YouTube TV provides access to more than 100 live TV channels while a Hulu Live TV subscription unlocks more than 85. If the quantity of channels matters the most then this is an instant win for YouTube TV. Of course, things are never quite that simple when it comes to picking the right live TV plan.
Considering YouTube TV and Hulu Live TV are two of the most popular live TV streaming services in the US, either is likely to be a good option to sign up to. However, they are both also fairly expensive subscriptions with YouTube TV’s base plan priced at $72.99 per month and Hulu Live TV’s at $69.99 per month.
When it comes to choosing between them, the monthly price can only help so much considering both services are similarly priced. That said, Hulu Live TV does include access to both Disney Plus and ESPN Plus, which may make a difference to some homes.
If the additional subscriptions are not enough to sway your decision, then it might be worth taking a closer look at the channel lineups. While there is some significant overlap in the channels department, there are enough differences as well.
YouTube TV & Hulu Live TV channels comparison:
YouTube TV comes with more channels (100+) than Hulu Live TV (85+) although the exact number you’ll get will vary depending on location and access to local and regional channels.
YouTube vs Hulu: base plans compared
Below is a comparison of all of the base channels that all subscribers get with each service, excluding local differences.
| YouTube TV | Hulu Live TV | |
|---|---|---|
| $72.99 | $69.99 | |
| A&E | ✔ | |
| ABC | ✔ | ✔ |
| ABC News | ✔ | ✔ |
| ACC Network | ✔ | ✔ |
| Adult Swim | ✔ | ✔ |
| AMC | ✔ | |
| Animal Planet (East & West) | ✔ | ✔ |
| BBC | ✔ | |
| BBC World News | ✔ | |
| BET | ✔ | ✔ |
| BET Her | ✔ | |
| Big Ten Network | ✔ | ✔ |
| Bounce | ✔ | |
| Bloomberg Television | ✔ | |
| Bravo | ✔ | ✔ |
| Cartoon Network | ✔ | ✔ |
| CBS | ✔ | ✔ |
| CBS News Live | ✔ | |
| CBS Sports | ✔ | ✔ |
| Cheddar | ✔ | ✔ |
| Cheddar News | ✔ | |
| CMT | ✔ | ✔ |
| CNBC | ✔ | ✔ |
| CNBC World | ✔ | |
| CNN | ✔ | ✔ |
| CNN International | ✔ | |
| Comedy Central | ✔ | ✔ |
| Comedy.TV | ✔ | ✔ |
| Comet TV | ✔ | |
| CourtTV | ✔ | |
| Cozy TV | ✔ | ✔ |
| Crime Investigation | ✔ | |
| DABL | ✔ | ✔ |
| Discovery (East & West) | ✔ | ✔ |
| Disney Channel | ✔ | ✔ |
| Disney Junior | ✔ | ✔ |
| Disney XD | ✔ | ✔ |
| Docurama | ✔ | |
| Dove | ✔ | |
| E! | ✔ | ✔ |
| ESPN | ✔ | ✔ |
| ESPN2 | ✔ | ✔ |
| ESPN News | ✔ | ✔ |
| ESPNU | ✔ | ✔ |
| ESPN College Extra | ✔ | |
| Food Network | ✔ | ✔ |
| FOX | ✔ | ✔ |
| Fox Business | ✔ | ✔ |
| Fox News | ✔ | ✔ |
| FOX SOUL | ✔ | |
| Fox Sports 1 | ✔ | ✔ |
| Fox Sports 2 | ✔ | ✔ |
| FOX Weather | ✔ | |
| Freeform | ✔ | ✔ |
| FX | ✔ | ✔ |
| FXM | ✔ | ✔ |
| FXX | ✔ | ✔ |
| FYI | ✔ | |
| Galavisión | ✔ | |
| Game Show Network | ✔ | |
| getTV | ✔ | |
| Golf Channel | ✔ | ✔ |
| The Grio | ||
| Hallmark Channel | ✔ | ✔ |
| Hallmark Drama | ✔ | |
| Hallmark Movies and Mysteries | ✔ | ✔ |
| HGTV | ✔ | ✔ |
| History | ✔ | |
| HLN | ✔ | ✔ |
| HSN | ✔ | |
| ID (East & West) | ✔ | ✔ |
| IFC | ✔ | |
| ION | ✔ | |
| Justice Central | ✔ | ✔ |
| LAFC | ✔ | |
| Law & Crime | ✔ | |
| Lifetime | ✔ | |
| LiveNOW from Fox | ✔ | |
| LMN | ✔ | |
| Localish | ✔ | ✔ |
| Local Now | ✔ | |
| MHI | ✔ | |
| MotorTrend | ✔ | ✔ |
| MSNBC | ✔ | ✔ |
| MTV | ✔ | ✔ |
| MTV2 | ✔ | |
| MTV Classic | ✔ | |
| MyNetworkTV | ✔ | |
| NASA | ✔ | |
| NatGeo | ✔ | ✔ |
| NatGeo Wild | ✔ | ✔ |
| NBA TV | ✔ | |
| NBC | ✔ | ✔ |
| NBC LX | ✔ | ✔ |
| NBC News Now | ✔ | ✔ |
| News Nation | ✔ | ✔ |
| NECN | ✔ | |
