Best Alternatives to Cable TV

If cable TV isn’t available in your area, or the price tag is too high, there are several ways to get the channels you love without paying for cable. DIRECTV and DISH are satellite TV services that deliver sports, movies, news, and more to your home screen.

Satellite TV can be installed almost anywhere—even in rural areas without phone service or other utilities—but you’ll need space on your house or apartment to install a satellite dish.

Unlike video streaming, satellite TV doesn’t rely on internet service, so it’s a good option for people who have slow internet or data caps (such as satellite internet).

Just be aware that some DVRs use internet data for on-demand programming or cloud storage.

In this guide

• Best satellite TV providers
• Best streaming services
• Best live streaming TV services
• Best TV antennas
• FAQ

Each satellite TV provider offers several plans, with pricing dependent on the number of channels. Premium channel add-ons are also available with all satellite carriers. The best plan for you will depend on what your viewing habits are, so pick a provider and scroll through channel listings.

Remember, you don’t have to buy the biggest package to get premium channels—it’s sometimes cheaper to add premium channels to a smaller plan.

A favorite of sports fans, DIRECTV is home to more sports channels than DISH. It’s not all about sports though—you can get a wide variety of movies, drama, news, history, cartoons, and more. For the first year, DIRECTV pricing is comparable to DISH, but be aware that prices go up after the second year of service (and yes, you have to sign a 2-year contract to get service).

DISH may not lure as many mainstream sports fans as DIRECTV, but DISH gives you plenty of entertainment choices. This satellite TV provider has the best-rated DVR, national and regional sports channels, and pretty much everything else you could find on DIRECTV without the price hike.¹

Yup, you read that right. The best thing about DISH is that your price remains the same for the full contract period—instead of having your price nearly doubled in the second year (we’re looking at you, DIRECTV).

Most households find plenty to watch with America’s Top 120+, which includes 190 popular channels plus extra sports. If you don’t watch sports, get America’s Top 20 and save $5 per month.

If you are looking for a complete replacement for cable TV, check into livestreaming TV.

As long as you have unlimited high-speed internet, livestreaming TV can deliver many of the same channels as cable at a lower price. The most popular live streaming TV providers are YouTubeTV, fuboTV, Sling TV, DIRECTV, and Hulu + Live TV.

There are many live TV streaming services, but we like Hulu + Live TV best, which gives you all the advantages of continuous TV served up 24/7 with a good library of on-demand content as well. 

Other live streaming services to check out include fuboTV (which caters to sports fans), YouTube TV (with over 100 channels of live content), and Sling TV (which is the lowest priced option at $45 per month). Although pricier than individual streaming services, a live streaming TV service can better replicate the cable TV experience.

If you are interested in cutting the cord and the subscription services, the cheapest way to get TV stations is with a TV antenna. Although TV antennas don’t offer cable channels and deliver a limited number of channels, you can get local stations for free. The only cost is buying the antenna—no monthly subscription is required. 

You could get 10–20 channels for free every month with a TV antenna, depending on where you live, what stations are broadcasting in your area, and how far your antenna range is. The further you live from a big city with broadcasting stations, the more you’ll need to spend on a TV antenna. 

If you live in a rural area, the best alternative to cable TV is probably going to be satellite TV. If you have a fast internet connection at your home with unlimited data, your best choice might be streaming services. However, many rural areas have limited internet options and low data caps, making streaming impractical. Streaming services use a lot of internet data.

If you look at the full 2-year contract, DISH is cheaper than DIRECTV because DIRECTV increases prices after the second half of your contract. DIRECTV prices nearly double after the first 24 months, while DISH prices are locked in place for 3 years.

No, DISH does not offer NFL SUNDAY TICKET. However, DISH has many other sports channels, including NFL RedZone, ESPN Select, Regional Sports Network, and more. In fact, DISH has more college football coverage than DIRECTV. 

DIRECTV used to offer NFL SUNDAY TICKET, but in 2023, YouTube TV will provide the sports service instead.

Here are the cheapest alternatives to cable TV.

• Streaming with video streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, ESPN Select, or others.
• Renting DVDs and Blu-rays or signing up for DVD rental plan by mail.
• Downloading content while you’re on free internet in town (McDonalds, coffee shops, libraries, universities, etc.).
• Getting a TV antenna so you can get local TV stations for free.