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Cox Communications vs. Sling Television plan comparison


Headshot of Kathryn Casna
Researched by
Kathryn CasnaSenior Staff Writer
Headshot of Bri Field
Reviewed by
Bri FieldAssigning Editor
Updated 2/9/23

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Cox
Staff rating
3.2
Customer rating
4.2
(40)

  • Plans starting at $20.00
  • 250+ channels
Sling
Staff rating
3.1
Customer rating
4.1
(12)

  • Plans starting at $40.00
  • 47 channels
Cox
Staff rating
3.2

Good for bundling and premium channels, but not the best standalone value

Cox Communications is one of the most expensive cable TV providers on the market, especially when you consider all the hidden costs. But if you want sports and premium channels, have only one TV, and bundle with internet and other services, this provider could make sense for you.

What we like

  • Large number of premium channels
  • Tiered DVR storage and recording
  • Searches streaming apps too
What we don't like

  • Pricey plans and hidden costs
  • Padded channel lineup
  • No free DVR storage
Sling
Staff rating
3.1

Sling TV is a great value for a single viewer

Sling TV is one of the lowest-cost live TV streaming services we tested at just $40–$55 per month. Unfortunately, we found it hard to share its small channel lineup with the whole family. But if you’re looking for a live TV service just for you, Sling TV could be your match.

What we like

  • Low cost
  • Customizable add-ons
  • Intuitive interface
What we dislike

  • Confusing plans
  • On-the-go glitches
  • Difficulty sharing
Cox
Value
2.0
A padded TV lineup makes this already expensive provider less appealing

Cox Communications has two types of plans. Cox TV includes live TV and on-demand TV. Cox Contour adds the ability to connect streaming apps like Netflix and Amazon Prime to your TV and search their content using a remote. All plans come with a one- or two-year contract, after which you’ll be on month-to-month pricing, which is around $15/month more.

Although it looks like Cox has a ton of channels, its lineup (which varies by plan and location) is padded with up to 50 music channels. (1) Other than that, Cox delivers a decent—but not outstanding—channel lineup, and it’ll cost you more than other companies. You’ll get the most bang for your buck (and some sweet premium channels) with the Ultimate plan, but a Premium plan has plenty of channels for most people and the option to add inexpensive premium channels à la carte, which range from $5-$15 per. We don’t generally recommend the Starter plan because you can get most of its channels for free with an HD antenna, though its signal is less reliable than the coax TV that Cox provides.

Sling
Value
4.5
One of the lowest-cost options out there—and one of the smallest channel counts, too

Sling delivers a solid value. Its cost per channel is high (around $1–$1.33 per channel), but it also comes with a ton of on-demand content and the ability to record live shows and skip the commercials when you watch them later. You get only 50 hours of DVR cloud storage, but you can quadruple that for just a few bucks extra.

Sling also provides a good mix of channels, including a few sports, kids, lifestyle, and comedy channels. If you want more of any genre, you can grab a package or two to customize your content. Most add around $6 to your bill, or you can grab a bundle if you find one you like.

The Sports Extra add-on is pricier at $11–15 per month. The pricing and channels you get vary depending on whether you're adding the sports pack to Sling Orange, Sling Blue, or Sling Orange + Sling Blue (unnecessarily complicated, in our opinion). But with Sports Extra on Sling Orange + Sling Blue, you get an extensive list of channels (20 more), including the NFL Red Zone, MLB, NBA, and Olympic networks—some of which you can purchase separately for more than the cost of this whole package. You can also add over 40 premium packages, and many are priced lower than we’ve seen elsewhere.

Unlike other streaming services, Sling TV has a free version. This is no time-limited free trial that you forget to cancel until you see your credit card bill two months later. This is genuinely, indefinitely free—no credit card required. You can’t record shows with it, but it’s a great way to dip your toe into the cable-cutting waters at no cost.

Cox
Features
4.0
A great experience overall, despite an overrated remote

Cox offers some solid features that make for a great entertainment experience. Its DVR service uses cloud storage so you can access recorded shows anywhere with the Cox Contour app. How much storage you get (50–1,000 HD hours) and how many shows you can record at a time (1 to a whopping 24!) depends on your plan, which seems sensible to us. When you have more channels, there are more shows to record, right?

