9 Streaming Bundles to Replace Cable

With no contracts and simple-but-affordable packages packed with popular channels, streaming TV is an attractive alternative to cable TV. But streaming TV also offers a unique customization opportunity: the ability to create your own streaming TV bundles tailored to your interests, while still saving you money over cable.

We compared plans, channel lineups, features. and more from top live TV and on-demand streaming TV services and used the data to build nine custom streaming bundles aimed at specific interests and lifestyles. We also show our work, giving you the information needed to create your own mix-and-match action.

Jump to:

• Methodology: How to create custom streaming TV bundles
• Best streaming TV bundles
• Sports streaming bundle
• Cheap or free streaming TV bundles
• Prefab streaming TV bundles

Methodology: How we created these streaming bundles

We want you to see how we came up with these 9 custom streaming bundles recommendations. Our tips on pricing, content, resolution, device compatibility, and more will show you how easy it is to customize our suggestions to your budget, taste, or whim. You can even create your own custom bundles from scratch.

If you’d prefer to skip this info, you can go straight to the bundles.

Pricing

In the accordion below are the price ranges for the streaming services we used to create these bundles. You’ll find specific plans and pricing in each bundle’s header below.

Plans

We recommend ad-free plans for the best experience. That doesn’t mean you can’t save a few bucks by selecting ad-supported plans for some services. We cover customization options briefly under “More custom streaming bundle tips” and in specific suggestions in each bundle section.

Content

Not all streaming TV services advertise a specific library size but, generally speaking, the smaller ones tend to have several hundred movies and shows and the larger ones have thousands to tens of thousands. We list approximated channel counts and library sizes for each bundle.

Also, our bundles try to minimize overlapping (redundant) content between streaming services, but it’s hard to avoid this. If you find excessive redundancies between any of these services, you can easily drop one at any time.

More custom streaming bundle tips

• Use free trials: Most of our recommended streaming services have free trials lasting 5–30 days. If you’re unsure about a service, take it for a test drive. You can always add it to your customer streaming bundle later (see next).
• Find deals and promotions: To save even more money, search online for streaming TV coupon codes, deals, and promotions before you subscribe. Note: Our bundles do not include deals since they tend to expire.
• Customize: You can add or drop services, or select a different plan, to adjust the price and content of each custom bundle.  And, since streaming services have no contracts, you can do this at any time. See our customization suggestions following each section.
• Toggle: It’s possible to have too many streaming services. We highly recommend frequently toggling services—canceling and resubscribing later—to ensure you’re not paying for services you don’t use.

Now, to paraphrase a line from From Dusk Till Dawn: “Bundlers, let’s get bundlin’.”

Best streaming bundles in depth

Sure you can go with a “prefab” streaming bundle, like the Disney bundle, but we like to get creative with our TV streaming here at CableTV.com.

Scroll on to see nine custom streaming bundles that we created for movie lovers, binge-watchers, sports fans, busy parents, and the budget-conscious. You can get a lot for about the same cost as your average cable subscription—and avoid hidden fees and long-term contracts.

Customize it

• Save by downgrading to Max With Ads ($9.99/mo.)

Ready to demand the best?

Are you the best couch potato? Do you derive energy from the cool, blue light of your TV? Before you cut the cord, you probably splurged on your cable provider’s top-tier package to have every channel, even the premiums. Our #9 Combo, made up of nine services, has you in mind.

With YouTube TV’s 100+ live channels (plus three streams and unlimited DVR) and the other services’ on-demand content, you’ll have an all-killer, no-filler menu of live TV channels plus a multitude of movies and shows to watch. And you get all that for the same price as cable and satellite TV providers’ most stacked packages. Plus, you won’t have to worry about contracts, equipment rental fees, and other cable hassles.

So, the #9 Combo is an outstanding value. But if the price is still too high, you don’t have to use YouTube TV. You can substitute a cheaper live TV streaming service (see below for a supercheap suggestion) or even drop one or two of the on-demand streaming TV services to lower the Combo’s price.

