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Fubo vs. YouTube TV: Which live streaming service is best?

The Fubo app is displayed on a Roku device.
Phil Nickinson / Digital Trends

If you’ve made the decision to cut the cord and move to a streaming service, you have access to more options than ever before. The most popular streaming services have put in the time to deliver giant libraries of content just waiting for you to find them. Meanwhile the best live streaming services ensure you never miss an episode of your favorite show. So let’s take a look at two of the best live streaming options out there: Fubo and YouTube TV.

Fubo delivers a great combination of live sporting events, a huge slate of channels, and an integrated DVR feature to make it easy to record your favorite shows or programs. YouTube TV delivers both live streaming, and VOD content, along with access to NFL RedZone, and streaming events in 4K. There’s a lot to love about both services, but this is all about finding the service that’s right for you.

Let’s dig in.

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Plans and prices

Fubo TV sign-in screen.
Phil Nickinson / Digital Trends

Fubo delivers four different tiers of subscriptions. All of them come with an initial one-month discount on price, before jumping to the actual monthly subscription rate.

The Pro plan will run you $80 each month, and includes 197 channels, unlimited cloud DVR, and the ability to watch on 10 screens at once. Elite with Sports Plus is $100 per month, has access to 290 channels, includes 4K video, and adds Sports Plus with NFL RedZone. The Deluxe plan is $110 monthly, has 302 channels, and adds MGM+ and International Sports Plus. Fubo also has a Latino plan, available for $33 per month, which includes 62 channels, unlimited cloud DVR and watching on two screens.

Fubo also has a competitive slate of add-on options. These vary from premium channels like Starz, and Paramount+, to channel bundles for sports or news. There are also several different add-ons for content in other languages like French, Spanish, or Portuguese.

Alternatively, YouTube TV has one track and one price to get everything it has to offer. For $73 per month, you get access to over 110 channels. However, this price will be making a jump up to $83 per month in January of 2025.

YouTube TV also has access to a variety of add-ons. These include options like the 4K add-on, premium channels like Max, and options like CuriosityStream, Zee Family and more. The add-ons are also where you can find the Spanish plan, and several other add-ons in languages like Hindi, Tagalog, and Spanish. YouTube TV is also the exclusive home of NFL Sunday Ticket.

Content

When it comes to choosing a streaming service, the most important thing to consider is what’s available to watch. After all, if a streaming service doesn’t have the programs you’re interested in watching, it’s not worth subscribing to, is it?

An NFL Sunday Ticket multiview option on YouTube TV.
Phil Nickinson / Digital Trends

Fubo comes out the gates strong, giving access on up to 300-plus channels, depending on which tier of service you sign up with. Their basic subscription tier includes access to 200-plus channels, but it’s worth taking a look at what channels are actually there, since it includes eight different beIN Sports channels, and 11 from TUDN. Fubo does include access to local networks, but what you get depends on where you are.

YouTube TV has over 100 channels for you to check out, with a combination of networks you make recognize and some lesser-known options as well. It includes the likes of ABC, Fox, NBC, ESPN, and plenty more to check out. You should also have access to local broadcast channels when turning on YouTube TV.

Channels

Photo of the homepage of Fubo with golfer Cameron Smith.
Phil Nickinson / Digital Trends

With so many channels being offered, it’s worth knowing exactly what you’re going to get. With that in mind we have the current channel lineup for both, as of Autumn 2024. You can also expect both YouTube TV and Fubo to have access to local broadcasting.

