Is Philo or The Roku Channel better?

Neither clearly leads. Philo starts at $33/month and The Roku Channel at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Philo or The Roku Channel?

The Roku Channel has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $33/month for Philo and Free for The Roku Channel.

Does Philo or The Roku Channel run on more platforms?

Philo runs on Web, iOS, Android, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV. The Roku Channel runs on Roku, iOS, Android, Web, Fire TV, Apple TV.

Can I use The Roku Channel for free?

Yes. The Roku Channel has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Philo starts at $33/month.

What is Philo best used for?

Philo is most often used 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. Of those, a household that gets local news over an antenna and does not need it duplicated in a streaming bundle and someone who wants reality, lifestyle and general cable channels and has no interest in sports at all are not what The Roku Channel is typically brought in for.

What can Philo do that The Roku Channel cannot?

Philo covers Unlimited cloud DVR, Around 70 channels, No contracts, Multiple simultaneous streams. The Roku Channel covers Free ad-supported live channels, Premium channel add-ons, Cross-platform app, No Roku hardware required. Both handle On-demand library.

Entertainment · head to head

Philo vs The Roku Channel

Philo

Entertainment

Cheap entertainment-only live TV streaming with no sports and no local broadcast channels

From: $33/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

The Roku Channel

Entertainment

Free ad-supported streaming from Roku, with an optional paid live TV add-on layer

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only The Roku Channel has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Philo there is no sports coverage of any kind, and no add-on exists to get it, so anyone wanting even occasional live sports needs a different service entirely.; The Roku Channel the free tier does not include major broadcast network live feeds or sports in most markets, so it does not replace a bundle like fuboTV or DirecTV Stream for live sports or local news.
They diverge on capability: Philo covers Unlimited cloud DVR, The Roku Channel covers Free ad-supported live channels.
Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Philo and The Roku Channel actually diverge.

Attributes where Philo and The Roku Channel differ
Attribute	Philo	The Roku Channel
Starting price	$33/month	Free
Pricing model	Per household per month, single plan	Free, ad-supported; individual paid channel add-ons
Free tier	No	Yes
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV	Roku, iOS, Android, Web, Fire TV, Apple TV

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Entertainment).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Philo

Unlimited cloud DVR
Around 70 channels
No contracts
Multiple simultaneous streams
Low base price

Only in The Roku Channel

Free ad-supported live channels
Premium channel add-ons
Cross-platform app
No Roku hardware required
Unified billing

Both cover

On-demand library

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Philo

A household that gets local news over an antenna and does not need it duplicated in a streaming bundlenot The Roku Channel
Someone who wants reality, lifestyle and general cable channels and has no interest in sports at allnot The Roku Channel
A budget cord-cutter comparing the lowest possible monthly cost among mainstream live TV servicesnot The Roku Channel
A second household or vacation home subscription where a full sports-inclusive bundle is not worth the costnot The Roku Channel

The Roku Channel

A cord-cutter who wants free ad-supported background TV without any subscription commitmentnot Philo
Someone who wants one or two specific premium channels like Starz without a full live TV bundlenot Philo
A household that already has Netflix and Hulu and wants free supplementary live channels at no extra costnot Philo
Someone testing whether they need a full live TV bundle before committing to fuboTV or DirecTV Streamnot Philo

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Philo

There is no sports coverage of any kind, and no add-on exists to get it, so anyone wanting even occasional live sports needs a different service entirely.
It carries no local ABC, CBS, Fox or NBC affiliate feeds, so live local news and network prime time require an antenna or another service.
The channel count, at around 70, is meaningfully smaller than fuboTV or DirecTV Stream, so genre variety outside entertainment and lifestyle is limited.
News coverage is thin, with no major 24-hour cable news network included on the base lineup in the way some competitors carry CNN or Fox News.
Because it deliberately stays in one narrow lane, households whose needs change to include sports have to switch providers entirely rather than upgrading a Philo tier.

The Roku Channel

The free tier does not include major broadcast network live feeds or sports in most markets, so it does not replace a bundle like fuboTV or DirecTV Stream for live sports or local news.
Assembling several premium add-ons individually can add up to a similar or higher monthly cost than a bundled live TV service, without the same single unified guide.
It depends on advertising to stay free, so the on-demand and live library carries ad breaks that paid competitors without ads do not have on certain content.
Channel and content availability shifts fairly often as licensing deals change, so a title or channel available one month may not be the next.
It is most tightly integrated with Roku hardware; the experience on other platforms, while functional, is a secondary product to Roku hardware itself.

Pricing, plan by plan

Philo

$33/month

Philo$33/month
- Around 70 entertainment and lifestyle channels
- Unlimited cloud DVR
- No sports or local broadcast channels

The Roku Channel

Free

The Roku ChannelFree
- Free live linear channels
- Free ad-supported on-demand library
- No sports or major broadcast network feeds included
Premium add-ons$undefined/month
- Individually priced channels such as Starz or Showtime
- Sports and news bundles priced separately
- Billed per add-on, not as one package

Which should you pick?

Choose Philo if

You need unlimited cloud dvr.
You work on Web, iOS, Android, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV.
You also want around 70 channels.

Philo review

Choose The Roku Channel if

You need free ad-supported live channels.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Roku, iOS, Android, Web, Fire TV, Apple TV.
You also want premium channel add-ons.

The Roku Channel review

Questions people ask

Is Philo or The Roku Channel better?: Neither clearly leads. Philo starts at $33/month and The Roku Channel at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Philo or The Roku Channel?: The Roku Channel has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $33/month for Philo and Free for The Roku Channel.
Does Philo or The Roku Channel run on more platforms?: Philo runs on Web, iOS, Android, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV. The Roku Channel runs on Roku, iOS, Android, Web, Fire TV, Apple TV.
Can I use The Roku Channel for free?: Yes. The Roku Channel has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Philo starts at $33/month.
What is Philo best used for?: Philo is most often used 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. Of those, a household that gets local news over an antenna and does not need it duplicated in a streaming bundle and someone who wants reality, lifestyle and general cable channels and has no interest in sports at all are not what The Roku Channel is typically brought in for.
What can Philo do that The Roku Channel cannot?: Philo covers Unlimited cloud DVR, Around 70 channels, No contracts, Multiple simultaneous streams. The Roku Channel covers Free ad-supported live channels, Premium channel add-ons, Cross-platform app, No Roku hardware required. Both handle On-demand library.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Philo: Does Philo have any sports channels?

No, it excludes sports entirely, including ESPN and regional sports networks, and there is no add-on to get them.

The Roku Channel: Is The Roku Channel the same as owning a Roku device?

No, Roku the device platform is a separate product; The Roku Channel is the free content service that runs on it and elsewhere.

Philo: Does Philo include local channels like ABC or NBC?

No, local broadcast affiliates are not included; you would need an antenna or a different streaming service for those.

The Roku Channel: Does it include sports?

Not in the free tier; sports are available only through separately priced add-on subscriptions.

Philo: Why is Philo so much cheaper than fuboTV?

Because it excludes the two most expensive categories of content to carry, sports rights and local broadcast retransmission fees.

The Roku Channel: Do I need Roku hardware to use it?

No, the app is also available on iOS, Android, Fire TV and other platforms.

Philo vs The Roku Channel

Philo

The Roku Channel

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Philo

Only in The Roku Channel

Both cover

What people use each for

Philo

The Roku Channel

Where each one falls short

Philo

The Roku Channel

Pricing, plan by plan

Philo

The Roku Channel

Which should you pick?

Choose Philo if

Choose The Roku Channel if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Philo

More on The Roku Channel

Keep looking

Other head to heads