10 Best Streaming Services Of 2023
Whether you're looking to cut the cord with your cable TV provider, pare down your monthly entertainment budget, or discover new shows to binge, the choices are nearly limitless for streaming TV services. With so many options, deciding which are must-haves and which you can live without can feel overwhelming.
You have to consider the programming available on each service, the monthly subscription cost, whether they offer free trials, the allowed number of simultaneous streams per account, and whether you can tolerate a barrage of ads while watching your favorite shows.
This guide breaks down the finer points of ten of the best video streaming services available to help with your choice. Click the name of the service to jump to that section in the article.
Our Top Picks For Best Streaming Services
- Hulu: Best Overall Streaming Service
- Netflix: Best Original Programming
- YouTube TV: Best For Replacing Cable
- Philo: Best Budget Streaming Service
- Disney Plus: Best For Family-Friendly TV Shows And Movies
- HBO Max: Best For HBO Original Shows And Popular Movies
- Fubo TV: Best For Sports Content
- Peacock: Best For Free TV Shows And Movies
- Amazon Prime: Best For On-Demand TV Shows And Movies
- Sling: Best For Customizable Channel Packages
Best Streaming Services Reviews
Hulu With Live TV: Best Overall Streaming Service
Why We Chose It: Hulu with Live TV is our pick for overall best live TV streaming service by a landslide thanks to its many attractive features, user-friendly interface and the vast array of Hulu Original programming.
Hulu with Live TV landed our top spot for the best overall streaming service of 2023. It packs a multi-layered punch, offering a little bit of everything for everyone by combining live television and video on demand (VoD).
With your subscription, Hulu with Live TV comes bundled with ESPN Plus and Disney Plus for $70 per month. That's a relatively inexpensive way to delight fans of sports, Disney movies, Marvel, Star Wars and Pixar in your household.
Your subscription also gives you access to an ever-growing catalog of Hulu Originals. These include TV shows (such as "The Handmaid's Tale," "Castle Rock" and "Difficult People"), movies (such as "The Act," "Matriarch" and "Hellraiser") and documentaries (such as "Wild Crime," "God Forbid: The Sex Scandal That Brought Down A Dynasty" and "Where Is Private Dulaney?").
In addition, Hulu carries an extensive library of on-demand shows, movies and documentaries, offering 75 live and on-demand channels. On top of that, you also have DVR capability with unlimited cloud storage, and DVR recordings are available for up to 9 months.
Hulu with Live TV's channel offerings may leave something to be desired, depending on the type of programming you're seeking. The Fox and ESPN sports networks provide some sports coverage, and you also get several local TV channels in most areas, including NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox affiliates.
What's missing is your local PBS station, which is not available at all through Hulu. Several popular channels, such as Showtime, HBO Max, Cinemax and Starz, are only available in add-on packages for an additional monthly cost.
The standard Hulu with Live TV offering allows two simultaneous streams, but a $10-per-month add-on allows unlimited concurrent streams.
Hulu also offers a package without Live TV. For just VoD streaming, the cost is $7.99 per month with ads or $14.99 for ad-free viewing.
Why We Chose It: If "Stranger Things" alone isn't enough to convince you, Netflix offers beautifully-produced original programming for every age, demographic, and interest.
I'll say it: out of all the streaming services available today, no one creates more engaging, high-quality content than Netflix — especially not at a relatively low monthly price.
Every week, Netflix adds new and existing movies and TV shows from around the globe, giving you access to content outside your current entertainment paradigm. Japanese horror flicks? Check. British procedural dramas? Check. Korean dramas? Check.
No other streaming service could eclipse the amount of Netflix's original offerings. These include "Stranger Things," "Orange is the New Black," "Big Mouth," "Black Mirror," "The Umbrella Academy," "The Crown," "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" and "Bojack Horseman." Netflix even offers several original anime titles. The sheer number of Netflix original shows is staggering, even before considering the quality of the content.
As one of the longest-running streaming services in the business, Netflix has evolved into a global juggernaut. It's available in most countries around the world. Its three subscription tiers — Basic ($9.99 per month), Standard ($15.49 per month) and Premium ($19.99 per month) — offer the same programming, just with varying picture quality and many simultaneous streams. Netflix also offers an ad-supported tier for $6.99 per month, although you can't access the entire Netflix library with this tier.
Why We Chose It: YouTube TV's base package with 100+ channels, including several local stations, makes it our top pick for the best overall live streaming service to replace cable.
Since its launch in 2017, YouTube TV has quickly become a contender for gold in the cutthroat competition for the best live TV streaming service. Its base package is surprisingly robust, offering 100+ channels, including more popular channels than many of its competitors. Among that channel lineup are your local network affiliates (such as CBS, Fox, ABC and NBC), but unlike most streaming services, YouTube TV provides access to your local PBS stations.
Access to this vast collection of channels comes at a steep price: $65 per month plus tax for the base package.
