Short answer: on a 100-point scorecard of the licensed live TV services available in all 50 states, YouTube TV comes first with 81.5, and it stays first however you weight the criteria. Second place is where it gets interesting: DirecTV Stream wins it if regional sports matter, while Sling and Philo jump to joint second the moment price matters most. The non-obvious catch is that every service's score depends partly on your ZIP code, because local channels and regional sports networks are licensed market by market.
At a glance
The 2026 scores, out of 100
| 1. YouTube TV | 81.5, $82.99/mo |
| 2. DirecTV Stream | 74.5, from $89.99/mo |
| 3. Hulu + Live TV | 74.0, $99.99/mo |
| 4. Fubo | 71.5, from about $80/mo |
| 5. Sling | 68.5, from $45.99/mo |
| 6. Philo | 65.5, $25/mo |
How the scores work
Most "best IPTV provider" rankings in the US give out stars without saying what earned them. Here's the method, so you can disagree with it in detail.
We scored six licensed live TV services that you can buy anywhere in the United States. Each got a mark out of 10 on six criteria, and each criterion carries a weight. Multiply, add up, and you get a total out of 100.
| Criterion | Weight | What earns a high mark |
|---|---|---|
| Channel coverage | 25 | All four local networks in most markets, plus the main cable news and entertainment channels |
| Price | 25 | Low regular monthly price, not the first-month promotion |
| Sports | 15 | ESPN, FS1, TNT, NFL Network, regional sports networks |
| DVR and streams | 15 | Unlimited or large cloud DVR, three or more screens at once |
| Apps and devices | 10 | Apps on Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Google TV, smart TVs and consoles |
| Flexibility | 10 | No contract, free trial, pause or day-pass options |
The marks are editorial judgments based on each service's published line-ups, prices and terms as of early October 2026. They aren't lab measurements, and we haven't run any months-long test of our own. Prices are the regular rates on each service's own site, before tax and promotions.
If you want a general version of this method to reuse on any service, our scoring method for live TV services explains how to build one from scratch.
The full scorecard
| Service | Coverage (25) | Price (25) | Sports (15) | DVR/streams (15) | Apps (10) | Flex (10) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube TV | 9 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 81.5 |
| DirecTV Stream | 9 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 74.5 |
| Hulu + Live TV | 9 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 74.0 |
| Fubo | 8 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 71.5 |
| Sling | 5 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 68.5 |
| Philo | 4 | 10 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 65.5 |
Marks are out of 10; the number in brackets is the weight. Hulu + Live TV's price mark includes one extra point because Disney+ and the Hulu library come with it. Without that, it drops to 71.5.
The spread from first to last is only 16 points. That's the honest picture: the four big bundles are close, and the gap that matters is between the bundles and the two cheap services, which simply carry different things.
Change the weights, change the order
A single ranking assumes everyone values the same things. They don't. Here's the same six services re-scored with two other sets of weights.
| Rank | Standard weights | Price first (price 40) | Sports first (sports 35) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | YouTube TV 81.5 | YouTube TV 77.0 | YouTube TV 84.5 |
| 2 | DirecTV Stream 74.5 | Sling 74.0 | DirecTV Stream 79.0 |
| 3 | Hulu + Live TV 74.0 | Philo 74.0 | Hulu + Live TV 76.5 |
| 4 | Fubo 71.5 | Hulu + Live TV 69.0 | Fubo 74.0 |
| 5 | Sling 68.5 | Fubo 69.0 | Sling 66.5 |
| 6 | Philo 65.5 | DirecTV Stream 69.0 | Philo 51.5 |
Price-first weights are price 40, coverage 20 and 10 for each of the rest. Sports-first weights are sports 35, coverage 20, price 15 and 10 for each of the rest.
Two lessons. YouTube TV's lead isn't an accident of the weights; it doesn't have a weak category. And DirecTV Stream swings from second to last depending on whether you care about regional sports or your bill, which tells you exactly who should buy it.
