Join the Tom's Guide Club for quick access. Enter your email below and we'll send confirmation, and sign you up to our newsletter. By submitting your information, you confirm you are aged 16 or over, have read our Privacy Policy and agree to the Terms & Conditions . Geographical rules apply. Your membership journey starts here. Keep exploring and earning more as a member. Latest Phone Reviews Expert picks to help you choose. Best Laptop/ PC Guides Top tips to upgrade your setup. Explore your membership benefits. Get the Tom’s Guide App Unlock and manage exclusive Tom’s Guide member rewards. Picture quality User experience Here at Tom’s Guide our expert editors are committed to bringing you the best news, reviews and guides to help you stay informed and ahead of the curve! You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards. Picture quality User experience YouTube TV vs. Hulu with Live TV TL;DR Editor's Note: As of Oct. 31, 2025, YouTube TV has lost Disney and ESPN . This face-off is based on YouTube TV offering Disney-owned networks as part of its channel offering. If YouTube TV loses these channels for an extended period, we will adjust this article accordingly. While these two services are similar in most ways, YouTube TV is the best sports streaming service thanks to features including key plays, multiview and integration with NFL Sunday Ticket. YouTube TV vs. Hulu with Live TV is a contentious debate. Both cord-cutting offerings make the list of our best cable TV alternatives . Both offer all the four major broadcast networks, unlimited DVR space and multiple simultaneous streams. Neither one is our pick for the best live TV streaming service . That honor goes to Sling TV , due to a combination of customizability and affordability. But if you're unwilling to make the sacrifices Sling TV requires, these two services are probably your top options. But before you part ways with your hard-earned cash, let's dive into why you'd choose one over the other, and which is right for you. For those who love sports, YouTube TV is our top choice. Between features like multiview , key plays and NFL Sunday Ticket integration, it's the clear choice. Plus you still get features like unlimited DVR and multiple streams. Limited time offer: Try it free now Hulu with Live TV offers three streaming services bundled with its live TV service — Hulu (with ads), Disney Plus (with ads) and ESPN Unlimited — making it an excellent value. So if you love to stream, it might be the better pick. The quality of that value has dipped following several price hikes from Disney on all of its streaming services, including Hulu with Live TV . With Hulu with Live TV now $89.99 a month, it potentially erases Hulu's biggest advantage over YouTube TV. Sign up to the weekly Tom's Streaming Guide to stay in the loop with the latest releases and top recommendations across your favorite streaming services. We’ve got you covered with a complete guide on what’s worth watching. If you love streaming the latest shows and movies, then Hulu with Live TV is a great choice. Not only do you get live TV, but you get Disney Plus, ESPN Unlimited and Hulu's streaming service included in your monthly price. It's a bundle that's tough to beat. Limited time offer: $25 off a month for three months To determine the true winner, we decided to do what we do best: put these services in a head-to-head competition. We did hands-on testing with the Apple TV 4K (2022) and the Fire TV Stick 4K and pulled in the most recent available information from both cord-cutting offerings. YouTube TV vs. Hulu with Live TV: specs Here's a breakdown on how these two live TV streaming services look on paper. Hulu with Live TV Starting Price (per month) Channels (in entry-level package) 95+ channels, Disney Plus (w/ ads), ESPN Unlimited, Hulu (w/ ads) Chrome, Firefox, Safari., iOS 12 or later, iPad OS 12 or later, Android L or later, Android TV, Google TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast with Google TV, Xbox One or later, Smart TVs [select models] (Hisense, LG, Roku, Fire TV, Samsung, Vizio), PS4, PS5, TiVo Stream 4K, Xfinity Flex devices Web browsers, iOS, iPad OS, Android, Android TV, Google TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox, Smart TVs (Samsung, LG, Vizio and more), Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5 and more Simultaneous Streams 3 (Unlimited for an additional fee) 2 (Unlimited for an additional fee) YouTube TV vs. Hulu with Live TV: channels Note: YouTube TV currently lacks Disney-owned networks, including ABC and ESPN, due to an ongoing contract dispute. For the most part, the YouTube TV and Hulu with Live TV channel assortments