YouTube TV Pricing: Is It Actually Worth It? My 2-Year Honest Review
I cut the cord about two years ago and switched to YouTube TV after getting tired of my cable bill creeping up every few months. Here is my honest take on what it actually costs and whether it is worth the money.
The Base Price – What You Are Actually Paying
Right now YouTube TV runs $64.99 a month. And yeah, that is not cheap. When I first signed up it was like $50, so the price creep is real here too. But here is the thing – you are getting 85+ channels, which includes all the major networks like ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, plus cable stuff like ESPN, CNN, HGTV, and a bunch more.
For reference, my old cable bill was running about $120 a month with similar channels, plus equipment rental fees, plus random taxes and fees that made no sense. So even at $65, I am saving around $55 a month. That adds up.
The Add-Ons That Will Tempt You
YouTube TV loves to upsell you on premium channels. Here is what I have tried:
HBO Max: $14.99 extra. I had this for a few months to watch some specific shows, then cancelled. It is good but adding almost $15 to your bill starts to make this feel less like a deal.
4K Plus: $19.99 extra. This one felt ridiculous to me. You are paying twenty bucks a month just to watch in 4K, and honestly not that much content is even available in 4K. I tried it for a month and cancelled. Total waste for my usage.
Sports Plus: $10.99 extra. Has NFL RedZone and some other sports channels. My buddy who is a huge football fan says it is worth it during the season. I personally do not care enough about sports to pay extra.
What Is Actually Included (That I Did Not Expect)
The cloud DVR is unlimited and free with the base subscription. This was a pleasant surprise. No storage limits, and your recordings stick around for 9 months. I record everything and watch it later to skip commercials. Works great.
You also get 3 simultaneous streams. So my wife can watch her reality shows in the living room, I can watch something else in the office, and technically someone else could watch on a phone or tablet. We have never needed more than 2 at once honestly.
Account sharing is legit – you can add up to 5 other people to your account, each with their own login and DVR. My parents use one of those slots and I am sure they appreciate not paying for their own streaming service.
The Free Trial – Use It Wisely
YouTube TV offers a 7-day free trial for new subscribers. Sometimes they run promos where it is longer, or they give you the first month at a discount. I would definitely wait for one of those promos if you can. Search around before signing up because they are not always obvious.
The trial is enough time to figure out if the interface works for you and if they have the channels you care about. Which brings me to…
Regional Sports – The Tricky Part
If you care about watching your local sports teams, this is where it gets complicated. YouTube TV has some regional sports networks (RSNs) but not all of them. And they have been in disputes with Bally Sports, so depending on where you live, you might be missing your local baseball or basketball games.
I do not follow local sports closely, so this has not affected me. But I have friends who were really frustrated by this and ended up cancelling because of it. Worth checking before you commit.
How It Compares to the Competition
I have also tried Hulu Live and Sling. Here is my quick take:
Hulu Live: Same price as YouTube TV ($64.99), but I found the interface clunkier and the DVR situation was worse. They also push their on-demand library pretty hard which I did not really care about. YouTube TV felt cleaner to me.
Sling: Cheaper at around $40-55 depending on the package, but missing some channels I wanted and the experience felt more budget. You get what you pay for.
YouTube TV hits that sweet spot for me of having enough channels, a good interface, and the unlimited DVR. But if you are just trying to spend as little as possible, Sling might make more sense.
Device Stuff
Works on basically everything – Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, Fire TV, smart TVs, phones, tablets, gaming consoles. Never had an issue with compatibility. The app is pretty snappy on most devices except my older Roku which chugs a little.
The Internet Situation
You need decent internet for this. They recommend at least 7 Mbps for a single stream, but honestly I would say 15-20 Mbps is more realistic for a smooth experience. More if you have multiple people streaming at once.
If your internet is unreliable, streaming TV might not be great for you. Buffering during a live game is way more annoying than buffering during a Netflix show you can pause.
Can You Cancel Whenever?
Yes. No contracts, no cancellation fees, nothing. You can start and stop whenever you want. I actually cancelled for a couple months during summer when there was nothing I wanted to watch, then signed back up in fall. No drama at all.
This flexibility is honestly one of the best things about streaming services versus cable. Try cancelling Comcast and see how that goes…
My Bottom Line
Is YouTube TV worth $65 a month? For me, yes. I save money compared to cable, I get all the channels I care about, and the unlimited DVR is clutch. Plus no equipment rental fees, no installation appointment, no random price hikes mid-contract.
But I also do not go crazy on add-ons. The base package is what I stick with. If you start adding HBO and 4K Plus and Sports Plus, suddenly you are back to cable prices and you should really ask yourself what the point is.
Try the free trial, make sure they have your channels, and go from there. It is not perfect but it is worked well for our household.
