YouTube TV vs. Hulu + Live TV: What's the Difference?

Carving out a middle ground between gated streaming services like Netflix and traditional cable, YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV are two of the market's best live TV streaming services. As with cable providers, there's no good reason to subscribe to both services when they offer similar experiences. We looked closely at both to help you decide which is worth your time and money.

Overall Findings

At first glance, YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV are similar services. They offer many of the same channels, come equipped with cloud-based DVRs, and start at similar price points. But dig a little deeper, and you’ll likely come away with a preference based on each service's smaller quality-of-life features.

Hulu will best serve you if on-demand and original content are important to you. However, if having access to more channels and additional sports coverage is more to your liking, YouTube TV has the edge.  

Content: Mostly the Same, but Some Notable Differences

When looking over the channel selection, you’ll notice that YouTube TV and Hulu + Live offer most of the same content. Although YouTube offers more channels, you’ll find most major networks on both services. Channel availability can change periodically, but YouTube’s most significant omissions include History and Lifetime, while you won’t find AMC, PBS, or Univision on Hulu. 

One of the significant differences between the two services is sports content. While you won’t find many regional sports networks on either service, YouTube TV has a stronger offering of national sports coverage. NBA TV is available in the base plan, but you can pay an additional $11 to get “Sports Plus,” which includes Fox Sports Plus, NFL RedZone, and 12 other sports networks (NFL Sunday Ticket is available for an additional $349 per season). 

Hulu offers a $10 per month sports package that includes NFL RedZone and Motorsports Network, but with only six networks included, it doesn’t quite measure up to YouTube TV’s offering.

Since both services periodically add and remove channels, we recommend reviewing both services’ complete lists if you’re concerned about missing out on something specific. 

Plans and Pricing: Hulu is Cheaper

YouTube TV launched at a very reasonable $64.99 per month in 2017, but the price has since increased to $72.99. Hulu + Live TV’s starting price is only a bit cheaper at $69.99 per month, but that $3 savings go a long way when you factor in the added value you get with Hulu. Remember that “Live TV” is only one part of the service – you also get three streaming services bundled in:

• Hulu - ad-supported tier (starting at $7.99 per month)
• Disney Plus (starting at $7.99 per month)
• ESPN Plus ($9.99 per month)

In other words, you get nearly $30 worth of streaming services as part of your Hulu + Live TV subscription. While these services are already available in “The Disney Bundle” for a starting price of $12.99 per month, their inclusion in Hulu + Live TV is still good value. If YouTube TV came bundled with a YouTube Premium subscription, this might be a wash, but as things stand, it’s hard to deny that Hulu offers more bang for your buck.

Device Compatibility: YouTube TV and Hulu Support Most Major Devices

YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV are compatible with most major devices, including tablets, smart TVs, streaming sticks, and gaming consoles. The only notable exception is there’s no YouTube TV app on Nintendo Switch, but given the console’s shortage of apps in general, this isn’t a dealbreaker.

Where the two services diverge a bit is simultaneous streams. YouTube TV allows for three streams simultaneously, while Hulu Live only supports two. That said, you can pay an additional $9.99 monthly for unlimited simultaneous streams—a feature that YouTube TV doesn’t support. 

Both services offer easy-to-use interfaces across supported devices, with various search modifiers and categorizations to help you find what you want to watch. YouTube TV used to have a significant advantage over Hulu thanks to its unlimited cloud DVR but in 2022, Hulu replaced its 50-hour storage limit with an unlimited DVR of its own.

Video Quality: YouTube TV Has a 4K Add-On

Although streaming video quality depends a lot on the quality of your internet connection, you won’t be blown away by YouTube TV or Hulu, no matter how fast your connection is. Both services offer variable resolutions between 720p and 1080p, which aligns with what you’ll find from most cable channels.

Disappointingly, neither service includes 4K streams with their base plans. For an additional $10 per month, YouTube TV offers 4K on certain channels. Hulu offers no upgrade option, but some of its on-demand content is available in 4K. 

In other words, YouTube TV is the service for maximum 4K options.

Final Verdict: Hulu + Live TV is (Narrowly) the Winner

Overall, Hulu + Live TV is the best pick for most people, but you can’t go wrong with either streaming service. 

YouTube TV’s total channel selection, sports offerings, and 4K upgrade option make it a great fit as a pure cable replacement. But if you can forgo a select few channels, Hulu’s on-demand TV and movies bundled with Disney+ and ESPN+ is a tough value to beat (plus it’s slightly cheaper than YouTube TV).