are similar. YouTube boasts more channels (claiming over 100), while Hulu declares it has more than 95 "top channels." And while the two share a lot of networks in common, each is missing something. Given that each provider offers dozens of channels, it's almost easier to tell you what isn't included. YouTube TV is notably missing A&E, Lifetime, MLB Network, The History Channel and Vice. Hulu, meanwhile, is notably missing Univision, AMC, BBC America, IFC, MTV Classic and MTV 2, NBA TV, NBC Sports and Sundance TV. Below is the list of networks offered in the base plans of YouTube TV and Hulu with Live TV. While our goal is for this list to be comprehensive, please note that channel availability is subject to chang,e and not all channels are necessarily available in all regions. Always check channel availability before signing up. Hulu with Live TV All Reality We TV NBC American Crimes Big Ten Network CBS Sports Network Cartoon Network Game Show Network Hallmark Channel Hallmark Family Hallmark Movies & Mystery Justice Central TV Magnolia Network New England Cable News National Geographic Wild National Geographic Orlando City TV Oxygen True Crime Paramount Network Smithsonian Channel Turner Classic Movies Tastemade Food & More

The Great Courses Signature Collection The Walking Dead Universe The Weather Channel YouTube Originals Bloomberg Television CNN International Great American Family Hallmark Mystery Lifetime Movies The History Channel In the end, we give the edge to Hulu thanks to a little feature that YouTube TV lacks. Hulu offers East and West Coast feeds of certain channels, so folks out west can watch along with their friends out east. This is available for Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, TBS, TNT, Animal Planet and Discovery. Winner: Hulu + Live TV, but only because of their East and West Coast feeds. YouTube TV vs. Hulu with Live TV: price Objectively, this one is easy. Hulu with Live TV is $89.99 per month. YouTube TV is $82.99. YouTube TV often has promotions, which are rare for Hulu + Live TV. But Hulu with live TV includes Hulu (with ads), Disney Plus (with ads) and ESPN Unlimited, so there's definitely an argument that Hulu is a better value. But in terms of pure price, it's YouTube TV by a nose. Winner: YouTube TV YouTube TV vs. Hulu with Live TV: value While the overall channel total and entry-level price lean toward YouTube TV, those who want more than just live TV (and love some of the best streaming services ) get more with Hulu with Live TV. Of course, that begins with the shows and movies on Hulu (normally starting at $11.99 a month). Hulu with Live TV also includes Disney Plus (normally starting at $11.99 a month) and ESPN Unlimited (normally starting at $29.99 a month). Those three add-ons are a $35.99 monthly value. You may not want all of those services, but we bet at least one appeals to most. That said, YouTube TV does give you one more simultaneous stream, with three streams at once, to Hulu with Live TV's two. It also gives you a significant discount on NFL Sunday Ticket for football fans who want to watch every game. Winner: Hulu with Live TV for the bundlers YouTube TV vs. Hulu with Live TV: Picture quality YouTube TV and Hulu with Live TV stream live TV at varying rates, but mostly in the 720p to 1080p range, matching what most cable channels offer. YouTube TV makes it easy to see the picture quality rates available in an on-screen menu, but Hulu does not offer such information. More frustratingly, neither YouTube TV nor Hulu with Live TV includes 4K live streams with their entry-level plans. Yes, some of Hulu's on-demand content is in 4K. Yes, YouTube TV offers some 4K feeds... for another $9.99 per month. On a personal testing note. We've noticed on mobile devices that Hulu with Live TV feeds can sometimes look lower-res than YouTube TV feeds. Winner: Nobody. We all deserve better. YouTube TV vs. Hulu with Live TV: sports Both YouTube TV and Hulu with Live TV let you 'follow' your favorite teams and record all games available, but neither is strong about regional sports networks. Sadly, for channels such as YES, NESN and the Bally Sports channels, you'll want a Fubo , DirecTV or DirecTV MySports . YouTube TV hits home runs with its sports options, though. You get NFL Network and NBA TV, and you can get NFL Sunday Ticket and NFL RedZone at discounted prices. You can also get other sports add-ons like NBA League Pass, but those aren't exclusive to YouTube TV. Unfortunately, Hulu only offers NFL Network — no NBA TV. Neither service carries MLB Network. But just as importantly, YouTube TV is a better viewing experience for sports fans. You get more data-driven content, with