How to Watch Lifetime Without Cable: 4 Top Options
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If some of your favorite shows are on Lifetime Channel, and you currently get them through a cable provider, it’s understandable why you’d want to know what your options are before cutting the cord.
Thankfully, Philo TV, Sling TV, Hulu Live, and fuboTV are all ways to watch Lifetime without cable. And, all of them cost a heck of a lot less than what you’re currently paying for cable.
In this post, we break down the four top ways to watch Lifetime shows for less and help you figure out which streaming service is best for you.
How to Watch Lifetime Without Cable
Before diving in to each streaming provider, there are a few things you need to know about how they work and how they’re different from cable, especially if you’ve not used one before.
- Streaming services have NO contract and NO fees
- These options cost less than half the cost of cable
- You will need a reliable internet connection AND a streaming device or a smart TV to stream Lifetime movies
- All of these streaming service options offer free trials
- You can cancel at any time
With that covered, let’s get in to our number one way to watch Lifetime live – Philo TV.
1. Philo
Personally, I love Philo. For just $20 per month, you get nearly 60 channels, including access to the Lifetime live stream.
I wish we had known about Philo TV back when we had cable. Before we canceled DirecTV, we were paying $110 per month for cable. Had we switched to Philo then, we could have saved $90 per month.
If that’s your situation, just think of all you could do right now with an extra nearly $100 per month. You could knock down debt, save for the future, or build up your emergency fund.
In addition to Lifetime Channel, you’ll get all of the following with Philo:
- A&E
- AMC
- BET
- ALL the Hallmark channels (Hallmark, Hallmark Drama and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries)
- HGTV
- MTV
That’s just the beginning. There’s a lot to like about Philo. Yet, there is one thing to know before switching – Philo does not offer sports.
There’s no ESPN, Fox sports, or any other sport channels, so if that’s a deal breaker in your home, you’ll want to consider our next option.
2. Sling TV
Sling TV is a solid way to get your favorite Lifetime TV shows without cable. Unlike Philo it offers sports. Sling has been around for a while and is one of the major streaming options out there.
They offer a solid lineup of the most popular channels and chances are good that if you cut the cord on cable and switch to Sling, you won’t notice much of a difference.
The menu will feel familiar and you’ll have access to all of your favorite channels.
The trick with Sling is to pick the right package. They offer two – Sling Orange and Sling Blue. Both cost $25 per month and both include the Lifetime TV channel, so there are no worries there. The big difference is ESPN.
If you want ESPN, go with Sling Orange. If you want Fox Sports, choose Blue.
Read our guide to Sling TV packages to learn about the available options.
Like all the services mentioned here, Sling TV offers a free trial so you can check them out risk free.
3. Hulu with Live TV
Let’s move on to a third awesome option for streaming Lifetime without cable – Hulu Live. At $54.99 per month, Hulu Live costs double the amount of Philo and Sling.
If you’re really needing to slash expenses right now, it might not be the best choice for you.
However, the old saying that you get what you pay for holds true for Hulu Live. It offers additional features that Sling and Philo don’t, including:
- Original programming like the wildly popular Handmaid’s Tale
- A huge library of on-demand content
- Local channels
We actually have Hulu Live and love it. Yes, it’s more expensive, but it gives us everything we want in a streaming service.
Here’s an example. Our kids (and me if I’m honest) love DuckTales. It runs on Disney XD.
With Hulu Live, we not only get to watch the latest episodes of our favorite show; we can also watch every episode that’s ever aired.
So, if you’re crazy about Dance Moms the way I am about DuckTales, you’ll love being able to watch every episode on Hulu Live.
4. fuboTV
FuboTV is our fourth way to enjoy Lifetime streaming without cable. It’s a little more expensive than our first two options, but if you need sports, it’s worth a look.
At $59.99 per month, it’s our most expensive option listed, but that price tag includes 100+ channels.
Everything from news to sports to Lifetime Channel comes with fuboTV. You can also customize your experience with various add-on packages like Latino Plus, fuboTV Latino and fuboTV Portugues.
If you want access to a more diverse channel offering than what you can even get with cable, try fuboTV for free for seven days.
Can I watch Lifetime Channel for free?
At this point, you have four excellent options to watch Lifetime. However, you might be wondering how you can watch the channel for free.
If so, I feel you. Who doesn’t want to watch their favorite show for free? Unfortunately, Lifetime is not a network channel, so there’s really no way to watch it without paying for it.
The one way to get around that is by trying these streaming services’ free trials. Doing them one after another would give you Lifetime Channel free for one month.
At the end of that time, you can sign up for the one you liked the best and keep watching Lifetime for a lot less than you’d pay with cable.
Can I Watch on Apple TV, Chromecast, Fire TV, or Roku?
The resounding answer is yes! Like many other popular network channels, all of the mainstream platforms allow you to stream Lifetime Channel.
Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Fire TV, and more all make it easy to watch Lifetime without cable.
You can also watch their movies online with your laptop computer or device with any of the services mentioned here.
Your options are definitely not limited by what kind of TV or streaming platform you choose. Lifetime Channel is a main network and easy to access any way you choose.
Watch Through the MyLifetime Website
Beyond streaming services, there is another great way to watch Lifetime without cable and that’s the MyLifetime website.
The Lifetime TV app has clips and episodes that are completely free to watch.
However, if you’re looking for a free way to stream Lifetime movies, you’ll be disappointed.
You’ll either need to subscribe to one of the streaming services mentioned here or sign up for the Lifetime Movie Club.
Lifetime knows its viewers are big fans of their original movies and offers a way to watch them for just $3.99 per month or $39.99 per year.
If you’re mostly a fan of Lifetime movies and not its ongoing series, this could be an excellent choice for you.
They offer a free trial and let you cancel anytime. If you think this option could be good for you, try it free to see if the movie selection satisfies your needs.
Purchase Shows
If you’ve made it this far and still aren’t sold on a streaming service, that’s fine. You can still cut the cord and watch your favorite Lifetime shows by purchasing seasons through Amazon.
This is actually what my parents do with some of their favorite shows. They’d rather not subscribe to a streaming service and just have a few favorite series they like to watch outside of the movies they stream on Netflix.
They just go to Amazon Prime Video and purchase the season that they’re looking for. You can easily do the same with your favorite shows.
Summary
Summary
If you’re looking to cut the cord on cable, you can do so with confidence knowing you can still watch your favorite Lifetime shows and movies cable-free.
For years, we stuck in a cable contract because we thought it was the only way to get the sports and news content we loved.
Now we know better. And you do too.
Try Philo TV free now and see how you like it. After that, try some of the others mentioned here. You’ll find that you’re not missing anything by not having cable.
If you’re worried about not getting your local channels without cable, don’t be. You can get all your local channels with a digital antenna, like our Mohu Leaf.
We bought two on Amazon and use them now to get all our local networks for free.
Cable is far too expensive to keep just for local channels.
Take the money you’re saving and put it to use working on your financial goals. You could build up your emergency fund, pay down debt or any number of other worthy objectives.
The worst thing you could do is nothing.
What channels are keeping you from canceling cable? How much do you spend per month for cable? What could you do with an extra $50+ per month?
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