Sling TV vs. fuboTV
Live TV streaming services Sling TV and fuboTV are more different than similar, but which is better? The experts at CableTV.com dig in on the deets.
Is Sling TV or fuboTV better?
Sling TV and fuboTV rate closely in CableTV.com’s live TV streaming editorial rankings, but for different reasons. Thanks to its endless package customization option and relatively lower pricing, we’re giving the edge in this matchup to Sling TV—but there’s still much to like about fuboTV.
fuboTV is loaded with channels, over 220, with many dedicated to international soccer. However, fuboTV’s channel lineups are devoid of 10 WarnerMedia networks—including TNT, CNN, and Cartoon Network/Adult Swim—which makes it tough to justify the monthly price tag.
Sling TV offers several add-on channel packages to pump up its sports and entertainment content, as well as easy workarounds to make up for its lack of streaming local channels. If you like customization options and a lower monthly bill (like we do), Sling TV is probably for you.
Sling TV vs. fuboTV pros and cons
Free trials and deals
Sling TV only occasionally offers free trials to test its service, but it has several promotions to take advantage of. Check out our Sling TV Deals guide for more details.
fuboTV will let you take its live TV streaming service for a spin with a seven-day free trial before paying anything.
Compare Sling TV and fuboTV
| Service | Price | Channels | Streams | Cloud DVR | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sling TV | $40.00–$55.00/mo. | 30–45+ | 1–4 | 50 hrs. | View plans |
| fuboTV | $74.99–$94.99/mo. | 140–215+ | Up to 10 | 1,000 hrs. | View plans |
Data effective as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
The numbers seem simple: fuboTV gives you more channels for more money, while Sling TV offers fewer channels at a lower price. But the numbers don’t tell the whole story. Sling has many add-on options to get more channels you might want. In contrast, fuboTV carries multiple international sports channels you may not care about (and no TNT or TBS).
Sling TV vs. fuboTV plans and pricing
We’ve said it before, but we’ll say it again: if you’re looking for a cheaper streaming service with decent channel lineups, sign up for Sling TV. We’ll go into more detail below.
Sling TV plans and pricing
Data effective as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
Sling’s Orange and Blue plans carry popular channels like AMC, Comedy Central, and Lifetime, but they focus on different audiences: Sling Orange features several sports and kids’ channels; Sing Blue is more about entertainment and news.
Our preferred plan, Sling Orange + Blue, gives you a combined lineup of over 45 channels for $55.00 per month. But you can customize either Sling Orange or Sling Blue (both $40.00 a month) to your taste with optional channel add-on packages. More on that later.
fuboTV plans and pricing
Data effective as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
fuboTV’s most basic plan, Pro, serves up a healthy bunch of channels and cloud DVR space for $74.99 per month. Not too pricey for what you get—it’s the one we’d go with.
Elite doesn’t offer much more for the extra $10.00 a month, but the Premier plan is interesting. It combines the Elite lineup with three add-on packages, including Sports Plus (over 25 extra sports channels) and SHOWTIME (nine extra premium channels) for $94.99 a month. A nice splurge plan.
