By Cordcutting.com Team
Congratulations! Whether you’ve finally decided to cut the cord on cable or are still weighing your options, there's a reason to celebrate. You’re taking another step towards cheaper and better entertainment. But there’s no reason to immediately sign up for a Netflix subscription simply because that seems to be what just about everyone else is doing. This is the perfect time to consider all of your streaming options — including slightly lesser-known ones like Philo and Sling TV.
Philo and Sling TV are two of the best video streaming services out there. These services have their fair share of similarities, but they also have a few key differences. Instead of reading through dozens of websites to determine which streaming service is best for your unique tastes, simply read our analysis below. Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at Philo and Sling TV to determine which is best for you and your family.
Philo: An affordable streaming service highlighted by TV networks
Pros
- High-resolution streaming
- Three streams can be viewed at the same time
- 70+ channels
- Up to 10 viewer accounts
- Unlimited DVR cloud storage
- Solid channel lineup including Discovery, History, and Comedy Central
Cons
- Lacks local channels and major networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC)
- Virtually no news or sports
Sling TV: Video streaming at multiple price points, featuring both on-demand and live access
Pros
- Cable networks
- Add-on channels
- Customization options
- Numerous price tiers
Cons
- Can be a pricier option than some competitors, especially with add-ons
- Cloud DVR limited to 50 hours of storage
- Missing some major networks (CBS)
- Less than perfect user experience
What’s the Difference between Philo and Sling TV?
Both Philo and Sling TV offer streamers live network TV channels in exchange for a monthly subscription fee. They work a bit like cable, except that they stream online — and cost less!
Philo is quite new compared to Sling TV. Philo TV differentiates its service by keeping prices low — but it does that by eliminating sports and news. Philo focuses on entertainment channels at an affordable price.
Sling TV’s basic bundle is pretty small, too, but Sling TV allows for extensive channel customization and pricing. Sling TV’s bundles include add-on packs of channels. Sling also has more device support than Philo — in other words, it works on more devices.
What You Can Watch on Philo vs. Sling TV
Philo provides live TV streams featuring plenty of entertainment channels. Philo lacks sports and cable news channels.
Sling TV provides lots of cable networks, and its selection includes sports and news channels such as FS1, ESPN, MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News. Philo does not offer any of these channels.
Sling TV also gives you the option to pay for your choice of add-on channel bundles and subscriptions. It’s a more customized bundling option than Philo.
Philo also lacks the top broadcast networks like NBC, ABC, Fox, and CBS. Sling TV doesn’t have a great selection in this department, either, but it does provide local streams of Fox and NBC in at least some markets (You should check Sling TV’s website to see what’s available in your area).
If you’re looking for premium channels, Philo provides MGM+ and STARZ. Sling TV provides both of these channels as well as Showtime, all through add-on packages.
How Much Will You Spend on Philo vs. Sling TV?
Most people venture away from cable TV because it’s expensive and overloaded with commercials. By comparison, we think you’ll find Philo and Sling TV very affordable. Neither service requires the lengthy contracts that cable mandates.
Philo is the more affordable of these two streaming services; its more than 70 channels are available for the low price of $25 per month. Philo is able to keep its prices low because it has only entertainment channels, which means you won’t find any news or sports channels.
Sling TV’s approach to pricing is completely different. With Sling TV, you’ll be starting with a basic bundle and then adding as many (or as few) add-on bundles and subscriptions as you’d like. Sling TV’s beginning price point is higher than Philo’s: Sling TV customers can choose between a Sling Blue and Sling Orange package, each of which has its own unique channels, for $40-$45 per month. You also have the option to combine the packages for $60 per month.
You’re not done after you pick a start bundle, though: Sling TV has add-on packs. Sling TV packs are arranged according to themes such as comedy, kids, sports, lifestyle, and news. Most of these packs run between $5 and $10 per month. This extra fee is added to the base package fee we talked about above.
