Sling TV vs. FuboTV: We broke down how the 2 streaming services compare in pricing and packages

Alyssa Powell/Business Insider

• Sling TV offers a cheaper entry point and more customization, while FuboTV boasts a larger list of channels in its base package.
• Fubo has far more sports channels, but Sling has a bigger selection of on-demand content and premium channel options to add on.
• You can watch on more different devices - and stream on more devices at once - with Sling than with Fubo.

Sick of throwing wads of cash at big-name cable providers for tons of channels you never watch? You're not alone. Scores of savvy viewers have turned to cord-cutting services like Sling TV to reduce their monthly bills and fine-tune their channel selections, pruning off unwanted fluff to stick with the stuff they like best.

FuboTV is another of these options, a recent riser which launched in 2015 as a soccer streaming platform before burgeoning into a fully fledged competitor in the cord-cutting market. At first glance, Fubo and Sling are quite similar, so we've crafted a comprehensive comparison to help you decide which better suits your needs.

Channel packages and pricing

Obviously, if you're considering a subscription with either of these services, your primary concern should be their channel selections and their pricing packages.

Sling offers a little more freedom than Fubo, with two low-cost packages, called Sling Orange and Sling Blue. Orange, the base-level package, includes 30-plus channels, headlined by ESPN, AMC, TBS, and CNN. It'll run you $15 per month on its own. Blue includes 45-plus channels - with some crossover from the Orange list, but without ESPN and with options like USA and the NFL Network added - for $15. Throwing down $25 will get you both Sling Orange + Blue, which includes 50-plus channels.

FuboTV's base package is a pricier entry point with less wiggle room, but it's also far more comprehensive. The package, simply called Fubo Standard, includes 106 channels for $54.99 per month. It has most of the same stuff you'd find in Sling's Orange + Blue package - sans any Disney-owned networks, which include ESPN and ABC - plus notable additions like MSNBC, Fox News, MTV, and several sports networks that Sling's package doesn't include.

FuboTV

Fubo Standard includes 106 channels for $55 a month.

Both platforms offer additional, smaller channel packages or a la carte options that'll drive up your bill significantly. Both services are fairly similar in their offerings here, with sports packages and outdoors-focused packages. Fubo offers a few unique packages - like International Sports Extra and Fubo Cycling - that Sling doesn't, but Sling's packages (stuff like Comedy Extra and Kids Extra) make a little more thematic sense and probably appeal more to the average viewer. Sling also has many more a la carte "Premium" channels on tap than Fubo, like Starz and Epix.

If you're an international expat or you just like watching foreign programming, Sling has a lot more to offer than FuboTV, with tons of separate channel packages for various countries and cultures. Both services, though, are only available in the United States or Canada (barring use of a DNS proxy).

Overall, FuboTV is better if you're a sports buff - particularly soccer or cycling - so long as you don't mind the absence of ESPN networks. However, Sling has a significant advantage in international content, and it should appeal more to the cost-conscious viewer with its affordable entry point.

Where can I watch?

Both Sling and FuboTV have apps on most of the popular streaming and mobile devices. Apple devices, Android products, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast - they're all covered.

Past that, though, it gets a little murkier, and Sling's age begins to show - in a good way. FuboTV is a newer service, and its tendrils haven't stretched to as many platforms as Sling's have. For instance, you can watch Sling on your Xbox One and a host of Blu-ray players and smart TVs. Fubo is available on Samsung smart TVs, but doesn't include any game consoles or Blu-ray players in its device listings.

For Sling customers, an Orange subscription only gets you one stream at a time, but a Blue subscription bumps that up to three simultaneous streams per account. Meanwhile, FuboTV offers two simultaneous streams by default, which you can bump up to three for $6 per month.

Sling tends to offer more choice as far as watching on different devices, and it's cheaper to get more simultaneous streams with Sling as well.

Sling TV

You can watch Sling TV on Apple devices, Android products, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, and a host of Blu-ray players.

Other features

Cloud DVR

By default, FuboTV offers 30 hours of Cloud DVR storage for recording your favorite programs, and you can get an extra 470 hours (for a total of 500) by plunking down $10 per month. Sling does not offer Cloud DVR in its base packages, but you can get 50 hours for $5.

4K and HDR

Neither Sling nor FuboTV offer much in the way of 4K or HDR content. After all, there are no live television networks which broadcast in 4K. FuboTV does have a slim selection of 4K content - all sports - and you can find a regularly updated schedule of upcoming events here. Sling offers neither live nor on-demand content in 4K or HDR.

On-demand content

Sling TV's repertoire of on-demand content is bigger than FuboTV's, though perhaps not quite as exhaustive in the sports realm. Sling claims to offer more than 70,000 titles on demand, and while Fubo is playing coy about its catalog, a quick browse shows that it isn't quite as big as Sling's.

Deals and trials

FuboTV offers a seven-day free trial, which requires a valid credit or debit card. As per usual, you'll get charged at the end of the trial if you don't proactively cancel. Sling previously offered a similar trial, but it's not on the table right now. You can sign up at a temporary discount though.

Otherwise, Sling has a deals page, which refreshes regularly and currently offers free AirTV and Roku devices for those who sign up and prepay for multiple months. Fubo has no such page, and as far as I can tell, no such deals on offer.

Sign up for the FuboTV 7-day trial here, or sign up for Sling TV here.

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