This guide compares YouTube TV vs. Fubo. Keep reading for a complete analysis of the two streaming services, and our recommendation at the end of which is better for you.
Fact 1: YouTube TV and Fubo cost the same
Both internet TV services have implemented several price hikes. Currently, the baseline plans of both YouTube TV and Fubo are around the same prices.
Here’s an in-depth look at the two services’ pricing structures.
Fubo
With Fubo Pro, you get the majority of the channels that Fubo carries. There are 160+ channels in all, most of which are sports channels. The exact number of channels varies depending on your location, so be sure to check the Fubo website to see which channels you get before you sign up.
Fubo Elite comes with the same number of channels as Fubo Pro. The key differentiator here is the upgraded features – like seven extra simultaneous streams, and 750 additional hours of DVR storage. There’s also the Premier plan, which comes with 240+ channels and 1,000 hours of DVR storage
Fubo Pro
Try 7 days free
- 1000 hours of cloud DVR
- Stream on ten screens
- 180+ channels
$79.99/month
Fubo Elite
Try 7 days free
- Stream on ten screens
- 1000 hours of cloud DVR
- 250+ channels
- HD and 4K video quality
$99.99/month
Fubo Premier
Try 7 days free
- Stream on ten screens
- 250+ channels
- HD and 4K video quality
- 1000 hours of cloud DVR
- Showtime included
$109.99/month
YouTube TV
Around the time it debuted, YouTube TV was priced at $34.99/month. After the service grew in popularity, Google increased that fee to $39.99. Yet another price increase bumped the subscription to $49.99/month and then to $64.99/month before its current price.
This plan includes over 100 channels, which is less than the similarly priced Fubo Pro. It includes unlimited DVR storage, though, which is better than Fubo‘s max of 1,000 hours. This rate also includes three simultaneous streams and six accounts per family.
Fact 2: Fubo has more sports channels
Fubo and YouTube TV both have a large selection of sports channels. However, Fubo sells 50+ sports channels. No other internet TV service has more.
The Fubo Pro subscription has a variety of sports channels, including:
- NBC Sports California+ and NBC Sports Bay Area+
- NBC Universo
- NFL Network
- Pac 12 Networks
- Big 10 Network
- CBS Sports Network
- NBA TV
- Fox Sports 1
- Fox Sports 2
- NBC Golf
- Fox Desportes
- Olympic Channel
- Fox Soccer Plus
- 10 different BeIN sports channels
The Fubo Extra package ups the ante even further, adding Stadium 1, 2 and 3, and a number of other channels.
For $10.99 more, you can get around 25 additional sports channels with Fubo’s Sports Plus NFL Redzone add-on pack:
- NFL RedZone
- 6 Pac 12 channels
- 4 ESPN channels
- NHL Network
- TyC Sports
- FNTSY Sports Network
- Fight Network
- NHL Network
- MLB Network
Recently, Fubo was able to sign a deal with Disney to stream the ESPN channels. And in 2019, Fubo debuted its own sports news channel, Fubo Sports Network. Like ESPN, Fubo Sports Network features sports-themed news and talk shows as well as live sports events that are not carried by other networks.
YouTube TV’s sports lineup is impressive, but not as deep as Fubo’s. However, YouTube TV does have all the core ESPN channels.
With the core YouTube TV subscription plan, you get all of the following sports channels:
- CBS Sports
- SEC Network
- ESPN
- ESPN2
- ESPNU
- ESPNEWS
- Fox Sports Regional Sports Networks (in most areas)
- Fox Sports 1
- Fox Sports 2
- NBC Sports Network
- Olympic Channel
YouTube TV shines when it comes to local TV coverage. If you can get YouTube TV in your area, you’ll probably be able to get your local NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox stations and watch locally broadcast regional games through the YouTube TV app. If you don’t normally use a TV tuner to grab local broadcasts, this is a benefit you might enjoy. But if you use a TV antenna and don’t mind switching inputs, it’s not that big of a plus.
Fact 3: YouTube TV and Fubo unlock nearly the same amount of cable TV apps and websites
Many cable TV websites and apps let you access live streams, full episodes, on-demand content and more through TV Everywhere.
Only three people can watch streams at the same time through the Fubo app with the Fubo Starter. However, if you log into a TVE app, you can watch TV without worrying about Fubo’s 3-device limit on simultaneous streams.
Fubo can unlock a total of 68 TVE websites/apps, but they’re always adding support for new apps, so check out this page for the latest updates.
YouTube TV also can unlock TV Everywhere apps. And while YouTube TV used to have a huge advantage over Fubo on the number of supported channels, YouTube is now behind by one channel.