YouTube TV’s channel lineup

ABC, ABC News Live, ACC Network, Adult Swim, All Reality We TV, American Crimes, AMC, AMC Thrillers, Animal Planet, BBC America, BBC World News, BET, BET Her, Bounce, Bravo, BTN, Cartoon Network, CBS, CBS Sports, Charge!, Cheddar News, CMT, CNBC, CNBC World, CNN, Comedy Central, Comedy.TV, Comet TV, Court TV, Cozi, Dabl, Discovery Channel, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Docurama, Dove Channel, E!, ESPN, ESPN in 4K, ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPNU, Food Network, Fox, Fox Business, Fox News, Fox Soul, Fox Sports 4K, Fox Sports Plus 4K, Fox Weather, Freeform, FS1, FS2, FX, FXM, FXX,

Galavision, Game Show Network, GetTV, Golf Channel, Hallmark Channel, Family, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, HGTV, HLN, HSN, ID, IFC, ION, JusticeCentral.TV, Law & Crime, LiveNOW, Local Now, Localish, Magnolia Network, MotorTrend, MSNBC, MTV, MTV Classic, MTV2, My TV, Nat Geo, Nat Geo Wild, NBA TV, NBA TV in 4K, NBC, NBC News Now, NBC Sports 4K, NBCLX, Neon, NewsNation, NFL Network, Nick Jr., Nickelodeon, Nicktoons, Orlando City, OWN, Oxygen True Crime, Paramount, PBS, PBS Kids, PCMAG.com, Pop, IFC Portlandia, QVC, Recipe.TV, Scripps News, SEC Network, Smithsonian Channel, Start TV, Sundance TV, Stories by AMC, SYFY, T2, Tastemade, TBD TV, TBS, TeenNick, Telemundo, Telehit, Telemundo, The CW, The Great Courses,  TLC, the Weather Channel, TNT, Travel Channel, truTV, TUDN, Turner Classic Movies, TV Land, TYT Network, UniMas, Universal Kids, Univision, USA, VH1, WE tv.

The YouTube TV home screen.
Phil Nickinson / Digital Trends

Fubo’s channel lineup

Fubo is a bit more complicated since it has several tracks, but we still have the channels you can expect. The starter plan begins with: ABC, ABC News Live, ABC Localish, AXS TV Now, ACL Cornhole, Always Funny, Accuweather, beIN SPORTS 4, beIN SPORTS 5, beIN SPORTS 6, beIN SPORTS 7, beIN SPORTS 8, beIN SPORTS en Espanol, Bravo, Big Network, Bloomberg television, Bleav Football, Bounce, Boxing TV, Billiard TV, Bare Knuckle Fighting, BET, Big Ten Network, CBS Sports Network,  2, CLEO TV, Curiosity, Comedy Dynamics, Court TV, Court TV Legendary Trials, Craftsy TV, CMT, Comedy Central, CBS News 24/7, Comet, CNBC, Charge, Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney Jr, Dabl, Dove Channel, Dark Matter TV, EarthX TV, E!, ESPN, ESPN 2, Estrella TV,

FS1 4k, FS2, Fox News, Freeform, FX, FXX, Fox Business, Fox Weather, Fox LiveNow, Fox Sports, Fox Soul, FailArmy, Free Movies, Family Time, Fubo Radio 1, Fubo Radio 2, Fubo Radio 3, Fubo Radio 4, Fubo Radio 6, Fubo Radio 7, Fubo Radio 8, Fubo Radio 9, Fubo Radio 10,  Forensic Files, FloRacing, FeTV, Filmrise Unsolved Mysteries, FMC, Fubo Movies, Fubo Sports, Fubo Sports 2, Fubo Sports 3, Fubo Sports 4, Fubo Sports 5, Fubo Sports 6, Fubo Sports 7, Fubo Sports 9, Gusto TV, Great American Family, Grit, Glory, Game Show Central, Galavision, Get TV, Hallmark, Hallmark Mystery, Hallmark Family, InFast, Ion Mystery, Ion, Ion Plus, JTV, Kitchen Nightmares, LSN, Law & Crime, Locked On Sports Los Angeles, Live Tennis, Locked On Sports Today, LX TV, Local Now,

Marquee, MASN, MASN, MSNBC, Maximum Effort Channel, Man Cave Movies, MTV, NBC Sports Philadelphia, NBC Sports 4k,  NBC Golf, NFL Network, NBC News Now, National Geographic, NitroCircus TV, NewsMax, NewsMax2, News12 New York, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr, NBC Universo, News Nation, Oxygen True Crime, Origin Sports, Power Sports World, Professional Football League, PBTV, Powder, Paramount, Pop TV, QVC, QVC’s Big Dish Channel, OZ TV, RealMadrid TV, SyFy, Sport Stak, Scripp News, Speed Vision, Start.tv, Swerve Combat, Salem News, Shop LC, Speed Sport, Surfer, Smithsonian Channel,

