If you’re looking for a low-cost live TV streaming service, Vidgo and Philo may already be on your radar. Philo is one of the most affordable cable alternatives, which makes it popular among those who want to spend as little as possible on a live TV subscription. Vidgo costs a bit more than Philo but not as much as many of the popular live TV streaming services. And it also offers sports, which Philo doesn’t.
So it can be a bit challenging to choose between Vidgo vs. Philo because they’re both great in their own way. This post gives you a detailed breakdown of the differences between these two services and which one would be better for you.
Plans and pricing for Vidgo vs. Philo
| Vidgo | Philo | |
| Monthly price | $45 | $20 |
| Free trial length | 3 days | 7 days |
| Number of channels | 80+ | 60+ |
| Original content available? | No | No |
| Cloud DVR storage | N/A | Unlimited for 30 days |
While the Vidgo Core plan costs $45/mo., this isn’t the service’s most affordable option. You can also get the Latino plan for $20/mo. and the Latino Mas plan for $30/mo. With the Core plan, you get 60+ channels. But you can also upgrade to the Plus plan for $55/mo. and get 80+ channels.
While this offering is pretty impressive for a low-cost live TV streaming service, you’ll be missing out on cloud DVR storage and add-ons. Read more about it in our Vidgo TV review.
Philo, on the other hand, gives you unlimited cloud DVR storage and stores the content for 30 days. It only offers a single plan for $20/mo., which comes with 60+ channels. But you can also get two premium add-ons — EPIX and STARZ — to enhance your subscription. Read more about this in our Philo packages and pricing guide.
Comparing the Vidgo vs. Philo experience
User experience
Philo offers a decent interface with the option to access your saved content and the TV guide from the top menu bar. On the home screen, it also gives you the option to keep watching something you’ve already started. And it recommends currently airing programs that are trending, which is great if you don’t have anything specific to watch.
The Vidgo interface is a bit subpar compared to that of Philo, as it displays just a guide. On the plus side, you’ll have the option to filter the TV guide by categories such as entertainment, family, and sports.
App usage
Other than a few minor adjustments to fit the screen size, Philo offers a pretty consistent layout and user experience across all compatible devices. There aren’t any major usability issues with the service, whereas Vidgo apps tend to have trouble with streaming quality.
Device compatibility
Vidgo supports the following devices:
- Amazon Fire TV devices
- Android phones and tablets
- Android TVs
- Apple TVs
- iOS devices
- Roku devices
You can watch Philo on the following devices:
- Amazon Fire tablets (OS 5.0 or higher)
- Amazon Fire TV devices
- Android phones and tablets (OS 5.0 or higher)
- Android TVs (OS 5.0 or higher)
- Apple TV (4th generation or later)
- Chromecast (2nd generation or later)
- iOS devices
- Roku devices
Personalization
Vidgo is slightly more limited than Philo when it comes to personalization as it doesn’t allow multiple user profiles. Plus, it doesn’t come with a lot of settings to personalize your viewing experience.
Accounts
Vidgo doesn’t allow you to create more than 1 profile, which means your viewing experience won’t be personalized just for you. Philo, on the other hand, allows up to 10 user profiles per account. This means you can have your viewing history and saved shows personalized just for you.
Setting controls
Philo offers some level of personalization with your settings. It lets you adjust video quality and enable or disable closed captioning. You even have the option to control how your channel playback begins — from the beginning of the show or from live.
Vidgo doesn’t have too many options to personalize your experience other than enabling or disabling your subtitles.
Features
Philo’s features are much more robust compared to Vidgo’s. But it lacks Vidgo’s unique Social TV feature, which allows you to have a watch party with other Vidgo subscribers.
Cloud DVR
Vidgo doesn’t come with DVR capabilities. To make up for it, it offers a 24-hour playback from select channels, so you can catch up on missed programming. This still doesn’t compare to the unlimited cloud DVR storage from Philo, which lets you record and save programming for up to 30 days. Read more about the service’s features in our Philo review.
Simultaneous streams
The two services each offer 3 simultaneous streams, so they’re comparable in this aspect.
Vidgo vs. Philo content
Vidgo
You can get 80+ channels with your Vidgo subscription, depending on which plan you choose. Even the Core plan gives you 60+ channels, which is pretty solid considering the programming variety.
Vidgo lets you enjoy lifestyle and entertainment programming from channels like ABC, BET, Comedy Central, FX, National Geographic, and more. And you get a decent selection of kids’ channels such as Disney, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Kids Street, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., and TeenNick.
The news selection isn’t too bad either, with leading channels like ABC News, Cheddar, FOX Business, and FOX News. But it’s missing major news networks like CNN and BBC World News.
The sports lineup is particularly impressive for a low-cost subscription service. You get the entire slate of ESPN channels plus beIN Sports, Big Ten Network, FOX Sports 1 and 2, NFL Network, and more. So you can enjoy a wide range of sports programming with this service.
Philo
The Philo lineup consists of 60+ channels that mainly focus on lifestyle and entertainment programming. This includes major channels like AMC, Animal Planet, Comedy Central, Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel, and more. You also get BBC America and BBC World News, which aren’t available with Vidgo.
But the overall news lineup is slightly lacking, with the only additional channels being Cheddar and Newsy. That said, Philo also offers the entire Nickelodeon channel slate, so it’s pretty decent in terms of kids and family programming.
The final cut
Both Philo and Vidgo have their unique perks that might appeal to different types of viewers. Philo makes sense for someone who wants an affordable way to watch movies and TV shows. But Vidgo would be a better choice for those who want a comprehensive yet cheap alternative to cable. Both Vidgo and Philo have free trials, so you can give them both a try before making a decision.