This means that choosing one service over the other depends on personal preference more than anything. If you’re a big sports fan, Fubo has more choices of sports apps. However, if you have little children, YouTube TV offers more kid-friendly channels, like Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, and Disney XD. Below is a comparative table of supported channels available on each service:
| FUBO TVE | YOUTUBE TV TVE |
|---|---|
| ABC | ABC |
| American Heroes Channel | AMC |
| AMC | Animal Planet |
| Animal Planet | BBC America |
| BBC America | Big Ten Network |
| BET | Bleacher Report |
| beIN | |
| beIN 2 | |
| beIN 3 | |
| beIn 4 | |
| beIn 5 | |
| beIn 6 | |
| beIn 7 | |
| beIn 8 | Bravo |
| Bravo TV | Cartoon Network |
| BTN (Big Ten Network) | CBS |
| CBS | CBS Sports Network |
| CBS Sports | CNBC |
| CMT | CNN |
| CNBC | Discovery |
| Comedy Central | Disney Channel |
| Destination America | Disney Junior |
| Discovery Channel | Disney XD |
| Discovery en Espanol | E! |
| Discovery Family | EPIX |
| Discovery Familia | ESPN |
| Discovery Life | ESPN2 |
| DisneyNow | ESPNEWS |
| E! | ESPNU |
| EPIX | Food Network |
| ESPN* | |
| ESPN3 | |
| SEC+ | |
| ACCNX | FOX |
| ESPN Deportes | Fox Business |
| FOX Business | Fox News |
| FOX News | FOX Sports Live |
| FOX | Freeform |
| Freeform TV | FX |
| FX NOW | FXM |
| Hallmark Channel | |
| Hallmark Drama | |
| Hallmark Movies & Mysteries | FXX |
| HGTV | Golf Channel |
| IFC | Max* |
| Investigation Discovery | HGTV |
| Logo | ID |
| Motor Trend | IFC |
| MTV | MLB Network |
| MSG | Motor Trend (web only) |
| MSNBC | MSNBC |
| Nat Geo | |
| Nat Geo Wild | Nat Geo |
| Nick Jr. | Nat Geo Wild |
| NBC | NBA League Pass |
| NBC Golf | NBC |
| NBCSN BayArea | |
| NBCSN California | |
| NBCSN Chicago | |
| NBCSN MidAtlantic | |
| NBCSN NewEngland | |
| NBCSN Philadelphia | NCAA March Madness |
| NBC Universo | NFL Network |
| NESN | NFL RedZone |
| NFL Network | Olympic Channel |
| OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) | Oxygen |
| Oxygen | OWN |
| Pac 12 | Pop TV |
| Paramount Network | SEC Network |
| PopTV | Showtime |
| Science Channel | Smithsonian Channel |
| Showtime | STARZ |
| Smithsonian | SundanceTV |
| SNY | SYFY |
| STARZ | TBS |
| Sundance | TCM |
| Syfy | TLC |
| Telemundo | Telemundo |
| TLC | TNT |
| TUDN | Travel Channel |
| TV Land | TruTV |
| Universal Kids | Universal Kids |
| Univision | Universo |
| USA Network | USA Network |
| VH1 | WE TV |
| WETV |
Note: Some of the apps listed above won’t work with Fubo and YouTube TV unless you subscribe to the appropriate channel package. If you don’t have the channel, you can’t unlock the app.
Fact 4: Fubo has better features for big families
If you intend to share your account with your family, you may be disappointed by both YouTube TV and Fubo’s default 3-device simultaneous stream limit. But Fubo offers a more robust family plan for just $10 extra each month with the Pro Plan, allowing you to stream on 10 devices at once.
YouTube TV lets you stream to up to three devices at once. You can also create up to six profiles on YouTube TV. Individual profiles allow YouTube TV to learn what you like to watch and serve up customized recommendations based on your viewing history.
While YouTube TV’s 4K Plus add-on allows you to stream on unlimited devices, it’s a hefty price to pay compared to Fubo. The add-on costs $10/month for the first 12 months, then $19.99/month for the next months.
As mentioned above, you can sidestep simultaneous stream restrictions by using TV Everywhere apps. For example, if three people in your house are already watching TV through the Fubo app, you can still log into the Fox Sports Go app or the NBC Sports app with your Fubo credentials. TVE works the same way with YouTube TV.
However, YouTube TV has slightly better TV recording features compared to Fubo. Many internet TV services cap the amount of content you can record, but YouTube TV does not. Whatever you record on YouTube TV gets deleted automatically after nine months. With Fubo, you can keep your recordings for as long as you want – and you get up to 250 hours of recording time on the Starter plan, and 1,000 hours on any of the more expensive plans.
It’s worth noting here that the YouTube TV app doesn’t offer any way to delete your recordings. Once you record something with YouTube TV, you’re apparently stuck with the recording until it expires nine months later. Fubo gives you more tools for managing your recording library, but also limits you to a finite number of recording hours.
Fact 5: They both have good app support
Both streaming services support all the major streaming devices that are popular among cord-cutters, like Apple TV, Android TV, Chromecast and Roku. In addition, they both have apps for the two most popular smartphone operating systems: iOS and Android.
