings with entertainment. But if you watch football every Sunday, you’ll be happier with fuboTV. It has more channels than Sling in every genre, and it’s got premium sports coverage.

• Price: Sling TV. Sling TV is the best budget service for live TV streaming. You can get a lot of popular channels for just $40 a month. fuboTV is significantly pricier, but it’s not a bad deal. When you look at the price-per-channel it actually gives you more bang for your buck.
• Channels: fuboTV. fuboTV offers basically everything you could want, including tons of news, kids, and entertainment channels. But what really makes it one of the best streaming services is its superior sports channel lineup. Sling TV has some of the basics covered, but it won’t be enough for many families.
• DVR: fuboTV. You get just 50 hours of DVR with Sling TV. Meanwhile, fuboTV offers 1,000 hours with most plans, which is more than enough for your parents, your kids, and even your cousins and in-laws to record their favorite shows.
• User experience: There’s nothing remarkable about either services’ interface. But that’s fine with us. They both make it easy to see what’s on live and what you have recorded.