If you’re considering cutting the cord in 2022, you may be wondering about the merits of Philo and Sling TV as cable alternatives.
Each is considered to be one of the best “value” live TV streaming services on the market, and they often get lumped together because they offer some of the top channels at monthly prices of $35 per month or less.
But is one better than the other?
In this article, I’ll compare the key features of these two streaming TV services to help you decide which is better suited for your household.
Table of Contents:
- Quick Facts
- Price
- Channels
- Cloud DVR
- Supported Devices
- Multiple Streams
- Pros and Cons of Each Service
Quick Facts: Philo vs. Sling TV
| Philo | Sling Orange + Blue | Sling TV – Blue | Sling TV – Orange | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price | $25.00 | $55.00 | $40.00 | $40.00 |
| Free Trial | 7 Days | None | None | None |
| Local Channels Included | No | No | No | No |
| Simultaneous Streams | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| User Profiles Allowed | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Cloud DVR Hours | Unlimited | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| Number of Channels | 110 | 48 | 42 | 32 |
In this article, I’ll look at key factors including price, channel selection, cloud DVR, supported devices and concurrent streams to help you make a choice between these two live TV streaming services.
Price
| Philo | Sling Orange + Blue | Sling TV – Blue | Sling TV – Orange | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price | $25.00 | $55.00 | $40.00 | $40.00 |
If you’re in the market for a live streaming TV service that has a reasonable amount of popular channels at an affordable monthly price, Sling and Philo are a couple of great options to be considering.
While services like YouTube TV, fuboTV, Hulu + Live TV and DIRECTV STREAM are charging in the neighborhood of $70 per month or more, these two services offer options at half the cost.
You can get a base package of either of these live streaming TV services for $35 per month or less.
Philo’s pricing is pretty straightforward. You’ll get more than 60 channels and unlimited cloud DVR storage for just $25 per month.
Meanwhile, Sling touts three major packages: Sling Blue, Sling Orange and Sling Orange + Blue.
You can purchase either Blue or Orange as a standalone product for $35 per month. If you’d like the benefits of both, you can buy the combination package (Orange + Blue) for $50 per month.
You can cancel either service at any time without penalty. And there are no junk fees like you’ve probably found with your cable company, though some customers may be subject to local sales tax for these services.
Both services offer add-on packages and premium channels for additional monthly fees. I’ll talk a little more about those later in the article.
Channel Lineup: Philo vs. Sling TV
One of the more stressful parts of cutting the cord from your cable company is ensuring that you’ll still be able to get most of the content you want with a live TV streaming service.
That usually starts with a list of “can’t miss” channels for each person.
This is something to pay especially close attention to when comparing Sling and Philo.
Philo offers one basic package with popular channels like Food Network, Comedy Central and Hallmark Channel, but it’s missing many of the popular news and sports channels that come with other live streaming TV services.
Sling, on the other hand, offers consumers a chance to do some customization by picking a channel package that suits their tastes. You’ll pick between Sling Orange, Sling Blue and Sling Orange + Blue. And from there, there are additional add-on options.
Local channels are a concern with both services.
Philo does not offer local channels with its subscription, and Sling offers only FOX and NBC in select markets with select packages. So if you’re looking to stream local channels, you may want to consider alternative methods we’ve compiled here. Or you could pay up for YouTube TV or Hulu + Live TV, which generally include most local channels with a basic subscription.
Below is a comparison of the Sling and Philo channel packages. If you want to compare those channel lineups to other streaming TV services, see our side-by-side chart or use our live TV streaming channel tool.
