When it comes to TV streaming services, the options are seemingly endless. DirecTV Stream is a popular choice as it offers some of the most in-demand channels out there, but you may have also heard of Frndly TV, which prides itself on being the more family-friendly option for cord-cutters.
But aside from the kind of content you’re getting, there are other details to factor in as well. How much does each service cost, for example? What specific channels do they offer? What devices are they available on? Do they have free trials? Below, we go through all that and more to help you make the best possible choice.
| Feature | DIRECTV | Frndly TV |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | image quality | Family-oriented streaming |
| Base price | $89.99/mo | $8.99/mo |
| Channels | 80+ | 43+ |
| Free trial | 5 days | 7 days |
| Subscribers | 788,000 | 700,000 |
| Our rating | 9/10 | 9/10 |
| Try DIRECTV — 5 days free | Try Frndly TV — 7 days free |
| DIRECTV 1 plan | Frndly TV 3 plans | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheapest MyEntertainment Pack | Cheapest Basic plan | Classic plan | Premium plan | |
| Price / month | $34.99 | $8.99 | $10.99 | $12.99 |
| Annual Price | — | $83.88 | $95.88 | $119.88 |
| New User Deal | 15% off 1st month | — | — | — |
| Streams at Home | Unlimited | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Streams Outside Home | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| DVR Storage | Unlimited | No DVR | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| DVR Keeps For | 9 months | — | 3 months | 9 months |
| Profiles | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Multiview Screens | 4 | — | — | — |
| Max Quality | 1080p | 480p | 720p | 720p |
| 4K Support | ✓ Yes | — | — | — |
| Audio | 5.1 audio | Standard stereo | Standard stereo | Standard stereo |
| Dolby Digital | ✓ Yes | — | — | — |
| Dolby Atmos | ✓ Yes | — | — | — |
| Min. Speed | 8 Mbps | 5 Mbps | 10 Mbps | 10 Mbps |
| Get plan → | Get plan → | Get plan → | Get plan → | |
Add 3 on-demand subscriptions for more content
10 channels are available on both services. DIRECTV has 128 exclusive channels not on Frndly TV. Frndly TV has 44 exclusive channels not on DIRECTV.
| Channel | DIRECTV | Frndly TV |
|---|---|---|
| A&E | — | ✓ |
| ABC | ✓ | — |
| ACC Digital Network | ✓ | — |
| AMC | ✓ | — |
| ASPiRE TV | — | ✓ |
| AXS TV | ✓ | — |
| AccuWeather | ✓ | — |
| Alien Nation | ✓ | — |
| Anger Management | ✓ | — |
| Animal Planet | ✓ | — |
| Are We There Yet? | ✓ | — |
| Ax Men | ✓ | — |
| BABY FIRST | ✓ | — |
| BBC America | ✓ | — |
| BET | ✓ | — |
| BUZZR | ✓ | — |
| BYUtv | — | ✓ |
| BabyFirst | — | ✓ |
| Big 12 | ✓ | — |
| Bloomberg TV | ✓ | — |
| Bob Ross | ✓ | — |
| Boomerang | ✓ | — |
| Bounce | — | ✓ |
| Bravo | ✓ | — |
| C-SPAN | ✓ | — |
| C-SPAN2 | ✓ | — |
| CBS | ✓ | — |
| CBS local channels | ✓ | — |
| CMT | ✓ | — |
| CNBC | ✓ | — |
| CNN | ✓ | — |
| CNN International | ✓ | — |
