Sling TV vs. Philo
Sling TV and Philo are both inexpensive live TV streaming services, but which is better? Let CableTV.com’s experts walk you through it.
Price: $40.00–$55.00/mo.
Channels: 30–45+
Cloud DVR storage: 50 hrs.
Price: $40.00–$55.00/mo.
Channels: 30–45+
Cloud DVR storage: 50 hrs.
Price: $25.00/mo.
Channels: 60+
Cloud DVR storage: Unlimited
Price: $25.00/mo.
Channels: 60+
Cloud DVR storage: Unlimited
Sling TV and Philo offer some of the lowest-priced monthly plans in live TV streaming. On the downside, they also feature fewer channels than pricier competitors like YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV.
More minuses: Sling TV is light on local channels, and Philo carries none at all (there are no sports channels on Philo, either). But Sling TV does offer a plethora of add-on channel packages for a tailored-to-you viewing experience, while Philo features a cloud DVR with unlimited storage space for 1 year and a few hard-to-get channels in streaming (like Hallmark).
If you want custom channel add-on options, as well as sports and local channels, we’d say go with Sling TV. But, if entertainment and lifestyle channels are your jam and you wouldn’t miss sports, we think the cheaper Philo might be right for you.
Sling TV vs. Philo pros and cons
Sling TV
✓ Low-priced plans
✓ 30+ channel add-on options
✗ Limited local channels
Philo
✓ Low price
✓ Unlimited cloud DVR
✗ No local or sports channels
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Deals and promotions
Philo gives you a seven day free trial to try out its service before subscribing.
Sling TV has no free trial, but does offer several deals on antennas and streaming devices—check out our Sling TV Deals guide for the details.
Compare Sling TV and Philo
| Service | Price | Channels | Streams | Cloud DVR | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sling TV | $40.00–$55.00/mo. | 30–45+ | 1–4 | 50 hrs. | View plans |
| Philo | $25.00/mo. | 60+ | 3 | Unlimited (1 yr.) | View plans |
Data effective as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
Sling TV offers three plan options, but Philo’s single plan is cheaper than all of them and features more channels. However, you get no local or sports channels with Philo—that’s a big “but” to work around, even at just $25 a month.
Plans and pricing
Sling TV plans and pricing
| Plan | Price | Channels | Streams | Cloud DVR | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sling Orange | $40.00/mo. | 30+ | 1 | 50 hrs. | View plans |
| Sling Blue | $40.00/mo. | 40+ | 3 | 50 hrs. | View plans |
| Sling Orange + Blue | $55.00/mo. | 45+ | 4 | 50 hrs. | View plans |
Data effective as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
Sling Orange + Blue’s combined 45+ channels for $55 a month is easy math but, depending on your viewing needs, Sling Orange or Sling Blue could have you covered for just $40 a month. Hint: Sling Orange is better for sports and family channels, like ESPN and Disney, while Sling Blue carries more entertainment and news channels, like Syfy and MSNBC.
Philo plans and pricing
| Plan | Price | Channels | Streams | Cloud DVR | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philo | $25.00/mo. | 60+ | 3 | Unlimited (1 yr.) | View plans |
Data effective as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
Philo keeps it simple with one plan featuring over 60 live channels. If you don’t care about sports or local channels, but you have to have your Comedy Central, ID, and Lifetime, Philo delivers. Lifestyle and entertainment channels are cheaper to license than sports networks and local stations, which is how Philo keeps the price down to $25 a month.
Live channels
Sling TV vs. Philo live channels
| Channel | Sling Orange | Sling Blue | Sling Orange + Blue | Philo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A&E | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| ABC* | — | ✔ | ✔ | — |
| ACC Network | — | — | — | — |
| AMC | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Animal Planet | — | — | — | ✔ |
| BBC America | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| BBC World News | — | — | — | — |
| BET | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Big Ten Network | — | — | — | — |
| Bloomberg TV | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Boomerang | — | — | — | — |
| Bravo | — | ✔ | ✔ | — |
| 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* | — | — | — | — |
| Destination America | — | — | — | ✔ |
| Discovery Channel | — | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Discovery Family | — | — | — | ✔ |
| Disney Channel | ✔ | — | — | — |
| Disney Junior | — | — | — | — |
| Disney XD | — | — | — | — |
| DIY Network | — | — | — | ✔ |
| E! | — | ✔ | ✔ | — |
| El Rey Network | — | — | — | — |
| ESPN | ✔ | — | ✔ | — |
| ESPN2 | ✔ | — | ✔ | — |
| ESPNews | — | — | — | — |
| ESPNU | — | — | — | — |
| Food Network | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| FOX* | — | ✔ | ✔ | — |
| Fox Business Network | — | — | — | — |
