Hulu + Live TV vs. YouTube TV: Which streamer is best for you?
Hulu + Live TV vs. YouTube TV: Which streamer is best for you?
The two largest live TV streaming services on the market have a lot in common, but there are some major differences as well.
Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV are the two most popular live TV streaming services available in the United States for several reasons: They’re well-advertised, both carry around 100 popular channels (including local channels), feature unlimited cloud DVR storage, and neither requires a long-term contract. There are plenty of differences though, so let’s get into the streaming battle between these two live TV giants.
Let The Streamable help you figure out which streamer is right for you:
Hulu + Live TV vs. YouTube TV: The Essentials
| Feature | Hulu + Live TV | YouTube TV |
|---|---|---|
| Price per month | $82.99 | $82.99 |
| Channels | 105 | 121 |
| Local Channels | Yes | Yes |
| Sports Channels | Yes | Yes |
| Regional Sports Networks | Yes | Yes |
| DVR | Unlimited (9 months) | Unlimited (9 months) |
| On-Demand Services | Yes | Yes |
Hulu + Live TV vs. YouTube TV: Price
Until recently, YouTube TV had the advantage in pricing, as it was $10 cheaper per month than Hulu + Live TV. But, beginning in January 2025, YouTube TV will raise its rates from $73 per month to $83, the same as Hulu + Live TV. However, considering that Hulu + Live TV not only gives you a similarly loaded channel lineup to YouTube TV but also includes Disney+ and ESPN+ in the deal, the easy winner here is Hulu.
Hulu + Live TV vs. YouTube TV: Overall Channels
Both Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV carry the majority of popular channels and most of your local broadcast affiliates (including PBS), but they’re also missing a handful of niche channels that could sway your decision.
With Hulu + Live TV, you won’t get AMC, BBC America, IFC, SundanceTV, or WE tv. You could add an AMC+ subscription to your app lineup to access the best content from those channels — as well as Shudder and Acorn TV — for under $10 per month as a relatively cheap workaround.
With YouTube TV, you won’t be able to watch A&E, Lifetime, History, FYI, or Vice TV. To access those channels, you could pair up your YouTube TV subscription with Philo ($28 a month) or Sling TV ($40–$55 a month), but that’s getting a little pricey to keep up on “Hoarders” and “Ancient Aliens.”
Again, even though it carries 105 channels compared to YouTube TV’s 121, Hulu + Live TV takes the W, especially when you include the extensive libraries of on-demand content from Hulu and Disney+ (more on that later).
Hulu + Live TV vs. YouTube TV: Popular Channels
| Channel | Hulu + Live TV | YouTube TV |
|---|---|---|
| A&E | ✓ | X |
| AMC | X | ✓ |
| BET | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bravo | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cartoon Network/Adult Swim | ✓ | ✓ |
| CNN | ✓ | ✓ |
| Comedy Central | ✓ | ✓ |
| Discovery | ✓ | ✓ |
| Disney Channel | ✓ | ✓ |
| E! | ✓ | ✓ |
| ESPN | ✓ | ✓ |
| Food Network | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fox News | ✓ | ✓ |
| Freeform | ✓ | ✓ |
| FX | ✓ | ✓ |
| FXX | ✓ | ✓ |
| Hallmark Channel | ✓ | ✓ |
| HGTV | ✓ | ✓ |
| History | ✓ | X |
| Investigation Discovery | ✓ | ✓ |
| Lifetime | ✓ | X |
| MSNBC | ✓ | ✓ |
| MTV | ✓ | ✓ |
| Paramount Network | ✓ | ✓ |
| Syfy | ✓ | ✓ |
| TBS | ✓ | ✓ |
| TNT | ✓ | ✓ |
| Travel Channel | ✓ | ✓ |
| truTV | ✓ | ✓ |
| [USA Network][USA] | ✓ | ✓ |
| VH1 | ✓ | ✓ |
| WE tv | X | ✓ |
Hulu + Live TV vs. YouTube TV: Local Channels
Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV both carry local affiliate stations for ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, Telemundo, and The CW in nearly all areas of the country, so there is no clear-cut winner here. If you want to see more local channels than either provides, a one-time investment into a digital over-the-air antenna is worth it.
Hulu + Live TV vs. YouTube TV: Sports Channels
Pro Sports Networks
The only major differences between Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV on the pro sports front are NBA TV (YouTube TV has it; Hulu + Live TV does not) and MLB Network (Hulu + Live TV has it; YouTube TV does not). Beyond that, both offer baller staples like ESPN, ESPN2, FS1, FS2, and CBS Sports Network.
The streamers’ respective sports add-on packages are where the real action is at: YouTube TV’s Sports Plus add-on nets you beIN Sports, Billiard TV, FanDuel TV, Fight Network, Fox Soccer Plus, IMPACT Wrestling, MAVTV, NFL RedZone, Outside Television, Overtime, PlayersTV, PokerGO, SportsGrid, Stadium, Tennis Channel, and VSiN for an additional $11 per month.
Meanwhile, Hulu + Live TV’s $10 monthly Sports Add-On package includes NFL RedZone, MAVTV, Outdoor Channel, Sportsman Channel, Tennis Channel, TVG, and TVG2.
Unfortunately for hardcore hockey heads, NHL Network is iced out of both services. However, ESPN+ is the out-of-market home for the NHL, meaning that there are thousands of games available on the streamer every year. And since that platform is included with Hulu + Live TV and Disney+, that makes for a sweet hat trick.
Since it’s now the exclusive home of the NFL Sunday Ticket, the scoreboard says YouTube TV is the quantitative winner in pro sports networks — but it’ll cost you to have it all, especially since Sunday Ticket can run up to $479, depending on your subscription status with YouTube.