Customize it

• Try Philo ($28.00/mo.) instead of YouTube TV and get 70+ live channels, 3 streams, and unlimited cloud DVR with a 1-year storage limit—while saving about $45.00 monthly.
• If you’d rather get Hulu + Live TV ($95.99/mo.) instead of YouTube TV, it has 95+ channels, 2 streams, unlimited cloud DVR, and comes with the Disney Bundle at no added cost—but you’ll pay about $23.00 more monthly.
• Students save 50% ($7.49/mo.) on Amazon Prime and get a free 6-month trial.
• Upgrade any service to its ad-free, premium counterpart to save $3.00–$7.00 monthly per service.

Ready to order this combo?

Do you like movies but love devouring TV episodes like popcorn chicken? Binge-a-palooza gathers the best streaming TV services for prolonged periods of popping.

All six services have stacks of highly rated licensed and original series, plus tons of movies for days when you have to, ugh, do something besides loaf around.

And with all ad-free plans, the streaming never has to stop.

Ready to binge-watch?

There are those among us who would spend all day in a darkened theater, losing ourselves in silver screen magic while shoving nachos into our gobs. For you, I suggest The Endless Film Festival.

With these seven services, you can catch obscure art-house gems, classics from all eras, cult films/midnight movies, newer releases, summer blockbusters, and more. And, just like Binge-a-palooza, the price is right—but it can get even better (see below).

Customize it

• Choose annual subscriptions to save on The Criterion Channel and Shudder.
• If you have Prime Video, you can add more cult films (and TV series) with Prime’s ad-free version of Shout! Factory TV (adds $2.99/mo.)
• Another cheap Prime Video add-on is Fandor, which gives you even more arthouse and cult films (adds $3.99/mo.)
• Students save 50% ($7.49/mo.) on Amazon Prime and get a 6-month free trial.
• Upgrade to Netflix Premium for 4K UHD support plus 2 more streams.

Ready to start your film festival?

Real movie hounds know there’s more to cinema than blockbusters and Oscar winners. You frequent the local arthouse to screen the really good stuff, which comes in so many different flavors. And while you prefer to watch films in a theater, you have a massive collection of physical media and, of course, streaming services.

For you, we present The Mondo Bundle, a customizable world of streaming cult cinema, with some of the best (and best-worst) movies around. It has action, animation, anime, arthouse, B-movies, bikers, classroom education films, concerts, documentaries, horror movies, martial arts, musicals, science fiction, westerns, and more.

With 15 on-demand streaming services, around 50,000 titles (40,000 from Prime Video), and even a few live TV channels, The Mondo Bundle is the biggest custom streaming bundle we’ve created.

Customize it

• Save by choosing annual subscriptions for Arrow Player, Brown Sugar, The Criterion Channel, Fandor, Full Moon Features,  Midnight Pulp, Mubi, Night Flight Plus, Shudder, and Troma Now. Note: This is practical only if you can spend about $700.00 up front. Or save by doing annual subs on only the services that have the biggest discounts—Arrow Player ($4.00/mo.), The Criterion Channel ($2.66/mo.), Fandor ($1.82/mo.), Full Moon Features ($1.99/mo.), Arrow Player ($4.00/mo.), and Mubi ($4.00/mo.). This way, the up-front cost drops significantly.
• Save by using the free, ad-supported versions of Brown Sugar, CONtv, Fandor, Midnight Pulp, and Shout! Factory TV. But you’ll lose access to some titles and have to watch ads.
• If you don’t want or you already have Amazon Prime, drop it and save $11.98/mo.
  • If you drop Prime, you’ll need to subscribe to Fandor directly and use the free version of Shout! Factory.
  • If you want all of the Prime perks, like free shipping, you can upgrade to the full Amazon Prime membership.
  • Students save 50% ($7.49/mo.) on Amazon Prime and get a 6-month free trial.
• If you want all the movies—not just cult classics—and tons of original series, you can add Max Ad Free (add $16.99/mo.), Netflix (add $17.99/mo.), and Paramount+ with SHOWTIME (add $12.99/mo.).