| CNN en Espanol | ✓ | — |
| CW | ✓ | — |
| Cartoon Network | ✓ | — |
| Catchy Comedy | — | ✓ |
| Cheddar News | ✓ | — |
| Circle | — | ✓ |
| Cleo TV | ✓ | — |
| Comedy Central | ✓ | — |
| Comedy Dynamics | ✓ | — |
| Court TV | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cowboy Way Channel | — | ✓ |
| Crime 360 | ✓ | — |
| Crime-Investigation | — | ✓ |
| Curiosity Now | ✓ | — |
| Dabl | — | ✓ |
| Daystar HD | ✓ | — |
| Declassified | ✓ | — |
| Discovery Channel | ✓ | — |
| Dove Channel | — | ✓ |
| Dove Family Movies | — | ✓ |
| Dove Kids | — | ✓ |
| Duck Dynasty | ✓ | — |
| E! Entertainment | ✓ | — |
| ESPN | ✓ | — |
| ESPN Deportes | ✓ | — |
| ESPN2 | ✓ | — |
| ESPNU | ✓ | — |
| ESPNews | ✓ | — |
| EarthxTV | ✓ | — |
| Ebony TV | ✓ | — |
| El Rey Rebel | ✓ | — |
| FETV | — | ✓ |
| FMC | ✓ | ✓ |
| FOX | ✓ | — |
| FOX SOUL | ✓ | — |
| FUEL TV | ✓ | — |
| FX | ✓ | — |
| FXX | ✓ | — |
| FYI | — | ✓ |
| Food Network | ✓ | — |
| Fox Business Network | ✓ | — |
| Fox News Channel | ✓ | — |
| Fox Sports 1 (FS1) | ✓ | — |
| Fox Weather | ✓ | — |
| Freeform | ✓ | — |
| Fuse Music | ✓ | — |
| GRIT | — | ✓ |
| Galavision | ✓ | — |
| Game Show Network | — | ✓ |
| GetTV | — | ✓ |
| Great American Family | — | ✓ |
| Great American Living | — | ✓ |
| HGTV | ✓ | — |
| HLN | ✓ | — |
| HSN | ✓ | — |
| Hallmark Channel | ✓ | ✓ |
| Hallmark Family | — | ✓ |
| Hallmark Movies Now | — | ✓ |
| Hallmark Mystery | ✓ | ✓ |
| Heartland TV | — | ✓ |
| HerSphere | ✓ | — |
| Heroes & Icons | — | ✓ |
| Holiday Scapes | — | ✓ |
| Home Shopping Network | ✓ | — |
| IFC | ✓ | — |
| INSP | — | ✓ |
| ION | ✓ | ✓ |
| ION Mystery | — | ✓ |
| ION Television | ✓ | — |
| Investigation Discovery (ID) | ✓ | — |
| Jewelry Television | ✓ | — |
| JusticeCentral.TV | — | ✓ |
| Laff | — | ✓ |
| Lifetime | ✓ | ✓ |
| Lifetime Movie Network | — | ✓ |
| Lionsgate Collection | ✓ | — |
| Local Now | — | ✓ |
| MSNBC | ✓ | — |
| MTV | ✓ | — |
| MTV2 | ✓ | — |
| MeTV | — | ✓ |
| MeTV Toons | — | ✓ |
| MeatEater TV | ✓ | — |
| Military HISTORY | — | ✓ |
| MotorTrend | ✓ | — |
| MovieSphere | ✓ | — |
| Movies! | — | ✓ |
| NBA TV | ✓ | — |
| NBC | ✓ | — |
| NBC local channels | ✓ | — |
| News Nation | ✓ | — |
| Newsmax | ✓ | — |
| Nick Jr. | ✓ | — |
| Nickelodeon | ✓ | — |
| One America News | ✓ | — |
| Outdoor Channel | — | ✓ |
| Ovation | ✓ | — |
| Oxygen True Crime | ✓ | — |
| PBS | ✓ | — |
| PBS Kids | ✓ | — |
| PBS local channels | ✓ | — |
| Paramount Network | ✓ | — |
| PixL | — | ✓ |
| Poker GO | ✓ | — |
| Pursuit Channel | ✓ | — |
| QVC | ✓ | ✓ |
| QVC2 | ✓ | — |
| QVC3 | ✓ | — |
| REELZ | ✓ | ✓ |
| REVOLT | ✓ | — |
| RFD-TV | ✓ | — |
| RSNs | ✓ | — |
| Racing America | ✓ | — |
| Recipe.TV | — | ✓ |
| SYFY | ✓ | — |
| Scientology Network | ✓ | — |
| Scripps News | ✓ | — |
| Shop LC | ✓ | — |
| Somos Novelas | ✓ | — |
| SportsGrid | ✓ | — |
| Sportsman Channel | — | ✓ |
| Start TV | ✓ | ✓ |
| StoryTV | — | ✓ |
| SundanceTV | ✓ | — |
| TBS | ✓ | — |
| TCM | ✓ | — |
| TLC | ✓ | ✓ |