There used to be a gaping hole in YouTube TV’s app catalog: Amazon. Every other internet TV service works with Amazon’s hugely popular Amazon Fire TV devices, but YouTube TV did not. Now that the feud between Amazon and Google has ended, Amazon TV subscribers are free to choose between Fubo and YouTube TV.
YouTube TV
- Living room devices: Apple TV, Android TV, Chromecast, Roku, Tivo Stream, and Fire TV.
- Smart TVs and Blu-ray players: Certain models from Samsung, LG, and Vizio.
- Mobile devices and tablets: Android and iOS.
- Game consoles: Xbox One.
- Desktop browsers: Chrome.
Fubo
- Living room devices: Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Chromecast and Roku
- Smart TVs and Blu-ray players: Samsung Smart TV, Vizio TV, HiSense, Vizio SmartCast TV, and LG TV
- Mobile devices and tablets: Android and iOS
- Game consoles: Xbox One
- Desktop browsers: EDGE, Firefox, Safari, and Chrome. But Chrome is recommended
Fact 6: Fubo has better on-demand content
Originally, YouTube TV came out with YouTube Red. YouTube Red never quite caught on, and YouTube eventually gave up on it. Though it still produces original content, these titles are now available for free. In other words, you don’t need to subscribe to YouTube TV to watch them on YouTube. You can rent recently released Hollywood movies via YouTube TV, but you have to pay extra for that.
The Fubo on-demand library is small, but it does have a selection of movies and TV shows available on-demand. Last time we reviewed Fubo, we found a few thousand hours of content. Because YouTube’s movie rental prices are expensive, Fubo’s on-demand library could be a deal breaker if you don’t have Netflix.
Fact 7: Fubo has better looking streams
Fubo originally lagged behind a bit in the race to bring high definition streams to streaming service subscribers. Some recent improvements have changed this, and now Fubo has the edge over YouTube TV in this category. Currently, Fubo is the only streaming service that includes 4K streams.
YouTube TV isn’t far behind, though. It started rolling out 60fps channels last year just in time for the Olympics. Now, all YouTube TV channels support 60fps. You can also opt for some 4k streaming with a $19.99/month add-on. Getting it for free is, of course, preferable.
Fact 8: Both services have free trials
If you’re still not sure which is right for you, try them both out yourself and see what you think. Fubo has a 7-day free trial and YouTube TV has a free trial for 14 days.
Source: YouTube TV
Fact 9: Only Fubo has the Science channel
When YouTube TV first debuted, it came up a bit short in the lifestyle/casual TV department. Cable TV staples like Food Network, HGTV and Discovery were missing from the menu. Now that those channels have made their way to YouTube TV, it has mostly caught up. However, one channel is still missing: Science Channel. Fubo has it, but YouTube TV does not.
Fact 10: YouTube TV has more subscribers (probably)
Though it’s a minor consideration, it may be worth looking at a streaming service’s subscriber numbers before you sign up. Streaming services that don’t have many subscribers have less resources. That may mean that over time, they may find it hard to compete for streaming rights.
Recent data shows that while Fubo reached an important milestone of hitting one million subscribers in the last quarter of 2021, it’s still no match for YouTube TV. On the other hand, YouTube reports reaching 4 million subscribers at the end of 2021.
YouTube TV vs Fubo: Which is better?
The answer depends on your personal taste and viewing habits.
If you want to watch TV on your computer...
Though Fubo also has good local TV coverage, YouTube TV has made more deals with the ‘big four’ American broadcasters than any other internet TV service.
Be sure to check Fubo and YouTube TV’s channel finder tools to find out which broadcast networks you can get in your area before you sign up with either service.
If you don’t have Netflix...
Fubo’s on-demand catalog is shrimpy compared to Netflix and Hulu, but at least it has a few hundred movies that you can watch for free. You’ll have to pull out your credit card every time you feel like streaming an on-demand movie if you get YouTube TV.
If you have a big family...
Both YouTube TV and Fubo are stingy when it comes to simultaneous streaming, but Fubo offers more family-friendly flexibility. YouTube TV only lets you watch three streams at the same time. Fubo does, too, on their Starter plan, but for just $9.99 more per month, you can stream on up to ten devices at once.
If you like soccer...
Fubo specializes in soccer and other sports that are more popular outside the US. In addition to soccer, Fubo also offers coverage of fencing, rugby, cricket, water polo and more.
Alex Munkachy • Author
Alex Munkachy is a freelance writer, game developer and hobby robotics enthusiast.
Lisa Holden • Editor
Lisa Holden is an editor and creative based in Houston, TX. Lisa holds a BA in African-American Studies from Temple University and has spent her career working in news publications and magazines, even founding a magazine herself. She began working as an editor for Flixed in 2023. When she’s not editing or working on one of her many creative endeavors (whenever that is), she enjoys traveling to new places and biking on sunny days.
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