50 Best Cable Alternatives on Roku for Cord-Cutting

Roku was originally a project within Netflix called "Project:Griffin" but it spun off into its own company. Now, it's often hailed as the best streaming player for TVs, offering a complete, fast, and reliable experience. It's a great choice of a device for cord-cutters. 

Almost every major live TV streaming app is available on Roku: Philo, Sling, Fubo, Frndly TV, Pluto TV, Xumo, Hulu with Live TV, and DirecTV Stream. These are all great cable alternatives, but from this list, you can find which one works best for you.

Amazon Prime Video and Paramount+ Bundle

The Amazon Prime Video and Paramount+ Bundle is for those looking to boost their streaming subscription with even more original shows, popular films, and live broadcasts of news and sports. Under the Paramount tent, you get ongoing franchises like Star Trek and Yellowstone, kids' TV shows like Spongebob Squarepants and Dora the Explorer, and blockbusters like Top Gun and Everything, Everywhere, All at Once—not to mention local CBS stations that stream news, sports, and other live events. And now that Paramount+ has merged with Showtime, you also get the latter network's enviable lineup of documentaries, series, and sporting coverages. Since the merger is fairly new, Amazon Prime will occasionally offer the bundle at discounted rates, but generally, it still costs a total of $22.98/month ($11.99 for Amazon Prime, $7.99 for Paramount+). That's not a bad deal for a bundle packed with popular movies, original shows, and live TV (albeit with ads).

Price: $22.98/month

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android Phones, Apple TV, Changhong, Chromecast, Haier, Hisense, iOS, LG, Nvidia SHIELD, Panasonic, Philips, PlayStation, Roku, Samsung, Sharp, Skyworth, Sony, TiVo, Vestel, Vizio, Website, Wii, Xbox

Channel lineup: CBS local channels

Air TV

If you have an Air TV streaming device, you'll automatically have free access to 1oo local channels from affiliates like ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, and PBS all in HD. To be clear, the local channels are free in the sense that you don't have to pay a monthly bill to watch them, as you would on a cable or live TV subscription, but you do have to pay a one-time fee that sets you up with an Air TV device and an HD antenna. Depending on the bundle you pick, that can cost you anywhere from $150 to $250. It seems like a lot, but it makes sense when you consider that it comes with DVR, the ability to watch local channels anywhere, and for Sling TV subscribers, seamless integration in all your devices. 

Although you don't need to be a Sling TV subscriber to start using Air TV, the two are perfect complements that save you a lot of money, in the long run. Sling TV has live TV channels equipped for sports, entertainment, and nationwide news, while the one-time-payment Air TV gives you constant and uninterrupted access to your local channels. If you do combine them, Sling takes care of any overlaps to ensure you're getting the best of both streaming worlds in all compatible devices.

Price: free for 3 channels available

Device availability: AirTV Mini, AirTV Player, Amazon Fire TV, Android Phones, Android TV, Apple TV, iOS, Roku

Channel lineup: CBS local channels, NBC local channels, PBS local channels

The streaming services on this page were chosen by our editors. If you choose to subscribe to a streaming service we recommend as a result of our research, analysis, and curation, our work is sometimes (but not always) supported by an affiliate commission from the streaming service when you make a purchase.

That's all from us for the 50 Best Cable Alternatives on Roku for Cord-Cutting!