The Best Streaming Service for Sports in 2026: Fubo vs YouTube TV vs Sling vs Peacock
Last updated: September 2026
There is no single best streaming service for sports in 2026 — but there is a cheapest way to get ESPN, a cheapest way to get all four locals, and a clear winner for the NFL. This guide compares the services, not the leagues, with prices verified in September 2026.
Two things changed the map this year. Disney folded Hulu + Live TV into Fubo, so one company now runs both apps. And almost everything repriced: Fubo went up $15 a month, Peacock rose in August, Paramount+ rose in January and killed its free trial, and ESPN raised its direct-to-consumer prices on September 17.
The master comparison table
All prices are the September 2026 sticker rate, before taxes and before regional sports fees.
| Service | Monthly price | Sports channels that matter | Free trial | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube TV (Base) | $82.99 | ESPN suite, FS1/FS2, NFL Network, NBA TV, MLB Network, TNT/TBS, all four locals | 5 days | The default all-rounder |
| YouTube TV Sports Plan | $64.99 | As above, minus MLB and NHL Network; ~30 channels | 5 days | Sports-only households |
| Fubo Pro | $88.99 (+RSN fee) | ESPN suite, FS1/FS2, NFL Network, NBA TV, all four locals, deep RSNs. No TNT, TBS or truTV | 5 days | Regional teams and soccer |
| Fubo Elite | $98.99 (RSN fee included) | Pro plus 60+ channels | 5 days | Multi-RSN homes |
| Hulu + Live TV | $89.99 ads / $99.99 ad-free | ESPN suite, NFL Network, FS1, TNT/TBS, all four locals, Disney+ | 3 days | Disney+ households |
| Sling Orange | $45.99 | ESPN, ESPN2, TNT. One stream, no locals | None | Cheapest live ESPN in a bundle |
| Sling Blue | $45.99 | FS1, NFL Network, USA, TNT; FOX/NBC/ABC in select markets | None | Cheap NFC Sundays |
| Sling Orange & Blue | $60.99 (some accounts $64.99) | Both halves, 4 streams | None | Sling users wanting ESPN too |
| DIRECTV MySports | $64.99 ($44.99 for 6 months) | ESPN Unlimited, NFL Network, NBA TV, FS1/FS2, some locals | 5 days | RSN-heavy markets |
| ESPN Unlimited | $31.99 ($319.99/yr) | Every ESPN network, ESPN+ and NFL Network | None | The cheapest real ESPN |
| ESPN Unlimited + FOX One | $39.99 | ESPN suite plus FOX, FS1/FS2, Big Ten Network | None | College football |
| Peacock Premium | $12.99 ($129.99/yr) | Sunday Night Football, Premier League, Big Ten, NBA, Olympics | None | Best value per dollar |
| Paramount+ Essential | $8.99 ($89.99/yr) | NFL on CBS, Champions League, NCAA hoops, all UFC numbered events | None (ended) | Cheapest sports app |
YouTube TV vs Fubo for sports
For most people, YouTube TV wins — and it is now $6 a month cheaper than Fubo Pro, which was not true a year ago.
Fubo raised every plan by $15 a month in June 2026, once NBCUniversal channels returned after the carriage dispute that knocked NBC, USA and Golf Channel off the service in December 2025. Pro went from $73.99 to $88.99, Elite from $83.99 to $98.99. YouTube TV's base plan sat still at $82.99.
The bigger issue is a channel gap. Fubo does not carry TNT, TBS or truTV. That is not a small hole: it is March Madness and a large chunk of the NBA and NHL postseason. If those matter, Fubo is disqualified before price enters the conversation.
Where Fubo still wins is regional sports networks. Elite bundles RSN access into the price; on Pro the regional sports fee runs $3.99 to $16.99 a month, reaching $15.99 in Boston, Philadelphia and the NBC Sports Bay Area and California footprints.
YouTube TV's other 2026 change is genuinely useful: a Sports Plan at $64.99 a month, launched February 2026. It drops the entertainment tiers and keeps about 30 sports channels — the full ESPN family, FS1, FS2, NFL Network, NBA TV, Big Ten Network, SEC Network, TNT, TBS, USA and all four locals. New subscribers pay $54.99 for the first year. No MLB Network, no NHL Network, no RSNs.
