If you love reality TV, you may be a Hayu subscriber, or you may be thinking about investing in a subscription. But if you’re in the United States, you can’t get Hayu without using a VPN, which makes it a lot more complicated to watch your favorite shows. So what other Hayu alternatives are out there? Is there anything that may be a better option for you? Our top picks are Hulu, Philo, Peacock, Paramount+, and Netflix. Learn more in this guide from Flixed as we explore a few of the best Hayu alternatives in 2022.
Hulu – Best Hayu Alternative For A Huge Streaming Library
If you’re into the reality shows on Hayu but you’re looking to watch some other top titles, too, Hulu may be a good option for you. Since it’s owned by NBCUniversal and Disney, it has lots of the same shows that Hayu has, as well as a much-expanded lineup of on-demand content.
Hulu plans and pricing
Hulu costs $6.99/month or $69.99/year for an ad-supported subscription, which is pretty close to Hayu’s price of about $5/month, depending on your region. So if you’re on a tight budget, Hulu’s a pretty good alternative to Hayu.
You can also fork over $12.99/month to stream without ads. That’s a lot more expensive, but ad-averse users will definitely find the ad-free experience to be worth the price, especially if they watch a lot of reality shows.
Hulu on-demand library
Hulu’s on-demand library has tons of top reality shows from NBCUniversal. You can watch past seasons as well as recently-aired episodes of Survivor, The Kardashians, Love Island, Project Runway, Intervention, Hell’s Kitchen, and tons of others.
That’s not all, either. You can watch anime, sitcoms, dramas, blockbuster movies, and other top Hulu originals like The Handmaid’s Tale. Hulu’s got pretty much all the content you could want in one place – and it comes at a bargain price, to boot.
Hulu simultaneous streams
You can watch on two simultaneous streams at once with Hulu. In contrast, Hayu only lets you stream on a single device. That puts Hulu ahead of Hayu, and makes it a great alternative for multi-user households.
Philo – Best Hayu Alternative For Watching Live Reality TV
If you want to watch reality shows live, Philo is one of your best options. It’s more expensive than Hayu, but has most of the channels you would want if you love watching live shows. Let’s get into the details.
Philo plans and pricing
Philo costs $25/month. For your money, you’ll get a total of 60+ top channels. Uniquely, Philo doesn’t really have any sports channels or local channels, but focuses exclusively on entertainment and lifestyle channels. This makes it a perfect fit for reality TV lovers.
Philo channels
As mentioned, you’ll get 60+ channels in total from Philo. This includes lots of great reality channels like A&E, Law & Crime, MTV and MTV2, PeopleTV, TLC, VH1, WE TV, and Food Network, to name just a few. You won’t get access to networks like NBC, CBS, ABC, or Fox, but you can always use a digital antenna to get network TV in your area with this simple guide.
Philo DVR and on-demand library
Philo comes with an unlimited DVR. You can save your favorite shows and watch them for up to a year, so you won’t miss out on any of the action. Philo also has on-demand episodes of most reality shows and other content, which means you can usually catch up even if you forget to record something on your DVR.
Philo simultaneous streams
With Philo, you can stream on up to three devices at the same time, which is much higher than Hayu’s limit of just a single device. It’s great for families who watch a lot of TV both live and on-demand.
Peacock – Best Hayu Alternative For Reality Show Originals
Peacock is another alternative to Hayu that has both live shows and on-demand reality TV, as well as exclusive originals. It’s also free, though you’ll need to pay for a premium plan for full access. Read on and see if it’s right for you.
Peacock plans and pricing
You can watch Peacock for free, and get up to 7,500 hours of programming. However, you’ll need to pay for a $4.99/month Premium plan to get full access to the content library. This plan comes with ads. To get rid of ads, you’ll need the $9.99/month Peacock Premium Plus plan. You won’t get ads when streaming on-demand, though you will still get ads when streaming live NBC content.
Peacock live and on-demand library
Peacock lets you watch your local NBC station live. It also has some “channels” that are 24-hour streams of popular shows, like Below Deck. You’ll get a huge amount of on-demand content, too, including Peacock Original reality shows like Below Deck Down Under, The Real Housewives Of Miami, Paris In Love, and Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip. Overall, it’s an excellent content library for fans of reality TV.
Peacock simultaneous streams
With Peacock, you can stream on up to three devices at once with any type of account. That’s a lot better than the single stream that’s offered by Hayu.
Paramount+ – Best Hayu Alternative For CBS Reality Shows
If you love the reality shows on CBS like Big Brother and Survivor, Paramount+ may be right for you. It’s affordable, has tons of on-demand and live reality shows, and has solid features, to boot. Let’s get into the details.
Paramount+ plans and pricing
With Paramount+, you’ll pay $4.99/month for an ad-supported Essential plan, which gets you full access to its content library. If you’ve got a bit more to spend, you can go for the Premium plan, which costs $9.99/month. That plan is free of ads, and also includes a broadcast of your local CBS station.
Paramount+ live and on-demand library
Paramount+ is mostly focused on on-demand streaming. But with either plan, you’ll get broadcasts of the NFL on CBS and some sports like the UEFA Champions League. However, you do need the $9.99/month premium plan to get your local CBS station.
When it comes to on-demand content, Paramount+ has great shows for reality TV fans. A few of the CBS reality shows included with this streaming service are Big Brother, Survivor, Celebrity Big Brother, Love Island, Undercover Boss, The Amazing Race, and Beyond The Edge, to name just a few. That’s not to mention the huge variety of other TV shows and movies that are all part of the Paramount+ catalog.
Paramount+ simultaneous streams
Paramount+ is pretty generous, giving you three simultaneous streams with either of its plans. Again, Hayu only gives you one stream, so that makes Paramount+ a better alternative if you plan to share your account with your family and/or household.
Netflix – Best Hayu Alternative For Originals + Big Content Library
Netflix is another solid alternative to Hayu. It’s got some unique reality TV content that you won’t find anywhere else, plus tons of marquee originals like Stranger Things. Let’s get into the details and see if it’s right for you.
Netflix plans and pricing
Netflix costs $9.99/month for the “Basic” plan, but that doesn’t even include HD, so most people will go for the $15.49/month “Standard” plan. A 4K plan is also available for $19.99/month with some added features like 4K and HDR support for select titles. That makes it quite a bit more expensive than Hayu, but it’s still a good alternative thanks to its huge content library.
Netflix on-demand library
Netflix has thousands of TV shows and movies, with a truly unparalleled lineup of content. Let’s start with Reality TV. Some of its top reality shows and Originals are Love Is Blind, The Circle, Selling Sunset, Terrace House, and Queer Eye, to name just a few.
There are tons of amazing drama shows, comedies, and original Netflix movies, too, like The Witcher, Sex Education, Ozark, and The Adam Project. If you want more than just reality TV, Netflix is right up there with Hulu as one of the best Hayu alternatives.
Netflix simultaneous streams
Netflix only lets you stream on one screen with the Basic plan. You can stream on two devices with the Standard plan, and on up to four devices with the 4K plan. There’s currently no way to add more streams.
