The best streaming services in 2026 for TV, movies, sports and more, tested and reviewed

Remember that Bruce Springsteen song about "57 channels and nothin' on"? How quaint. These days there are endless "channels" spread across a sea of streaming services, with buzzworthy shows like Rooster , Margo's Got Money Troubles , The Testaments and the final season of Hacks , plus mega-hit movies like Hoppers and Hamnet . The only real challenge is determining how to pick the best streaming service for you. Because, let's face it, you don't have an unlimited TV budget, and these things are getting pricey.

I got you. I subscribe to most of them and watch, well, way too much. Here are my picks for the best streaming services — those with the best content, best pricing, best interface and so on. (Don't have the budget for any of these right now? Check our roundup of the best free streaming services . And don't forget the best digital TV antennas for watching local channels absolutely free.)

Best streaming services for 2026

Other streaming services we tested

Wait, wait, wait — where's Netflix ? Where's HBO Max ? You may be surprised by a few of the omissions in the above list; I'm honestly a little surprised myself. While those and other services have their merits, for one reason or another they just missed earning a "best" nod. Read on to find out why.

• ESPN Unlimited : Formerly ESPN+ , the new service includes all of ESPN's linear networks: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNews and ESPN Deportes, plus access to programming on ABC, ESPN+, ESPN3, SECN+ and ACCNX. It's effectively "cable ESPN, but via streaming." That translates to some 47,000 live events each year, on-demand replays, original programming and more. It costs $30/month, but the same price buys you a bundle with Hulu and Disney+ — so that's obviously the smarter buy. 

• HBO Max :What used to be the service for prestige TV ( Barry , Game of Thrones , Succession , etc.) now feels more like an also-ran, with fewer buzzy shows than in years past and an inconceivable series of name changes. (HBO Max debuted in 2020; it became simply "Max" in 2023, now it's back to HBO Max. Ludicrous.) Granted, the service is home to stalwarts like Friends , Turner Classic Movies and some live sports, but I no longer consider it an essential streamer; it's not the "best" at anything. These days I subscribe for a month or two when there's something I want to watch. 

• Netflix :The pioneer streaming service was once the best streaming service, period, but now I can't figure out what Netflix is good at. Raising prices? Cancelling shows? Cranking out so-so originals? Meanwhile, the Continue Watching and My List carousels keep moving to different positions, and a significant new interface update is... not good. Make no mistake, there's still a ton of excellent content to be found here, but the tentpoles are fewer and farther between — making the ever-increasing price tag harder to justify. Read our full Netflix review to learn more.

• Paramount+ :If I were to add a "most improved" category, the winner would be Paramount+. The streamer, operated by the eponymous movie studio that also owns CBS, offers a lot of content not available elsewhere, including all the current-generation Star Trek series (as well as the entire Star Trek back catalog). This is also the place to find most Indiana Jones and Mission: Impossible movies, plus everything available on Showtime (if you choose the Premium subscription tier). And it's the source for nearly everything from megaproducer Taylor Sheridan, including exclusives like Lioness , Landman and Tulsa King . That comes with a frustration, though: You'll find Sheridan's Yellowstone spinoffs, 1923 and 1883 , on Paramount+, but the original remains licensed to Peacock. (Maybe that was an omen: Sheridan himself will be decamping for NBC/Peacock , too — but not until 2028.) See our full Paramount+ review .

• Peacock : NBC's streaming service has a good shot at making the best list, as it's home to a considerable library of beloved TV series ( The Office , Parks and Rec , etc.), new originals ( The Paper ) and exclusive movies ( Bulgonia, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale ). You'll also find some sports here, including Sunday Night Football , occasional NFL playoff games and the Olympics. Learn more in our full Peacock TV review .

• Sling TV : Anyone interested in live TV should definitely check out Sling , though be prepared for a bit of confusion. The service offers two bundles, Blue and Orange, each with a different catalog of channels (including a smattering of local ones). Orange has 35 channels; Blue, 43. But there are about 24 "base" channels that overlap between the two. Um, okaaay? Meanwhile, Orange lets you stream on one device at a time; Blue, on three. The two tiers cost $46 per month apiece, unless you bundle them together for $61; the only logical choice. The good news here is that you can cycle your subscriptions on and off and jump between them with relative ease — and Sling even offers day or week passes , too. So long as the packages in question have the channels you need, that can make it a good option for dipping into playoff season, for example. See our complete Sling TV review for more details.

• Starz : I recently "inherited" a free Starz subscription as part of a Netflix bundle, and I have to tell you: Not much there of interest (to me, anyway). There's some original content, little of it notable (save for the criminally underrated Black Sails ), and most of the movies are B-list or worse. I have a hard time seeing Starz ever making the jump to the best-list roster.