Fubo vs Sling TV for the NFL
This one is not close, and the reason is CBS.
A full NFL Sunday needs CBS (AFC), FOX (NFC), NBC (Sunday Night Football) and ESPN (Monday Night Football). Fubo carries all four. Sling carries neither CBS nor a complete set of locals: every source we could open lists Sling's locals as FOX, NBC and ABC in designated markets only, with no CBS affiliate in any package.
- Sling Blue, $45.99 — NFC games on FOX, Sunday night on NBC where locals exist, plus NFL Network. No CBS game, ever.
- Sling Orange & Blue, $60.99 — adds ESPN for Monday nights. Still no CBS. Note that Sling began moving some accounts to $64.99 in February 2026 and applied it inconsistently; check the price your sign-up page quotes.
- Fubo Pro, $88.99 — the whole Sunday plus NFL Network, in one app.
- Sling Blue + Paramount+, $54.98 — CBS, FOX, NBC and NFL Network for $34 less than Fubo Pro. The sharpest NFL value here, minus Monday nights.
Our NFL without cable guide has the full week-by-week map.
Peacock vs Paramount+ for sports
These two are the best value in American sports streaming and they barely overlap. Most serious fans end up with both, for a combined $21.98 a month. Neither offers a free trial any more.
Peacock Premium ($12.99/month, $129.99/year) is NBC's sports arm: Sunday Night Football plus exclusive NFL games, the full Premier League season, Big Ten football and basketball, NBA under NBC's new deal, and the Olympics. The Select tier at $8.99 is a trap for sports fans — it strips out live sports entirely. Premium Plus at $19.99 adds a 24/7 local NBC livestream and downloads.
Paramount+ Essential ($8.99/month, $89.99/year) is CBS's: NFL on CBS, the Champions League, NCAA basketball including the CBS side of March Madness, and — the headline change of 2026 — every UFC numbered event at no extra charge. UFC left ESPN for Paramount+ in January and Paramount chose not to run the cards as pay-per-view. A year of Paramount+ now costs less than a single UFC PPV used to.
The cheapest streaming service with ESPN
It depends what you mean by ESPN, and the distinction costs real money.
ESPN Select, $13.99 a month, is the service formerly called ESPN+. It does not include the live ESPN channel — it is a library plus secondary rights.
ESPN Unlimited, $31.99 a month or $319.99 a year, is the full thing: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, SEC Network, ACC Network, ESPN on ABC, SECN+, ACCNX, ESPN+, CW Sports — and NFL Network. Those prices took effect September 17, 2026, up from $29.99 and $299.99; Select rose the same day from $12.99.
The ranking for the actual ESPN channel:
- ESPN Unlimited, $31.99 — cheapest standalone route, no other channels.
- ESPN Unlimited + FOX One, $39.99 — adds FOX, FS1, FS2 and Big Ten Network for $8 more.
- Sling Orange, $45.99 — ESPN, ESPN2 and TNT, one stream, no locals.
- YouTube TV Sports Plan or DIRECTV MySports, $64.99 — ESPN plus locals and NFL Network.
If you subscribed to ESPN before August 20, 2026, you kept the old price until your first bill on or after September 17.
A bundle with ESPN and NBC — what actually exists
The blunt answer: no direct-to-consumer bundle sells ESPN and NBC's sports together. Disney and NBCUniversal are competitors and no joint app exists. What does exist:
- ESPN Unlimited + FOX One, $39.99/month. ESPN and FOX, not NBC. A $10 discount on buying both, sold only through the ESPN and FOX websites, no free trial.
- Disney+, Hulu and ESPN Unlimited, $35.99/month with ads ($44.99 ad-free). Disney's own stack. No NBC.
- The legacy Disney+, Hulu and ESPN Select bundle, $27.99/month as of September 17, 2026, up from $24.99. That is ESPN Select, not the live channel.
Practically: pair ESPN Unlimited with Peacock for $44.98 a month and you have ESPN, ABC's sports, NFL Network, NBC's sports and the Premier League. Or buy a live TV service — YouTube TV's Sports Plan at $64.99 carries ESPN and NBC on one bill, the only genuine single-subscription route.
