How to Watch the 2026 World Cup for Free (or Less)

There are free and paid ways to stream every match of this year's tournament.

ShanonG

Jun 11, 2026 - 21:16

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How to Watch the 2026 World Cup for Free (or Less)

Emily Long

Emily Long Freelance Writer

Experience

Emily Long is a freelance writer based in Salt Lake City.

After graduating from Duke University, she spent several years reporting on the federal workforce for Government Executive, a publication of Atlantic Media Company, in Washington, D.C. She has nearly a decade of experience as a freelancer covering tech (including issues related to security, privacy, and streaming) as well as personal finance and travel.

In addition to Lifehacker, her work has been featured on Wirecutter, Tom’s Guide, and ZDNET. Emily has also worked as a travel guide around the U.S. and as a content editor. She has a masters in social work and is a licensed therapist in Utah.

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June 11, 2026

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view of Mexico City Stadium

Credit: VCG/VCG via Getty Images

The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off today, with matches hosted at venues across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico leading up to the final on July 19. A record 48 teams will be competing in 104 matches over more than five weeks of soccer.

In the U.S., World Cup matches are being broadcast on Fox and FS1 in English and on Telemundo and Universo in Spanish, so if you have a cable package or live TV streaming service with these channels included, you are already set. If you don't, there are other ways to watch, in some cases at little to no cost.

How to watch the World Cup for free

There is no streaming service in the U.S. that is entirely free for the duration of the 2026 World Cup, though you can piece together free trials (which we'll get into below). Tubi will be streaming the opening ceremony and two early matches: Mexico vs. South Africa on June 11 and the U.S. vs. Paraguay on June 12.

Alternatively, you can use a trusted VPN to watch free global coverage. BBC iPlayer and ITVX (UK) as well as SBS on Demand (Australia) are good options, though there are feeds from a number of other countries across Europe. FIFA apparently realizes that lots of folks will be catching games this way—ExpressVPN (which also happens to be a top VPN pick for 2026 by our sister site, CNET) is an official FIFA partner for the 2026 World Cup, and is running some related promotions.

Finally, a free (ish) option is to use over-the-air (OTA) TV. You'll need to purchase a digital antenna and have good reception. You can check the FCC's DTV coverage map to see what signal strength is available at your location.

Watch the World Cup on Fox One

Fox One is Fox's own streaming service, and you can catch every game here. There's a three-day free trial, after which you'll pay $20 per month. This is a reasonably priced option if you care only about watching the World Cup and Fox content.

If you don't already have a live TV streaming subscription, you can try one out for the World Cup. Several offer free trials of various lengths, after which you can pay for a month and then cancel. Make sure you check the channel listings to ensure Fox and FS1 (and/or Telemundo and Universo) are included in your local market.

What do you think so far?

YouTube TV: YouTube TV is a great option for sports fans, and there's currently a 10-day free trial promotion. After that, you'll pay $68 per month for a full channel lineup or $55 for the sports plan.

Hulu + Live TV: $90 per month, three-day free trial

DirecTV Stream: $50 per month, five-day free trial

Fubo TV: $46 per month with current promo, five-day free trial

Watch the Spanish language broadcast on Peacock

Peacock is carrying every match on Telemundo with commentary in Spanish (audio and subtitles). The streaming service's Premium tier costs $11 per month. If you have an Instacart+ or Walmart+ subscription, you can get Peacock for free.