Provider by provider
YouTube TV (81.5). $82.99 a month for the base plan, unlimited DVR, three screens at once, and local stations in nearly every market. It's also the home of NFL Sunday Ticket. Weak spots: it isn't cheap, and it carries few regional sports networks. A $64.99 Sports Plan exists for sports-only homes. Best for most households that want one service and no surprises.
DirecTV Stream (74.5). The Entertainment package is $89.99 a month at the regular rate, with regional sports networks starting on the Choice tier and a five-day $0 trial for new customers. It still has the widest regional sports carriage of any streaming service, which matters even more after the FanDuel Sports Networks shut down in spring 2026 and teams scattered. Best for local-team fans, once you've checked your team is carried.
Hulu + Live TV (74.0). $99.99 a month, the most expensive here, but it includes Disney+ and the Hulu on-demand library, plus ESPN content. Unlimited DVR, two screens on the base plan. If you were going to pay for Disney+ and Hulu anyway, the effective price is far lower. Best for families who want live TV and a big on-demand library on one bill.
Fubo (71.5). From roughly $80 a month, with a heavy sports line-up and international soccer. Fubo's live TV business now operates alongside Hulu + Live TV under Disney, so expect the two to look more alike over time. Best for soccer fans and multi-sport households who don't need DirecTV's regional networks.
Sling (68.5). Orange or Blue at $45.99 a month, both for $60.99. Sports Extra adds $11. Local channels are thin (some Blue markets only), DVR is small on the base plan, and Orange allows just one stream. Paired with a $30–40 antenna, though, it's a genuinely good setup. Best for budget households with decent over-the-air reception.
Philo (65.5). $25 a month for 70+ entertainment and lifestyle channels, unlimited DVR kept for a year, three screens. No local channels, no ESPN, almost no sport. That's not a flaw so much as the point. Best for homes that watch reality, food and home shows and get news from an antenna.
For a different cut of the same market, see our ranking by what a year really costs and our picks by household type.
Where the points were won and lost
The totals hide the reasons. Here's what drove each criterion.
Coverage. YouTube TV, DirecTV Stream and Hulu + Live TV all carry the four local networks in the vast majority of markets and the full set of big cable channels, so they share the top mark. Fubo loses a point for gaps in its general-entertainment line-up. Sling loses most of its marks because local channels are limited to some Blue markets, and Philo carries no local or news channels at all.
Price. Marks track the regular monthly price: $25 earns a 10, the mid-$40s a 9, around $80 a 6, $90 a 5 and $100 a 4. Promotional first months don't count, because you'll pay the regular rate for every month after. That's the single most common way rankings flatter a service.
Sports. The top mark needs ESPN, FS1, TNT and NFL Network together. YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream have them; DirecTV adds the most regional sports networks on its Choice tier, which is why it scores level with YouTube TV despite a clunkier app. Sling's Orange and Blue split the sports channels between them, so getting all of them means paying for both.
DVR and streams. Unlimited cloud DVR is now standard on the big bundles. What separates them is screens: YouTube TV allows three at once on the base plan, Hulu + Live TV two unless you pay for its unlimited-screens add-on. Sling's base DVR is small, and Orange is limited to one stream.
Apps. Everyone is on the big platforms. YouTube TV gets the top mark for having the most consistent app across Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Google TV, smart TVs and game consoles. If you're on one of the newest Vega OS Fire TV sticks, check that your chosen service's app is in the Amazon Appstore for it before you subscribe.
Flexibility. All six are month to month with no contract. Sling and Philo score highest because they're cheap enough to drop in and out of, and Sling sells day passes. YouTube TV loses a point only because its trial length varies by offer.
What moved in 2026, and what other rankings miss
A ranking from early 2025 would look different, and a few of this year's changes explain why.
- Prices climbed again. Hulu + Live TV's regular rate now sits at $99.99, YouTube TV at $82.99, and Peacock went to $12.99 for Premium on September 17, 2026. The gap between the bundles and the budget services keeps widening, which is why the price-first ranking moves so much.
- Disney now controls both Hulu + Live TV and Fubo. The two still sell separately with different line-ups, but they're no longer independent competitors, and their packages are likely to converge.
