How to Watch HGTV: Channels, Streaming, and More

Let’s start with the good news: pretty much every TV provider has a package that includes HGTV. Now, for the (not really all that) bad news: you’re gonna have to sort through a ton of choices.

Not to worry, much like the hosts of House Hunters, we’ve looked at dozens of TV packages that include HGTV and whittled it down for you: DISH’s America’s Top 200, Spectrum’s Spectrum TV^® Select, streaming service Philo’s base package, and the on-demand streaming service Discovery+ (which will be combined into HBO Max^TM in the near future).

Read on to find out why we made our choices and to see which HGTV TV package is right for you and your household.

Jump to:

• HGTV without cable
• HGTV with cable
• Best TV providers for HGTV
• Watch HGTV app
• What channel is HGTV on?

How can I watch HGTV without cable?

You don’t need to have cable TV to watch HGTV—but you’ll probably need streaming TV or even satellite TV (which is, admittedly, a lot like cable). So you’ll probably want to look into streaming TV services first.

How to stream HGTV

These days, watching HGTV without cable is a breeze. You’ll still have to pay to get a reliable HGTV stream, but you can usually get a streaming service package for less than a typical cable package.

If HGTV is one of the main reasons you want TV service, we highly recommend Philo because of its low monthly price, month-to-month contract, and variety of lifestyle channels like HGTV and the Travel Channel.

But we also highly recommend streaming past seasons of HGTV shows on Discovery+, which is even more affordable and has no contracts.

You can stream HGTV on your computer, tablet, or phone at HGTV.com or by downloading the HGTV app (a.k.a. Watch HGTV)—but using the app requires a cable, satellite, or streaming TV provider login.

You can also download your TV provider’s app to any compatible device, including streaming devices like the Roku Ultra and Amazon Fire TV Stick that are connected to your smart TV.

That said, if you’re looking for a premium TV experience above and beyond most streaming and cable packages, you’ll want a satellite TV package.

HGTV on DISH Network

Again, for a premium TV experience that includes HGTV, we really like DISH Network. DISH packages have all the bells and whistles: huge channel lineups, state-of-the-art equipment, and transparent contracts.

HGTV on DIRECTV

DIRECTV is also a decent option if you want HGTV as a part of your premium TV experience, especially if you’re a sports fan.

Maybe you like to do home repairs on Saturday and park it on the couch every Sunday to watch all the NFL games you can (and HGTV during halftime). With NFL SUNDAY TICKET, you can get every NFL game included free for the first year with some DIRECTV packages.

Just be careful: DIRECTV prices go way up after the first year, and its Genie DVR can’t hold a candle to DISH’s Hopper 3.

How can I watch HGTV with cable?

There are at least two solid reasons to get HGTV with cable: bundles and channel counts. Having a combined TV and internet bill is super convenient. And if you like to channel surf, cable TV packages have 50–200 more channels than you’ll get from streaming services like YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV—and for roughly the same price.

Those are just some of the reasons why we like Spectrum for cable TV packages that include HGTV (more on why below).

That said, Spectrum might not be available in your area. So, if you want to score a sweet cable bundle with your HGTV, you’ll wanna enter your zip code below to see TV providers in your ‘hood.

Best TV providers for HGTV

• DISH ($64.99–$104.99/mo.)—Premium TV experience
• Spectrum ($49.99–$164.97/mo.)—Cheapest cable TV package
• Philo ($25.00/mo.)—Cheapest live TV streaming package
• Discovery Plus ($4.99–$6.99/mo.)—Cheapest on-demand streaming

Premium TV experience: DISH Network

Like we said above, DISH is your best bet if you want all things TV all the time. In fact, we named DISH best overall among TV providers in 2020.

In particular, we think DISH’s America’s Top 200 package is a pretty good deal. With it, you’ll get 240+ channels—including HGTV, DIY Network, and the Cooking Channel—for $94.99 per month (and no price hikes).

Your DISH package will also include the Hopper Duo, a fairly decent DVR with 2 TB of storage that you can connect to two TVs at the same time. (The Hopper 3 is $10 per month extra, but might be worth adding to your package if you’re a true TV fiend.)

