If you’re an anime fan, the world looks very different than it did a few years ago.
Crunchyroll now owns its biggest rivals. Funimation officially shut down on April 2, 2024 and merged into Crunchyroll, VRV was merged into Crunchyroll in April 2023, and AnimeLab and Wakanim were also absorbed into the platform.
At the same time, Crunchyroll killed its free ad-supported tier and raised prices for everyone.Â
So if you’re looking for something cheaper, more dubbed, more classic, or just more anime than Crunchyroll offers, you have more Crunchyroll alternatives than ever.Â
Best Crunchyroll Alternatives
1. HIDIVE
The only anime-only streamer left standing after the merger. Since the Crunchyroll-Funimation merger and the closure of other outfits like Amazon’s Anime Strike, HIDIVE has become one of the only major anime-focused streaming services left.
HIDIVE is owned by Sentai Filmworks, so it gets the uncensored versions of shows that Crunchyroll has to censor, plus exclusive English dubs you won’t find anywhere else like Oshi No Ko, Made in Abyss, Call of the Night, and Chained Soldier.
It also expanded to Amazon Prime Video Channels as an add-on in UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand in March last year, and is available on Samsung, LG, and VIZIO TVs.
HIDIVE pricing: Monthly subscription costs $7.99/month and the yearly subscription comes to $79.99/year.Â
2. Netflix
Over 400+ titles and 5-10 new exclusives per season. Netflix unveiled its upcoming anime slate at AnimeJapan highlighting new originals like Pluto, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, and Blue Eye Samurai.
Netflix is best for multilingual dubs. If Crunchyroll only has English and Japanese, Netflix often has 8-10 dub languages and a much better subtitle system.
Netflix pricing: Plans start from $8.99/month and go up to $26.99/month for the Premium plan.Â
Also read:Â Safe Streaming Sites for Anime and Cartoons
3. Hulu
Hulu still has around 900 anime titles, but is losing content fast due to the Disney+ merger. Fall last year 40+ anime were spread across Crunchyroll, HIDIVE, Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and even Disney+, so Hulu doesn’t get as many exclusives as before.
Keep it if you already have the Disney Bundle, it’s a great bonus. Don’t subscribe to Hulu standalone just for anime.
Hulu pricing: Hulu With Ads is still $7.99/month. No-ads is $17.99/month. It comes much cheaper as a bundle: Duo Basic (Disney+ + Hulu with ads) is $12.99/mo, and the full Disney+, Hulu, and Max bundle with ads is $19.99/mo.
4. Amazon Prime Video
This hub offers 600+ anime (Vinland Saga, Dororo, Banana Fish). You can also add HIDIVE, Crunchyroll, and RetroCrush as Channels so everything is in one app. It produces original anime and offers anime through Channels.
This is the best option if you hate having five different apps.
Amazon Prime Video pricing: Amazon Prime Video costs $8.99 per month as a standalone streaming service, or it comes included at no extra cost with a full Amazon Prime Membership for $14.99 per month or $139 per year.
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5. Disney+
Disney+ is a major anime player now. It is now home to Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, Tokyo Revengers, Sand Land, and Star Wars: Visions.
If you like both Marvel and anime, the bundle makes sense. Disney has been aggressively licensing anime since 2022 and is now the exclusive home for many Aniplex shows in Japan that used to go to Crunchyroll. The app itself is also great with 4K, IMAX Enhanced, and GroupWatch for watching with friends.
The downside is the library is still small (50-60 titles) compared to Crunchyroll, and it doesn’t have simulcasts week-to-week like HIDIVE does.
Disney+ pricing: The Disney Bundle Trio Basic (Disney+ + Hulu + ESPN+) is $21.99/month. The Duo Basic (just Disney+ + Hulu with ads) is $12.99/month, which is the best value if you want anime.
6. HBO Max
HBO Max has an Adult Swim hub with Toonami anime (Ninja Kamui, Uzumaki, FLCL), plus you can add Crunchyroll as an add-on channel inside Max. It also has Studio Ghibli films in the US. The entire Ghibli catalog lives here, not on Crunchyroll.
Max is perfect if you like more mature, late-night anime. Toonami has been the home of anime in the US for 25 years, and Max streams everything next-day after it airs on TV. It also has Rick and Morty: The Anime and other Max Original anime you won’t find elsewhere.
Interface is excellent and allows up to five profiles with great parental controls.
HBO Max pricing: Ad-supported is $10.99/month, Standard ad-free is $18.49/month, and Ultimate (4K, 100 downloads) is $22.99/month. The Disney+, Hulu, Max bundle with ads is $19.99/month.Â
7. Apple TV
Apple TV is licensing more anime films and sci-fi anime originals. It’s a good add-on if you’re in Apple ecosystem. Apple is investing heavily in anime movies and has Wolf Children and other films.