Live channels
Sling TV vs. fuboTV channels
| Channel | Sling TV Orange + Blue | fuboTV Pro |
|---|---|---|
| A | ||
| A&E | ✔ | — |
| ABC* | ✔ | ✔ |
| ACC Network | — | — |
| AMC | ✔ | — |
| Animal Planet | — | ✔ |
| B | ||
| BBC America | ✔ | — |
| BBC World News | — | — |
| BET | ✔ | ✔ |
| Big Ten Network | — | ✔ |
| Bloomberg TV | ✔ | ✔ |
| Boomerang | — | — |
| Bravo | ✔ | ✔ |
| C | ||
| C-SPAN | — | — |
| Cartoon Network / Adult Swim | ✔ | — |
| CBS* | — | ✔ |
| CBS Sports Network | — | ✔ |
| Cheddar News | ✔ | — |
| CINEMAX® | — | — |
| CMT | — | ✔ |
| CNBC | — | ✔ |
| CNN | ✔ | — |
| Comedy Central | ✔ | ✔ |
| COMET | ✔ | ✔ |
| Cooking Channel | — | — |
| COZI TV | — | — |
| The CW* | — | — |
| D | ||
| Destination America | — | — |
| Discovery Channel | ✔ | ✔ |
| Discovery Family | — | — |
| Discovery Life | — | — |
| Disney Channel | ✔ | ✔ |
| Disney Junior | — | ✔ |
| Disney XD | — | ✔ |
| E | ||
| E! | ✔ | ✔ |
| ESPN | ✔ | ✔ |
| ESPN2 | ✔ | ✔ |
| ESPNews | — | — |
| ESPNU | — | — |
| F | ||
| Food Network | ✔ | — |
| FOX* | ✔ | ✔ |
| Fox Business Network | ✔ | ✔ |
| Fox News | ✔ | ✔ |
| FOX Soccer Plus | — | — |
| FS1 | ✔ | ✔ |
| FS2 | — | ✔ |
| Freeform | ✔ | ✔ |
| Fuse | ✔ | — |
| FX | ✔ | ✔ |
| FXM | — | — |
| FXX | — | ✔ |
| FYI | — | — |
| G | ||
| Galavisión | — | ✔ |
| Golf Channel | — | ✔ |
| H | ||
| Hallmark Channel | — | ✔ |
| Hallmark Drama | — | ✔ |
| Hallmark Movies & Mysteries | — | ✔ |
| HBO® | — | — |
| HGTV | ✔ | ✔ |
| HISTORY | ✔ | — |
| HLN | ✔ | |
| I | ||
| IFC | ✔ | — |
| Investigation Discovery (ID) | ✔ | ✔ |
| ION | — | — |
| L | ||
| Lifetime | ✔ | — |
| Lifetime Movie Network | — | — |
| M | ||
| MGM+™ | $5.00/mo. | $5.99/mo. |
| MLB Network | — | — |
| Magnolia Network | ✔ | ✔ |
| MOTOR TREND | ✔ | ✔ |
| MSNBC | ✔ | ✔ |
| MTV | — | ✔ |
| MTV2 | — | — |
| MTV Classic | — | — |
| MTV Live | — | — |
| N | ||
| Nat Geo WILD | — | — |
| National Geographic Channel | ✔ | ✔ |
| NBA TV | — | — |
| NBC* | ✔ | ✔ |
| NBC Universo | — | — |
| NFL Network | ✔ | ✔ |
| NFL RedZone | — | — |
| NHL Network | — | — |
| Nick Jr. | ✔ | ✔ |
| Nickelodeon / Nick at Nite | — | ✔ |
| Nicktoons | — | — |
| O | ||
| OWN | — | — |
| Oxygen True Crime | — | ✔ |
| P | ||
| Pac-12 Network | — | — |
| Paramount Network | — | ✔ |
| PBS* | — | — |
| Pop | — | ✔ |
| S | ||
| Science | — | — |
| SEC Network | — | — |
| SHOWTIME® | $10.00/mo. | $10.99/mo. |
| Smithsonian Channel | — | ✔ |
| Sportsman Channel | — | — |
| Stadium | ✔ | — |
| STARZ® | $9.00/mo. | $8.99/mo. |
| SundanceTV | — | — |
| Syfy | ✔ | ✔ |
| T | ||
| Tastemade | ✔ | ✔ |
| TBS | ✔ | — |
| TCM | — | — |
| TeenNick | — | — |
| Telemundo* | — | ✔ |
| Tennis Channel | — | — |
| TLC | — | ✔ |
| TNT | ✔ | — |
| Travel Channel | ✔ | ✔ |
| truTV | ✔ | — |
| TV Land | — | — |
| U | ||
| Universal Kids | — | — |
| Univision | — | ✔ |
| USA Network | ✔ | ✔ |
| V | ||
| VH1 | — | ✔ |
| VICE | ✔ | — |
| W | ||
| WE tv | — | — |
| Weather Channel | ✔ | ✔ |
* Availability varies by area. Data effective as of post date.
