ESPN Select vs. ESPN Unlimited: Which Tier Do You Actually Need in 2026?
ESPN's two streaming tiers both got more expensive on September 17, 2026. Here's exactly what Select and Unlimited each include, the new prices, and which one is right for how you actually watch sports.
The short version
- Both ESPN tiers got more expensive on September 17, 2026: Select is now $13.99/month ($139.99/year), Unlimited is now $31.99/month ($319.99/year) — a $1 and $2 monthly bump respectively.
- The tiers aren’t priced the same product at two speeds. Select is the ESPN+ streaming library only. Unlimited adds the actual live ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU/SEC Network/ACC Network channel feeds, ESPN on ABC, and NFL Network.
- Most non-NFL sports fans only need Select. College sports, soccer, UFC, golf, and tennis are almost entirely an ESPN+ library, which Select already includes.
- Unlimited only pays for itself if you watch the live channels — Monday Night Football, SEC/ACC Network game windows, or NFL Network — none of which Select carries at any price.
- If you subscribed before August 20, 2026, you keep the old price until your next billing cycle after the increase lands.
ESPN quietly raised prices on both its streaming tiers effective September 17, 2026 — right as the fall sports calendar (college football conference play, the start of the NFL and NHL seasons) kicks into gear. If you’re deciding whether to sign up, downgrade, or just eat the increase, the two tiers aren’t actually the same service at two price points. Here’s what each one gets you.
What changed on September 17, 2026
ESPN’s streaming lineup has two standalone tiers, both of which got more expensive this month:
| Plan | Old monthly | New monthly | Old annual | New annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ESPN Select | $12.99 | $13.99 | $129.99 | $139.99 |
| ESPN Unlimited | $29.99 | $31.99 | $299.99 | $319.99 |
It’s the first price change for Unlimited since it launched, and the second increase for Select (it started life as ESPN+ at $11.99). If you were already subscribed before August 20, 2026, you’re grandfathered in at the old price until your first billing date after September 17 — so the increase doesn’t hit everyone the same week.
The Disney+/Hulu/ESPN bundles moved too, since ESPN’s tiers are one of the three ingredients: the ad-supported Select bundle went from $19.99 to $21.99/month, and the ad-free version from $29.99 to $32.99. If you’re weighing the bundle math on top of picking a tier, see our streaming bundles guide — the “worth it if you’d use all three apps anyway” logic still holds, just at slightly higher numbers.
Select vs. Unlimited: what you actually get
The names suggest Unlimited is just “more of Select,” but the split is really streaming-only library vs. streaming-plus-live-channels:
ESPN Select is the ESPN+ content library: college football and basketball (a large slate, though not every nationally televised game), top-flight international soccer, the PGA Tour, NHL out-of-market games, UFC pay-per-view-adjacent content, tennis, and a long tail of niche sports ESPN+ has carried for years. It does not include the live ESPN or ESPN2 cable-style channel feed.
ESPN Unlimited includes everything in Select, plus the actual linear channels: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, SEC Network, ACC Network (and their “Extra”/”+” companion feeds), ESPN’s simulcast of ABC’s sports coverage, and NFL Network. That’s where Monday Night Football lives, along with the biggest nationally-televised college football windows and NFL Network’s own game slate — none of which Select carries, at any price.
The practical way to think about it: Select is “the ESPN app as a sports library,” Unlimited is “the ESPN app plus the cable channels you’d otherwise need a live-TV service for.”
Which one do you actually need
Pick Select if: you mainly watch college sports, soccer, golf, UFC, or tennis, and you don’t specifically need Monday Night Football or the SEC/ACC Network live feeds. At $13.99/month, it covers the large majority of ESPN’s non-NFL sports programming for $18/month less than Unlimited.
Pick Unlimited if: you watch the live ESPN or ESPN2 channel regularly — Monday Night Football, the ESPN “Saturday whip-around” college football coverage, SEC/ACC Network games, or NFL Network. There’s no cheaper way to get that specific programming through ESPN’s own apps; Select simply doesn’t offer it as an add-on.
Don’t pay for Unlimited “just in case.” If you can’t name a specific live-channel game you watch most weeks, you’re very likely paying an extra $216/year for programming you won’t open. Downgrade to Select and see if you miss anything — if you do, upgrading back takes one tap in the ESPN app or on espn.com.
What’s NOT worth it
- Unlimited for a Select-shaped habit. If your actual viewing is college sports, soccer, and UFC, Unlimited’s live-channel content is dead weight you’re paying for and not using.
- The Disney+/Hulu/ESPN bundle if ESPN is the only app you’d use. The bundle discount only beats separate pricing when you’d genuinely subscribe to all three; paying for a bundle to get access to a $13.99 ESPN tier you’d use alone is usually more expensive than just buying ESPN Select on its own.
- Stacking ESPN with a full live-TV package “for football.” If Monday Night Football and NFL Network are the draw, price ESPN Unlimited against a live-TV streaming bundle before assuming ESPN alone covers everything you want to watch — ESPN doesn’t carry every NFL game window.
How to decide
- List the specific ESPN programming you actually watch in a normal week — name shows or game types, not “sports” generally.
- If none of it is the live ESPN/ESPN2/SEC Network/ACC Network channel feed or NFL Network, get Select and save $18/month.
- If it is, Unlimited is the only ESPN-branded way to get it — but check whether you’d also use Disney+ and Hulu enough to make the bundle worthwhile instead of paying for ESPN alone.
- Run the numbers against your full lineup with our streaming cost calculator, and see the real cost of cutting the cord in 2026 for how ESPN fits into the bigger cord-cutting picture.
FAQ recap
- Select vs. Unlimited, in one line: Select is the ESPN+ library; Unlimited adds the live ESPN/ESPN2/SEC/ACC channel feeds and NFL Network.
- New prices as of September 17, 2026: Select $13.99/mo ($139.99/yr), Unlimited $31.99/mo ($319.99/yr).
- Who needs Unlimited: only people who watch the live channel feed regularly — Monday Night Football, SEC/ACC Network games, or NFL Network.
- Everyone else: Select covers the large majority of ESPN’s sports library for $18/month less.