| NFL Network | ✔ | ✔ |
| Nickelodeon | ✔ | ✔ |
| Nick Jr. | ✔ | ✔ |
| Nicktoons | ✔ | |
| Orlando City | ✔ | |
| OWN | ✔ | ✔ |
| Oxygen | ✔ | ✔ |
| Oxygen True Crime | ✔ | |
| Paramount | ✔ | ✔ |
| PBS | ✔ | |
| PBS Kids | ✔ | |
| PC | ✔ | |
| Pop | ✔ | ✔ |
| QVC | ✔ | ✔ |
| Recipe.TV | ✔ | |
| SEC | ✔ | ✔ |
| Smithsonian Channel | ✔ | ✔ |
| Scripps News | ✔ | |
| SNY | ✔ | |
| StartTV | ✔ | ✔ |
| SundanceTV | ✔ | |
| Syfy | ✔ | ✔ |
| TBS | ✔ | ✔ |
| TCM | ✔ | ✔ |
| Telemundo | ✔ | |
| TLC (East & West) | ✔ | ✔ |
| Tastemade | ✔ | |
| Teen Nick | ✔ | |
| Telehit | ✔ | |
| The CW | ✔ | ✔ |
| The Great Courses | ✔ | |
| The Grio | ✔ | |
| The Weather Channel | ✔ | ✔ |
| TNT | ✔ | ✔ |
| Travel Channel | ✔ | ✔ |
| TruTV | ✔ | ✔ |
| TV Land | ✔ | ✔ |
| TYT | ✔ | |
| UniMás | ✔ | |
| Universal Kids | ✔ | ✔ |
| Universo | ✔ | |
| Univision | ✔ | |
| USA | ✔ | ✔ |
| Vevo Country | ✔ | |
| Vevo Hip Hop | ✔ | |
| Vevo Pop | ✔ | |
| Vevo Holiday | ✔ | |
| Vevo 80s | ✔ | |
| Vevo 90s | ✔ | |
| Vice | ✔ | |
| VH1 | ✔ | ✔ |
| WE TV | ✔ |
As mentioned, YouTube TV provides access to a greater selection of channels overall. However, it is missing some that Hulu Live TV has, and they may prove to be important to some users.
Most notably, YouTube TV is missing A&E, the History channel, and Lifetime, and all of these popular channels are included with Hulu’s base subscription.
Conversely, choosing the base Hulu Live plan will result in missing channels elsewhere, including AMC, BBC, Hallmark Drama, MTV2, and Nicktoons, among others.
Hulu Entertainment add-on
It is worth noting that Hulu does offer an Entertainment add-on which does include many of the missing YouTube TV channels.
Hulu Entertainment add-on channels:
- American Heroes Channel
- BET Her
- Boomerang
- CNBC World
- Cooking Channel
- Crime + Investigation
- Destination America
- Discovery Family
- Discovery Life
- Great American Family
- Hallmark Drama
- Magnolia Network
- Military History Channel
- MTV2
- MTV Classic
- Nick Toons
- Science
- Teen Nick
However, Hulu’s Entertainment channel pack costs an additional $7.99 per month, taking the total to $77.98 for the add-on and the base plan, and that’s $5 more than YouTube TV’s base plan.
YouTube vs Hulu: sports add-on channels compared
One of the main reasons to consider signing up to a live TV package is access to live sports. While both YouTube TV and Hulu include a variety of sports channels in their base plans, they also both offer a sports add-on.
YouTube TV’s Sports Plus costs $10.99 per month and adds more than 10 sports channels. Hulu Live TV’s Sports Add-on costs $9.99 per month and adds more then 5 sports channels.
| YouTube TV (Sports Plus) | Hulu Live TV (Sports) | |
|---|---|---|
| $10.99 | $9.99 | |
| beIN Sports | ✔ | |
| BilliardTV | ✔ | |
| FanDuel Racing | ✔ | |
| FanDuel TV | ✔ | ✔ |
| Fight_Network | ✔ | |
| FOX Soccer Plus | ✔ | |
| Impact_Wrestling | ✔ | |
| MAVTV | ✔ | ✔ |
| NFL RedZone | ✔ | ✔ |
| Outdoor Channel | ✔ | |
| Outside TV | ✔ | |
| PlayersTV | ✔ | |
| PokerGO | ✔ | |
| SportsGrid | ✔ | |
| Sportsman Channel | ✔ | |
| Stadium | ✔ | |
| VSiN | ✔ |
YouTube TV is also now the home of NFL Sunday Ticket which is available as another add-on. While beneficial to YouTube TV members, a YouTube TV subscription is not necessary as Sunday Ticket is also available as a standalone Primetime Channels subscription through YouTube.
YouTube vs Hulu: Spanish add-on channels compared
Similar to sports, both live TV services also offer a Spanish add-on that adds a number of Spanish-language channels.
