Disney Plus vs Philo

If you found your way to this page, you’re probably thinking about cutting the cable cord — or maybe you already have! Your next step is to choose a streaming service like Philo or Disney+.

If you’re confused by the wide variety of streaming services, you’re not alone. The market has dozens of streaming services to choose from. Disney+ and Philo are two of the more popular streaming options. Let’s examine each of these streaming services to see which best suits your viewing preferences and budget.

Disney+

An on-demand service with tons of Disney content

Philo

A live video streaming service featuring popular cable channels.

What is the Difference Between Disney+ and Philo?

Philo and Disney+ are two different types of streaming services. Philo is a “skinny bundle,” which means it streams live network television channels, including many popular channels you’ll recognize from cable and satellite bundles. Disney+ gives you on-demand access to its unique content, which includes cartoons, live-actionTV shows, and movies from Disney properties like Marvel Studios and Star Wars.

Neither service has much for sports fans, but Disney+ can be bundled with ESPN+ and Hulu for a discounted total price. You can’t add sports to Philo — that’s one of the ways it differs from Sling TV and other competitors.

Device support is a difference-maker, too: Philo is not accessible on as many devices as Disney+ is.

What You Can Watch on Disney+ vs. Philo

Disney+ programming is centered on family-friendly movies, series and animated shows available on demand. Philo provides live streams of cable channels that are sure to please a wide variety of audiences. Compared to Philo’s channels, Disney+’s content is a little more narrowly tailored to children, teens, tweens and families — though adults who enjoy Disney-owned action flicks like The Avengers should find plenty to watch.

Disney+ subscribers can view any movie or show in the streaming service’s library whenever they want. Disney+ lacks live streaming channels — if you want those in the deal, you’ll have to look at the Disney+ bundle deal that includes Hulu.

With Philo, you’ll be watching live streams of cable channels in real time. Philo does have an on-demand library, but it’s made up of recently aired TV shows and movies, and all the content is in the edited-for-TV form. You can also create your own on-demand content with Philo by using the cloud DVR feature. Philo has popular channels like AMC and HGTV, but it’s also important to remember what Philo doesn’t have: sports, news, or local channels. Omitting these helps keep Philo cheaper than competitors like AT&T TV Now. Of course, Disney+ doesn’t have these sports or news channels either — Disney+ is an on-demand service, so it doesn’t have any live channels at all.

What Disney+ does have (that Philo does not) is original programming, including original series from Star Wars, Marvel Studios, and Pixar. Disney+’s biggest hit so far is The Mandalorian. Philo has no original programming.

How Much Will You Spend on Disney+ Vs. Philo?

Both Disney+ and Philo are affordable streaming services. There is no long-term contract or commitment with either. You can pay for either service month by month and cancel whenever you want. You can even sign up for and cancel each streaming service as often as you want without penalty — just don’t expect to get a new free trial every time. Neither streaming service requires you to rent any video streaming equipment, though you may want to get a great streaming device or smart TV so that you can watch everything from your couch instead of your computer chair.

Disney+ costs $6.99 per month. Those who would like to subscribe to Disney+ for the year pay a mere $69.99.

However, Mulan (2020) is a special case. Adding Mulan to your Disney+ library will cost an additional $29.99. Though this price might seem high, it’s a one-time fee: After you pay up, you can access the movie as many times as you want. We don’t yet know if Disney will do a deal like this with future new releases — for now, it’s just Mulan.

There is also a Disney+ bundle package available that costs $12.99 per month. The bundle adds ESPN+ and Hulu (with ads, though you can upgrade to an ad-free plan for an extra fee).

Philo offers one main bundle: $20 per month for 60+ channels and unlimited recording with the included cloud DVR feature.

If you’re willing to spend an additional $9 per month, you can add Starz. An additional $5 per month gives you access to Epix. Opt for Philo live streaming with both Starz and Epix, and your monthly bill will be $34.

Disney+ vs. Philo: Which Should You Choose?

The decision between Disney+ and Philo ultimately comes down to your viewing preferences and budget. If you don’t want to spend more than $7 per month, Disney+ is clearly the better choice. However, if you aren’t interested in animated movies and family-friendly programming, Philo might suit your viewing tastes better.

If you prefer to start and stop movies and shows on demand, you’ll probably lean toward Disney+. If you crave live TV, you’re going to be more interested in Philo.

If you’re a sports fan, you may find both services a little lacking. You can bundle ESPN+ with Disney+, but your best bet might be to consider a Philo competitor that has sports, like fuboTV. Philo does not provide any meaningful sports-related content.

If your budget is your priority, it makes sense to choose the cheaper of the two services. Disney+ is the cheaper option, running a mere $6.99 per month. The bottom line is both of these streaming services provide interesting content at an affordable price. You cannot go wrong with either Disney+ or Philo, but you should know that they’re very different!