And then there’s the on-demand content. Each DISH package has up to 80,000 free titles on demand, which you can watch on most devices with the DISH Anywhere app. Did we mention that the DISH Anywhere app will also allow you to stream live TV and DVR recordings? Not too shabby, eh?

Don’t get us wrong: DISH has some downsides, of course. DISH packages are pretty expensive for a lot of folks. Also, you’ll have to get a satellite dish installed on your home—and clean snow off it in the winter.

So, DISH Network isn’t for everyone, but we still think it’s pretty damn good compared to the competition.

Cheapest cable TV package: Spectrum

As much as we hate to say it, we gotta give it to cable provider Spectrum for the value of its TV packages. (We may be CableTV.com, but we think, for a lot of folks, cable isn’t the right choice.)

Out of all cable and TV providers, Spectrum has the cheapest standalone TV package. For only $49.99 a month (for 12 months), Spectrum TV Select has 125 channels. Among these networks are the top 35 most-watched channels—HGTV included.

Why then would you go with DISH or a streaming service over Spectrum? The short answer is equipment.

The Spectrum DVR add-on for $4.99 per month has way less storage than the Hopper Duo and most streaming services’ cloud DVRs, including Philo’s. What’s more, the Spectrum TV app is way glitchier and has a lot less content than the DISH Anywhere app and most streaming apps, including Philo’s.

But, if you have room in your budget, you can complement Spectrum TV Select with top premium movie and sports channels—HBO (with HBO Max^TM), SHOWTIME^®, STARZ^® & STARZENCORE^®, and the Sports View add-on (20 channels including NFL Network and NFL RedZone)—for $40.00 more per month. That would make your total monthly payment only $89.99, which is a very good price for so much content.

Cheapest live TV streaming: Philo

For the budget-conscious HGTV fan, you can’t beat Philo for $25 per month. Sure you won’t get half as many channels as you would with DISH or Spectrum, but you’ll pay less than a third of the cost.

Another thing to consider when going with Philo is that you won’t get any live news or sports channels with your package. For a lot of our readers, popular lifestyle channels like HGTV, Hallmark Channel, and Lifetime are more than enough.

But if you or your partner is even a low-key sports fan or news watcher, Philo might not be right for you.

Channel selection aside, Philo also packs a punch with its unlimited cloud DVR. Shows will be deleted after 30 days, but unlimited storage? Come on! Say hello to DVR recordings of the entire Property Brothers franchise.

Cheapest on-demand streaming: Discovery Plus

Watch HGTV app

The HGTV app (a.k.a. Watch HGTV) is another way you can stream HGTV from a web browser or any compatible device.

First things first, the Watch HGTV app is free to download, but you must have a TV provider login to use it. That means that you can’t watch HGTV for free (*writer shrugs*).

The Watch HGTV app is pretty handy, though. True HGTV fans will enjoy over 10,000 episodes on demand, a live HGTV stream, and the occasional early premier of original HGTV shows.

Not bad for a free app, eh? Again, you’ll need a TV provider login to use the Watch HGTV app, but that’s why we’re here: to help you find one.

Enter your zip code to see top TV providers in your area.

What channel is HGTV on?

For our readers who already have HGTV, you might be wondering what channel it’s on. Well, the answer depends on your TV provider.

HGTV channel number by provider

• AT&T TV—channel 450
• DIRECTV—channel 229
• DISH—channel 112
• Spectrum—channel 160
• Verizon Fios TV—channels 165

Our final take

HGTV is available from pretty much every major TV provider. That said, we think DISH, Spectrum, and Philo have great TV packages that include HGTV.

DISH’s America’s Top 200 has over 240 live channels, including HGTV, and a solid DVR for $94.99 per month.

We think Spectrum TV® Select is a great value at $49.99 per month with HGTV and premium channels like HBO and SHOWTIME included.

And for the budget-conscious, Philo has the goods with 63+ channels, including HGTV, for only $25 per month. To sweeten the pot, Philo includes a free trial and you can cancel your subscription at any time. Also, you can’t beat paying only $4.99–$6.99 month to stream past seasons of HGTV shows on Discovery+.

Methodology

The experts at CableTV.com have logged hundreds of hours researching and testing cable, satellite, and streaming TV providers that carry HGTV. We compare them on pricing, features, and more, then share our findings with our readers. For more on our process, see our How We Rank page.

How to watch HGTV FAQ