The best live-TV service with local channels (CBS/FOX/NBC/ABC)
If you need all four broadcast networks in one app, the field narrows fast.
| Service | Price | All four locals? |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube TV Sports Plan | $64.99 | Yes |
| YouTube TV Base | $82.99 | Yes |
| Fubo Pro | $88.99 | Yes |
| Hulu + Live TV | $89.99 | Yes |
| DIRECTV MySports | $64.99 | Select markets only |
| Sling Blue | $45.99 | No — FOX, NBC, ABC in select markets, no CBS |
YouTube TV's Sports Plan at $64.99 is the cheapest way to get all four in September 2026. Fubo and Hulu + Live TV carry the full set but cost $24 to $25 more. Sling is the cheapest live TV service in the US and the only one here that cannot complete an NFL Sunday.
One free alternative deserves naming: a $30 over-the-air antenna gets CBS, FOX, NBC and ABC in HD, permanently, in most metro areas. Antenna plus Peacock costs $12.99 a month.
How long is the Fubo free trial?
Five days, as of September 2026, on essentially any plan. It used to be seven; Fubo shortened it during 2026. You must enter a card to start and cancel before day five or the first month bills automatically. Nothing is held back — every channel in your plan, the full DVR, up to 10 devices.
One longer route exists, worth knowing only if you already hold the membership: My Best Buy Plus and Total members new to Fubo get 30 days free. Those memberships run up to $199.99 a year, so joining purely for the trial is a bad trade.
Elsewhere: YouTube TV 5 days, DIRECTV 5 days, Hulu + Live TV 3 days, and Sling, Peacock, Paramount+ and ESPN offer none at all. Trials have been vanishing across the category since 2025 — do not assume one exists.
The Paramount+ price increase in 2026
Paramount+ raised prices on January 15, 2026, timed to the arrival of UFC.
| Plan | Old price | New price |
|---|---|---|
| Essential, monthly | $7.99 | $8.99 |
| Premium, monthly | $12.99 | $13.99 |
| Essential, annual | $59.99 | $89.99 |
| Premium, annual | $119.99 | $139.99 |
The monthly rises are $1. The annual Essential plan is the one that hurt — a $30 jump, 50 percent, far out of line with the monthly change. If you held the old $59.99 annual rate, the value calculation changed more than the headlines suggested.
Paramount ended free trials at the same time. In exchange, UFC numbered events arrived with no pay-per-view surcharge — for anyone who bought even two PPVs a year, still a large net saving. There has been no second Paramount+ increase as of September 22, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What is the single best streaming service for sports in 2026?
YouTube TV for most people — $82.99 for the widest channel set, $64.99 for the sports-only plan. For regional sports networks, Fubo Elite at $98.99. For price, Peacock plus Paramount+ at $21.98.
Which service is cheapest for live ESPN?
ESPN Unlimited at $31.99 a month standalone, as of September 17, 2026. Inside a live TV bundle, Sling Orange at $45.99.
Does Fubo have TNT and TBS?
No. Fubo carries neither TNT, TBS nor truTV, which removes March Madness and much of the NBA and NHL postseason. It is the main reason to pick YouTube TV over Fubo.
Did Fubo and Hulu + Live TV merge into one app?
The businesses combined under Disney, but the apps stayed separate: Fubo at $88.99 for Pro, Hulu + Live TV at $89.99 with ads. You still choose one.
Which services still offer a free trial?
Fubo (5 days), YouTube TV (5 days), DIRECTV (5 days) and Hulu + Live TV (3 days). Sling, Peacock, Paramount+ and ESPN offer none.
Bottom line
Buy YouTube TV's $64.99 Sports Plan if you want one bill covering ESPN, all four locals, NFL Network and NBA TV — the best-value live TV package in September 2026. Skip Fubo unless you need regional sports networks, because the missing TNT and TBS cost you March Madness. Sling is the cheapest live TV in America and cannot show a CBS game, so it only works paired with Paramount+. Run two apps instead of one and Peacock plus Paramount+ at $21.98 buys more live sport per dollar than anything else here.
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