For a balanced apples-to-apples comparison, we contrasted the similar Sling Orange + Blue plan with the fuboTV Pro above. Despite its fat lineup, fuboTV’s lack of TNT, CNN, Cartoon Network/Adult Swim, and several other popular WarnerMedia channels is difficult to overlook. Sling TV has ‘em, as well as most of the other channels you’d want.
For a more detailed look at Sling TV’s available channels, check out our Sling TV Channels and Sling TV Add-On Packages guides. You can also visit our fuboTV Channels page for a deep dive into fuboTV’s network lineup.
Sling TV vs. fuboTV sports channels
| Channel | Sling TV Orange + Blue | fuboTV Pro |
|---|---|---|
| ACC Network | — | — |
| Altitude Sports | — | ✔ |
| AT&T SportsNet | — | ✔ |
| beIN Sports | — | ✔ |
| Big Ten Network | — | ✔ |
| CBS Sports Network | — | ✔ |
| ESPN | ✔ | ✔ |
| ESPN2 | ✔ | ✔ |
| ESPNews | — | — |
| ESPNU | — | — |
| FS1 | — | ✔ |
| FS2 | — | ✔ |
| fubo Sports Network | — | ✔ |
| Golf Channel | — | ✔ |
| MLB Network | — | — |
| MLB Network Strike Zone | — | — |
| MOTOR TREND | — | ✔ |
| NBA TV | — | — |
| NFL Network | ✔ | ✔ |
| NFL RedZone | — | — |
| NHL Network | — | — |
| Origin Sports | — | ✔ |
| Outdoor TV | — | — |
| Pac-12 Network | — | — |
| SEC Network | — | — |
| Sportsman Channel | — | — |
| Stadium | ✔ | ✔ |
| Swerve Sports | — | ✔ |
| Tennis Channel | — | — |
| TUDN | — | ✔ |
* Availability varies by area. Data effective as of post date.
There are a lot of sports channels in the fuboTV column—it’s definitely the sports-focused streaming service it claims to be. You can bolster Sling TV with its Sports Extra add-on package of over a dozen additional sports channels, but fuboTV is the winner here for soccer fans (even more so if you go for the Elite or Premier plan).
Sling TV vs. fuboTV local channels
| Channel* | Sling TV | fuboTV |
|---|---|---|
| ABC | ✔ | ✔ |
| CBS | — | ✔ |
| The CW | — | ✔ |
| FOX | ✔ | ✔ |
| NBC | ✔ | ✔ |
| PBS | — | — |
| Telemundo | — | ✔ |
| UniMás | — | ✔ |
| Univision | — | ✔ |
* Availability varies by area. Data effective as of post date.
Sling TV only streams ABC-, FOX- and NBC-affiliated channels in select areas, but offers over-the-air digital antenna workarounds to integrate broadcasts into its channel lineup. Those channels are free, after all.
fuboTV streams local ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC channels in most areas.
Premium channels and add-on packages
| Channel | Sling TV | fuboTV |
|---|---|---|
| Max | — | — |
| CINEMAX | — | — |
| SHOWTIME | $10.00/mo. | $10.99/mo. |
| STARZ | $9.00/mo. | $8.99/mo. |
| MGM+ | $5.00/mo. | $5.99/mo. |
Data effective as of post date.
Similar premium channel options show up here: SHOWTIME, STARZ, and MGM+, but no Max or CINEMAX for either. Sling TV has so many add-on channel packages that we dedicated a whole page to them; below are fuboTV’s available multi-channel add-ons:
- MLB.TV ($24.99/mo.)
- NBA League Pass ($14.99/mo.)
- Sports Plus with NFL RedZone ($10.99/mo.)
- International Sports Plus ($6.99/mo.)
- Sports Lite ($9.99/mo.)
- Adventure Plus ($4.99/mo.)
- fubo Extra ($7.99/mo.)
- News Plus ($2.99/mo.)
- Latino Plus ($19.99/mo.)
- Portuguese Plus ($14.99/mo.)
- Entretenimiento Plus ($9.99/mo.)
Specs and features
Cloud DVR
| Service | Cloud DVR storage | Upgrades |
|---|---|---|
| Sling TV | 50 hrs. included | 200 hrs. ($5.00/mo.) |
| fuboTV | 1,000 hrs. included | — |
All of fuboTV’s plans come with 1,000 hours of cloud DVR storage standard, a pretty generous allotment. Sling TV includes 50 hours with its plans, with the option to upgrade to 200 hours of storage for an extra $5 a month.