Philo vs. Sling TV: Which Should You Choose?
If your budget is your primary concern, Philo is the best option. Those who prefer a multitude of channels and customization options will favor Sling TV. Sling TV carries news and sports channels, and its add-on system makes it easy to get the channels you want most without paying for lots of networks you won’t watch.
If you and your family will want to stream on different devices and platforms, then we think you should take a closer look at Sling TV. Both streaming services function on the most commonly used streaming devices, including Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku, but Sling TV works on more devices than Philo.
If you’re looking for a slick and simple user experience, Philo might be your best option. Though we were mostly happy with Sling TV in our review, the service does confuse some people. Philo clearly has the edge in terms of the user experience, and we think it’s easy to use for viewers of all ages and all levels of tech-savviness.
If anyone is a fan of multiple college basketball teams with overlapping schedules (ACC in my case), then watching them on Orange/ESPN seems to limit the viewing to only ONE game on ONE device. The other ESPN’s, – 2, 3, U, News, are not used to “spread the load”. It seems that having all those ESPN subchannels, and on Sling Orange is no help at all. Back to Hulu for us, despite the higher cost since it seems to really be a matter of getting what you pay for.
Yeah your ESPN + is the much better option.
$7 a month vs getting redundant channels as well as $10 more for a few add on
Also on the orange & blue be careful as you still only get 1 orange stream which includes espn and most of the sports channels. I ordered thinking I was getting 4 streams, but kept getting knocked off when another family member was watching. We then contacted sling and realized we still only had 1 orange stream and 3 blue which is how they come up with the up to 4 streams.
I cut the cord recently, bought a Roku Express. For local channels, I got an antenna…I should I have done this a long time ago. I tried Philo and really didn’t care for it too much. I have Sling Blue, Amazon Prime, Peacock, Netflix and Hulu.
philo was good till they for some reason cancelled me i thought i was late paying or something but they take credit only so that wasn’t it, a glitch on their part. then tried every way possible to get ahold of them like the white house! when i subscribed again they made my subscription more EXPENSIVE ! no thanks thanks for being a customer thought it was like a cable co then.
I have an “unsmart” TV which has no internet capability and only conventional TV external inputs (co-ax for a cable box or antennae ). Will I need an additional adapter to use either service?
With AT&T DirecTV dropping OAN, that was it for us. So, out with AT&T and we are going to try Philo for a while, might switch to Sling, with a nice serving of FOX Nation on the side, taking advantage of their 1/2 price office for two years at $50.00, yep, going that route! A bit over $2.00 per month to have FOX News/FOX Nation, that will work!
Sling won’t work unless all adblocking is disabled. I don’t know who in their right mind would pay for such a service.
Sling doesn’t make it clear that when you order the $50 orange and blue package, you are getting 3 + 1 streams. I ordered it thinking our family could each watch espn on separate streams thinking we ordered 4 streams. But you only get 1 espn or orange stream and 3 blue. It’s confusing and they should make that more clear on the website. Philo is great for crime and entertainment channels. I wish they had an add on for sports like espn, Olympic and tennis channels. And maybe some more news options. I get my local channels fine, so it works out for me right now. I’d go philo over sling in customer service and prices. Sling if they opened up to 3 streams of every channel on the orange&blue option.
Sling is no good! If live sports are what you’re looking for you certainly won’t get what you’re paying for,
Constant buffering during live TV. Miss half the game.
No, it’s not my internet. I have ATT Fiber.
Sling’s service is simply inferior, hence the price. I called them out on it on Facebook and they blocked me. Apparently, I was the problem since that’s their way of fixing it.
Hulu Live is much better. More expensive but you get what you pay for.
Don’t waste your time and money on Sling.
I cut the cord recently, bought a Roku Express. For local channels, I got an antenna…I should I have done this a long time ago. I tried Philo and really didn’t care for it too much. I have Sling Blue, Amazon Prime, Peacock, Netflix and Hulu.