8 Cheaper Philo Alternatives

Philo is already, by far, the most cost-effective live TV streaming service in the market. For just $25/month, you can access a wide range of channels as well as record unlimited hours on cloud DVR.

That said, there are still similar services out there that charge way lower than that. If you're looking for decent streamers that cost less than the monthly $25 price tag—or even nothing at all, since we're counting free services—then you've come to the right place. Below, we round up the best Philo alternatives that are even easier on the budget.

Our recommended three cheaper philo alternatives:
Frndly TV $6.99 Watch
Tubi free Watch
Paramount+ with SHOWTIME $12.99 Watch

Frndly TV

Frndly TV is a streaming platform focused on family-friendly live TV channels, with an attractive price starting at $6.99. There are three plans, Basic, Classic and Premium, which respectively cost the $6.99 starting price, $8.99, and $10.99. The Basic plan only allows for SD streaming, but both other plans allow for HD. The basic plan doesn't allow for DVR recordings, but the other plans allow for 3 months and 9 months respectively. And lastly, the basic plans allows for only one simultanious stream, but the Classic allows for 2 and the Premium allows for 4.

Price: $6.99/month

Free Trial: 7 days

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android Phones, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Vizio

Channel lineup: A&E, ASPiRE TV, BabyFirst, Bounce, BYUtv, Catchy Comedy, Circle, Court TV, Cowboy Way Channel, Crime-Investigation, Dabl, Dove Channel, Dove Family Movies, Dove Kids, FETV, FMC, FYI, Game Show Network, GetTV, Great American Family, Great American Living, GRIT, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Drama, Hallmark Movies Now, Hallmark Mystery, Heartland TV, Heroes & Icons, Holiday Scapes, INSP, ION, ION Mystery, JusticeCENTRAL.TV, Laff, Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network, Local Now, MeTV, MeTV Toons, Military HISTORY, Movies!, Outdoor Channel, PixL, QVC, Recipe.TV, Sportsman Channel, Start TV, StoryTV, The History Channel, The Weather Channel, UPtv, VICE TV

Tubi

Dubbed "The Free Netflix," Tubi is one of the best options for streaming quality movies and TV shows online. The completely free, ad-supported service has one of the most extensive title lineups, plus it's compatible with most devices, making it an extremely popular option for cord-cutters. Though it has been noted to have a less-than-stellar resolution, most viewers don't mind due to its easy interface, constantly updated library, and of course free titles. Parents will also be glad to know that the service has parental control features.

Price: free for 78 channels available

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android Phones, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Google TV Streamer, iOS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Sony, TiVo, Vizio, Website, Xbox One

Channel lineup: 21 Jump Street, ABC Localish, ABC News, ACC Digital Network, AFV Family, All Real, Baywatch, Bein Sports XTRA, bein Sports Xtra en Espanol, Bloomberg, Bloomberg Quicktake, Bounce XL, Brat TV, BUZZR, Caught in Providence, CBC News, Cheddar, CINEVAULT: 80's, CINEVAULT: Classics, CINEVAULT: Westerns, Circle, Comedy Dynamics, Cosmos, Deal or No Deal, Dove Channel, El Rey, Estrella News, EuroNews English, Fear Factor, FilmRise Classic TV, FilmRise Westerns, Forensic Files, FOX, Fox Deportes, FOX SOUL, Fox Sports, Fox Weather, fubo Sports Network, Game Show Central, Gordon Ramsay, Heartland, Johnny Carson TV, live now from Fox, LOL-Network, Lone Star, Masked Singer Channel, Maverick Black Cinema, MLB, Moviesphere Free, My Time Movie Network, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Nash Bridges, NBC News Now, Newsy, NFL Channel, NHRA TV, Nosey, Pac-12 Insider, Pattrn, People TV, Real Madrid TV, REELZ, Revolt Mixtape, So Real, Sports Wire, Stadium, Supermarket Sweep, The Biggest Loser, The Bob Ross Channel, The Carol Burnett Show, The Conners, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Grio, the NFL Channel, The Only Way is Essex, TMZ, TODAY All Day, Tubi Originals, Unsolved Mysteries, USA Today, Vice, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Weather Nation, Wipeout Xtra

Paramount+ with SHOWTIME

Paramount+ with SHOWTIME (previously Paramount+ Premium) is a Netflix-style streaming service, offering movies and TV shows on-demand like The Good Fight and Yellowstone. But unlike Netflix, it gives you access to Live TV from CBS. That means CBS local channels, CBS News (CBSN), CBS Sports, ET live, and some live sporting events like NFL on CBS Live. It also offers on-demand access to programming from Comedy Central, MTV, BET, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Paramount Pictures, and Smithsonian Channel.

As of 2024, it increased its monthly price to $12.99, but with that comes a significant upgrade: members now have access to all of Showtime's content, which includes movies and shows like Billions, Dexter, and Yellowjackets, as well as live coverage on sports including boxing, football, and MMA. Since Showtime shut down its standalone service in early 2024, this Paramount+ plan is now one of the few ways to watch Showtime without cable.

Price: $12.99/month

Free Trial: 7 days

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android Phones, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS, LG TV, PlayStation 4, Portal TV, Roku, Samsung TV, Vizio, Xbox, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, Xfinity Flex

Channel lineup: CBS local channels, CBS Sports HQ, CBSN, ET Live

Peacock is a streaming service owned by NBC, with options to choose two plans: $7.99/month ($80/year) for ad-supported, or $13.99/month ($140/ year) for ad-free. It used to offer a free plan, but that went away amid the Great Streaming Price Hikes the previous year. Still, with both premium plans, you'll get access to the full catalog of 2,000 movies and shows, including every episode of original NBC favorites like Brooklyn 99, The Office, and Parks and Recreation. You'll also get next-day and early access to all the new episodes of live NBC shows like Late Night with Seth Meyers and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. You can stream Peacock on Apple devices like the iPhone and Apple TV, Google devices like Android phones and Chromecast, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles. But there is still no app available for Roku or Amazon platforms.