Multiple streams
| Service | Simultaneous streams | Upgrades | Offline downloads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sling TV | 1–4 | — | — |
| fuboTV | 10 | — | — |
Each Sling TV plan comes with an oddly different simultaneous stream allowance (Orange: 1, Blue: 3, Orange + Blue: 4). All English-language fuboTV plans give you 10. We’re not sure how often you’d need a 10-stream option, but it’s cool to have.
Compatible devices
| Device | Sling TV | fuboTV |
|---|---|---|
| AirTV | ✔ | ✔ |
| Amazon Fire Cube, Stick, TV | ✔ | ✔ |
| Android phones, tablets | ✔ | ✔ |
| Android TV | ✔ | ✔ |
| Apple TV (4th gen.) | ✔ | ✔ |
| Apple TV 4K | ✔ | ✔ |
| Chromecast, Chromecast with Google TV | ✔ | ✔ |
| iPhone, iPad | ✔ | ✔ |
| LG TVs (select models) | ✔ | ✔ |
| Nintendo Switch | — | — |
| NVIDIA SHIELD Pro TV | ✔ | ✔ |
| PC, Mac web browsers | ✔ | ✔ |
| PlayStation 4, 5 | — | — |
| Roku Ultra, Express, Premiere, Stick, TV | ✔ | ✔ |
| Samsung TVs (select models) | ✔ | ✔ |
| TiVo Stream | ✔ | — |
| Vizio TVs (select models) | ✔ | ✔ |
| Wii | — | — |
| Xbox One | ✔ | ✔ |
| Xfinity Flex, X1 | ✔ | — |
Data effective as of post date.
Sling TV and fuboTV are available on most popular streaming platforms, including Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku. Additionally, Sling TV is pre-installed on TiVo Stream for old-school dancing TV box fans.
Video and audio quality
Like other live TV streaming services, Sling TV and fuboTV stream at 720p resolution (comparable to cable TV), with some on-demand content streaming at 1080p (comparable to Blu-ray). With its Elite and Premier plans, fuboTV offers some sports events in ultra-high definition 4K, including the English Premier League, MLB on FOX, and college games.
Sling TV and fuboTV both stream with standard 2.0 stereo audio. Some Sling TV on-demand content features Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound.
Is Sling TV or fuboTV more worth it?
While fuboTV offers more channels and advanced technical features, we’re handing the W in this matchup to Sling TV. Its lower plan pricing and the plethora of add-on channel options appeal to our budget and customization-nerd requisites, and it’s simply a breeze to use.
As a sports-centric streamer, fuboTV is missing some key channels. With no TNT or TBS, you’d be missing out on a whole lot of NBA, MLB, and NHL action (not to mention AEW pro wrestling). fuboTV is the be-all-end-all service for international soccer, but we say you’ll get a more well-rounded (and cheaper) TV experience with Sling TV.
Sling TV vs. fuboTV FAQ
How much is Sling TV a month?
Sling TV’s Orange and Blue plans have gone up from $35 a month to $40, and the combined Orange + Blue plan rose from $50 a month to $55. Along with the price hike, Sling TV announced it would add 150 new channels in 2023.
Do you get local channels with Sling TV or fuboTV?
Sling TV only streams local ABC, FOX and NBC channels in some markets but offers several integrated over-the-air antenna options with its plans to receive more local channels for free. fuboTV streams local ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC in most areas.
Does Sling TV have ESPN?
Sling TV features ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN3 in its Orange and Orange + Blue plans but not in its Blue plan. And if you want complete ESPN coverage, Orange + Sports Extra also includes ESPNews and ESPNU.
Methodology
Our experts employed hundreds of hours of hands-on testing. We crunched the numbers, rating Sling TV and fuboTV on bang for your buck, reliability, features, and customer satisfaction. Then we matched up the services numbers head to head to give a clearer picture of their strengths and weaknesses. For more information on our methodology, check out our How We Rank page.