While at home with your TV, you’ll use Cox’s “award-winning” voice remote. We couldn’t find the specific award Cox claims it won. Instead, we found it hard to remember which “convenient” feature each of the four lettered buttons commanded (help, accessibility controls, sports, and delete or cancel).

Away from your TV, the Contour app lets you stream shows, schedule DVR recordings, and adjust parental controls. The only casting device that works with the app is Chromecast, though, so you can’t stream with a Roku or Apple TV. (2) Unfortunately, this means many customers won’t be able to use the Contour app to avoid paying for cable boxes for multiple TVs.

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Sling
Content
2.5
Great lineups—but you might have to make some hard choices

Sling TV offers a solid channel lineup, but it doesn’t include any local channels. You can add these with an HD antenna or an AirTV device, but that means you can’t watch them on the go. And if you’re looking for 4K content, you won’t find it here. Live content streams in 720p and on-demand content is 1080p.

Which channels you get depends on which plan you choose (and here’s where it gets a little confusing). Sling has three plans: Orange, Blue, and an Orange + Blue combo. The Orange and Blue plans each have a few channels in the same genre the other doesn’t, so be prepared to make some hard choices unless you spring for the combo plan. If you’re a sports fan, you’ll have to choose between ESPN (Orange) or FOX Sports, NFL Network, and NBC (Blue). If you have kids, you’ll have to choose between Disney Channel (Orange) or the Discovery Channel (Blue). Channels like BBC America, Nick Jr., Cartoon Network, AMC, and CNN are included in both plans.

Oddly, the free version of Sling gives you way more channels: 150+. But many of the free Sling TV channels are super specific (there’s a channel that plays The Carol Burnette Show 24/7) or on-demand channels, which is cheating. But there are some gems, like Outside TV+, Bon Appetit, and CMT. The downside is you don’t get DVR capabilities, and you’ll end up watching more commercials.

Cox
Equipment and installation
3.0
Reliable equipment and average installation

Cox TV uses cable infrastructure to keep you reliably binging your favorite shows. Your first Contour box is free, and every additional one is $8.50/month. So if you have multiple TVs, you’ll have to rent more boxes.

If your house is already wired with cable jacks for all your TVs, self-install is a free, easy option. Professional installation varies by location but will run you around $75, which is pretty inexpensive. Learn how to choose between self installation or profressional installation.

Sling
Features
2.5
Sharing a subscription is harder than it should be

All Sling plans include 50 hours of cloud DVR storage, which isn’t much, especially if you want to share your plan with family or roommates. Adding DVR Plus for $5 will get you 200 hours and—we’re willing to bet—fewer fights over deleted shows. And you’ll get the ability to lock your favorite episodes so they aren’t automatically deleted to make room for new recordings if you go over the limit.

Unlike most of the other live TV streaming services we’ve tried, you can’t make separate profiles for different users to watch, record, and save their favorite shows. That’s a bummer because figuring out how to stream multiple live shows at once is confusing. Sling TV decides how many streams you can have based on the channel you’re watching: Orange channels have just one stream and Blue channels have up to three.

If you have the Orange + Blue combo plan, you’ll see both Orange and Blue versions of some channels in your Guide, since these lineups have some overlap. One person can watch the Orange version of TNT, for example, but three people can watch the Blue version. If too many people start watching the same channel, someone will be kicked off about a minute later—but the offending viewer will never know they just ruined someone’s day because Sling doesn’t tell them.

Add it all up, and sharing a single Sling TV subscription with members of your household could cause more arguments than it's worth.

Cox
Sports and premium channels
4.0
Decent sports and premium options on a Preferred plan—or go for the gold with an Ultimate plan

Cox cable TV includes a decent sports lineup in its Preferred (mid-tier) and Ultimate (top tier) plans, but not its Starter (lowest-tier) plan. ESPN, ESPN2, Fox Sports, and the Golf channel are all included in a Preferred plan, and the Ultimate plan adds NFL Network, NFL Red Zone, the Tennis Channel, and the elusive MLB channel.

