Best free option
Fubo
Fubo hands you a full week of NFL Network free, the longest no-cost run of any service that carries it.
Start free trial →
You don't need a cable bill to keep watching NFL Network. Here's every way to stream it online, and how to do it for free.
Reviewed and updated October 2026 by our cord-cutting team · 3 options
Football fans who can't get enough of the sport tune into the NFL Network. Not only does it telecast NFL games (Thursday Night Football, anyone?) but it also airs football-related content like in-depth analyses, documentaries, and other similar specials.
You can watch NFL Network on Fubo, Sling TV Blue, Hulu with Live TV, Sling Select, or YouTube TV.
The cheapest option to watch NFL Network is Sling Select for $19.99/month.
The fastest ways to watch NFL Network without cable, at a glance
Fubo hands you a full week of NFL Network free, the longest no-cost run of any service that carries it.
Start free trial →
Sling is the least expensive live NFL Network on this page. The trade is a thinner lineup and no free trial to test it with first.
Get Sling TV →
The widest lineup carrying NFL Network, with the Hulu on-demand library and Disney+ folded into the same subscription.
Get Hulu + Live TV →
DIRECTV carries NFL Network live.
Start free trial →| Service | From | Free trial |
|---|---|---|
 Sling TV |
$45.99/mo | None |
 Fubo |
$79.99/mo | 7 days |
 DIRECTV |
$89.99/mo | 5 days |
 Hulu + Live TV |
$89.99/mo | 3 days |
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 bundle from cord-cutting alternative Sling, which is owned by the telecom provider Dish. It has many of the top 20 most watched national TV channels in the U.S. It costs $45.99/month but for markets with local channels, the streamer charges a mandatory extra $4/month for broadcasting fees.
Sling TV plans
Fubo is a live TV and on-demand streaming service. The platform had it beginning as a soccer stream service, but it quickly became popular as a viable alternative to expensive cable subscriptions in the U.S, offering an attractive bundle of more than 100 live channels as well as an endless array of on-demand movies.
Fubo plans
DIRECTV plans
The “Hulu + Live TV” plan mixes Hulu’s exclusive offering of Originals with around 90 TV channels (the channels available depend on where you live). If you already have Hulu, getting the Live TV addition is usually cheaper than subscribing to another Live TV service. And if when you want to cancel the Live TV plan, you can click “cancel” on Hulu which will give you the option to keep the On-Demand part while canceling the Live TV.
Hulu + Live TV plans
Our breakdown of Hulu + Live TV →
The honest way to watch NFL Network 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.
NFL Network 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 NFL Network 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 NFL Network with: Hulu + Live TV
Get Surfshark →Whichever you pick, connect to a US city first, then sign in to NFL Network or the service that carries it as normal. Choose a VPN with a money-back window so you can confirm it un-blocks NFL Network before you commit.
No. NFL Network 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.
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The people who test, price-check, and update our cord-cutting coverage.
Five criteria, each scored out of 10. The overall score is their weighted average: content 50%, value 20%, apps 20%, streaming quality 10%. Live TV packages are also scored on customization and add-ons (20%), with the other four scaled to 40%, 16%, 16% and 8%.
Value for money
0The most expensive service of its kind.
10The cheapest service of its kind, with full content.
Content quality
0None of the 20 most-watched cable channels, or nothing from our recommended list.
10All 20 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.
10Five-star apps on all 12 major devices.
Streaming quality
0Below 720p.
104K on the plan we price.
Customization and add-ons
0A live TV package with no add-on packs to build on.
10Eight or more add-on packs at $15 a month or less.