| TNA | ✓ | — |
| TNT | ✓ | — |
| TV Land | ✓ | — |
| TV One | ✓ | — |
| Tastemade Home | ✓ | — |
| Tastemade Travel | ✓ | — |
| TeenNick | ✓ | — |
| Telemundo local channels | ✓ | — |
| The First | ✓ | — |
| The History Channel | — | ✓ |
| The Weather Channel | — | ✓ |
| UPtv | — | ✓ |
| USA Network | ✓ | — |
| Univision | ✓ | — |
| Up TV | ✓ | — |
| VH1 | ✓ | — |
| VICE TV | — | ✓ |
| WE tv | ✓ | — |
| Waypoint TV | ✓ | — |
| Women’s Sports Network | ✓ | — |
| Yahoo! Finance | ✓ | — |
| theGrio | ✓ | — |
| truTV | ✓ | — |
Both services support most major devices. Here’s a full breakdown of where you can watch each one.
| Device / Platform | DIRECTV | Frndly TV |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon Fire TV | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android TV | ✓ | ✓ |
| Apple TV | ✓ | ✓ |
| Chromecast | — | ✓ |
| Roku | ✓ | ✓ |
| Samsung Smart TV | — | ✓ |
| Samsung TV | ✓ | — |
| Vizio | — | ✓ |
| iOS | ✓ | ✓ |
DIRECTV has 788,000M subscribers compared to 700,000M for Frndly TV. That makes DIRECTV 13% more popular by subscriber count.
Frndly TV starts at $8.99/month, while DIRECTV starts at $89.99/month. That’s $81.00 more per month for DIRECTV, or $972.00 more per year. DIRECTV costs more but carries more channels (80+ vs 43+), which may justify the difference depending on what you watch.
Is Frndly TV cheaper than DIRECTV?
Yes. Frndly TV starts at $8.99/month, while DIRECTV starts at $89.99/month. That's a difference of $81.00/month, or $972.00 per year.
Do DIRECTV or Frndly TV offer a free trial?
DIRECTV offers a 5-day free trial. Frndly TV offers a 7-day free trial.
Which has more channels, DIRECTV or Frndly TV?
DIRECTV carries 138 channels, while Frndly TV carries 54. 10 channels are available on both services.
What channels does DIRECTV have that Frndly TV doesn't?
DIRECTV has 128 channels not available on Frndly TV, including: ABC, ACC Digital Network, AccuWeather, Alien Nation, AMC, and more.
What channels does Frndly TV have that DIRECTV doesn't?
Frndly TV has 44 channels not available on DIRECTV, including: A&E, ASPiRE TV, BabyFirst, Bounce, BYUtv, and more.
Which has better DVR, DIRECTV or Frndly TV?
DIRECTV's base plan includes Unlimited of DVR storage. Frndly TV's base plan includes No DVR of DVR storage.
Can I cancel DIRECTV or Frndly TV anytime?
Yes. Both DIRECTV and Frndly TV are month-to-month subscriptions with no long-term contracts. You can cancel either service at any time.
DirecTV is a Live TV streaming platform with a twist: you can download the app on any of your existing devices, or if you choose, you can get a "Gemini Air" box with a custom remote control for the service. But without the box, DirecTV functions like a Netflix or Hulu, allowing you to stream Live TV from anywhere by downloading the app. Within your home, you can stream on up to 20 devices (!), and from outside your home you can stream on up to three devices.
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