How I selected and tested the best streaming services

I evaluated these services based on the most obvious criteria: price, content and ease of use. In some cases it was easy to determine which ones were the standouts in specific categories. Best free service? Pluto, hands-down. Best for families? Disney+, easy. (On the flipside, choosing the best service for sports was quite challenging; read on to learn why.)

All tests were conducted on a Roku Ultra , my preferred slinger of streaming apps . It's worth noting there can be slight differences between these apps on different platforms. Any complaints I have with an app's user interface (UI) might not apply — or might be even worse — if you're using something else, like an Amazon Fire TV or a Google TV.

Speaking of UI, some streamers really bungle it. It's bad enough that each one is different — different icons, layout, menu options, etc. — but certain aspects seem almost user-hostile. For example, many apps insist on playing previews, with audio , while you're browsing content or just sitting at the home screen. Some seem to bury the all-important "continue watching" carousel or relocate it from one viewing session to the next (looking at you, Netflix).

On the whole I have to give the services a pass for these transgressions, because while they can be annoying, they're not deal-breakers; I'm not going to cancel my Apple TV subscription just because of its surprisingly bad UI. But you can bet I'm going to call out the worst offenders, even if they've earned a spot on the best list.

Streaming services FAQ

What's the deal with sports?

It's a mess. Different sports are shown on different networks and services, often within the same season. (Detroit Lions football, for example, hopped around to three or four places last year.) Some services will show every game except your hometown team's (looking at you, MLB.tv). So if you haven't planned your watching in advance, you could find yourself scrambling to watch a given game on a given day.

Thankfully, there are some new options available that might help. The new ESPN Unlimited, for example, serves up more or less all the ESPN channels that reside on cable, plus ABC to boot. That's a big improvement over its predecessor, ESPN+ (now called ESPN Select) — and it's fairly affordable at $30/month.

Meanwhile, Fubo Sports is a new "skinny" version of Fubo's live-TV service; for $55/month you get most of the important networks. See above to learn more.

Even with these options, this may be one area where a traditional cable-TV subscription beats streaming.

Do I really need a live-TV streaming service?

I understand the thinking: If you're ditching cable, you need a replacement — Fubo, Hulu, YouTube TV , etc. — so you can continue to watch live TV. But do you really? Those services are expensive, most starting at over $80 per month. I'll make the case that unless you're specifically looking for sports, you may want to rethink a live-TV streaming service.

Consider news, another key driver. Did you know that Pluto (see above) has over a dozen news channels, including CBS, CNN and NBC? The catch is that most of these are not the same channels you'd get on cable; instead, they're generally the same free streaming versions you'd find online at cbsnews.com or nbcnews.com , for example. In other cases, you're getting the same programming from, say, The Today Show , but on a time delay. (Does that matter? Remember, these are totally free services.) The Roku Channel offers free news channels as well, and lots of modern smart TVs have similar rosters available, many of which include your local nightly news broadcasts. All this is to say that if you like to stay informed or just keep the news on in the background throughout your day, you can do so for free.

But what about all your favorite shows? Don't you need a live-TV streaming service so you can record (i.e. DVR) them for later viewing? Actually, the vast majority of modern shows, including those that air on network and cable channels, are available on-demand. That means they don't need to be recorded; you just stream them whenever you want. And as an added bonus, on-demand viewing can mean commercial-free viewing as well (depending on your subscription).

Example: I'm a huge fan of Bob's Burgers , which airs Sundays on Fox. But I don't need Fubo or YouTube TV; I just watch new episodes on Hulu. Not Hulu with Live TV, by the way, but just "regular" (read: cheaper) Hulu. And because I pay extra for an ad-free subscription, I get to watch the show without commercial interruption. The only caveat is that you often need to wait until the day after the show airs before it becomes available on demand.

The challenge here, of course, is that different shows you like are probably spread out across different streaming services. So you may end up needing to subscribe to 3-4 of them, and it can get confusing to remember what's streaming where. At that point, it might be more cost-effective — and convenient — to go the live-TV route. But don't just assume that's the only option, or even the best one. I haven't used a live-TV service in years, and I still get to watch (nearly) everything I want.

One last thing: Depending on where you live, an inexpensive antenna can pull in many, if not most, local affiliate stations. You won't be able to pause or record live broadcasts (not without additional hardware, anyway), but except for the price of the antenna, this is a completely free solution. Here's a list of the best digital TV antennas you can buy right now.

Do any streaming services offer local channels?

Yes! But it's complicated. You won't find local channels on the likes of Netflix, Apple TV or Max. Paramount+ is operated by Paramount Skydance, which owns CBS and streams my local affiliate station — but only that one. NBC-owned Peacock, for its part, sometimes airs live NBC programming (such as sports), but doesn't carry my local affiliate.