TasteMade Food & More, TasteMade Travel, The First, The Pet Collective, The Design Network, The Bob Ross Channel, Tastemade home, Team Liquid, The Boat Show, True Crime, Telemundo, TV Land, The Weather Channel, TBD, The Nest, TUDN, TUDNXtra 1, TUDNXtra 10, TUDNXtra 11, TUDNXtra 2, TUDNXtra 3, TUDNXtra 4, TUDNXtra 5, TUDNXtra 6, TUDNXtra 7, TUDNXtra 8, TUDNXtra 9,USA, Univision, Universal Kids, Unimas, VH1, WSN, Willow, and XOXO.

The additional Fubo channels available with the Elite & Deluxe plans are: Africa News English, ACCN ESPN, Alien Nation, At Home Family Handyman, Bloomberg Originals, BET Jams, BET Soul, BET Her, Buzzr, Baywatch, Cheddar News, CNBC World, CL Sports, Court Sports Network, Circle Country, Classic TV, Cheaters, Chess TV, Crime and Punishment, Curiosity Now,Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan, Documentary Plus, Euro News, ESPN U, ESPN News, ESports Television, Fight Network, Fuel TV, FXM, Family Feud, Game Plus Network, Great American Faith & Living, Great American Adventures,

Horse & Country, Hello Inspo, i24 News, InWonder, InTravel, Justice Central TV, Judge Nosy, Lego, MLB Network, MLB Strike Zone, MTV2, MTV U, MTV Live, MTV Classic, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Mysteria, NFL RedZone, NBA TV, NHL Network, Next Level Sports & Entertainment, NickToons, NickMusic, Nat Geo Wild, Nosey, Non-Stop 90s, Outside TV, Pickle TV, Poker GO, People are Awesome, Revry News, ROI, Racing America, Revry, Retro Crush, Rig TV, Stadium, SEC ESPN Network, Sports Grid, Strongman Champions League, Sony Movie Channel, Shout TV, Sensical Makers, Supermarket Sweep, Sensical Gaming, Sensical Jr, The Washington Post Television, TYT, Tennis Channel, TNA Wrestling, Teen Nick, True Crime Now, Weather Spy, Whoa That Was Wild, Western, The Jami Oliver Channel, Unbeaten, WPT, World’s Wildest Police Videos, and Zona Futbol.

Device support

Apple TV 4K, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max and Roku Streaming Stick 4K.
Phil Nickinson / Digital Trends

While choosing a streaming service can be tricky, finding the devices supported by those services isn’t. You should be able to watch both Fubo and YouTube TV without issue while using a smartphone, a tablet, a home computer, a video game console, or any of the best streaming devices on the market. Both services are fairly popular, and they’re widely supported by most (if not all) video-playing devices.

While you shouldn’t run into any issues unless your hardware is extremely old or out of date, you can still check before signing up. You can check to see if your hardware is supported by Fubo or YouTube TV online without an issue.

Conclusion

The YouTube TV live guide.
Phil Nickinson / Digital Trends

When it comes to choosing between Fubo and YouTube TV, it really comes down to what you want from your streaming service. Both of these streamers deliver tons of live sports, and have a competitive slate of channels that include local broadcasting.

YouTube TV does have fewer channels than Fubo, but it’s also a bit cheaper. So if YouTube TV has the channels you’re hoping to watch, it’s a perfect pick. Since it’s easy to add on, you can also tweak what’s available to watch through YouTube TV that way.

Alternatively, if you’re interested in international sports, or you want as many channels as possible, then Fubo is going to be the better option. The Deluxe plan delivers more than 300 channels, along with a slate of extras including NFL RedZone and MGM+.

Jen Karner
Contributing Writer
Jen Karner joined the team as contributing writer for the home theater section of Digital Trends in 2024, where she writes…
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