NRL on Kayo: Is it worth the cost? Here’s what you get by going pay for play

Most Australian sports fans are likely well-versed on Kayo. It’s impossible to watch almost any sport in Australia without Kayo being the streaming service of choice. Even in the case of American sports whose own league-pass subscriptions provide you with more games than the Foxtel-owned streaming service, Kayo still shows several games every week. When it comes to the NRL though, nobody does it better.

The 2025 NRL season marks the 118th ‘professional’ season of Australian rugby league played, and the 28th one run by the National Rugby League. And it’s starting off with a bang.

Kicking off on 2 March and in Las Vegas for the second consecutive year, the season will open with two games played in ’round zero’, with the Canberra Raiders facing the New Zealand Warriors, while the four-time champion Penrith Panthers will cap off the NRL’s Vegas trip against the Cronulla Sharks.

Also travelling to Vegas all the way from England are the Super League’s Wigan Warriors and Warrington Wolves, as well as the English Women’s International team who will face our Australian Jillaroos.

While many of the aforementioned matches will be broadcast on free-to-air TV, the opening clash between the Raiders and Warriors and the match between Wigan and Warrington on Sunday morning are both exclusive to Kayo and Foxtel. And they won’t be the only games you miss this season if you opt to go without Kayo in 2025.

What you’ll miss without Kayo

Apart from subscribing to Foxtel or Foxtel Now – and they both cost quite a bit more – if you want to watch every NRL game this year, Kayo is the only way to do so. With the Nine Network’s continuing partnership with the NRL, you might not think you’d miss out on much. But, if you only opt for free-to-air NRL matches, you’ll be able to watch just one match on Thursday night, Friday night and Sunday afternoon.

While three matches a week ain’t bad (that’s still 81 NRL matches in 2025 before the Finals series), assuming there’s 27 eight-game rounds, Kayo subscribers will get access to around 130 more games (or thereabouts – some rounds are shorter during the State of Origin Period).

Without a subscription you’ll miss the season opener between the Raiders and Warriors, Jarome Luai’s first game as a Tiger and rivalry matches between the Dragons and Bulldogs, Titans and Dolphins, Broncos and Titans, Sharks and Sea Eagles, Bulldogs and Parra, as well as Ben Hunt’s first time facing the Dragons since his departure. You even miss the Easter Monday match between the Tigers and Eels!

Don’t miss a blow of the whistle

Kayo therefore offers the best overall NRL viewing experience – at least without picking you up and plonking you on the sideline.

Kayo does, however, cost more than your average streaming service. In fact, once the recently announced price increase and subscription name change comes into effect on March 4, it will be the most expensive streaming subscription in the country – even if you were to add Stan Sport on top of the most expensive Stan subscription.

That said, for the amount of content it provides, it’s hard to argue that you’re overspending. Frankly, if you love the NRL and want to watch every game possible, Kayo is the place to do it. And, if that’s you, here’s what you’ll pay:

Kayo is one of the few streaming services remaining that’s OK with you using your subscription from multiple locations – within the limits of your account type, of course. This means that since the Premium plan allows two streams to be watched concurrently, you could conceivably let a family member or friend use your account to watch a match – even if they live in a separate household.

What else is on Kayo?

Well, regarding the NRL, it’s not just every minute of every match with no ad-breaks during play that makes Kayo the best streaming platform for rugby fans. There’s a whole heap of footy content to keep you entertained even on those few days a week there’s no game.

Here’s a quick breakdown of other NRL content Kayo holds:

• Kayo MVP | a collection stellar player performances
• Kayo Bites | 5-minute game recaps
• Kayo Mini | longer 25-minute condensed games
• Shows like | NRL 360, Sunday Night with Matty Johns and NRL Tonight
• Full game replays | for when you can’t watch the night before

Plus, you get access to a whole heap of non-NRL rugby league. You’ll also get to watch both men’s and women’s international matches, the English Super League and the NRLW.

That’s just the rugby league content that Kayo has on offer. There’s a heap more value to be found if you’re a fan of other sports.

If not Kayo, then Foxtel (now)

If you’re not quite sold on Kayo as the go-to for the NRL this year, or don’t feel you’d be getting your money’s worth, there is another streaming service that will net you every match of every round and a whole heap of regular entertainment and movies – Foxtel Now.

Foxtel Now provides everything you’d receive from a regular Foxtel pay TV subscription, but neatly packaged into a streaming service.

The Foxtel Now Starter Bundle comes in at just AU$35p/m, and includes drama, entertainment, lifestyle, reality, news and more on two simultaneous screens. However, to grab the sports package, you’ll have to pony up for the AU$84p/m package that includes sports and movie channels.

Luckily, right now, you can grab sports, movies and a whole heap more with the Ultimate Bundle for just AU$69p/m for 12 months. This package includes everything you’d get in the Starter Bundle, plus sports and movies, as well as channels dedicated to kids and documentaries of all sorts.

At AU$29 more than the Kayo Premium plan, it’s arguably still a tempting option if you want the large variety of content on offer.

As a final option to consider, if catching every game isn’t crucial Binge actually has all the free-to-air NRL games with no ad-breaks during play.

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