Though the library is not huge, it has high quality and no ads ever. Apple TV is the only major streamer with ZERO ad-supported tier. You always get 4K, Dolby Atmos, and offline downloads. It recently picked up Makoto Shinkai films and is co-producing new sci-fi anime with Japanese studios.
It’s not a Crunchyroll replacement, but it’s a great 4th service if you already have the others and want beautiful films to watch on your Apple devices with Family Sharing.
Apple TV pricing: Apple TV costs $14.99 per month or $119 per year. A 7-day free trial is available, and you get 3 months free when you buy an Apple device.
8. Paramount+
Has a small but solid anime movie collection, especially anime movies that were distributed by Miramax or classic films like Ghost in the Shell, Akira, and Your Name.
Paramount+ won’t be your main anime app, but it’s worth checking if you already subscribe for Star Trek or sports. It has a surprisingly good selection of anime movies on rotation, often better than Netflix’s movie selection.
The app also includes SHOWTIME anime and you can add other anime channels through its marketplace.
Paramount+ pricing: Paramount+ costs between $8.99 and $13.99 per month depending on the plan you choose. If you prefer to pay for a full year upfront, annual subscriptions range from $89.99 to $139.99.
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9. Tubi TV
Tubi TV is 100% free, legal, and owned by Fox. It has a massive library. Just search “anime” and you can start watching. No account needed.
It has hundreds of titles including Naruto, One Piece, Death Note, Cowboy Bebop, Bleach, Fairy Tail, and Toradora! in both sub and dub. Because it’s ad-supported, it can legally license shows without charging you. The ads are short, about 4-6 minutes per hour, much less than YouTube.
The app is available on literally everything: Roku, Fire Stick, PlayStation, Xbox, Smart TVs, iOS and Android.
Tubi TV pricing: 100% FREE forever. No premium tier or credit card required. Tubi makes money from ads, so you never pay.
10. RetroCrush TV
Dedicated to the Golden Age of anime, RetroCrush TV highlights classic anime movies and series. Its line-up includes more than 200 series and features.
If you love 80s and 90s anime, this is better than Crunchyroll. RetroCrush focuses on classics like Urusei Yatsura, Galaxy Express 999, Rose of Versailles, Devil Lady (1998), and City Hunter. Early last year, it acquired a huge catalog from VIZ Media, so it now has classics that left other platforms.
You can watch it three ways: free on its website/app, as a paid Prime Video Channel, or as a free live channel on Pluto, Plex, Roku Channel, and Samsung TV Plus.
RetroCrush TV pricing: Free with ads is the main experience. Premium ad-free is $4.99/month or $49.99/year, which also unlocks a few extra titles and removes ads completely.
11. Pluto TV
Pluto TV features free live channels including RetroCrush and other anime channels 24/7.
It is a FAST service (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV) owned by Paramount. Instead of picking what to watch, you can just turn on its Anime All Day channel and it plays anime 24/7 like old TV. It also carries the full RetroCrush linear channel and several other anime channels.
Pluto TV is great for background watching and discovering shows you wouldn’t search for. No login needed.
Pluto TV pricing: 100% FREE. No paid plan at all. Just download the app and watch.Â
12. Plex
Plex is the same as Pluto. It hosts free live anime FAST channels plus you can organize your own library.
It is two things in one. First, it’s a free streaming service with 600+ free live channels including RetroCrush, Midnight Pulp, and other anime/midnight movie channels. Second, it’s the best app for organizing anime you already own. It automatically adds posters, descriptions, and tracks your progress.
If you have a lot of downloaded anime or Blu-rays you ripped, Plex is essential.
Plex pricing: Free live TV and streaming is 100% FREE. Optional Plex Pass for power users is $6.99/month or $69.99/year or $749.99 lifetime. It adds offline mobile sync, DVR, and skip-intro, but you don’t need it for free anime.
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13. The Roku Channel
The Roku Channel has free FAST anime channels, including RetroCrush.
If you have a Roku device or Roku TV, you already have this. The Roku Channel is Roku’s free streaming app with 400+ free live channels, and it carries the full RetroCrush live channel plus its own anime section with titles like Naruto Shippuden, Hunter x Hunter, and Inuyasha.
No Roku device? No problem. You can watch it free on the web or on the mobile app. It works like Pluto TV: just open and watch with no account needed, though making a free account lets you save a watchlist.
