Best free option
DIRECTV
Five days covers a full news cycle of Morning Joe and the primetime block, which is the honest way to judge a channel in the middle of rebranding to MS NOW.
Start free trial →
You don't need a cable bill to keep watching MSNBC / MS NOW. Here's every way to stream it online, and how to do it for free.
Reviewed and updated September 2026 by our cord-cutting team · 5 options
With MSNBC, get the latest original news and coverage as well as commentary from sister news channel NBC.
MSNBC is available without cable on Sling TV Blue, DIRECTV, Hulu with Live TV, Peacock, YouTube TV, or Spectrum TV Choice.
The cheapest way to watch Msnbc is Peacock for $10.99/month.
The fastest ways to watch MSNBC / MS NOW without cable, at a glance
Five days covers a full news cycle of Morning Joe and the primetime block, which is the honest way to judge a channel in the middle of rebranding to MS NOW.
Start free trial →
Sling's news lineup is the cheapest live MSNBC, and it is the right shape for this channel: you skip the sports tier entirely to get a 24-hour news feed.
Get Sling TV →
A week of YouTube TV is the longest free run at MSNBC, and the DVR is deep enough to bank a primetime block and watch it in the morning.
Start free trial →YouTube TV carries MSNBC next to CNN, the broadcast news divisions and your locals, which is what election nights actually require.
Get YouTube TV →| Service | From | Free trial |
|---|---|---|
 Sling TV |
$45.99/mo | None |
 DIRECTV |
$89.99/mo | 5 days |
 Hulu + Live TV |
$89.99/mo | 3 days |
 YouTube TV |
$82.99/mo | 7 days |
 Spectrum TV Choice |
$53.19/mo | None |
We routinely follow over a hundred live TV and streaming services in the US, closely monitoring their plans, features, and channel lineups. All of that work is on our cord-cutting hub.
Beyond this, we have been reviewing the best on streaming services since 2013, recommending highly-rated but little-known movies and shows: we find the gems that you haven't yet watched, that you will probably like.
Sling Blue is a live TV plan that comes with nearly 50 of the most popular cable channels in the country. In select markets, it also carries local ABC, NBC, and FOX channels, but users in those areas are charged a monthly $5 broadcast fee. If you want to boost your news lineup, Sling does offer a “News Extra” add-on for $6/month. It carries business channels like CNBC and international news channels like NDTV World.
Sling TV plans
All signature DirecTV Stream plans come with MSNBC and other news channels like CNN, HLN, and Fox News. They also come equipped with 4k channels, unlimited DVR, and on-the-go viewing. But they are expensive, with the most basic plan priced at $86.99/month. So, if you don’t mind losing a couple of channels (particularly local and sports), then your best option is to go for DirecTV Stream’s “MyEntertainment” genre pack. At just $35/month, the plan already comes with MSNBC, CNN, CNBC, and 40 more channels. It’s also bundled with Disney+, Hulu, and Max at no additional cost, which makes it ideal for film and TV fans. It’s also more affordable than Sling, which is the next cheapest way to watch MSNBC live.
DIRECTV plans
Hulu with Live TV combines Hulu originals with more than a hundred live channels, including MSNBC and other news outlets like CNN, HLN, and Fox News. It’s a popular choice for families, since Hulu with Live TV often comes bundled with Disney+ and ESPN+, so there’s something to watch for everyone. A potential downside, however, is that Hulu with Live TV only allows for two simultaneous streams. For reference, YouTube TV allows for three, while DirecTV Stream and Fubo offer unlimited simultaneous streams.
Hulu + Live TV plans
Our breakdown of Hulu + Live TV →
YouTube TV’s extensive channel lineup, unlimited cloud DVR, and familiar interface are some of the reasons why it remains a popular cable replacement option for cord-cutters. One particularly interesting feature is the service’s multiview function, which lets you watch four channels at once. Multiview applies to MSNBC and other news, sports, business, and weather channels.
YouTube TV plans
Spectrum TV Choice is a unique cable alternative that lets you pick 15 out of 60 popular channels, including news outlets like MSNBC, CNN, and BBC World News. You can then change your selection every 30 days. It should be noted, however, that Spectrum TV Choice is only available to Spectrum internet users, and you can only subscribe to it via phone call or a branch visit. Local channel availability is also quite limited.
Spectrum TV Choice plans
Our breakdown of Spectrum TV Choice →
The honest way to watch MSNBC / MS NOW for free is a free trial, and the trick is not to spend them one at a time. Start one, then start the next when it ends, and you can string together a few weeks of free live TV back to back, usually enough to cover a tournament or a playoff run without paying for a month.
MSNBC / MS NOW and the US services that carry it are geo-locked to the United States, so your login stops working the moment you leave the country. A VPN fixes that: connect to a US server and the service sees a US address again. The catch is that streaming platforms actively block most VPN traffic, so the VPN you pick matters far more than the service does. These three reliably get back in:
A huge US server network (thousands of IPs across 15-plus cities) with SmartPlay DNS baked into every server, so streaming just works without extra setup. The best value of the top tier on a two-year plan.
Best for streaming MSNBC / MS NOW with: Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV
Get NordVPN →The budget pick, and the one to get if the whole household travels: it allows unlimited simultaneous devices on one account, plus a Smart DNS for TVs. Reliable with the on-demand and lifestyle services.
Best for streaming MSNBC / MS NOW with: Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV
Get Surfshark →Whichever you pick, connect to a US city first, then sign in to MSNBC / MS NOW or the service that carries it as normal. Choose a VPN with a money-back window so you can confirm it un-blocks MSNBC / MS NOW before you commit.
No. MSNBC / MS NOW is a cable channel and doesn't broadcast over the air, so an antenna can't pick it up. An antenna only gets the free broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, The CW), which pair nicely with one of the services above; check which of those reach your address here.
As it stands, the only way to get MSNBC content without subsidizing Fox News is Peacock. Every other cord-cutting service that carries MSNBC live, also has Fox News.
If on-demand access to MSNBC shows is enough, then the cheapest way is Peacock for $7.99. Otherwise, if you want the linear live stream, the cheapest service is DIRECTV Stream's "MyEntertainment" genre pack for $34.99, and then is Sling TV for $45.99.
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Four criteria, each out of 100. The overall score is their weighted average: content 38%, value 27%, apps 22%, streaming quality 13%.
Value for money
0The most expensive service of its kind.
100The cheapest service of its kind.
Content quality
0None of the ten most-watched cable channels, or nothing from our recommended list.
100All ten channels, or the deepest catalog of titles we recommend.
Apps and devices
0A one-star app that runs on none of the 12 major devices.
100Five-star apps on all 12 major devices.
Streaming quality
0Below 720p.
1004K on the plan we price.