If the incessant rise of streaming costs has you thinking about locking in a long-term entertainment price via a satellite TV subscription, you have two choices. After years of flirting and a near marriage, DIRECTV and DISH will not be merging in the new year. Bad news for the indecisive; good news for consumers who’d still like a choice. Both are excellent services — for different reasons — so let’s look at the upsides and downsides of DIRECTV and DISH.

Comparison at a glance

Breaking down the comparison between DIRECTV and DISH:

Winner on price: DIRECTV

DIRECTV’s lowest-priced package looks like a good deal at $74.99 per month — if you can live with only the basic sports channels of ESPN, ESPN2, and FS1. Since sports channels are still the biggest draw for satellite TV (streaming isn’t quite completely there yet), DTV’s base package probably isn’t for everyone.

DIRECTV’s Entertainment package is technically the cheapest satellite TV plan on the market, strictly by default. It gives you a decent array of entertainment, news, and children’s channels for your buck, plus just enough sports channels to check the scores and highlights.

However, DIRECTV becomes more expensive than DISH as you move up into the fatter channel lineups and sports package add-ons. Universal fact: Satellite TV will always be pricier than most comparable cable and live-streaming TV services. If you live in a remote cabin in the woods and a satellite dish is your only choice, you may have found peace, but you won’t find many bargains.

Winner on overall channels: DISH

DISH’s aptly named America’s Everything Pack includes over 300 channels, including the full premium suites of HBO, Showtime, and Starz channels, as well as pro and college sports networks. If you want as many channels as possible, DISH has ‘em for the not-so-low price of $150 per month

For normie TV viewers who don’t need that kind of entertainment overkill, DISH’s America’s Top 120 (actually 190 channels for $92 per month) or America’s Top 200 (actually 240 channels at $112 per month) would suffice. Both offer more channels than DIRECTV’s comparable plans.

Caveat: Both DISH and DIRECTV’s plans include dozens of filler music channels that you’ll likely never use if you’re familiar with a hot new app called Spotify. This is an old legacy TV service trick used by satellite and cable providers to artificially inflate channel counts. DISH’s Latin Jazz channel may spin some bangers, but you shouldn’t have to pay for it.

Channel upgrades

DIRECTV offers several add-on package upgrades, including NBA League Pass Premium and the DIRECTV Sports Pack that carries the Big Ten Network, CBS Sports Network, NHL Network, and 20 others, as well as regional sports networks (depending on your area). On the entertainment side, services like Max, AMC+, and Lifetime Movie Club can be added to your DIRECTV lineup for additional costs.

DISH’s add-on package upgrades are similar to DIRECTV’s, but with more choices. You can add DISH’s Movie Pack, which comes with 14 cinema-centric channels (including Hallmark Mystery, Sony Movie Channel, and MGM+), or a la carte channels (including Shudder, Sundance Now, and, yes, DogTV). DISH is almost as customizable as its streaming sibling Sling TV, the champion of add-on channels.

DIRECTV channel lineups (partial list)

DISH channel lineups (partial list)

Winner on local channels: Draw

DIRECTV and DISH both carry local network affiliate channels, including ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, PBS, and The CW. If you want to receive more local channels unavailable on DIRECTV, DISH, or any other TV service, look into a digital antenna. Not only will you be able to discover dozens of over-the-air local channels for free (well, for the one-time cost of the antenna), but you’ll also have something to watch in case of a satellite outage — those of us who live in snowy climates know this all too well.

Winner on sports channels: DIRECTV

DIRECTV has the edge on sports channels in its Choice, Ultimate, and Premier plans; Entertainment doesn’t offer much for diehard sports fans. Paired with the Sports Pack add-on package mentioned earlier, DIRECTV has it all (except for NFL Sunday Ticket, which was lost to YouTube TV in 2023).

DIRECTV pro and college sports networks

DIRECTV regional sports networks (varies by region)

DISH pro and college sports networks

DISH Regional Sports Networks

Unfortunately, DISH doesn’t currently carry any RSNs (regional sports networks). If you want to watch local and regional games, DIRECTV is the way to go.

Winners on Included Features

DVR: DISH

Unlike live TV streaming services like YouTube TV and Sling TV, DIRECTV and DISH don’t store your recorded shows in the cloud, but on a good old-fashioned hard drive DVR. They’re not as versatile as cloud DVRs, but they get the job done.

DISH’s Hopper DVR can record 16 programs simultaneously and store 500 hours of shows. It also has the capability to display four channels on the screen at once, and the AutoHop feature allows you to skip commercials easily. Streaming apps like Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, and Pandora come pre-installed in the Hopper.

The Hopper’s smaller Joey (the kangaroo theme is strong with DISH) receivers can be set up in different rooms throughout the house, and they operate independently from the Hopper. DISH’s DVR game may be old-school and cloudless, but there’s a reason the Hopper is a year-over-year consumer favorite.

In contrast, DIRECTV’s Genie DVR can only record five shows simultaneously and store 200 hours of content. It has several features in common with DISH’s DVR, but the just-adequate Genie can’t compete with the Hopper.

4K: DIRECTV

DIRECTV wins the 4K race by quantity: It offers five channels in 4K Ultra HD, whereas DISH only has one. The picture resolution is perceptibly similar to the human eyeball, but five channels for 4K movies and sports are better than one — it’s literally math.

Final Verdict

DIRECTV and DISH are both excellent satellite TV services — they are also the only satellite TV services in the U.S., so it’s not like you have another option.

If you’re a sports nut, the easy winner here is DIRECTV. Its channel lineup of pro, college, and regional sports networks is fully loaded — if it’s good enough for your local sports bar, it’s good enough for you.

DISH is more of a one-size-fits-all TV provider, with plenty of popular channels and available add-on packages to keep any household of screens satisfied.

Note: If you’re not sold on satellite TV, you might want to check out DIRECTV STREAM and Sling TV, DIRECTV and DISH’s streaming counterparts.