The Roku Channel pricing: 100% FREE. No premium option, ad-supported.Â
14. YouTube – Official Channels
This is the most underrated free alternative. Crunchyroll, HIDIVE, Muse Asia, Ani-One all upload full episodes legally on YouTube.Â
The official Crunchyroll YouTube channel uploads the first episodes of new shows for free, HIDIVE uploads full movies, and networks like Muse Asia and Ani-One Asia upload full simulcasts free and legal just 1 hour after Japan.
Search “Muse Asia full episode” or “Ani-One full episode” and you get legal HD episodes with English subtitles. YouTube Premium just removes the ads.
YouTube pricing: FREE with ads. YouTube Premium for ad-free is $13.99/month individual, $22.99/month family, but you don’t need it to watch anime.
15. Viz Media
Viz is the publisher of Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, and Jujutsu Kaisen. On viz.com you can watch the latest three episodes of subbed simulcasts free with ads, and you can read the latest three chapters of almost every Shonen Jump manga free.
If you like both anime and manga, pair this with the Shonen Jump app. It’s the cheapest way to stay current.
Viz Media pricing: Website video section is FREE with ads. Shonen Jump app is $1.99/month for access to 15,000+ manga chapters. It’s the cheapest manga subscription anywhere.
16. Anime-Planet
Anime-Planet isn’t a host, it’s a tracker that legally links you to where to watch.
Create a free account to track what you’ve watched, get recommendations like MyAnimeList, and it will send you to Crunchyroll, Hulu, or Tubi to watch free and legal. It has one of the largest recommendation databases and reviews from real fans.
Perfect if you’re tired of not knowing what to watch next.
Anime-Planet pricing: 100% FREE. No premium tier. Supported by ads and legal referral links.
17. CONtv & Midnight Pulp
Owned by Cineverse, the same company that runs RetroCrush. If you like RetroCrush for classic anime, CONtv and Midnight Pulp are its sister apps focused on cult, horror, and midnight anime like Ninja Scroll, Vampire Hunter D, Wicked City, and Akira.
Both apps are 100% free and legal in the US and stream on the web, Roku, Fire TV, and inside Plex / Pluto TV as free live channels. Midnight Pulp has a great curated “Anime After Dark” block on weekends.
It’s not a full Crunchyroll replacement, but it’s the best free bonus app if you already watch RetroCrush and Tubi.
Pricing:Â 100% FREE with ads. No premium tier.Â
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18. Adult Swim WebsiteÂ
The original home of anime in America, Adult Swim’s website streams new Toonami episodes next-day for free, including Ninja Kamui, Uzumaki, FLCL: Grunge, and Rick and Morty: The Anime. You can also stream the Toonami live channel free on Max.
If you have a cable login, you get the live Adult Swim simulcast. If not, most episodes are free next-day with just a short ad, no account needed.
Pair it with Max and you have 25 years of Toonami – Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood all premiered here.
Pricing: FREE with ads on adultswim.com and the Adult Swim app. No subscription needed for next-day episodes.Â
19. Rakuten Viki
Although focused on K-drama and J-dorama, Viki has anime and live-action anime adaptations too. It’s great if you like dorama too, which Crunchyroll originally had.
Viki is owned by Rakuten and is fully available in the US with over 10 million users. If you loved Crunchyroll when it still had J-dorama and K-drama in 2015, Viki is the replacement.
It has live-action adaptations like Alice in Borderland, One Piece, Parasyte: The Grey, Gannibal, and classic J-doramas that never made it to Crunchyroll. The fan-sub community is amazing and the subs are often better than official Crunchyroll subs because fans add cultural notes.
Viki pricing: Free tier with ads and 720p, limited episodes. Viki Standard is $7.99/month, Plus is $11.99/month (4K, no ads, exclusive titles). Annual plan is $79.99/year for Standard.
20. AMC+Â
If you want HIDIVE but want more than just anime, get AMC+.
AMC Networks owns HIDIVE, and AMC+ now includes the entire HIDIVE anime library at no extra cost plus Shudder, Sundance Now, and IFC Films. So for one price you get HIDIVE + The Walking Dead universe + horror anime like Uzumaki and Junji Ito Collection on Shudder.
It’s the best bundle deal if you like both anime and horror/thriller. You can add it as a channel on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV Channels, or The Roku Channel so you don’t need another app.
AMC+ pricing: $7.99/month with ads, $10.99/month ad-free. Annual is $109.99/year.Â
Final Verdict
If you want to quit Crunchyroll completely, HIDIVE is the clear winner among all these Crunchyroll alternatives.
It’s the only anime-only streamer left after Funimation, VRV, and Wakanim shut down, with uncensored exclusives and Sentai dubs you won’t find on Crunchyroll.
For the broadest legal coverage this season, go with Crunchyroll Fan plus HIDIVE. That combo gets you every major simulcast.
Before you pay for anything, check Tubi and YouTube first. Your anime might already be free.
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