| Philo ($25.00) | Sling Orange + Blue ($55.00) | Sling TV – Blue ($40.00) | Sling TV – Orange ($40.00) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A&E | A&E | A&E | A&E |
| ABC | ABC | ||
| AccuWeather | |||
| AMC | AMC | AMC | AMC |
| American Heroes Channel | |||
| Animal Planet | |||
| aspireTV | |||
| AXS TV | AXS TV | AXS TV | AXS TV |
| BBC America | BBC America | BBC America | BBC America |
| BBC World News | |||
| BET | BET | BET | BET |
| BET Her | |||
| Bloomberg TV | Bloomberg TV | Bloomberg TV | |
| Bravo | Bravo | ||
| Cartoon Network | Cartoon Network | Cartoon Network | |
| Catchy Comedy | |||
| Charge! | Charge! | Charge! | |
| Cheddar | |||
| Chicken Soup for the Soul | |||
| Cinevault | |||
| Cinevault 80’s | |||
| Cinevault Classics | |||
| Cinevault Murder & Mayhem | |||
| CLEO TV | |||
| CMT | |||
| CNN | CNN | CNN | |
| Comedy Central | Comedy Central | Comedy Central | Comedy Central |
| Comedy Dynamics | |||
| Comet TV | Comet TV | Comet TV | |
| Cooking Channel | |||
| Cowboy Way | |||
| Crackle | |||
| Crime & Investigation | |||
| Deck The Hallmark | |||
| Destination America | |||
| Discovery Channel | Discovery Channel | Discovery Channel | |
| Discovery Family | |||
| Discovery Life | |||
| Disney Channel | Disney Channel | ||
| DragRace Universe | |||
| E! | E! | ||
| EarthxTV | |||
| EPIX Drive-In | |||
| ESPN | ESPN | ||
| ESPN2 | ESPN2 | ||
| ESPN3 | ESPN3 | ||
| Fail Army | |||
| FETV | |||
| Food Network | Food Network | Food Network | Food Network |
| FOX | FOX | ||
| FOX News Channel | FOX News Channel | ||
| FOX Sports 1 | FOX Sports 1 | ||
| Freeform | Freeform | ||
| Fuse | Fuse | Fuse | |
| FX | FX | ||
| FYI | |||
| G4 | |||
| Game Show Network | |||
| Gameshow Central | |||
| GetTV | |||
| Great American Family | |||
| Great American Living | |||
| GustoTV | |||
| Hallmark Channel | |||
| Hallmark Drama | |||
| Hallmark Movies & Mysteries | |||
| Heroes & Icons | |||
| HGTV | HGTV | HGTV | HGTV |
| History | History | History | History |
| HLN | HLN | ||
| IFC | IFC | IFC | IFC |
| Infast | |||
| INSP | |||
| Introuble | |||
| Investigation Discovery | Investigation Discovery | Investigation Discovery | Investigation Discovery |
| Inwonder | |||
| KIN | |||
| Law & Crime | |||
| Lifetime | Lifetime | Lifetime | Lifetime |
| Lifetime Movie Network | |||
| Local Now | Local Now | Local Now | |
| LOGO | |||
| Magnolia Network | |||
| MeTV | |||
| MeTV+ | |||
| MGM+ Drive-In | MGM+ Drive-In | ||
| Military History | |||
| MotorTrend | MotorTrend | MotorTrend | |
| MSNBC | MSNBC | ||
| MTV | |||
| MTV Classic | |||
| MTV Live | |||
| MTV2 | |||
| National Geographic | National Geographic | ||
| NBC | NBC | ||
| NFL Network | NFL Network | ||
| Nick Jr. | Nick Jr. | Nick Jr. | Nick Jr. |
| Nickelodeon | |||
| Nicktoons | |||
| Outside TV | |||
| OWN – Oprah Winfrey Network | |||
| Paramount Network | |||
| People Are Awesome | |||
| Pet Collective | |||
| Players TV | |||
| Pocket.Watch | |||
| POP | |||
| QVC | |||
| RetroCrush | |||
| Revolt | |||
| Revry | |||
| Ryan and Friends | |||
| Science Channel | |||
| Scream Box | |||
| Smithsonian Channel | |||
| Start TV | |||
| Story Television | |||
| SundanceTV | |||
| Syfy | Syfy | ||
| Tastemade | |||
| Tastemade Home | |||
| Tastemade Travel | |||
| TBS | TBS | TBS | |
| TeenNick | |||
| The Bob Ross Channel | |||
| TLC | TLC | TLC | |
| TNT | TNT | TNT | |
| Travel Channel | Travel Channel | Travel Channel | Travel Channel |
| truTV | truTV | ||
| TV Land | |||
| TV One | |||
| UPtv | |||
| USA Network | USA Network | ||
| USA Today | |||
| Vevo Country | |||
| Vevo Hip-Hop | |||
| Vevo Pop | |||
| Vevo ’80s | |||
| Vevo ’90s | |||
| VH1 | |||
| Vice | Vice | Vice | Vice |
| WE tv |
Channel Add-On Packages and Premium Subscriptions
If you’re looking for more from these two services, you may find what you need on their list of add-on packages or premium subscription services that are, of course, available for an additional cost.
Sling TV has a very large menu of add-on opportunities that range from $6 to $11 per month and are divvied up for either Sling Orange or Sling Blue customers. (Sling Orange + Blue customers should have access to purchase from both a la carte menus.)