YouTube TV’s Spanish Plus costs $14.99 per month and adds 15 channels. Hulu’s Spanish add-on costs $9.99 per month and adds 6 channels.
| YouTube TV (Spanish Plus) | Hulu Live TV (Español) | |
|---|---|---|
| $14.99 | $4.99 | |
| Antena 3 | ✔ | |
| Baby TV Español | ✔ | |
| Bandamax | ✔ | |
| beIN SPORTS en Español | ✔ | |
| Cinelatino | ✔ | |
| Cine Mexicano | ✔ | |
| Cine Sony | ✔ | |
| CNN en Español | ✔ | ✔ |
| De Película | ✔ | |
| De Película Clásico | ✔ | |
| Discovery en Español | ✔ | ✔ |
| Discovery Familia | ✔ | ✔ |
| ESPN Deportes | ✔ | ✔ |
| Estrella TV | ✔ | |
| FOROtv | ✔ | |
| FOX Deportes | ✔ | ✔ |
| History Channel en Español | ✔ | |
| Música | ✔ | |
| NTN 24 | ✔ | |
| Nuestra Tele | ✔ | |
| Pasiones | ✔ | |
| Tastemade en Español | ✔ | |
| Telehit | ✔ | |
| The Weather Channel en Español | ✔ | ✔ |
| tlnovelas | ✔ | |
| TyC Sports | ✔ | |
| Universo | ✔ | ✔ |
| WAPA América | ✔ |
YouTube vs Hulu: Premium channels compared
Both YouTube TV and Hulu Live also offer the option to add a number of premium channels to the base subscription. These channels cost an additional amount per month, and vary depending on the network.
| YouTube TV | Hulu Live TV | |
|---|---|---|
| Acorn | ✔ | |
| ALLBLK | ✔ | |
| AMC+ | ✔ | |
| ATRESplayer | ✔ | |
| Cinemax | ✔ | ✔ |
| Comedy Dynamics | ✔ | |
| Contv | ✔ | |
| CuriosityStream | ✔ | |
| Dekkoo | ✔ | |
| Docurama | ✔ | |
| Dove | ✔ | |
| Fandor | ✔ | |
| Fox Nation | ✔ | |
| Gaia | ✔ | |
| Hallmark Movies Now | ✔ | |
| HBO | ✔ | |
| HereTV | ✔ | |
| HI-YAH! | ✔ | |
| Hopster Learning | ✔ | |
| IFC | ✔ | |
| Law & Crime | ✔ | |
| MagellanTV | ✔ | |
| Mangolia Selects | ✔ | |
| Max | ✔ | ✔ |
| MGM+ | ✔ | |
| MHzChoice | ✔ | |
| MovieSphere | ✔ | |
| My Outdoor TV | ✔ | |
| NBA League Pass | ✔ | |
| Outside TV Features | ✔ | |
| PokerGO | ✔ | |
| Qello Concerts | ✔ | |
| RCN Total | ✔ | |
| Screenpix | ✔ | |
| Screambox | ✔ | |
| Showtime | ✔ | ✔ |
| Shudder | ✔ | |
| STARZ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Stingray Classica | ✔ | |
| Sundance Now | ✔ | |
| Tastemade+ | ✔ | |
| Topic | ✔ | |
| UPFaith & Family | ✔ | |
| Vix+ | ✔ | |
| VSiN | ✔ |
YouTube TV vs Hulu Live TV channels comparison: recap
If the sheer number of channels matters the most to an individual or household, then YouTube TV is likely to be the better option. Not only does YouTube TV’s base plan come with more channels (100+ versus 85+), but it also offers more sports (14 versus 6) and Spanish (27 versus 8) channels through add-ons. It also offers more premium network add-ons as well.
| YouTube TV | |
 | $73 a month 100+ channels 3 streams Unlimited DVR $54.99/mo for 3 months |
On the other hand, a base Hulu Live TV subscription comes bundled with a basic Hulu, Disney Plus and ESPN Plus as well. Homes thar are already signed up to any of these subscriptions may find they save on their overall monthly streaming costs by subscribing to Hulu Live TV.
| Hulu Live TV | |
 | $70+ per month 85+ channels 2 streams Unlimited DVR Disney+ and ESPN+ included $49.99/mo first 3 months |
While YouTube TV and Hulu Live TV are both good services, and offer well-balanced channel lineups, they are not the only options. Some homes may find that one of the other live TV streaming services offer a more suitable selection of channels, a cheaper monthly price, or both.
1 reply on “YouTube TV vs Hulu Live TV Channels Comparison: Best Base Plan?”
The one thing that is overlooked in these comparisons and is often a factor is the ability to use the service in multiple locations. In my area, many people have vacation homes at the beach or boats in the marina or other weekend locations. Hulu does not let you log into their service from “outside your home location” without having to change your home location which is something that can only be done a limited number of times before not allowing and requiring a second subscription. YouTube TV allow access from multiple varied locations as long as you log into your “home location” at least once every three months.