| Fox News | — | ✔ | ✔ | — |
| FOX Soccer Plus | — | — | — | — |
| FS1 | — | ✔ | ✔ | — |
| FS2 | — | — | — | — |
| Freeform | ✔ | — | ✔ | — |
| Fuse | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | — |
| Fusion | — | — | — | — |
| FX | — | ✔ | ✔ | — |
| FXM | — | — | — | — |
| FXX | — | — | — | — |
| FYI | — | — | — | ✔ |
| Galavisión | — | — | — | — |
| Golf Channel | — | — | — | — |
| Hallmark Channel | — | — | — | ✔ |
| Hallmark Movies & Mysteries | — | — | — | ✔ |
| HBO® | — | — | — | — |
| HGTV | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| HISTORY | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| HLN | — | ✔ | ✔ | — |
| IFC | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Investigation Discovery (ID) | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| ION | — | — | — | — |
| Lifetime | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Lifetime Movie Network | — | — | — | ✔ |
| MGM+™ | — | — | — | — |
| MLB Network | — | — | — | — |
| MOTOR TREND | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | — |
| MSNBC | — | ✔ | ✔ | — |
| MTV | — | — | — | ✔ |
| MTV2 | — | — | — | ✔ |
| MTV Classic | — | — | — | ✔ |
| Nat Geo WILD | — | — | — | — |
| National Geographic Channel | — | ✔ | ✔ | — |
| NBA TV | — | — | — | — |
| NBC* | — | ✔ | ✔ | — |
| NBC Universo | — | — | — | — |
| NFL Network | — | — | — | — |
| NFL RedZone | — | — | — | — |
| NHL Network | — | — | — | — |
| Nick Jr. | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Nickelodeon / Nick at Nite | — | — | — | ✔ |
| Nicktoons | — | — | — | ✔ |
| OWN | — | — | — | ✔ |
| Oxygen True Crime | — | — | — | — |
| Pac-12 Network | — | — | — | — |
| Paramount Network | — | — | — | — |
| Paramount+ with SHOWTIME® | — | — | — | — |
| PBS* | — | — | — | — |
| Pop | — | — | — | — |
| Science | — | — | — | ✔ |
| SEC Network | — | — | — | — |
| Smithsonian Channel | — | — | — | — |
| Sportsman Channel | — | — | — | — |
| Stadium | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | — |
| STARZ® | — | — | — | — |
| SundanceTV | — | — | — | ✔ |
| Syfy | — | — | — | — |
| TBS | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | — |
| TCM | — | — | — | — |
| TeenNick | — | — | — | ✔ |
| Telemundo* | — | — | — | — |
| Tennis Channel | — | — | — | — |
| TLC | — | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| TNT | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | — |
| Travel Channel | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| truTV | — | ✔ | ✔ | — |
| TV Land | — | — | — | ✔ |
| Universal Kids | — | — | — | — |
| Univision | — | — | — | — |
| USA Network | — | ✔ | ✔ | — |
| VH1 | — | — | — | ✔ |
| VICE | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| WEtv | — | — | — | ✔ |
| Weather Channel | ✔ | — | — | — |
*Availability varies by area. Data effective as of post date.
While Philo technically has more channels than Sling TV’s fattest plan, they may not all be channels you want—sure, the Game Show Network is cool, but would you rather have it or the NFL Network on Sling TV?
Philo is not for sports fans, as you’ll see in a minute.
Sling TV vs. Philo sports channels
| Channel | Sling Orange | Sling Blue | Sling Orange + Blue | Philo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACC Network | — | — | — | — |
| Big Ten Network | — | — | — | — |
| CBS Sports Network | — | — | — | — |
| ESPN | ✔ | — | ✔ | — |
| ESPN2 | ✔ | — | ✔ | — |
| ESPNews | — | — | — | — |
| ESPNU | — | — | — | — |
| FS1 | — | ✔ | ✔ | — |
| FS2 | — | — | — | — |
| Golf Channel | — | — | — | — |
| MLB Network | — | — | — | — |
| NBA TV | — | — | — | — |
| NFL Network | — | ✔ | ✔ | — |
| NFL RedZone | — | — | — | — |
| NHL Network | — | — | — | — |
| Outdoor TV | — | — | — | — |
| Pac-12 Network | — | — | — | — |
| SEC Network | — | — | — | — |
| Sportsman Channel | — | — | — | — |
| Stadium | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | — |
| Tennis Channel | — | — | — | — |
Data effective as of post date.
Sling TV blows out Philo for sports channels, easily. Sling TV’s basic plans carry ESPN, ESPN2, FS1, NBC Sports Network, and NFL Network, and you can get over 20 more sports channels with the Sports Extra add-on for an additional $11 a month.
The closest you can get to sports on Philo is Basketball Wives on VH1—an entertaining show, but not quite the same as NBA TV.
Sling TV vs. Philo local channels
| Channel* | Sling Orange | Sling Blue | Sling Orange + Blue | Philo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | — | ✔ | ✔ | — |
| CBS | — | — | — | — |
| The CW | — | — | — | — |
| FOX | — | ✔ | ✔ | — |
| NBC | — | ✔ | ✔ | — |
| PBS | — | — | — | — |
| Telemundo | — | — | — | — |
*Availability varies by area. Data effective as of post date.
In some markets, Sling TV carries local ABC, FOX, and NBC stations—but only on the Blue and Orange + Blue plans. Also, Sling TV offers several deals on digital antennas so you can pick up more local channels over the air than it streams. Philo has zero locals (which can also be remedied with an antenna).