College Sports Networks
Similarly, Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV offer the same lineup of college sports channels: ACC Network, ACC Network Extra, Big Ten Network, CBS Sports Network, ESPNU, SEC Network, and truTV.
Hulu + Live TV vs. YouTube TV: Pro and College Sports Channels
| Channel | Hulu + Live TV | YouTube TV |
|---|---|---|
| ACC Network | ✓ | ✓ |
| beIN Sports | X | Sports Plus ($10.99/month) |
| Big Ten Network | ✓ | ✓ |
| CBS Sports Network | ✓ | ✓ |
| ESPN | ✓ | ✓ |
| ESPN2 | ✓ | ✓ |
| ESPNews | ✓ | ✓ |
| ESPNU | ✓ | ✓ |
| FS1 | ✓ | ✓ |
| FS2 | ✓ | ✓ |
| Golf Channel | ✓ | ✓ |
| MLB Network | ✓ | X |
| MLB Network Strike Zone | Sports Add-On ($9.99/month) |
X |
| MotorTrend Network | X | ✓ |
| NBA TV | X | ✓ |
| NFL Network] | ✓ | ✓ |
| NFL Sunday Ticket | X | $379–$479/year |
| NHL Network | X | X |
| SEC Network | ✓ | ✓ |
| Sportsman Channel | Sports Add-On ($9.99/month) |
X |
| Tennis Channel | X | Sports Plus ($10.99/month) |
Regional Sports Networks
It’s a toss-up for regional sports networks (RSNs) between the two streamers. You can find Monumental Sports Network, NBC Sports Bay Area, NBC Sports Boston, NBC Sports California, NBC Sports Philadelphia, and NBC Sports Philadelphia+ on both Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV.
Neither streamer carries FanDuel Sports Networks (formerly Bally Sports RSNs), AT&T SportsNet, or Spectrum Sports RSNs.
Hulu + Live TV vs. YouTube TV: Included Features
On-Demand Library
Since Hulu + Live TV includes Hulu proper, Disney+, and ESPN+, it has the undeniable advantage of a stacked on-demand library that no other live-streaming TV service can match, including YouTube TV.
On the Hulu side, you have “The Bear,” “Only Murders in the Building,” “Shōgun,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” and dozens more critically acclaimed TV and movie hits. That is not to mention next-day broadcast and cable streaming of network shows from ABC, Fox, and FX. Disney+ offers everything from the Marvel, Star Wars, and Simpsons universes, and ESPN+ has the sports-doc series “30 for 30.” Hulu + Live TV has a distinctly fatter catalog of content.
YouTube TV, on the other hand, is limited in its on-demand features. You can call up TV shows and movies you haven’t DVRed from the channels it carries, but not without unskippable ads. If YouTube TV could bundle with YouTube Premium, which also includes YouTube Music and zero ads on YouTube videos — yes, it’s as blissful as it sounds — they’d be onto something. Feel free to run with this million-dollar idea, YTTV.
Add-On Channel Packages
Besides the aforementioned Sports Add-On package, Hulu + Live TV also offers Max, Cinemax, Paramount+ with Showtime, and STARZ as premium channels for an extra cost. Also, there’s a 16-channel add-on Entertainment package that includes niche networks like Boomerang, MTV Classic, and Destination America, and a nine-channel Español package.
YouTube TV’s add-on options are more plentiful, with over 60 choices ranging from popular premiums like Max and Paramount+ with Showtime all the way down to obscurities like Screambox (horror movies and TV) and Hi-YAH! (martial arts flicks, of course). YouTube TV’s add-on array rivals even Prime Video’s (but don’t get carried away — all those extra channels can add up).
DVR
Unlimited cloud DVR storage comes standard with Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV, and both will keep your recordings for up to nine months before purging them. If you recorded the (alleged) final season of “Yellowstone” for a weekend binge, you’d have time to get to it before the spoilers started rolling in.
Simultaneous Streams and 4K
YouTube TV allows for three simultaneous streams, whereas Hulu + Live TV only gives you two. Hulu + Live TV does offer a self-explanatory Unlimited Screens package for an additional $10 per month, and YouTube TV has a similar add-on tied to its 4K Plus upgrade (30 days free, $5 for the first year, then $10 per year after).
Besides unlimited screens, YouTube TV’s 4K Plus plan lets you watch ultra-HD content from Discovery, ESPN, FX, National Geographic, and select sports events. Hulu + Live TV has no 4K options.
Hulu + Live TV vs. YouTube TV: Which is Right for You?
Since they now cost the same, the bang-for-your-buck edge goes to Hulu + Live TV. It offers far more viewing choices than YouTube TV, thanks to the inclusion of Disney+, ESPN+, and the Hulu library of on-demand content. If you could have only one streaming service — perish the dystopian thought — Hulu + Live TV would be the obvious choice.
With its recent price hike, YouTube TV effectively erased its advantage over Hulu + Live TV. In terms of easy navigation and cool features like custom channel arrangement and a mobile app that’s actually a pleasure to use, YTTV is still a viable contender — but Hulu + Live TV is the full package.
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Hulu Live TV
Hulu Live TV is a live TV streaming service with more than 70 channels for $89.99 per month. Hulu + Live TV base plan includes local channels 32 of the top 35 cable channels, and regional sports networks (RSNs). Subscribers get free access to Disney+ and ESPN Select at no extra charge.
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YouTube TV
YouTube TV is a live TV streaming service with more than 60 channels for $82.99/month. This plan includes local channels 32 of the top 35 cable channels, and regional sports networks (RSNs) in select markets. The base plan includes more than 100 live channels, including major broadcast networks like ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC, as well as popular cable channels such as ESPN, CNN, FX, USA Network, and TNT. Local channels are included in most markets, making YouTube TV a full replacement for traditional cable for many viewers.