Price: $7.99/month

Device availability: Android Phones, Android TV, Apple TV, Google TV Streamer, iOS, LG TV, PlayStation, Roku, Visio TV, Xbox

Xumo Play

With people overwhelmed by the onslaught of mammoth streaming services, companies like Xumo are having a moment. A free, ad-supported hub for both live and on-demand content, Xumo is gaining ground in the streaming landscape.

Price: free for 13 channels available

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android Phones, Android TV, Google TV Streamer, iOS, Panasonic, Roku, Samsung TV, Visio TV, webOS, Xfinity Flex

Channel lineup: ABC News Live, AccuWeather Now, Bloomberg, CBC News, CBSN, Cheddar News, Fox Sports, ION, NBC Comedy Vault, NBC News Now, NBCLX, PGA Tour, Today, USA Today

Pluto TV Live

Pluto TV is a modern take on traditional cable: it has hundreds of channels streaming live, a huge library of on-demand content, and it’s supported by ads. But the key difference from the competition? It’s totally free.

Price: free for 33 channels available

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android Phones, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Google TV Streamer, iOS, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Roku, Virgin Media, Vizio SmartCast, webOS, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Channel lineup: 60 minutes Pluto, BBC Food, BBC Home, Bein Sports XTRA, Bloomberg TV+, Bodas+, CBS Sports HQ, CBSN, Check with Pluto TV for the full channel lineup, Cheddar News, CNN Headlines, CNN Originals, ET Live, Family Feud, Food TV, Fox desportes, Fox Sports, Hallmark En Espanol, Hip Hop Family, Hip Hop Family VH1, Hit Sitcoms by WBtv, La Familia del Barrio, Love & Hip-Hop VH1, Major League Soccer, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, MLB, MotorTrend FAST TV, Mythbusters by WBtv, NBC News Now, Newsmax, NFL Channel, NFL Super Bowl Classics, No Reservations by WBtv, Nosey, People TV, PGA Tour, Pluto Channels, Queens of Reality, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Sky News, Smithsonian Channel, Stories AMC, TBN, Today, TuDiscovery, TV Land Drama, WeatherNation, WOW – Women Of Wrestling, WPT

NOW TV

Now TV is the new cable alternative from Comcast (owner of Xfinity). For $20/month, you get over 40 live channels, 20 hours of DVR, and watch on up to three devices. It also doubles as a bundle since you get Peacock Premium included at no additional cost. No need to pay an extra $8/month. And of course, no minimum commitment and you can cancel anytime. To get it, you have to first subscribe or already be a subscriber to Xfinity Internet. You can then add it at checkout. At $20, it is one of the cheapest cord-cutting services out there, especially considering the channels that it offers. It's also one of the few services that offers Netflix in some of its bundles (for more on that, you can check this link).

Price: $20/month

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android Phones, iOS

Channel lineup: A&E, AccuWeather Now, ACL Cornhole TV, Afro, AMC, America’s Test Kitchen, American Crimes, AméricaTevé, Animal, Are We There Yet?, Aspire, At Home with Family Handyman, BBC America, BBC World, Billiard TV, Bravo Vault, Buzzr Let’s Play, Cine Romántico, Circle TV, Cleo TV, Comedy TV, Cooking, Crime + Invest., Dateline 24/7, Discovery, Discovery Life, E! Keeping Up, Ebony TV by Lionsgate, Estrella News, EstrellaTV, FILMEX Clasico, Food Network, FYI, GAC Family, GAC Living, Get TV, GSN, Hallmark, Hallmark Drama, Hallmark Movies, HGTV, History, ID, IFC, Justice Central, Kevin Hart’s LOL! Network, Kevin Hart’s LOL! Standup, Latino Vibes, Lifetime, LMN, Love Nature, Magnolia, Military HISTORY, Million Dollar Listing, MotorTrend, MovieSphere by Lionsgate, Murder, NBC local channels, NBC News Bay Area, NBC News Boston, NBC News Chicago, NBC News Connecticut, NBC News Dallas Fort Worth, NBC News local channels, NBC News Los Angeles, NBC News New York, NBC News Now, NBC News Philadelphia, NBC News San Diego, NBC News South Florida, NBC News Washington D.C., NBC Sports, Noticias Telemundo Ahora, OuterSphere by Lionsgate, OUTtv Proud, OWN, Oxygen True Crime Archives, PBS | Antiques Roadshow, PGA Tour, PowerNation, Pursuit, Real Housewives Vault, Recipe.TV, Science, Shades of Black, She Wrote, Sky News, SNL Vault, Sony Movies, Stingray Holidayscapes, Sundance, Tastemade in Espanol, Telemundo Acción, Telemundo Al Día, Telemundo local channels, Telemundo Noticias California, Telemundo Noticias Florida, Telemundo Noticias Noreste, Telemundo Noticias Texas, Telemundo Romance, The Jamie Oliver Channel, The Weather Channel, The Weather Channel en Espanol, TLC, TODAY All Day, Travel, TV One, Universal Crime, Unsolved Mysteries, Up TV, Vice, WE tv, World Poker Tour, Xumo Free Channels

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The streaming services on this page were chosen by our editors. If you choose to subscribe to a streaming service we recommend as a result of our research, analysis, and curation, our work is sometimes (but not always) supported by an affiliate commission from the streaming service when you make a purchase.