Streamers who want a maximum amount of channels from Sling may want to consider the Total TV Deal, which gives customers access to all add-on packages associated with their base package plus a DVR storage upgrade for an additional $21 per month.
Sling Orange Add-On Packages
| Comedy Extra – Sling Orange ($6.00) | Heartland Extra – Sling Orange ($6.00) | Hollywood Extra – Sling Orange ($6.00) | Lifestyle Extra – Sling Orange ($6.00) | News Extra – Sling Orange ($6.00) | Sports Extra – Sling Orange ($11.00) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACC Network | |||||
| ACC Network Extra | |||||
| American Heroes Channel | |||||
| BBC World News | |||||
| beIN Sports | |||||
| CGTN | |||||
| Cinémoi | |||||
| CMT | |||||
| Cooking Channel | |||||
| Cowboy Channel | |||||
| Destination America | |||||
| ESPNews | |||||
| ESPNU | |||||
| Euronews | |||||
| FETV | |||||
| FYI | |||||
| Game Show Network | |||||
| Great American Country | |||||
| Grit | |||||
| Hallmark Channel | |||||
| Hallmark Drama | |||||
| Hallmark Movies & Mysteries | |||||
| HDNet Movies | |||||
| Heroes & Icons | |||||
| HLN | |||||
| INSP | |||||
| Laff | |||||
| Law & Crime | |||||
| Lifetime Movie Network | |||||
| LOGO | |||||
| Longhorn Network | |||||
| Magnolia Network | |||||
| MLB Network | |||||
| MLB Network Strikezone | |||||
| MTV | |||||
| MTV2 | |||||
| NBA TV | |||||
| News18 | |||||
| Newsmax | |||||
| NewsNation | |||||
| NHL Network | |||||
| Outdoor Channel | |||||
| Pac-12 Network | |||||
| Paramount Network | |||||
| PixL | |||||
| Pursuit | |||||
| Reelz | |||||
| Revolt | |||||
| RFD-TV | |||||
| RIDE TV | |||||
| RT America | |||||
| Science Channel | |||||
| SEC Network | |||||
| Sportsman Channel | |||||
| Start TV | |||||
| SundanceTV | |||||
| TCM | |||||
| Tennis Channel | |||||
| TV Land | |||||
| VH1 | |||||
| WE tv | |||||
| WeatherNation | |||||
| World Fishing Network |
Sling Blue Add-On Packages
| Comedy Extra – Sling Blue ($6.00) | Heartland Extra – Sling Blue ($6.00) | Hollywood Extra – Sling Blue ($6.00) | Lifestyle Extra – Sling Blue ($6.00) | News Extra – Sling Blue ($6.00) | Sports Extra – Sling Blue ($11.00) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Heroes Channel | |||||
| BBC World News | |||||
| beIN Sports | |||||
| Big Ten Network | |||||
| CGTN | |||||
| Cinémoi | |||||
| CMT | |||||
| CNBC | |||||
| Cooking Channel | |||||
| Cowboy Channel | |||||
| Destination America | |||||
| Euronews | |||||
| FETV | |||||
| FOX Business Network | |||||
| FOX Sports 2 | |||||
| France24 | |||||
| FXM | |||||
| FXX | |||||
| FYI | |||||
| Game Show Network | |||||
| Golf Channel | |||||
| Great American Country | |||||
| Grit | |||||
| Hallmark Channel | |||||
| Hallmark Drama | |||||
| Hallmark Movies & Mysteries | |||||
| HDNet Movies | |||||
| Heroes & Icons | |||||
| INSP | |||||
| Laff | |||||
| Law & Crime | |||||
| Lifetime Movie Network | |||||
| LOGO | |||||
| Magnolia Network | |||||
| MLB Network | |||||
| MLB Network Strikezone | |||||
| MTV | |||||
| MTV2 | |||||
| Nat Geo Wild | |||||
| NBA TV | |||||
| NDTV 24×7 | |||||
| News18 | |||||
| Newsmax | |||||
| NewsNation | |||||
| NFL Redzone | |||||
| NHL Network | |||||
| Olympic Channel | |||||
| Outdoor Channel | |||||
| Oxygen | |||||
| Pac-12 Network | |||||
| Paramount Network | |||||
| PixL | |||||
| Pursuit | |||||
| Reelz | |||||
| Revolt | |||||
| RFD-TV | |||||
| RIDE TV | |||||
| RT America | |||||
| Science Channel | |||||
| Sportsman Channel | |||||
| Start TV | |||||
| SundanceTV | |||||
| TCM | |||||
| Tennis Channel | |||||
| TV Land | |||||
| VH1 | |||||
| WE tv | |||||
| WeatherNation | |||||
| World Fishing Network |
Philo, on the other hand, doesn’t have a very large menu of add-ons. But there are a few options for upgrades.