Let’s get weird!

Are you a parent who works from home? Then you know how tough it can be to balance work and parenting duties. I dedicate The Babysitter to you.

Yeah, TV isn’t Mary Poppins—but when you need a couple of uninterrupted hours of work time, that mesmerizing box is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

The Babysitter starts with Sling TV—CableTV.com’s Best for Channel Add-Ons. With the Sling Orange plan and its 4 Extras Deal add-on ($13 a month), which includes the Kids Extra Pack, you’ll have Baby Jr., Boomerang, Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, Duck TV, Nick Jr., Nicktoons, and TeenNick. Yes, that creates some live-channel overlap with Disney+, but the reason you want Disney+ in this bundle is for its on-demand content.

Max has loads of family-friendly movies and shows, all organized into age groups and even content “hubs” for networks and studios like Sesame Workshop (Sesame Street), Cartoon Network, Studio Ghibli, and Looney Tunes. You can also create a profile for each child, which lets you customize parental controls according to each kid’s age/maturity level/chore-completion status.

One drawback to this bundle is that Sling TV doesn’t carry a lot of local broadcast affiliates. But you can get those channels by purchasing an OTA antenna—you can get one for as little as $30.

Customize it

• Sling Blue is the same price as Orange, but it doesn’t have Disney Channel—fortunately, you’ll still have that huge Disney+ on-demand library. And with Sling Blue, you can add the à la carte Kids Extra pack for $6.00/mo. instead of 4 Extras (saves $7.00/mo.).
• If your budget’s super tight, Sling Freestream has Cartoon Network, DuckTV, Kabillion, Pocketwatch, and Ryan Friends.
• Instead of Disney+, you can add the Disney Bundle (Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+) for tons of additional on-demand content (adds $16.99–$26.99/mo.).
• Maybe you run a Nickelodeon household. In that case, you’ll want Paramount+ with SHOWTIME for on-demand access to SpongeBob SquarePants, Blue’s Clues, and more (adds $12.99/mo.).

Ready for a break?

Sling TV is easily the most customizable TV service for getting your live sports fix. The Sling Orange + Blue package ($60.99/mo.) alone gives you access to ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, FS1, NFL Network, TBS, TNT, and USA Network.

That’s a lot of sportsballs bouncing around, so you could stop there. But sports fans go hard, so they’ll probably want to add Sling’s Sports Extra Pack for Orange + Blue. You’ll get 20 new sports portals—including beIN SPORTS, FS2, Golf Channel, MLB Network, NBA TV, NFL RedZone, NHL Network, Pac-12 Network, and Tennis Channel.

We outline more ways to stream your favorite leagues in our Watch Sports Without Cable guide. You can also download the Pluto TV and Xumo Play apps to get free channels like beIN SPORTS Xtra, Big Sky, CBS Sports HQ, CBS Sports Golazo Network, FOX Sports, Fubo Sports Network, GolfPass, NBC Sports, NFL Channel, PGA Tour, Pluto TV Sports, and World Poker Tour.

Customize it

• Football fans could get only Sling Blue ($45.99/mo.) and its Sports Extra add-on for both NFL Network and NFL RedZone. You’ll lose ACC Network, ESPN, ESPNews, ESPNU, Longhorn Network, and SEC Network, among others, but save $19.00/mo.
• Selecting only Sling Orange ($45.99/mo.) and its Sports Extra add-on won’t include FS2, Golf Channel, NFL Network, and NFL RedZone—but you’ll save $19.00/mo.
• Add Peacock Premium Plus ($13.99/mo.) for more Premier League, Big Ten, WWE, IndyCar, NASCAR, PGA Tour, and Olympic coverage.
• Paramount+ with SHOWTIME ($12.99/mo.) will level up your soccer experience with live UEFA Champions League, NWSL, and Serie A matches. You’ll also get content from the NFL, PGA Tour, and March Madness.
• If you love college sports and the NHL, a standalone ESPN+ subscription ($11.99/mo. or $119.99/yr.) offers live games from the NCAA’s best conferences as well as out-of-market NHL matchups.

