Philo is one of the cheapest cord-cutting services on the market, costing a small fraction of what you'd pay for a cable package. So what's the catch? The low cost is reflected in the lineup of Philo channels, which isn't as comprehensive as what you'll find elsewhere. That said, it does include a selection of popular TV networks like AMC and TLC.
While there might be several notable absences, particularly for avid sports fans, with a little outside-the-box thinking, you can still make Philo the foundation of an excellent, cable-free home entertainment package. Read on as we break down the various Philo TV packages and compare the service with some of the best cable alternatives around, including Sling TV, FuboTV and Hulu + Live TV.
What is the cost of a Philo package?
Philo offers a single subscription plan that costs $25 per month and includes more than 70 TV channels. That's after a 7-day Philo free trial.
The biggest channels are AMC, TLC, Nickelodeon, Food Network and MTV, which should give you an indication of Philo's strengths and weaknesses.
There are no major local TV networks, such as ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and The CW, sports channels, such as ESPN and FS1.
However, because Philo is so cheap, it's possible to get access to ESPN, NBC and CBS on a streaming-only basis without breaking the bank. Not a perfect workaround by any stretch, but certainly a decent option.
Philo offers up to 10 extra channels and services for an additional fee. More details on these, plus Philo's full lineup of channels, can be found further down the page.
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What channels does Philo have?
Philo offers more than 70 TV channels as standard at the time of writing, though the full channel lineup may differ from area to area.
- A&E
- AccuWeather Network
- AMC
- American Heroes Channel
- Animal Planet
- aspireTV
- AXS TV
- BBC America
- BBC World News
- BET
- BET Her
- Catchy Comedy
- Cheddar News (free)
- CLEO TV
- CMT
- Comedy Central
- Cooking Channel
- Crackle (free)
- Crime + Investigation
- Deck the Hallmark
- Destination America
- Discovery Channel
- Discovery Family
- Discovery Life
- FETV
- Food Network
- FYI
- Game Show Network
- getTV
- Great American Family
- Great American Living
- Gusto TV (free)
- Hallmark Channel
- Hallmark Drama
- Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
- Heroes & Icons
- HGTV
- History
- IFC
- INSP
- Investigation Discovery
- Kin (free)
- Law&Crime
- Lifetime
- LMN
- Logo
- Magnolia Network
- MeTV
- Motor Trend
- MTV
- MTV Classic
- MTV Live
- MTV2
- Nick Jr.
- Nickelodeon
- Nicktoons
- Oprah Winfrey Network
- Paramount Network
- PlayersTV (free)
- pocket.watch (free)
- Pop TV
- RetroCrush (free)
- REVOLT
- Revry (free)
- Ryan and Friends (free)
- Science Channel
- Smithsonian Channel
- Start TV
- Story Television
- Sundance TV
- Tastemade
- TeenNick
- TLC
- Travel Channel
- TV Land
- TV One
- UPtv
- USA TODAY (free)
- VH1
- Vice
- WE tv
However, additional channels and services are available via a selection of optional add-ons, which you'll need to pay extra for.
What add-ons are available on Philo and how much do they cost?
Philo offers three add-ons, each of which includes several services.
You can subscribe to multiple Philo add-ons, and you can even try them free of charge by selecting them for your seven-day free trial.
Just note that as soon as your free trial ends, you'll be charged for everything that's in your Philo package.
Subscribe to all three add-ons, for instance, and your first bill will amount to $43 – unless you remove them from your plan before you're billed.
How to sign up to Philo
New customers
- Head to the Philo website
- Select 'Start your 7-day free trial'
- Enter your email address or phone number
- Follow the the link sent to your email
- Or copy the code and enter it on the Philo website
- Select the add-ons that you want, if any
- Enter your payment details
- Hit 'Start free trial'
If, during the period of your free trial, you decide that you'd rather not pay for a Philo subscription, you can simply cancel through the Philo website.
You'll still retain access to Philo for the remainder of your free trial period.
Returning customers
- Head to the Philo website
- Log in using the details of your old Philo account
- Select 'Reactivate'
- Confirm your subscription and payment details
How does Philo’s channel offering compare to other cable cutting services?
It's tough to make a like-for-like comparison between Philo, Sling TV, FuboTV and Hulu + Live TV, which are the other best cable alternatives on the market, because there are so many different addons and plans available from each service.
One thing that stands out, however, is the complete absence of major sports channels on Philo.
That said, it's worth stressing that Philo is by far the cheapest of the four services, and customers can get their sports fix by signing up to ESPN Plus (from $9.99 per month), Peacock TV (from $4.99 per month) or Paramount Plus (from $4.99 per month) separately.
A regular Philo plan plus all of those three would cost $44.97 per month, which is comparable to a Sling TV plan and significantly less than a subscription to either FuboTV or Hulu + Live TV.
The lack of major local TV networks on Philo, however, is trickier to get around.
While Peacock TV ($4.99 per month) will give you access to NBC shows, Paramount Plus (from $4.99 per month) will give you access to CBS shows and The CW website will let you watch some CW shows for free, you'll still miss out on ABC and Fox.
