If you’re looking for a live TV streaming service that won’t break the bank, Philo TV and Sling TV are the two best options.
Which platform is best for you?
We tried both streaming services extensively to help consumers decide between the two. If you want to cut to the chase, and get my pick right out of the gate, we give both Sling Orange and Blue a very slight nod over Philo, even though they are similar services, and this is mainly because the content offered through Sling, is in our view, a better fit for most people. That, and Philo TV isn’t compatible with Samsung Smart TVs, which means about 50% of the smart TV’s on the market can’t run the Philo app.
However, read on, because, for a segment of the population that isn’t interested in news or sports, Philo TV might be the better choice.
Is Philo TV cheaper than Sling TV?
Winner: Philo TV
A basic Philo TV membership starts at $25 per month.
Sling Orange or Blue, which are the Sling starter packages, both start at $35 per month.
Which service offers more DVR storage?
Winner: Philo TV
Philo TV comes with unlimited DVR storage, plus a look back feature that allows users to watch content that aired as long as 3 days ago. The existence of this feature essentially means that all the content available on Philo is recorded via DVR at all times and stored for 3 days.
Sling TV’s base plan comes with 50 hours of DVR storage. For an additional $5 per month, Sling users can add 200 hours of DVR storage.
Does both service offer simultaneous streams?
Winner: Tie
Sling TV Orange, the Sling package that boasts ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN3, only allows only 1 stream at a time.
Sling TV Blue allows 3 simultaneous streams.
Philo TV allows 3 simultaneous streams.
Does either service offer 4K streaming?
Winner: Tie
No, neither service offers 4K. Most content available on both Philo and Sling is offered in 720p. Having reviewed both, we never had an issue with picture quality, however both offerings fall short of YouTube TV’s excellent 4K Plus option.
Can I setup multiple user profiles from the same account?
Winner: Philo TV
Having used Sling for years, I have been amazed they don’t offer users to setup multiple profiles. This means that all users on one Sling account will have channel preferences and DVR co-mingled. This will be an issue for some couples and families who prefer different content, and the problem looms larger when you factor in Sling’s limited DVR storage.
By contrast, Philo TV makes it easy to setup multiple user profiles, with each having their own DVR.
Sling TV vs. Philo TV channel comparison
Winner: Sling TV
This is where Philo TV will run into issues with many cord cutters – channel selection. While Philo offers a lineup of 71 channels, we rated only 28 of them as high value after writing our Philo TV channel review.
The main problem Philo TV has is a total lack of local channels, sports, and most news. By contrast, Sling Orange is a great package for sports, and Sling Blue is a better choice for news.
Sling is also the winner for availability of upgrades, with many a la carte and premium add-ons that Philo can’t match.
| Channel | Sling TV Orange | Sling TV Blue | Philo TV (71) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A&E | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AccuWeather Network | No | No | Yes |
| AMC | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| American Heroes Channel | No | No | Yes |
| Animal Planet | No | No | Yes |
| aspireTV | No | No | Yes |
| AXS TV | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| BBC America | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| BBC World News | No | No | Yes |
| BET | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| BET Her | No | No | Yes |
| Bloomberg Television | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bravo | No | Yes | No |
| CLEO TV | No | No | Yes |
| CMT | No | No | Yes |
| CNN | Yes | Yes | No |
| Cartoon Network | Yes | Yes | No |
| Cheddar | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Comedy Central | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Comet | Yes | Yes | No |
| Cooking Channel | No | No | Yes |
| Crackle | No | No | Yes |
| Crime + Investigation | No | No | Yes |
| Destination America | No | No | Yes |
| Discovery Channel | No | Yes | Yes |
| Discovery Family | No | No | Yes |
| Discovery Life | No | No | Yes |
| Disney Channel | Yes | No | No |
| DIY Network | No | No | Yes |
| E! | No | Yes | No |
| EPIX Drive-In | Yes | Yes | No |
| ESPNHD | Yes | No | No |
| ESPN2+ | Yes | No | No |
| ESPN3 | Yes | No | No |
| Food Network | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Fox (select markets) | No | Yes | No |
| Fox News | No | Yes | No |
| Fox Sports 1 | No | Yes | No |
| Freeform | Yes | No | No |
| Fuse | Yes | Yes | No |
| FYI | No | No | Yes |
| G4 | No | No | Yes |
| GAC Family | No | No | Yes |
| GAC Living | No | No | Yes |
| Game Show Network | No | No | Yes |
| getTV | No | No | Yes |
| Gusto TV | No | No | Yes |
| Hallmark Channel | No | No | Yes |
| Hallmark Drama | No | No | Yes |
| Hallmark Movies & Mysteries | No | No | Yes |
| HGTV | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| History Channel | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| HLN | No | Yes | No |
| IFC | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| INSP | No | No | Yes |
| Investigation Discovery | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Law&Crime | No | No | Yes |
| Lifetime | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| LMN | No | No | Yes |
| Local Now | Yes | Yes | No |
| Logo | No | No | Yes |
| MotorTrend | Yes | No | Yes |
| MSNBC | No | Yes | No |
| MTV | No | No | Yes |
| MTV Classic | No | No | Yes |
| MTV Live | No | No | Yes |
| MTV2 | No | No | Yes |
| National Geographic | No | Yes | No |
| NBC (select markets) | No | Yes | No |
| NBC Sports Network | No | Yes | No |
| NFL Network | No | Yes | No |
| Nick Jr. | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Nickelodeon | No | No | Yes |
| Nicktoons | No | No | Yes |
| Oprah Winfrey Network | No | No | Yes |
| Paramount Network | No | No | Yes |
| PeopleTV | No | No | Yes |
| PlayersTV | No | No | Yes |
| pocket.watch | No | No | Yes |
| REVOLT | No | No | Yes |
| Revry | No | No | Yes |
| Ryan and Friends | No | No | Yes |
| Science Channel | No | No | Yes |
| Stadium | Yes | Yes | No |
| Sundance TV | No | No | Yes |
| SYFY | No | Yes | No |
| Tastemade | No | No | Yes |
| TBS | Yes | Yes | No |
| TeenNick | No | No | Yes |
| TLC | No | Yes | Yes |
| TNT | Yes | Yes | No |
| Travel Channel | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| truTV | No | Yes | No |
| TV Land | No | No | Yes |
| TV One | No | No | Yes |
| UPtv | No | No | Yes |
| USA | No | Yes | No |
| VH1 | No | No | Yes |
| Vice | No | No | Yes |
| Viceland | Yes | Yes | No |
| WE tv | No | No | No |
Is Philo TV better than Sling TV for movies?
Winner: Philo TV
Yes, we believe so. Both Philo and Sling offer an on-demand library of movies and TV shows, and both offer premium movie channel upgrades. However, with the base package, we enjoyed the Philo movie lineup more than Sling, which requires purchasing rentals, or subscribing to an “Extra” to get the best movies.
With the Philo look back feature, you will always have a movie ready to play, and the dashboard is setup with movie recommendations in mind. Some of the titles on Philo skew a little older, but we found serendipity in the films that were on offer. In short, the Philo content library is funky and fun, and for the right cord cutter, will be all they need.
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