Premium channels and add-on packages
| Channel | Sling TV | Philo |
|---|---|---|
| Max | — | — |
| CINEMAX | — | — |
| Paramount+ with SHOWTIME | $10.00/mo. | — |
| STARZ | $9.00/mo. | $9.00/mo. |
| MGM+ | $5.00/mo. | $6.00/mo. |
| Add-on channel packages | 30+ | — |
Data effective as of post date.
In addition to premium channels, there are over 30 add-on channel packages available through Sling TV, ranging from sports channels to kids’ programming, movie-buff bundles, and more. There are no add-on packages with Philo, but you can at least get STARZ and MGM+.
Sling TV vs. Philo specs and features
Cloud DVR
| Service | Included storage | Upgrades |
|---|---|---|
| Sling TV | 50 hrs. | 200 hrs. ($5.00/mo.) |
| Philo | Unlimited (1 yr.) | — |
Philo’s cloud DVR used to store your recorded shows for 30 days before auto-deletion, which wasn’t bad—but that’s recently been upgraded to a full year, three months longer than even YouTube TV offers. Sling TV, on the other hand, includes just 50 hours of DVR space, which can be upgraded to 500 hours for an extra $5 a month.
Philo gets the big win in this category.
Multiple streams
| Service | Simultaneous streams | Upgrades |
|---|---|---|
| Sling TV | 1–4 | — |
| Philo | 3 | — |
Confusing, huh? Sling TV’s simultaneous streams allow for one, three, or four devices at a time depending on the plan. Philo keeps it simple at three, which is the most common number among live TV and on-demand streaming services—a small victory for Philo here.
Compatible devices
| Device | Sling TV | Philo |
|---|---|---|
| AirTV | ✔ | — |
| Amazon Fire Cube, Stick, TV | ✔ | ✔ |
| Android phones, tablets | ✔ | ✔ |
| Android TV | ✔ | ✔ |
| Apple TV (4th gen.) | ✔ | ✔ |
| Apple TV 4K | ✔ | ✔ |
| Chromecast, Chromecast with Google TV | ✔ | ✔ |
| Echo Show | ✔ | — |
| iPhone, iPad | ✔ | ✔ |
| LG TVs (select models) | ✔ | — |
| Nintendo Switch | — | — |
| NVIDIA SHIELD Pro TV | ✔ | — |
| PC, Mac web browsers | ✔ | ✔ |
| PlayStation 3, 4, 5 | — | — |
| Roku Ultra, Express, Premiere, Stick, TV | ✔ | ✔ |
| Samsung TVs (select models) | ✔ | — |
| TiVo Stream | ✔ | — |
| Wii | — | — |
| Xbox One | ✔ | — |
Philo doesn’t play nice—or at all—with gaming devices, but it does work with most basic streaming TV gear. Sling TV is available on more smart TVs, as well as Xbox.
Video and audio quality
Both Sling TV and Philo stream 720p HD video, the standard for live TV streaming, with some on-demand content at 1080p. Sharp-eyed video connoisseurs may be able to tell the difference, but most viewers would be hard-pressed to discern the pixel count.
Philo streams at standard 2.0 stereo audio only, which is adequate for those ‘90s Nation video blocks on MTV Classic—shh, Bell Biv DeVoe’s “Poison” is up next.
Sling TV also streams standard 2.0 stereo audio, with some content available in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround.
Final take: Is Sling TV or Philo worth it?
It’s like this: SlingTV is more expensive ($40.00–$55.00/mo.) but gives you more popular channels and dozens of customizable options, while Philo offers just one skinny-bundle plan for $25 a month.
Sports fans need not give Philo a second look, though; Sling TV can cover all your ballin’ needs for a few dollars more. Your other interests, too—Sling TV’s add-on channel package selection is redonkulous (it’s a technical term we TV experts like to use).
We’d recommend Philo to those into entertainment and lifestyle channels only, whereas Sling TV can cover it all—for a price.
Methodology
Our experts employed dozens of hours of hands-on testing and crunched the numbers, rating Sling TV and Philo on bang for your buck, reliability, features, and customer satisfaction. Then we matched up the live TV streamers 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.
Sling TV vs. Philo FAQ
Which is better, Sling TV or Philo?
Philo would be better for fans of lifestyle and entertainment channels (like MTV, HGTV, and VICE) who aren’t into sports and don’t need local channels—it’s also cheaper. Sling TV is a better option for sports fans, as it carries networks like ESPN, FS1, and NFL Network, and features a sports add-on package with over 20 more channels for an additional $11 a month.
Which is cheaper, Philo or Sling TV?
At $25 a month, Philo is a cheaper option than Sling TV, which starts at $40 a month.
Can you get local channels on Philo?
Philo carries no local ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, The CW, PBS, or Telemundo channels. Sling TV carries some local ABC, NBC, and FOX channels, but not in all areas. To get all your local channels, we’d recommend purchasing an over-the-air digital antenna.
Is Sling TV free with Amazon Prime Video?
Sling TV isn’t free with Amazon Prime Video. Sling TV is not available as an Amazon Prime Video channel, but the Sling TV app is compatible with Amazon Fire TV devices.