The cheapest add-on option is a $3 monthly charge for a movie channel package that includes Cinemoi, HDNet Movies, MGM HD, Reelz and Sony Movies.
You can add the EPIX channel package, which includes EPIX, EPIX2 and EPIX Hits, for $6 per month. You also can add the STARZ channel package, which includes STARZ, STARZ ENCORE and STARZ Kids & Family, for $9 per month.
Cloud DVR: Philo vs. Sling TV
| Philo | Sling Orange + Blue | Sling TV – Blue | Sling TV – Orange | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud DVR Hours | Unlimited | 50 | 50 | 50 |
Next to pricing and channel selection, cloud DVR functionality is probably next on the list of importance for streamers.
Being able to record what you want and watch it when you want to is a huge benefit. And this is one area in which Philo holds a clear advantage over Sling.
Philo offers unlimited cloud DVR storage as part of its base package. This is a move that mirrors more expensive live streaming TV services such as YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV.
Sling, meanwhile, offers just 50 hours of cloud DVR storage with any of its three base packages. You can pay an additional $5 per month to increase this to 200 hours of storage.
There is fast forward and rewind functionality on both services, which should help you avoid having to sit through commercials.
Supported Devices for TV
If you’re new to the cord-cutting game, you may be wondering how you’ll be able to survive without your trusty cable box. Truth be told, getting rid of those monthly fees for each TV that you want to connect with the cable company is where both services can really save you some cash.
Instead of paying the cable company for a box, you’ll have to provide your own means to connect these live streaming TV services to your television.
On some smart TVs, that’s as simple as downloading the Sling or Philo app to your television.
If your television doesn’t support that method, you’ll need to purchase a streaming device to plug into one of your television’s HDMI ports. These devices can be purchased for a modest one-time investment and will support streaming from multiple apps for years to come.
Both Sling and Philo are compatible with most of the major streaming devices on the market.
Sling TV Supported Devices
Sling’s list of supported devices for TV includes:
- AirTV
- Amazon Fire TV
- Android TV
- Apple TV
- Chromecast with Google TV
- Facebook Portal
- LG TV
- Roku devices
- Samsung Smart TV
- TiVo Stream 4K
- Xbox One and Xbox Series X
- VIZIO SmartCast Smart TVs
Philo Supported Devices
Here’s a list of compatible devices according to Philo’s website:
- Amazon Fire TV devices
- Android TV
- Apple TV
- Roku devices
- Chromecast with Google TV
- Android phones and tablets
- ioS (Apple) phones and tablets
- Amazon Fire tablets
Multiple Streams
| Philo | Sling Orange + Blue | Sling TV – Blue | Sling TV – Orange | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simultaneous Streams | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| User Profiles Allowed | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Sling Blue and Philo are comparable when it comes to concurrent streams. Each offers you the ability to stream on three devices at the same time.
Keep in mind that Sling Orange only allows for one stream at a time. That could cause an issue for streamers with multiple televisions in the household.
When it comes to user profiles, Philo will allow for up to 10 on the same account.
Pros and Cons: Philo vs. Sling TV
Now that I’ve walked you through all the specifics of each of these services on the key issues that may affect you as a cord cutter, let’s summarize what we like and dislike about them.
| Pros | Cons |
| One of the best live TV streaming subscription prices on the market | No local channel access |
| Unlimited cloud DVR storage is included at no additional cost | Sports and news channels not included |
| Up to 3 concurrent streams and 10 user profiles on one subscription | Price jumped from $20 to $25 in June 2021. |
| Pros | Cons |
| Pricing is significantly cheaper than top competitors. | Only partial access to local channels |
| Compatible with all major streaming devices | Confusing channel packages |
| Frequent promotional deals with free streaming devices | Need add-on packages for channels that are in basic packages of other services. |
Bottom Line: Which Is Better?
With options that will keep you under $40 per month for live streaming TV, both Sling TV and Philo are among the top values on the market.
Sling TV offers more in the way of live sports and news, so if those are important to you, it likely is worth the extra money required to choose a Sling package over Philo.
However, if sports and news aren’t something you care about, Philo is a very strong entertainment choice at just $25 per month.
If price isn’t an issue, you may find a more complete streaming experience from either YouTube TV or Hulu + Live TV. These services cost about twice as much, but they do have more extensive channel packages that include local channels, live sports and news.
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