Entertainment · alternatives
Alternatives to Philo
19 entertainment tools sit alongside Philo in this directory. Below is what separates each from Philo on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 19
- With a free tier
- 11
- Cheaper to start
- 12
- Philo starts at
- $33/month
Why people look past Philo
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Philo entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
It costs more than the category median
Philo starts at $33/month. Across the 13 entertainment tools listed beside it that publish a price, the median entry point is $10.99/month.
There is no free tier
The record for Philo carries no free tier, so evaluating it means paying first. 11 of the 19 alternatives below can be used without paying.
There is only one tier
Philo publishes a single plan, Philo at $33/month. There is no smaller tier to drop to if the fit is wrong or the budget moves.
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.
Sports-first live TV streaming bundle with regional sports networks and a cloud DVR
- Starts $40.989999999999995 a month dearer, at $73.99/month.
- Sold on a Per household per month, tiered plans model rather than Per household per month, single plan.
- 3 tiers to Philo's 1.
Cable-replacement live TV streaming with local channels, RSNs and the widest premium channel tiers
- Starts $56.989999999999995 a month dearer, at $89.99/month.
- Sold on a Per household per month, tiered plans model rather than Per household per month, single plan.
- 3 tiers to Philo's 1.
Free ad-supported streaming from Roku, with an optional paid live TV add-on layer
- Can be used without paying; Philo cannot.
- Sold on a Free, ad-supported; individual paid channel add-ons model rather than Per household per month, single plan.
- 2 tiers to Philo's 1.
Ticket resale marketplace charging both buyers and sellers, with combined fees often a large share of face value
- Can be used without paying; Philo cannot.
- Sold on a Free to browse, two sided transaction fees on buyers and sellers model rather than Per household per month, single plan.
- 2 tiers to Philo's 1.
Free open source command line video player with no graphical interface, built for scripting and precision
- Can be used without paying; Philo cannot.
- Sold on a Open source, no licence fee model rather than Per household per month, single plan.
Paid media player for Apple TV, iPhone, iPad and Mac with strong network share and cloud library streaming
- Can be used without paying; Philo cannot.
- Starts $31.01 a month cheaper, at $1.99/month.
- Sold on a Per user per month model rather than Per household per month, single plan.
- 3 tiers to Philo's 1.
Every Philo 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philo (this page) | $33/month | Per household per month, single plan | 1 | |
| fuboTVIf sports coverage, including regional sports networks, is a requirement | $73.99/month | Per household per month, tiered plans | 3 | vs Philo |
| DirecTV StreamIf you want local channels and sports alongside general entertainment in one bundle | $89.99/month | Per household per month, tiered plans | 3 | vs Philo |
| The Roku ChannelIf you want free ad-supported channels and are comfortable with less content than a paid bundle offers | Free | Free, ad-supported; individual paid channel add-ons | 2 | vs Philo |
| StubHub | Free | Free to browse, two sided transaction fees on buyers and sellers | 2 | vs Philo |
| mpv | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Philo |
| Infuse | Free, then $1.99/month | Per user per month | 3 | vs Philo |
| IINA | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Philo |
| Castro | Free, then $24.99/year | - | 2 | vs Philo |
| Castbox | Free | - | 2 | vs Philo |
| Emby | Free, then $4.99/month | Freemium | 2 | vs Philo |
| Apple TV+ | Free, then $12.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Philo |
| Crunchyroll | Free, then $7.99/month | Freemium | 3 | vs Philo |
| Dailymotion | Free | Free | 1 | vs Philo |
| Disney+ | $7.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Philo |
| ESPN+ | $10.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Philo |
| Discovery+ | $4.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Philo |
| Final Cut Pro | $12.99/month | - | 3 | vs Philo |
| Adobe Premiere Pro | $22.99/month | - | 4 | vs Philo |
| Apple Music | $10.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Philo |
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 Philo badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Cheaper than Philo (12)
Entry price under Philo's $33/month. The record does not say what unit that price is charged in, so confirm per-seat versus flat rate before comparing budgets.
- Infuse , Free, then $1.99/month
- Castro , Free, then $24.99/year
- Emby , Free, then $4.99/month
- Apple TV+ , Free, then $12.99/month
- Crunchyroll , Free, then $7.99/month
- Dailymotion , Free
- Disney+ , $7.99/month
- ESPN+ , $10.99/month
What you would be giving up
Philo is most often brought in for a household that gets local news over an antenna and does not need it duplicated in a streaming bundle, someone who wants reality, lifestyle and general cable channels and has no interest in sports at all, a budget cord-cutter comparing the lowest possible monthly cost among mainstream live tv services, a second household or vacation home subscription where a full sports-inclusive bundle is not worth the cost. 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 Philo is broadly right and the question is cost, the Philo 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.
Philo runs on web, ios, android, roku, fire tv, apple 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 Philo alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Philo?
- 19 other entertainment tools are listed in this directory, led by fuboTV, DirecTV Stream, The Roku Channel, StubHub. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Philo?
- 11 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: The Roku Channel, StubHub, mpv, Infuse, IINA.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to Philo?
- Yes. 12 of the alternatives below start under Philo's $33/month: Infuse at Free, then $1.99/month, Castro at Free, then $24.99/year, Emby at Free, then $4.99/month, Apple TV+ at Free, then $12.99/month.
- Why do people look for an alternative to Philo?
- On the figures on record, 3 things stand out: it costs more than the category median; there is no free tier; there is only one tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from Philo?
- Philo is most often brought in for a household that gets local news over an antenna and does not need it duplicated in a streaming bundle, someone who wants reality, lifestyle and general cable channels and has no interest in sports at all, a budget cord-cutter comparing the lowest possible monthly cost among mainstream live tv services, a second household or vacation home subscription where a full sports-inclusive bundle is not worth the cost. 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 Philo?
- 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 Philo 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 Philo against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Philo 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, 19 tools beside Philo. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.