How To Watch the NFL Without Cable (2024)

A live TV streaming service is the best cable and satellite TV alternative. Popular services like Fubo, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, and YouTube TV have NFL channels, including NFL Network and NFL RedZone—depending on your chosen plan and add-ons.

These services are the best for cord-cutters because they carry many channels, not just sports networks. After all, you’ll want something to watch when games aren’t happening. And, even better, you won’t have to deal with lengthy contracts or bulky equipment requirements. All you’ll need is a streaming device and a strong internet connection.

The main reason to ditch cable is to save money. So, how much do these live TV streaming services cost? Well, the ones with NFL coverage can cost anywhere from Sling TV’s cheapest plan ($40.00 a month) to DIRECTV STREAM’s most expensive plan ($154.99 a month).

Add-ons and feature upgrades can increase the monthly cost as well. But most plans with in-market and primetime NFL channels are around the $80.00 range.

If you go this route, your first stop should be YouTube TV ($72.99 a month). Google’s live TV streaming service has every NFL channel, and you can add NFL RedZone and NFL Sunday Ticket to your plan for the ultimate experience. But before you commit to YouTube TV, you may want to explore our Best Streaming Services for Sports page to weigh all your options.

Perhaps you want extra yardage with your streaming TV plan. As we alluded to in the previous section, live TV streaming services will get you in-market and primetime NFL games. But you’ll need NFL Sunday Ticket to get the out-of-market matchups that air across CBS and FOX on Sunday afternoons.

If your favorite team isn’t local—like you’re a Dallas Cowboys fan living in Vermont—you’ll want out-of-market access to avoid missing games. And that’s where NFL Sunday Ticket comes in.

Offered exclusively through YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels, NFL Sunday Ticket is an out-of-market sports package that gives you every Sunday afternoon NFL game. The catch is that it costs hundreds of dollars per season—missing the point that most people cut the cord to save money.

Starting at $349 a season for YouTube TV subscribers, NFL Sunday Ticket is the most expensive TV add-on out there. Sure, you can save $50 by signing up before September 19, 2023. But even so, you may prefer our next (and much cheaper) option for watching out-of-market games.

The cheapest all-in-one streaming service for watching the NFL is NFL+. Forged from the ashes of NFL Game Pass, NFL+ offers two subscription plans. Its basic plan is $6.99 a month and includes live in-market and primetime NFL games for phone and tablet users. But for $14.99 a month, NFL+ Premium users get NFL Network, NFL RedZone, and full-length replays of every NFL game—meaning you can watch every out-of-market game after the final whistle.

If you’re on a tight budget, NFL+ is one of the best ways to watch football games without cable. Its device limitations are annoying for watching live games, but having access to full-game replays is a great feature. NFL+ even has an on-demand library of shows and documentaries like A Football Life and Hard Knocks.

Replacing a cable TV subscription with a live TV streaming service is not the most effective way to save money. But some streaming services that don’t have live premium channels still offer live NFL games for a fraction of the monthly cost.

For example, Peaco*ck Premium is $5.99–$11.99/mo. or $59.99–$119.99/yr. and comes with every NFL on NBC broadcast. That means you can watch Sunday Night Football and some NFL playoff games for cheap. You’ll also get the benefits of Peaco*ck’s immense library of on-demand shows and movies—meaning now’s the perfect time to binge all five seasons of Friday Night Lights.

Peaco*ck is not the only service that offers a slate of live NFL games. We’ve listed three other similarly priced streaming services in the table below that’ll help you get your game on.

Hey, we hear you. It’s been a wild year with soaring inflation rates and high gas prices. So signing up for any service—even to watch your beloved team play—might not be your priority. But it’s not all doom and gloom. There are still ways to watch NFL games for free.

Our favorite method for watching free NFL games is the old-fashioned over-the-air (OTA) antenna. Of course, the antenna itself isn’t free, and you’ll need a TV with an Antenna In port. But get a quality antenna with a large enough range to pick up your local ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC affiliates, and you’ll be set to watch local and primetime NFL games for several seasons.

The free streaming service Tubi also hosts NFL coverage. While there are no live games, you can watch NFL Channel for classic NFL footage and in-season content. Other free services like Pluto TVand the NFL app also carry NFL Channel. But Tubi is the only free service with on-demand FOX Sports content, so you’ll also get some college football and USFL programming.

We’d also be remiss not to mention the NFL’s YouTube channel and the league’s other social media profiles. The NFL posts new content daily, including NFL game highlights, previews, and studio show clips. So go ahead and bookmark those pages. You can still be the number one NFL fan on a budget.