Entertainment · alternatives
Alternatives to ESPN+
20 entertainment tools sit alongside ESPN+ in this directory. Below is what separates each from ESPN+ on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 20
- With a free tier
- 12
- Cheaper to start
- 7
- ESPN+ starts at
- $10.99/month
Why people look past ESPN+
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the ESPN+ entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
There is no free tier
The record for ESPN+ carries no free tier, so evaluating it means paying first. 12 of the 20 alternatives below can be used without paying.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
The best podcast app for iPhone
- Can be used without paying; ESPN+ cannot.
- Starts $1.040000000000001 a year cheaper, at $9.95/year.
Podcast & radio app for everyone
- Can be used without paying; ESPN+ cannot.
Original stories from the most creative minds
- Can be used without paying; ESPN+ cannot.
- Starts $2 a month dearer, at $12.99/month.
Podcast app with episode inbox
- Can be used without paying; ESPN+ cannot.
- Starts $13.999999999999998 a year dearer, at $24.99/year.
Ticket resale marketplace charging both buyers and sellers, with combined fees often a large share of face value
- Can be used without paying; ESPN+ cannot.
- Sold on a Free to browse, two sided transaction fees on buyers and sellers model rather than subscription.
Free ad-supported streaming from Roku, with an optional paid live TV add-on layer
- Can be used without paying; ESPN+ cannot.
- Sold on a Free, ad-supported; individual paid channel add-ons model rather than subscription.
Every ESPN+ alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ESPN+ (this page) | $10.99/month | Subscription | 2 | |
| OvercastThe best podcast app for iPhone | Free, then $9.95/year | - | 2 | vs ESPN+ |
| CastboxPodcast & radio app for everyone | Free | - | 2 | vs ESPN+ |
| Apple TV+Original stories from the most creative minds | Free, then $12.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs ESPN+ |
| CastroPodcast app with episode inbox | Free, then $24.99/year | - | 2 | vs ESPN+ |
| StubHub | Free | Free to browse, two sided transaction fees on buyers and sellers | 2 | vs ESPN+ |
| The Roku Channel | Free | Free, ad-supported; individual paid channel add-ons | 2 | vs ESPN+ |
| mpv | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs ESPN+ |
| Infuse | Free, then $1.99/month | Per user per month | 3 | vs ESPN+ |
| IINA | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs ESPN+ |
| Emby | Free, then $4.99/month | Freemium | 2 | vs ESPN+ |
| Crunchyroll | Free, then $7.99/month | Freemium | 3 | vs ESPN+ |
| Dailymotion | Free | Free | 1 | vs ESPN+ |
| Philo | $33/month | Per household per month, single plan | 1 | vs ESPN+ |
| fuboTV | $73.99/month | Per household per month, tiered plans | 3 | vs ESPN+ |
| DirecTV Stream | $89.99/month | Per household per month, tiered plans | 3 | vs ESPN+ |
| Disney+ | $7.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs ESPN+ |
| Discovery+ | $4.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs ESPN+ |
| Final Cut Pro | $12.99/month | - | 3 | vs ESPN+ |
| Adobe Premiere Pro | $22.99/month | - | 4 | vs ESPN+ |
| Apple Music | $10.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs ESPN+ |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the ESPN+ badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (12)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
Cheaper than ESPN+ (7)
Entry price under ESPN+'s $10.99/month. The record does not say what unit that price is charged in, so confirm per-seat versus flat rate before comparing budgets.
- Overcast , Free, then $9.95/year
- Infuse , Free, then $1.99/month
- Emby , Free, then $4.99/month
- Crunchyroll , Free, then $7.99/month
- Dailymotion , Free
- Disney+ , $7.99/month
- Discovery+ , $4.99/month
What you would be giving up
ESPN+ is most often brought in for sports streaming, live event watching. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If ESPN+ is broadly right and the question is cost, the ESPN+ pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Entertainment category lists everything the directory holds, and best entertainment tools ranks them.
ESPN+ runs on web, ios, android, smart-tv, roku, fire-tv. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about ESPN+ alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to ESPN+?
- 20 other entertainment tools are listed in this directory, led by Overcast, Castbox, Apple TV+, Castro. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to ESPN+?
- 12 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Overcast, Castbox, Apple TV+, Castro, StubHub.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to ESPN+?
- Yes. 7 of the alternatives below start under ESPN+'s $10.99/month: Overcast at Free, then $9.95/year, Infuse at Free, then $1.99/month, Emby at Free, then $4.99/month, Crunchyroll at Free, then $7.99/month.
- Why do people look for an alternative to ESPN+?
- On the figures on record, one thing stands out: there is no free tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from ESPN+?
- ESPN+ is most often brought in for sports streaming, live event watching. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to ESPN+?
- None of the entertainment tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these ESPN+ alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Entertainment, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare ESPN+ against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against ESPN+ covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every entertainment tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Entertainment category, 20 tools beside ESPN+. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.