LET’S GOOOOOOO! (Sorry for yelling.)

If you’re cutting the cord for financial reasons, you can get a ton of TV on the cheap with The Thrifty Bundle. Philo has 70+ channels, three streams, and unlimited DVR for $28.00/mo.. Tubi adds thousands of on-demand movies and shows—plus a good selection of live TV channels, including some local FOX affiliates. And, if you add an OTA antenna (a one-time purchase starting around $25), you’ll get your local channels and subchannels at no extra cost per month.

Then, download the Pluto TV and Xumo Play apps for another 200+ live channels—completely free, for a total of 261+ channels plus whatever your OTA antenna picks up.

Customize it

• Qualifying students—both new and existing subscribers—can get Hulu Basic  for $1.99/mo. (adds $1.99/mo. to bundle price)
• Add Netflix ($17.99/mo.), and you’ll get a ton of on-demand content. You could even add Max ($16.99/mo.).

Ready to get thrifty?

When your budget’s super tight, there’s a whole lot of free streaming TV out there. Meet Freebie the Love Bundle, which is a fancy name for using all of the free streaming TV services that you can find, along with an OTA antenna for local channels. Almost all of it is ad-supported, but you’ll be able to watch so many movies and shows, live and on-demand.

Almost, you ask? Yes, you can stream some movies and shows ad-free if you have a library card and your library system’s streaming app (Hoopla, Kanopy, Libby, et al).

Besides ads, another downside of Freebie is that you’ll do a lot of leapfrogging between apps on your phone and computer. But free is free.

Customize it

• If you’d like to have your local channels, buy an OTA antenna ($30 and up).
• Many streaming devices support most of these free apps. The Roku Ultra is one such device.

Ready to get free (or close to free) TV?

Prefab streaming bundles

When we first published this piece, the only streaming TV bundle was the Disney bundle with Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. Now there are three. Let’s check ’em out.

AMC+ bundle

AMC+ ($6.99–$9.99/mo.) isn’t billed as a bundle, but it includes BBC America, IFC, IFC Films Unlimited, Sundance Now, and Shudder. For perspective, the regular monthly prices for Shudder ($6.99/mo.), IFC Films Unlimited ($5.99/mo.), and Sundance Now ($6.99/mo.) total $19.97. (You can’t subscribe to BBC America or IFC directly.) That’s about double the cost of AMC+, so you’re getting a seriously good deal for a huge catalog of on-demand movies and shows.

But AMC+ has the same cons as Prime Video Channels: You can only use the AMC+ app, which is just okay—and it doesn’t show you all of the content available on the other included services. This is especially noticeable and frustrating if you’re a Shudder fan.

The Disney Bundle

With the Disney Bundle, you can get Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+ for $16.99–$26.99/mo. This bundle gives you a slew of on-demand movies, shows, and sports that will please everyone in your household.

Or, if you’d like to add 95+ live TV channels and unlimited cloud DVR storage, you can get a bundle with Hulu+Live TV, Disney+, and ESPN+ for $82.99–$95.99/mo..

Paramount+ with SHOWTIME bundle

The Paramount+ with SHOWTIME plan ($11.99/mo.) has your live local CBS feed and every on-demand movie and show from the SHOWTIME and Paramount+ libraries. With these two platforms combined, the bundle is almost—but not quite—as good as Max.

Streaming bundles FAQ

Methodology

Our TV experts have logged hundreds of hours—and counting—researching and testing live and on-demand streaming TV services. We compare them based on plans, pricing, features, functionality, device compatibility, and more—including, for this piece, how the services complement each other in these custom streaming TV bundles. To learn more about our methods, see our How We Rank page.