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Philo is the streaming service for cord-cutters who are honest about what they actually watch. Most live TV subscribers use cable primarily for entertainment and lifestyle channels—HGTV, Hallmark, AMC, Discovery, Bravo, TLC, VH1—and rarely the sports and news networks that inflate their cable bills. Philo recognized this and built a service priced accordingly: 70+ entertainment channels for $25 per month, with no sports and no news.
Our team tested Philo's live TV service, DVR functionality, and app performance to give non-sports cord-cutters a complete picture of what Philo offers and where its limits are.
Philo Pricing in 2026
Philo offers a single plan at $25 per month. That's it. No tiers, no confusing package comparisons, no add-ons required to access the full channel lineup. You get 70+ channels, unlimited DVR storage, three simultaneous streams, and the ability to save recordings for up to one year. At $25/month, Philo is the lowest-priced live TV streaming service with a legitimate channel lineup—YouTube TV costs nearly three times as much.
Philo also offers occasional add-on channel packs (AMC+, ALLBLK, and others) for a few dollars per month each. These are optional and don't affect the base pricing. A 7-day free trial is available for new subscribers.
Philo
$25/mo
70+ entertainment and lifestyle channels. Unlimited DVR. 3 streams. No sports or news, no inflated price.
Channel Lineup: Entertainment and Lifestyle Focus
Philo's channel selection is deliberately focused. You'll find HGTV, Food Network, Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, History Channel, AMC, BBC America, Comedy Central, BET, VH1, CMT, Lifetime, Hallmark Channel, A&E, and dozens more entertainment and lifestyle networks. These are the channels that dominate daytime and primetime cable viewership for non-sports audiences.
What Philo doesn't carry: ESPN, FS1, regional sports networks, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, CNBC, local broadcast affiliates (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, PBS). The absence of sports and news is Philo's defining characteristic. It's not a limitation for the service's target audience—it's the feature that makes the $25 price point possible.
Philo's on-demand library complements its live TV with thousands of episodes from the channels it carries. Full series seasons from HGTV, AMC, TLC, and others are available on-demand in addition to live broadcasts. The on-demand selection is deeper than many viewers expect.
Unlimited DVR: Philo's Most Underrated Feature
Philo's unlimited cloud DVR with one-year storage is a genuinely competitive feature even against much more expensive services. DirecTV Stream also offers unlimited DVR; YouTube TV's 9-month storage limit is competitive. But at $25/month, getting unlimited DVR with Philo is remarkable value. You can record entire seasons of HGTV renovation shows or AMC drama marathons without storage anxiety, then watch them at any time within the year.
Streaming Quality and Performance
Philo streams at up to 1080p Full HD. There is no 4K content—Philo's channel partners don't currently offer 4K broadcasts, which is consistent with the live TV industry broadly. The streaming quality is reliable on 10+ Mbps connections, and Philo handles the three simultaneous stream limit cleanly when multiple household members watch different channels. We experienced minimal buffering during our testing on standard home broadband.
Device Support
Philo is available on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Google TV, iOS, Android, and web browsers. The
Roku Streaming Stick 4Kis the recommended device for Philo—Roku's clean interface complements Philo's simple single-tier pricing philosophy, and Dolby Vision passthrough is unnecessary since Philo doesn't offer HDR content. The Philo app is clean, well-organized, and easy for all household members to navigate.
Who Should Choose Philo?
Philo is the ideal service for cord-cutters who primarily watch lifestyle, reality, entertainment, and documentary programming. HGTV devotees, Hallmark Channel watchers, Discovery series fans, and anyone who primarily watches cable for entertainment rather than sports or news will find Philo covers nearly everything they want at a price that makes the monthly cost feel trivial compared to cable.
Philo works particularly well as part of a streaming stack: Philo handles live cable entertainment channels, while Paramount+ covers live CBS and sports, and a service like Netflix or Prime Video provides on-demand originals. This combination delivers full cable replacement at $40-50/month total—less than half a typical cable bill.
Our Verdict: Is Philo Worth It in 2026?
Philo is the best value in live TV streaming for non-sports viewers, full stop. At $25/month with 70+ channels, unlimited DVR with one-year storage, and three simultaneous streams, Philo delivers entertainment cable value that services at three times the price struggle to match.
Subscribe If:
You primarily watch entertainment and lifestyle cable channels (HGTV, Discovery, Hallmark, AMC, TLC). Sports and news are not part of your viewing diet. You want live TV capability without paying $70-80/month for a full bundle. You're building a cord-cutting stack and need a live TV anchor for entertainment channels only.
Skip If:
Sports are part of your household viewing—Philo carries zero sports channels. You need local broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox) live—use an indoor antenna or a service like Hulu + Live TV that includes locals. You follow breaking news on cable news channels—Philo has no CNN, MSNBC, or Fox News.
The bottom line: if Philo covers your channel needs, it's a no-brainer at $25/month. The savings versus full live TV streaming services are significant—$45-55/month in savings compared to YouTube TV or DirecTV Stream—and the unlimited DVR adds genuine value. Pair it with an indoor antenna for locals and Paramount+ for sports, and you've built a comprehensive cord-cutting stack for under $45/month combined.