If you want all (or at least most) local channels, you need a live-TV streaming service such as Fubo, Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV or YouTube TV. Just take note that availability can vary in different areas, so be sure to check the local-channel offerings before subscribing to one of these services. 

My advice: Investigate the aforementioned antenna option, which may be your best (and definitely cheapest) way to access local broadcast channels.

What are premium channels?

Back in the heyday of cable TV, extras like HBO, Showtime and Cinemax were referred to as "premium channels" — in part because of their commercial-free, often exclusive content and in part because they cost extra. But the term doesn't really apply to today's streaming options.

Does 4K make a difference when streaming?

Yes, but also kind of no. For starters, just because you have a 4K smart TV doesn't mean that everything you view will be at that resolution. Indeed, while most of the streaming services offer at least some of their content in 4K, there's quite a bit that's merely "Full HD," aka 1080p. (Netflix, for example, claims around 1,200 4K titles out of a library that's estimated at 18,000.) And guess what: You probably never noticed.

That's because 1080p is already pretty sharp to the human eye. Yes, 4K represents a substantial jump in resolution, but for casual viewing it's not as noticeable as you might think — especially on medium-size and smaller TVs.

Meanwhile, the vast majority of live TV content is currently streamed at either 720p or 1080p, not 4K. (Bet you didn't notice that, either.) 

The more important spec here is HDR (high dynamic range), which comes in multiple flavors — notably Dolby Vision. That usually ensures the best possible balance of resolution, contrast and color saturation.

I have a smart TV — how do I watch all these services?

Your TV probably came with apps for most, if not all, the most popular streaming services already installed. If not, it's usually a simple matter to add the ones you want. But keep in mind that just because you have the apps doesn't mean you have the services; except in the case of freebies like Pluto and Tubi, you have to subscribe.

5 tips for surviving streaming services

Not that I was ever a fan of cable TV, but it certainly was easier: one monthly bill, one program guide, one stop for everything you wanted to watch. With so many different streaming services out there, modern TV life has grown a lot more complicated. Here are five ways you can minimize the madness:

1. Plan your binges:Is your favorite show coming back for a new season? Wait until all the episodes have dropped, then subscribe to that service for just a month or two — however long it takes you to binge it all. Then cancel the service. Obviously this can take some planning if you want to catch multiple shows across multiple services, but it can work. Might I suggest a spreadsheet?

2. Consider an annual option:Some services will cut you a deal if you subscribe for a year at a time rather than paying monthly. Disney+ Premium, for example, costs $14 per month, but it's $140 when paid annually. That amortizes out to $11.66 per month and represents a total savings of $28. Similarly, Apple TV offers a one-year subscription for $100 versus $10 for the month-to-month option. Prepayment savings: $20.

3. Bundle for the win:If you're interested in Disney+, Hulu and/or ESPN, don't pay for them separately; you can save big by bundling them together . See above to learn more.

4. Look to your phone carrier:Some offer free streaming subscriptions with certain plans. T-Mobile, for example, will cover the cost of a Netflix Basic subscription if you have one of its Go5G plans. Verizon Unlimited+ comes with a Disney/Hulu/ESPN bundle. And if you have at least three unlimited lines with US Mobile , you'll get a service credit covering the cost of Apple TV, Max, Netflix or the aforementioned Disney bundle.

5. Learn what's streaming where:I'm a big fan of apps like JustWatch and ReelGood , which can quickly tell you where a movie or TV show is available to stream. If you primarily watch content on your phone or tablet, check out Younify , which puts all your active subscriptions under a single app roof so you can quickly return to what you're watching — without having to remember what service it's on.

Bottom line

There's no single streaming service that qualifies as "best overall," but there are several that excel in certain areas. If you want family content, for example, look no further than Disney+. For completely free entertainment, it's hard to beat Pluto. And when it comes to original content, I think Apple is beating everyone — without forcing you to pay extra to watch without commercials.

In the end, it comes down to what you like to watch and how much you're willing to pay for the privilege.

Update, June 15, 2026: We checked all service prices and updated those that changed. Our top picks remain unchanged.

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Check out Yahoo's latest streaming advice, based on hands-on testing.

Yahoo Streaming Guides: Best streaming services | Best live TV streaming services | Best streaming services for sports | Best streaming deals | Best free TV streaming services | Best VPN for Streaming

Yahoo Streaming Reviews: Amazon Prime Video review | Apple TV+ review | DirecTV Stream review | Disney Plus review | ESPN vs. ESPN+ review | Fubo TV review | Hulu review | Hulu + Live TV review | Max Streaming review | Netflix review | Paramount Plus review | Peacock Review | Philo Review | Sling TV review | YouTube TV review