Best free option
Fubo
Fubo hands you a full week of VH1 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 VH1. Here's every way to stream it online, and how to do it for free.
Reviewed and updated November 2026 by our cord-cutting team · 4 options
Video Hits One is the sister channel of MTV, once with the same focus but now heavily leaning on reality TV programming. Some recent succesful shows from the channel include Mob Wives, RuPaul's Drag Race, and the revival of America's Next Top Model.
You can watch VH1 on Fubo, DIRECTV, Philo, Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV + Lifestyle Extra Bundle, YouTube TV, or Spectrum TV Stream.
The cheapest option to watch VH1 is Philo for $25/month.
The fastest ways to watch VH1 without cable, at a glance
Fubo hands you a full week of VH1 free, the longest no-cost run of any service that carries it.
Start free trial →
Nothing carries VH1 for less each month, and Philo gets there by leaving out sports and news entirely.
Get Philo →
The deepest channel list carrying VH1, regional sports included, and the only one here that lets you test it free first.
Get DIRECTV →
Hulu + Live TV carries VH1 live.
Start free trial →| Service | From | Free trial |
|---|---|---|
 Fubo |
$79.99/mo | 7 days |
 Philo |
$25/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.
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
Philo is one of the most interesting ways to cut the cord out there: it offers over 70 channels for as little as $25. If you don’t watch sports or a lot of local TV, but want access to everything else, it’s the perfect Live TV option. Their Bundle+ subscription adds access to AMC+, HBO Max, and Discovery+.
Philo plans
Named the “best all-around streaming service for cord-cutters” by Rolling Stone, DIRECTV tries to be all the good things about cable without any of the hassle. It has a big selection of channels, possibly the best stream quality in the market, and great DVR capability. For example, unlike with competitor Youtube TV, your DVR recordings on DirecTV will be the same quality as the live stream (often in 4K). The service also comes with a decent monthly price tag, and Netflix-style practicality that allows 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.
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
The honest way to watch VH1 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.
VH1 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 VH1 with: Hulu + Live TV, Philo
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 VH1 with: Hulu + Live TV, Philo
Get Surfshark →Whichever you pick, connect to a US city first, then sign in to VH1 or the service that carries it as normal. Choose a VPN with a money-back window so you can confirm it un-blocks VH1 before you commit.
No. VH1 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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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.