A $20 monthly add-on does not increase the number of channels available but allows you to watch live streams in 4K and provides access to a limited library of on-demand programming. This add-on also provides an unlimited number of simultaneous streams in contrast to the base package, which allows only three at a time.
The Sports Plus package, which costs an additional $11 per month, includes several sports channels, including NFL RedZone, GoITV, Fox College Sports, the MLB Network and Fox Soccer Plus.
The cherry on top is YouTube TV's baked-in cloud DVR with unlimited storage, which provides nine months to watch recorded programming with the ability to skip past commercials.
Why We Chose It: At just $25 per month for 70+ channels, Philo quickly made its way to a top spot on our list as the best budget streaming service.
If you're looking for the most cost-efficient streaming service and you don't care for watching sports or local content, Philo may be your ideal streaming service. At a price of just $25 per month, Philo provides you with 70+ channels.
News coverage is sparse, though, with Cheddar News and BBC World News providing global headlines. Philo does, however, offer movie channels as add-ons for an additional cost, including Epix for $6 per month and Starz for $9 per month.
While Philo doesn't offer much original content at this point, the streaming service did begin creating its first original show this year: "Boss Moves," which premiered in April of 2022.
Philo quickly threw its hat into the ring along with the big boys with its robust DVR service, which includes unlimited DVR storage and one year to watch your stored recordings. You are also allowed up to three simultaneous streams and ten profiles per account.
As a bonus, you can watch most TV shows and movies on Philo on-demand for 72 hours after their initial live airing, even without actively recording them.
Why We Chose It: It's a no-brainer: Disney Plus is the exclusive home of most Disney-owned content.
Upon its launch in 2019, Disney Plus effortlessly carved out its unique niche in the world of streaming services by enforcing exclusive rights over the vast majority of the content under Disney's umbrella, which now includes:
- Disney movies
- The Disney Channel TV shows
- The entire Pixar library
- The Star Wars movies
- All films and TV shows from the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Disney Plus has pulled in millions of viewers with its growing collection of original TV programs, including "The Mandalorian" and a cascade of original Marvel shows, such as "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," "Loki" and "She-Hulk."
The service is very reasonably priced at $11 per month and allows up to four simultaneous streams at a time. Disney Plus also plans to add new bundles, including an ad-supported package for $10 per month that includes Disney Plus and Hulu.
Why We Chose It: Access to HBO originals alone won us over, but the wide range of available titles sealed the deal.
HBO Max lets you stream everything that's available on the HBO cable channel and then some. In addition to offering HBO's giant library of quintessential programs, such as "The Sopranos," "The Wire" and "Game of Thrones," you also get access to current HBO original series, including "Euphoria" and "Succession."
HBO Max provides access to a large swath of the Warner Bros. film library and add-ons that include DC Films, TCM, and Looney Tunes.
You can have up to five individual viewing profiles with HBO Max, which allows up to three simultaneous streams.
Why We Chose It: FuboTV is an excellent choice for cord-cutting sports lovers.
Sports fans have been struggling with cutting the cord, but FuboTV swooped in and won many over with its blend of live TV and on-demand content. Watch national sports content and events on CBS, NBC, the NFL Network and NBA TV or international sports on channels from Univision and the beIN network.
Depending on your region, the Fubo Starter plan gives you access to approximately 120 channels for $69.99 per month. FuboTV also offers add-on packages, including Sports Plus with NFL RedZone for $10.99 per month and Fubo Extra, which adds 35+ channels, for $7.99 per month. There's also a bundle of Discovery network shows, including The Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and TLC.
FuboTV isn't just for sports, though. It provides access to many entertainment channels, including National Geographic, The Food Network, SYFY, USA, AMC, and FX.
FuboTV's DVR capacity is 250 hours of storage, although you can opt for 1,000 hours with the Pro or Elite packages. As for simultaneous streams, FuboTV allows up to three at once. With fuboTV's Lookback feature, you can watch any program for up to 72 hours after its initial live airing. The Start-Over feature allows you to start at the beginning of any live event while it's ongoing, no matter when you joined the show.
Why We Chose It: Peacock offers a free, ad-supported tier with access to some of the service's streaming catalog.
A popular streaming service with a free tier? You bet, and that's a great reason why Peacock stands out amongst its competitors, although you have to endure commercials while watching your free programming.
Additionally, Peacock's free tier allows access to some — not all — of its content library, which means you may be mid-binge when you realize the series you're engrossed in is only partially available for free.
Peacock's Premium tier only costs $4.99 per month, making this one of the most budget-friendly streaming services. The Premium tier still includes ads, however. Even Peacock's most expensive tier, Premium Plus ($9.99 per month), doesn't entirely exempt you from ads. With Premium Plus, most programs are ad-free, but you may see commercials during a few, such as live events.
