5 Best Live TV Streaming Services (2025), Tested & Reviewed

If you want cable without a box, DirecTV is what you’re looking for. It’s fitting that the only familiar satellite service on this list is the best cable alternative, and DirecTV lives up to its name—for better or for worse. On the plus side, there is a wide selection of channels, especially in the Select plan and above. DirecTV includes most of the top 100 channels I looked at, along with major regional sports networks like FanDuel and NBC Sports.

And just like satellite programming in the past, DirecTV costs a pretty penny. Plans go up to $170 a month if you want movie channels like Starz and Showtime, and even cheaper DirecTV Choice and Entertainment plans are $10 to $15 more than Hulu Live TV and YouTube TV.

However, you get a lot for your money. In addition to its extensive channel lineup, DirecTV includes unlimited ESPN with any plan, along with ad-supported versions of Disney+ and Hulu with select plans and above. Unlimited DVR is standard, as are unlimited streams at home (and up to three away).

You can build your own plan with DirecTV’s genre packages, though that costs more than choosing one of the full plans from scratch. For most people, the choice plan is the best option. It includes a few more channels than the cheaper entertainment plan, including the NFL and MLB networks, along with truTV, Pop, and Science. The more expensive Ultimate plan has more channels, but they’re mostly niche channels like Disney Junior and Nat Geo Wild.

The DirecTV app is available on Fire TV, Google TV, Apple TV, Roku, and Samsung TVs (2017 and newer), and you’ll also find apps on your mobile devices and browser. Notably, there’s no app for game consoles, which is a shame because DirecTV’s app feels sluggish. It’s great in the browser, but testing on a TCL QM8K TV, it was always a little choppy on channels. I suspect this will only be exaggerated on less powerful devices, such as the cheaper Roku Streaming Stick.

I don’t like the interface, but there are strong features. You can find and easily find your favorite sports channels and teams as well as enable live scores. The most disappointing aspect is the homepage. It’s useful for watching your favorite channels, but exiting a channel takes you back to the home screen instead of the guide.