If you're looking to sign up for the most affordable live TV streaming service on the market, then Philo TV is where you want to look, because at just $25 per month it's a fraction of the price of some of its rivals.
While Philo TV doesn't have quite the channel list of the likes of Sling TV, Fubo or DirecTV, it still has many that you'd want to watch, plus its list still grows now and then with six new channels added in April 2024.
- Sign up to Philo TV here
Philo has a fairly comprehensive set of channels, and it comes with a few optional add-ons if you want to expand that range just a little bit further. The choice on offer means Philo can go a long way toward filling the holes in competitors' plans, or maybe even being your sole streaming TV service of choice.
Let's break down everything there is to know about Philo. The good. The great. The reasons you might well want to consider it as your only streaming option or to bolster another strategy, like free over-the-air TV.
How much does Philo cost?
You can sign up for Philo for $28 per month, and it only has one tier so you don't need to worry about various channel packages, though there are optional add-ons.
That's the new price as of June 12, 2024, but if you signed up prior to that you can continue at whichever price Philo was at when you signed on. That means it'll remain $25 if you signed up before that date, or $20 if you've been subscribed since before July 2021.
Best of all, there's no contract and you can cancel any time you want. It's much more versatile than some competitors.
For context Sling TV costs $40 for either of its plans or $55 for both, while Hulu with live TV and FuboTV's Pro plan costs $74.99 and YouTube TV costs $64.99 (all prices monthly).
Does Philo have a free trial?
Yes! Philo offers a seven-day free trial to new subscribers so you can try the service for free before subscribing.
There is something else for people who don't want to pay, though: Philo offers a list of free and ad-supported channels, which you don't need to pay to use.
What channels does Philo have?
Philo offers over 80 channels in its standard plan, and some highlights include:
- Accuweather
- A&E
- AMC
- BBC America
- Bloomberg Television
- Comedy Central
- Cooking Channel
- Crime + Investigation
- Discovery Channel
- Food Network
- Great American Living
- Hallmark Channel
- HGTV
- History
- IFC
- Law&Crime
- Lifetime
- Motor Trend
- MTV
- Nickelodeon
- Paramount Network
- Sundance TV
- TLC
- Travel Channel
- Vice
For the full list, check out our Philo TV channels guide here.
A subscription to Philo also includes the ability to view videos on AMC Plus, which is usually a stand-alone streaming service. You can upgrade to its ad-free tier for $4 extra per month.
Philo free channels
As well as its paid tier, Philo has a FAST service (that stands for free, ad-supported streaming) which lets you watch channels without paying, as long as you can manage the ads. Channels offered include:
- USA Today
- RetroCrush
- Cheddar News
- Gusto
- Revry
- Screambox TV
- Fail Army
- People are Awesome
- Pet Collective
- Comedy Dynamics
- Outside
What add-ons does Philo have?
Philo currently offers three additional add-on packages, all three of which are available to sample with a 7-day free trial.
- Movies & More add-on: gives users Cinemoi, HDNet Movies, MGM HD, Reelz and Sony Movies for $3 per month.
- EPIX add-on: includes EPIX, EPIX Hits and EPIX2 for $6 per month.
- Starz add-on: Starz, Starz Encore and Starz Kids & Family for $9 per month.
Does Philo have a cloud-based DVR?
It does indeed. Philo offers unlimited cloud-based DVR, so you can record your favorite shows and watch them at a time that suits you. Recordings are saved for up to 12 months so you can watch something over and over during that time frame — with the added bonus of skipping through any ads.
Philo subscribers previously were only able to keep recordings for up to 30 days; if you're on this so-called "Legacy Plan", head to the Philo help page to learn how to update to the year-long DVR option.
Can you stream Philo on multiple devices?
Philo allows you to play up to three streams at once at any time. So, you can watch on a TV in the living room while someone else is watching from the bedroom and a third person is watching on their phone while on the go.
Philo also has the ability to create up to 10 profiles on a single account, so each person in your family can watch what they want.
Which devices can you watch Philo on?
Philo supports most major modern hardware platforms. Consumers can watch Philo on their TV with Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV (fourth generation or later), Android TV (5.0 or higher) and Google Chromecast (second generation or later).
Philo can also be viewed on a PC or Mac and on mobile devices (Android 5.0 or higher, iOS 13.0 or higher and Amazon Fire Tablets 5.0 or higher).