- Regional sports fell apart in many markets. The FanDuel Sports Networks stopped broadcasting after April 30, 2026. Dozens of NBA, NHL and MLB teams moved to local stations or their own streaming apps, so a service's regional sports score now depends heavily on which team you follow.
- ESPN went direct. ESPN Unlimited at $31.99 a month makes it possible to get ESPN without any bundle, which weakens the case for paying $80+ purely for sport.
How to read other rankings
Most pages ranking "the best IPTV provider in the United States" are affiliate lists. Three things to watch for when you compare their verdicts with ours:
Stars without a rubric. A 4.8 versus a 4.6 means nothing unless the page says what was measured and how much each factor counted. If you can't recompute the score yourself, treat it as an opinion.
Huge testing claims. "289 hours of testing across 193 services" sounds rigorous, but nobody can check it, and channel line-ups and prices change every few months anyway. Published facts you can verify yourself are a sounder basis.
Channel counts as a headline. A list of 20,000 channels is mostly duplicates, foreign feeds and dead links. A licensed service with 100 channels that includes your local stations is worth more to most households. Our piece on why channel counts mislead goes into the numbers.
Who isn't on the list, and why
Cable and fiber TV (Xfinity, Spectrum, Verizon Fios and others) are real IPTV services, but they're only sold in their own franchise areas. A national ranking can't fairly score something half the country can't buy. If one serves your address, score it with the same rubric.
Free services such as Pluto TV, Tubi and Roku Channel would win the price category outright and lose almost everything else. They're worth adding to any setup, not replacing one.
Single-network apps like ESPN Unlimited ($31.99) or Peacock ($12.99 since September 17, 2026) aren't full providers. They're add-ons, and often the smarter buy than a bigger bundle.
The "USA IPTV" sellers that fill the rest of the search results, offering 20,000 channels for $15 a month, aren't scored because they aren't licensed to carry what they advertise. On our rubric they'd score well on price and nothing else that's verifiable: no published line-up you can rely on, no consumer protection, and a habit of disappearing. Our guide on how to judge an IPTV service covers the warning signs.
Scoring it for your own address
Coverage and sports marks are national averages. At your address they might be higher or lower, so adjust them before trusting the totals:
- Enter your ZIP code on each service's channel-lookup page. If a service is missing one of your local networks, knock two points off its coverage mark.
- Check your team. If your local team's games are only on a service's higher tier, add that tier's price before scoring.
- Count your screens. If you regularly watch on three TVs at once, Hulu + Live TV and Sling Orange need paid add-ons, which changes their price mark.
- Use the free trial at a busy time. A Sunday afternoon or a big game tells you more about reliability on your connection than any score.
If you're starting from scratch, our guide to choosing a provider by ZIP code walks through the address check in more detail.
Quick answers
What is the best IPTV provider in the United States in 2026? On our 100-point scorecard, YouTube TV, with 81.5. It leads under standard, price-first and sports-first weightings.
What's the best cheap IPTV provider in the US? Sling from $45.99 a month if you need ESPN or news, Philo at $25 if you don't need sport or local channels. Both work best with an antenna.
Which provider is best for regional sports? DirecTV Stream, on its Choice tier or higher, has the widest regional sports network carriage. Check your team first, as availability varies by ZIP code.
Is Hulu + Live TV worth $99.99 a month? Only if you'd otherwise pay for Disney+ and Hulu separately. Then the live TV part costs much less than the headline price.
How were these scores calculated? Six criteria, each marked out of 10 and weighted: coverage 25, price 25, sports 15, DVR and streams 15, apps 10, flexibility 10. Marks are editorial judgments based on published line-ups, prices and terms.
Why aren't cheap "USA IPTV" providers ranked? Services offering thousands of channels for a few dollars a month don't hold the rights to them, so there's nothing reliable to score.
Do these services require a contract? No. All six are month to month, and most offer a free trial for new customers.
Scores are editorial judgments, not lab results, and are based on each service's published prices, line-ups and terms in early October 2026. Prices are regular US monthly rates before tax and promotions; Fubo's is approximate. Line-ups, prices and the Fubo/Hulu + Live TV relationship change often, so re-check before you sign up. Checked October 2026.