If you spring for the Ultimate plan, you’ll also get an extensive list of premium channels—including ten HBO, eleven Cinemax, five SHOWTIME, and nine STARZ channels—at no extra charge. If you want all the premiums, this top-tier plan is definitely your best bet! But if you want only a few, grab a Premium plan and add your faves when you check out. Unfortunately, Cox doesn’t let you add premium channels to a Starter plan.

Sling
Usability
3.0
Easy to use, but a few glitches when watching on-the-go

The browser and app interfaces were generally easy to use, and Sling is compatible on a ton of devices. Sling says you can run it on just a 5 Mbps internet connection but recommends at least 25 Mbps. When we tested it, Sling was laggy on a cell signal connection, but that’s not uncommon. And when it comes to watching shows on the go, there are a few areas where Sling can improve.

With on-demand content, we sometimes had trouble picking shows back up if we’d started them and had to step away. Finding the “Continue watching” section on the home tab was hard because it kept moving. And when we switched back and forth between devices (like between the app on an Android phone and the Safari browser on a Mac laptop), Sling didn’t always remember where we were in a movie. Sometimes, this kind of switch stumped Sling completely, resulting in an error and Sling forgetting that we’d ever watched the show. That meant having to find our place again—and having to sit through commercial blocks we’d already watched.

The DVR is a decent experience. It’s easy to record shows as you find them in the Guide, but starting a recording mid-show won’t record what you’ve missed. And you can’t use your phone to start recording a show that’s already started. The record button just isn’t there. Shows you’ve already recorded pop up behind the DVR tab, along with how much storage you’ve used and your scheduled recordings. If you delete something you didn’t mean to (or Sling deleted a show to make room for new recordings), it’ll stay in the Trash section for 48 hours in case you want to reinstate it. We found that handy, especially if you don’t want to spring for extra DVR storage.

Endnotes and sources
1. "Channel Lineup," Cox Communications. Accessed 11 October 2022.2. "How to Use the Contour App," Cox Communications. Accesed 11 October 2022.
Endnotes and sources
Cox Communications
4.2
(40)
5 Star
40%
4 Star
45%
3 Star
12%
2 Star
0%
1 Star
3%
L
Lynnfrom Olmsted Twp, OH
Cox Communications Customer for 8+ years
Reviewed on: 7/26/2022
I normally have no problems with the service, it is just they continue to raise the price and nothing gets any better in the TV or the internet.
C
Chrisfrom Ocala, FL
Cox Communications Customer for 8+ years
Reviewed on: 7/20/2022
I'm very happy with cox The only thing they could do better is to add more channels
R
Richardfrom Salina, KS
Cox Communications Customer for 8+ years
Reviewed on: 7/4/2022
The service has been pretty decent. The picture and audio quality is good. The service has been surprisingly reliable. It's rare when we have an outage. If there is an outage it doesn't take long for a repair person to come out, and fix the problem. I would like to see a better quality remote control system for their wall-mounted digital cable boxes. It's pretty east get out of range where the remote doesn't work. Also, I'd like a way to record programs, and be able to play the recordings on other devices. It makes a person wish that analog TV was still available.
F
Francisfrom Wethersfield, CT
Cox Communications Customer for 8+ years
Reviewed on: 6/22/2022
I like that they broadcast all channels in 1080 resolution and lower the bill
Sling
4.0
(12)
5 Star
33%
4 Star
42%
3 Star
25%
2 Star
0%
1 Star
0%
J
Jerline from Raleigh , NC
Sling Customer for 4+ years
Reviewed on: 9/4/2022
At this time needs no improvement
J
Johnfrom Ellijay, GA
Sling Customer for 4+ years
Reviewed on: 8/28/2022
Nice programming, plenty channel options, easy to use, $$ for service
S
Stevenfrom Columbus, OH
Sling Customer for 4+ years
Reviewed on: 8/26/2022
Has the channels I want to watch and charges a decent price for this service
M
Merrifrom Indianapolis, IN
Sling Customer for 1+ years
Reviewed on: 8/21/2022
I wish they offered cheaper access to local TV
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