Hulu + Live TV vs. YouTube TV: Which Is Best for Cord-Cutters?

Price and Platforms

Hulu + Live TV, which includes ad-supported access to Hulu’s on-demand library and Hulu’s Live TV plan, costs $82.99 per month. Hulu also has a plan that bundles the ad-free version of Hulu with the Live TV plan for $95.99 per month. YouTube TV also costs $82.99 per month.

In addition to web browsers, Hulu is available on mobile devices (Android and iOS), media streaming devices (Android TV, Apple TV, Fire TV, Roku), select smart TVs, and gaming consoles (such as the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox X/S). YouTube TV mostly matches that platform support, although it lacks a Switch app.

Winner: Tie

Channel Lineup

For this article, we compare Hulu + Live TV’s and YouTube TV’s lineup based on a New York City zip code. Depending on your location, you may see a slightly different lineup of broadcast affiliates and regional sports networks (RSNs) on whichever live TV service you choose. Right now, both Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV offer around 100 channels in our test location, although YouTube TV has a slight edge.

Networks

Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV cover all the major broadcast networks with local ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, PBS, and Telemundo channels.

News

Regarding news coverage, Hulu + Live TV offers ABC News Live, CBS News, Cheddar, CNBC, CNN, CNN International, FOX Business, FOX News, HLN, and MSNBC. Apart from CBSN and CNN International, YouTube TV matches Hulu’s lineup. The service also has BBC America, BBC World News, Local Now, and TYT.

(Credit: YouTube/PCMag)

Entertainment and Lifestyle

Hulu + Live TV’s entertainment and lifestyle lineup includes A&E, BET, Bravo, CMT, Comedy Central, Discovery Channel, E!, Food Network, FX, FXM, FXX, HGTV, History, ID, Lifetime, MTV, NASA, National Geographic, National Geographic Wild, Oxygen, Pop, SYFY, TBS, TLC, TNT, Travel Channel, truTV, Turner Classic Movies, USA, and Vice.

YouTube TV is missing A&E, History, Lifetime, NASA, and Vice, but its lineup offers AMC, IFC, Sundance TV, Tastemade, and WE TV, none of which are available on Hulu.

Family and Kids

Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV are similar in their support for family-friendly channels. They both offer Animal Planet, Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Freeform, Nickelodeon, PBS Kids, Smithsonian Channel, and Universal Kids.

Sports

Although many sports air on broadcast networks, non-primetime matches, overflow coverage, and commentary shows may only be available on other channels. Our guide on how to watch every sport can help you determine which networks and channels you need to watch your favorite teams and sports. Check out our roundup of the best NFL streaming services if you are only concerned about watching NFL games.

Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV have similar sports coverage. They include CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPN U, FS1, FS2, Golf Channel, and NFL Network. YouTube TV differentiates itself with a major exclusive: NFL Sunday Ticket, which costs an extra $349.

Winner: YouTube TV

Premium Channels and Packages

In addition to standard channels, most live TV services let you add premium channels or packages that expand coverage in a particular genre, so you don’t have to deal with multiple logins, billing statements, and interfaces.

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Hulu + Live TV offers separate Cinemax, Max, Showtime, and Starz premium channel add-ons, along with two package add-ons: Entertainment and Español. The $7.99-per-month Entertainment package includes American Heroes Channel, BET Her, Boomerang Channel, Cooking Channel, Crime + Investigation, Destination America, Discovery Family, Discovery Life, Hallmark Drama, Military History Channel, Nicktoons, MTV2, MTV Classic, TeenNick, and Science. The Español package costs $4.99 per month and features CNN en Español, Discovery en Español, Discovery Familia, ESPN Deportes, History Channel en Español, and Universo.

(Credit: Hulu/PCMag)

YouTube TV subscribers can add Acorn TV, AMC+, Cinemax, Curiosity Stream, Max, NBA League Pass, Showtime, Shudder, Starz, Sundance Now, and more as part of their subscription. YouTube TV’s Sports Plus package add-on includes FOX Soccer Plus, GOLTV, MAVTV Motorsports Network, NFL RedZone, and Stadium.

Many YouTube TV add-ons are standalone services you can subscribe to on their own (despite the disadvantages mentioned earlier). Hulu + Live TV offers several of the major standalone services, too, but its Entertainment and Español packages are arguably more valuable since the included channels are more difficult to get.

Winner: Hulu + Live TV

On-Demand Content

Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV offer on-demand content from the channels in their live TV lineup. If a channel broadcasts a TV show or movie as part of its programming schedule, you can likely watch it on-demand at your leisure even after it airs live. The content fits into your schedule instead of the other way around.

As mentioned, a Hulu + Live TV subscription includes access to the service’s expansive lineup of on-demand shows and movies. With Disney firmly in the driver’s seat, we expect its content library to continue to grow. Currently, the on-demand lineup includes animated shows (Adventure Time, Bob’s Burgers, and Futurama), comedies (Broad City, Malcolm in the Middle, Parks and Recreation, and Scrubs), dramas (The Good Wife, Killing Eve, The Orville, and The X-Files), and a dedicated hub for new and old FX shows.

(Credit: Hulu/PCMag)

Hulu also produces original shows, one of the biggest appeals of on-demand services. Although its originals do not rival those from Netflix or Prime Video, some Hulu titles, such as Castle Rock, Casual, Catch-22, Harlots, Ramy, The Handmaid’s Tale, and the Veronica Mars reboot, are worth watching.

YouTube TV relies on aggregating existing channels rather than providing its original content. Of course, regular YouTube has nearly infinite original content through its user-created channels and a smattering of original shows on YouTube Premium. But YouTube TV has no equivalent to the prestige exclusive shows and movies you’ll watch on Hulu.

Winner: Hulu + Live TV

Features and DVR

Both services support 1080p streaming at 60 frames per second on select platforms, but YouTube TV has more 4K options than Hulu. Hulu + Live TV lets two concurrent viewers simultaneously stream, but that falls short of YouTube TV’s support for three simultaneous streams. However, Hulu+ Live TV’s Unlimited Screens add-on ($9.99 per month) lets you simultaneously stream on unlimited home devices and up to three devices elsewhere.

Hulu + Live TV has unlimited DVR storage, and you can keep everything you’ve saved for as long as you maintain your subscription. A YouTube TV subscription includes unlimited DVR storage that keeps your recordings for nine months.

Winner: YouTube TV

Video Streaming Services: What You Should Know