scores and stats in its menus. Hulu has nothing like that. When it comes to catching up on all the big moments, YouTube TV's Key Plays is a truly killer feature. Multiview is also something that Hulu cannot match, and it allows you to watch up to four games at once for select sports. YouTube TV's $10.99 Sports Plus add-on package includes 14 channels, including NFL RedZone, beIN Sports, Billiard TV, Fox Soccer Plus, Fight Network, FanDuel TV, and Stadium. Hulu's $9.99 Sports Add-on is a buck cheaper but only has 6 channels: NFL RedZone, MAVTV for motorsports, FanDuel TV, FanDuel Racing, Outdoor Channel and Sportsman Channel. Winner: YouTube TV , which practically pitches a shut-out on this one. YouTube TV vs. Hulu with Live TV: DVR We hate to hand out ties (we're not Men's Wearhouse), but YouTube TV and Hulu with Live TV both have the same cloud-based DVR specs. Each gives you an unlimited amount of recordings which expire after nine months. This is the best option you can get in live TV streaming services, which DirecTV Stream matches. Sling TV limits you to 50 hours by default, and FuboTV's intro-level Pro package includes 1,000 hours of recordings. YouTube TV vs. Hulu with Live TV: user experience I've hit a weird bug with Hulu with Live TV recently: sometimes, while watching live TV on a laptop, it won't let me rewind through an ad break. I'm waiting to see this happen more consistently to believe it's a flaw and not a glitch. All of the above, though, isn't entirely important if you don't actually like using the service. Both of these services are good, but while I loved using YouTube TV, I did not have that experience using Hulu with Live TV. Both apps, though, automatically load a channel, something I wish they would not do (it's often a show I'm not intending to watch), as Sling doesn't do that (and I'm used to Sling). YouTube TV's a little better in this regard, because it begins with a home screen of recommendations, while Hulu's Live tab makes you click the down button on your remote to open its TV guide. In practice, both are similarly stable, though I did see Hulu with Live TV buffer once (YouTube TV did not). Also, Hulu with Live TV is buried inside the Hulu app, under the Live tab. Sometimes, this isn't a problem, but other times it feels like I'm forced to click through a bunch of Hulu content to get to the live TV I want, You may get used to that, but it gets confusing at times. For example, when I scroll through the home screen trying to find a recently-watched episode of WWE Monday Night Raw that I haven't finished, clicking on its tile in Continue Watching loads Hulu's ad-supported, on-demand version, which is shorter than the full recording — and has commercials you cannot fast-forward through. I've never encountered such an issue on YouTube TV. Also, fast-forwarding and rewinding are simply more seamless on YouTube TV. Winner: YouTube TV, which had a head-start with the YouTube app perfecting the streaming experience YouTube TV vs. Hulu with Live TV: verdict As you've seen throughout this YouTube TV vs. Hulu with Live TV face-off, these are similar services. Your decision may be made by the channel selection alone. Channels (25 points) Price (25 points) Value (15 points) Sports (15 points) User experience (10 points) Picture Quality (5 points) Total (100 points) Which is better: Hulu + Live TV or YouTube TV? YouTube TV is the best if you care about sports and Hulu with Live TV is the best for those who love streaming shows and movies. With the most recent price hikes, any significant advantage in price one had over the other is gone. So it really comes down to what you prefer to watch. For our money, we give a narrow win to YouTube TV due to the combination of a better viewing experience and superior sports features. But we don't blame you if you prefer the value of Hulu + Live TV and its streaming services. Malcolm has been with Tom's Guide since 2022, and has been covering the latest in streaming shows and movies since 2023. He's not one to shy away from a hot take, including that "John Wick" is one of the four greatest films ever made. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. 1 3 feel-good movies on Prime Video to chase away the Sunday scaries 2 3 Netflix movies to watch if you loved 'Why Did I Get Married Again?' (and no, they're not ALL Tyler Perry movies) 3 I used this Android tablet for three weeks — and its giant speaker has spoiled me 4 Want to watch more action comedies like Apple TV's 'Mayday'? I've got 3 picks you can stream now 5 Study says chatbots are misdiagnosing sleep apnea, so a doctor is sharing 4 symptoms you should never ignore Please login or signup to comment