Peacock is part of NBCUniversal, which means a good amount of content from the company's subsidiaries is available on Peacock. Some notable shows worth a binge on Peacock include "The Office," "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," "Downton Abbey" and "Saturday Night Live."
Paid subscribers can access live sports, including WWE wrestling, Premier League Soccer, and the NFL's "Sunday Night Football."
Peacock also produces original shows, although they haven't seen widespread popularity like those of other streaming services. Some notable original series include "Dr. Death," "One of Us Is Lying," "Girls5Eva" and the reboot of Showtime's early 2000's hit series, "Queer as Folk."
Why We Chose It: Prime Video's value is extraordinary for those who are already Amazon Prime members.
While Amazon Prime Video doesn't have the depth and breadth of Netflix and Hulu's libraries, it manages to hold its own amongst its competition. Prime Video offers a lot of ad-free shows and movies, Amazon original shows, and more low-budget indie movies than you can imagine.
The best part of Prime Video? Amazon Prime includes it with your membership. If you don't subscribe to Amazon Prime, you can pay $9 monthly for Prime Video alone.
Prime Video produces several original series, many of which are gaining popularity. Some of its most popular offerings include "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power," "The Boys" and "Reacher."
Sling TV: Best For Customizable Channel Packages
Why We Chose It: The flexibility of Sling TV's packages and add-on options easily justify its addition to this list.
Of all the well-liked live plus on-demand streaming services, Sling TV is the only one that has come close to allowing its subscribers to choose channel packages à la carte, including:
- Comedy Extra
- Kids Extra
- News Extra
- Lifestyle Extra
- Hollywood Extra
- Lifestyle Extra
The ability to choose makes the service popular among people wishing to cut the cord with their cable providers, though each additional channel package does cost $6 to $11.
Sling offers personalized package options in two main base packages, with various add-ons for an additional charge. The base packages, Sling Blue and Sling Orange, start at $40 per month. A Blue + Orange bundle costs $55 per month.
Sling Blue offers at least 15 more channels than Sling Orange, including some local network affiliates and three simultaneous streams. Sling Orange, which allows only one stream at a time, features channels not included in Sling Blue, including the ESPN channels, Disney and Freeform.
Both options allow 50 hours of DVR storage or 200 hours, plus the ability to save and protect recordings for an additional $5 per month.
Best Streaming Services Guide
When deciding which streaming service is best for you, there's no need to settle on just one. The beauty of cutting the cord with your cable provider and switching to streaming platforms is that you can mix and match services until you come up with the programming lineup you want.
Enjoying your favorite media on various streaming devices, whether it's on phones, tablets, smart TVs, gaming consoles or computers, is another advantage of streaming services that cable can't offer.
Main Things To Consider When Choosing A Streaming Service
- Quality and variety of original content
- Price of the base package and add-ons
- Size and diversity of the catalog
- Channels available
- Number of simultaneous streams allowed
- DVR functionality
- User-friendliness of platform
What Is The Average Cost Of Streaming Services?
Because the size, quality and variety of the library for each service varies widely, providing an average monthly cost is a moot point. Instead, here are the base package prices for each of the top picks on our list:
- Hulu with Live TV (bundled with ESPN Plus and Disney Plus): $70 per month
- Netflix (Basic): $9.99 per month
- YouTube TV: $65 per month
- Philo: $25 per month
- Disney Plus: $10.99 per month
- HBO Max: $9.99 per month
- FuboTV: $69.99 per month
- Peacock: Free
- Prime Video: $9 per month for standalone service
- SlingTV: $40 per month
How Can You Save Money On Streaming Services?
- Only keep the subscriptions you actually use. Take a good hard look at your streaming services. Sure, you loved that one show on Prime Video, but once you watched that, how often have you gone back and found something else you liked? If you're not using your subscriptions on a regular basis, it might be time to consider canceling some.
- Consider a family plan. Many subscription streaming services allow multiple family members on one account. Even if you have to level up to a premium tier to view multiple simultaneous screens many times, this can be more cost-effective per person.
- Switch cell phone providers. Many mobile providers offer promotions that give free access to certain streaming services just for being their customers. Depending on the tier, Verizon gives its customers access to Hulu, Disney Plus, ESPN Plus, and Apple Music. T-Mobile provides Netflix for free to its customers. With some of its unlimited plans, AT&T gives its customers free access to HBO Max.
Best Streaming Services FAQ
Summary Of The Best Streaming Services Of 2023
- Hulu: Best Overall Streaming Service
- Netflix: Best Original Programming
- YouTube TV: Best For Replacing Cable
- Philo: Best Budget Streaming Service
- Disney Plus: Best For Family-Friendly TV Shows And Movies
- HBO Max: Best For HBO Original Shows And Popular Movies
- Fubo TV: Best For Sports Content
- Peacock: Best For Free TV Shows And Movies
- Amazon Prime: Best For On-Demand TV Shows And Movies
- Sling: Best For Customizable Channel Packages
