This guide compares Philo vs. Sling TV. You can either scroll down for an in-depth comparison, or use our Cord-Cutter Express tool to see how all the major streaming services stack up. Just answer a few quick questions and we'll match you to the perfect streaming service, taking into account all of your watching preferences.
Both services have similar prices
Both Sling TV and Philo offer low-cost, stripped down TV subscription deals. Philo’s offers only a single package of 61 channels, while Sling TV has two base plans for the same cost. These prices are significantly lower than what competing streaming services charge.
Here's a closer look at the two services' subscription plans.
Philo
Philo’s single subscription option comes with 61 channels and a 7-day free trial (if you subscribed before June 8th, 2021, you get to keep your lower rate). No contract, you are free to cancel the subscription anytime. You can add Starz and MGM+ as additional channels. This makes it one of the cheapest options for cutting the cord. Other streaming services charge twice as much or more. Even though Philo, Sling TV and many other streaming services opted to raise their prices last year, Philo still seems to be committed to keeping their reputation as the lowest price option.
To learn more about Philo pricing, check here.
Sling TV
As mentioned earlier, Sling TV has two different base plans. You can choose between Sling Orange and Sling Blue. Thematically, both plans cover the same TV genres. The main difference between the two is that Sling Orange offers Disney and ESPN channels, while Sling Blue offers the NFL Network, TLC and Bravo. Both plans cost the same, but you can get a recurring monthly discount from Sling TV if you get both base plans.
Another related advantage that Sling TV offers is special deals and discounts. For example, Sling TV is currently offering a free Chromecast with Google TV (when you sign up and pre-pay for 1 month) to attract new subscribers. Further details are available on the Sling TV website.
To learn more about Sling TV pricing, check here.
Sling TV carries more channels
Philo’s channel menu is smaller and much more specialized compared to Sling TV.
Philo caters to fans of reality TV, talk shows and educational programming. There’s no way to get any sports networks or broadcast channels through Philo.
Philo has one subscription option, and that’s it. Sling TV, on the other hand, has all kinds of different channels -- including several networks that your local cable provider probably doesn’t carry.
Once you get a base plan, you can add all kinds of different channel expansion packs. The price of the expansion packs changes depending on which base plan you have.
Here’s a few of Sling’s best extras:
- Sports Extra: Adds all kinds of extra sports channels, including beIN Sports, Motorsport TV, NBA TV, NHL Network and more.
- Kids Extra: Key channels in this pack include BabyTV, Boomerang, NickToons, duckTV and TeenNick.
- News Extra: If you’re a news junkie, you can buy the News Extra and get all kinds of international and national news channels like BBC World News, Euronews, France24, CGTN, NDTV, News18, RT Network, Weather Nation and others.
- Lifestyle Extra: Standard channels with this pack include Cooking Channel, FYI, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, Lifetime Movie Network, VH1, Hallmark Drama and Oxygen.
Related: Sling TV Channel List – What Channels are on Sling TV?
Philo has better Next-gen TV features
Sling TV was one of the first streaming services to enter the cable alternative market. Though it still has a lot to offer in terms of customization, Sling TV is a bit behind the times in some ways-- especially when it comes to features.
DVR
Even with the recent Sling TV DVR upgrade, Philo still has the edge when it comes to recording. In fact, unlimited recording is one of Philo's best features. All Philo subscribers can record as much TV content as they want for free. This year, Sling TV brought its very restrictive DVR up to par with the other streaming services. You now get 50 hours of recording time for free and you can record any channel except Local Now, ESPN3, ACC Network Extra and SEC Network+. Previously, you had to pay extra for the DVR, which could only record Sling Blue channels.
Simultaneous streaming
Philo also has better family features compared to Sling TV. With Philo, you can stream to as many as three devices at a time without any restrictions.
Sling TV has a much stricter account sharing policy. If you get Sling TV and pull up an Orange channel, nobody else in your family will be able to use Sling TV Orange until you close Sling TV. (You can watch Sling Blue channels on three devices at once, though.)
Other features
Philo was supposed to release a TV sharing feature two years ago, but that never happened. This feature will let Philo users see where their friends and family are at in a TV series and find out whether or not they are watching TV.
In an interview with Business Insider, Philo’s CEO Andrew McCollum had this to say about Philo’s upcoming social features:
"TV will be transformed by making it more social. None of the TV products have any social functionality built in at all." - Philo CEO Andrew McCollum
Whether or not Philo’s upcoming social features will succeed, however, remains to be seen. Netflix has flirted with social features, but discontinued them after they proved to be unpopular.
Sling TV has lots of sports channels (Philo has none)
Sling TV has a very strong selection of sports channels.
If you buy the Orange + Blue plan and tack on the Sports Extra package, you can get about 25 sports channels though Sling TV. The exact number varies depending on where you live.
