Crunchyroll is the most popular streaming platform for watching anime, but that doesn't mean it's immune to streamflation. For the second time in as many years, the streamer is raising prices.
This week, Crunchyroll announced that it's raising prices by as much as 25%. This comes less than two months after the Sony-owned company killed off its free tier.
Here are the new prices:
- Fan tier: $9.99 a month (up from $7.99)
- Mega Fan tier: $13.99 a month (up from $11.99)
- Ultimate Fan tier: $17.99 a month (up from $15.99)
Crunchyroll is offering a limited Fan Annual Plan for $66.99, but that only lasts for one year. The announcement claims this will "give fans more of what they love." It also pointed out new and upcoming features like teen profiles, PIN protection, multiple profiles and the ability to skip theme songs and end credits.
When Sony bought Crunchyroll in 2020, the service had a free tier and monthly subscriptions of $8, 10, or $15. The first price hike hit in May 2024, when the mega tier bumped to $12 and the Ultimate level to $16.
Sony has consolidated much of the anime industry in recent years by rolling the former Funimation distributor into Crunchyroll and purchasing large anime production studios like Aniplex and Egg firm.
Unfortunately, Crunchyroll joins a chorus line of streaming platforms that have all raised prices in the last two years, some multiple times (looking at you, Spotify).
Crunchyroll alternatives
When it comes to Japanese animation, Crunchyroll is the elephant in the room. Most of the hyped and popular titles appear on the service before going anywhere else.
Fortunately, there are alternatives, even if they aren't all anime-focused like Crunchyroll:
Netflix: Netflix has a surprisingly robust collection of anime movies and shows. Some of which the company has financed itself, like the excellent "Beastars" and the acid-trip that is "Dorohedoro." Plus, the service does get popular series like "Frieren" and "Jujutsu Kaisen," and they seem to stick around longer on Netflix than other genres. I highly recommend "Delicious in Dungeon," which only has one season currently.
Amazon Prime Video: Amazon, like Netflix, has a wealth of anime, though browsing its offerings can get confusing. Like other shows on Amazon, some are free with ads, others are free with a Prime subscription, while some can only be rented or purchased. However, Amazon appears to have many popular titles like "One Punch Man," "One Piece" and "Attack on Titan" if you enjoy those titles.
Disney+/Hulu: Hulu has had anime for a while, but Disney has also picked up a few, including the excellent semi-in-house "Star Wars: Visions." Combined, you have a lot of options. Plus, the service has some older titles like "Hunter x Hunter" and "Bleach" that are fairly popular. I have seen newer popular shows like "Demon Slayer" and "Solo Leveling" pop up as well.
HiDive: HiDive is one of the few Crunchyroll alternatives that is solely focused on anime. The service has a much smaller library and is cheaper than CR, with a monthly $6.99 tier and an annual $69.99 annual subscription. You won't get the hottest titles, but there are some shows like "Parasyte," "Golden Time" and "Reincarnated as a Sword" that might be worth a watch.
Pluto/Retrocrush/Tubi: If you're looking for older titles and don't mind ads, don't be afraid to check out Pluto, Tubi or Retrocrush anime. All three services have older titles like "Paprika," the original "Pokémon" and "Ranma 1/2." Tubi and Pluto do offer some more recent titles, but both services have more of a focus on older shows and movies.
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