As mentioned above, Philo doesn’t have any sports channels at all, with the exception of Velocity, which occasionally shows some motorsports programming.
Sling TV has a stronger selection of apps
Both services cover all the most popular devices among cord-cutters, but Sling TV has more apps overall compare to Philo.
This is perhaps no surprise, given that Sling has been around -- and developing apps -- for more than seven years, while Philo has been out a little over four years.
One nice thing about internet TV is that none of the internet TV providers lock you in with contracts. If you’re waiting for a Philo app to come out, you can just subscribe to Sling TV or some other internet TV service and then switch over when Philo rolls out whatever app you need.
Philo unlocks more cable TV apps/websites
Many cable channels let you access live streams and full episodes via their apps, but only if you subscribe to a TV service that’s compatible with TV Everywhere.
Both Philo and Sling TV are compatible with TV Everywhere. It used to be that Sling unlocked more apps, but Philo is now the TV Everywhere champion. You can use TV Everywhere to access just about every channel that Philo offers.
In contrast, Sling TV only works with 28 apps. It's not hard to pick a winner, here.
One significant benefit of TV Everywhere apps is that they let you circumvent simultaneous streaming limitations. In other words, if you use your Philo credentials to log into A&E's app, you can watch A&E content while three other people use your Philo account to watch TV.
TV Everywhere apps work the same way with Sling TV. Any apps you unlock with your Sling TV credentials won't count against your simultaneous stream limit when you use them.
Related: Philo TV Now Unlocks Apps From Food Networks, HGTV and More
Philo has more on-demand content
On-demand videos let you tune in and watch your favorite shows and movies whenever you want.
Currently, Netflix and Hulu are the biggest on-demand players. However, Philo’s on-demand library is pretty big as well. Philo says it has about 60,000 titles available on-demand. As of now, though, there isn't an easy way to browse or filter through the content.
Sling TV, on the other hand, has about 10,000 hours of on-demand content. Sling TV's relatively smaller on-demand library could be a deal breaker if you don’t already subscribe to an on-demand service.
Before you sign up with either service, you should know that Sling TV and Philo are both live TV specialists. That means that neither of their on-demand content libraries can compete with other streaming services that specialize in on-demand content.
Both services have free trials
If you still can’t decide between Sling TV and Philo, try them both out yourself for free. Sling TV boasts a 3-day trial, while Philo offers a 7-day trial.
One convenient thing about Philo’s trial is that you don’t need to pull out your credit card to sign up for it. All you need is a mobile phone number to unlock 2 days of free TV. However, you'll have to give them your card to unlock the following 5 days of the free trial.
Our takeaway: Sling TV is the better choice
Right now, Sling TV has more to offer compared to Philo in terms of channel variety and apps. However, that may change as Philo matures. Philo's upcoming social network may be revolutionary, or it could turn out to be a flop.
On the other hand, Philo may be the better choice depending on how and why you watch TV.
Do you like reality TV shows?
If you like to binge reality shows, Philo might be right up your alley. You can cut the cord and still enjoy most of your favorite programs.
How often do you watch sports?
If you can’t live without sports, Sling TV is the obvious better choice. Philo doesn’t have any sports channels and it also doesn’t have any of the “big four” American broadcast networks. Conversely, if you don’t watch sports at all, it could make more sense to go with Philo.
Do you have a large family?
Sling has placed a “one stream at a time” limit on all Sling TV Orange channels, which is a significant downside -- especially if you intend to share your account with your family. Philo lets you stream all of its channels to up to three devices at once, plus it will continue to roll out new social features. Additionally, Philo has better recording features compared to Sling TV.
Do you use a TV antenna to watch TV?
Sling TV’s Orange base plan and Philo both help fill in the gaps that you’ll encounter once you cut the cord and start using your TV antenna to get your entertainment. However, Sling Orange offers a more well-rounded selection of networks. Philo has a strong mix of lifestyle channels, but it lacks sports and local channels.
One nice thing about Sling TV is that they'll send you an HD antenna for free if you pay for service in advance. If you mostly watch TV through a traditional TV set but you don't have an antenna yet, it probably makes more sense to go with Sling TV.
Related: What Channels Can I Get With An OTA Antenna In The USA?
Alex Munkachy • Author
Alex Munkachy is a freelance writer, game developer and hobby robotics enthusiast.
Kelsey Reynolds • Editor
Kelsey Reynolds is Flixed’s content lead. She is based in Minneapolis. Kelsey holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Minnesota, and has spent her career writing and editing content about marketing, education, emergency preparedness, science, cannabis, and entertainment. When she’s not at her computer, Kelsey can usually be found working in her garden or walking her two dogs in the park.