Demand and interest in anime have grown over 100% in the past few years, so it’s no surprise that more and more streaming services are adding anime to their platforms, or even going as far as to make anime originals of their own. As someone who’s watched anime since I was a kid, it’s been interesting, but also exciting, to see anime grow to such popularity and heights over the years.
With the acquisition of Funimation, Crunchyroll is the biggest and most recognizable streaming service that’s dedicated to anime, but there are more anime streaming services that you’ll want to check out as well. Before I get into the list, though, I want to talk about how I went about choosing the best anime streaming services and some tips for streaming anime!
How I determined the best anime streaming services
As an anime fan who has been watching anime since I was a kid in the 90s, I’ve watched a ton of anime over the years. I currently use, or have used, all of the streaming services on this list. Many I have been using for quite some time, so I’ve seen them evolve and how they’ve improved or not improved as well. All anime streaming services mentioned on this list are legal platforms.
If I didn’t already have a subscription to any of these platforms, I went ahead and purchased one for a month so that I could use their platform, check for updates, new features, user-ability or streaming issues, etc. That being said, I watched anime on all of these streaming platforms to find out the pros and cons of using each.
In addition to my personal experiences, I also took into account the size of their anime libraries as well as the diversity of their catalogs. I took a look at whether or not they have a good variety of anime from different genres, whether or not they have more mature titles, how many exclusives they have, how many new anime they get on average each season if they have simulcast anime titles, a good selection of dub as well as sub anime, and more.
Anime is a beautiful medium that is colorful, and full of detail, and there are many different art styles that animators have to recreate when adapting these series, so video quality is something I also took into account. Many times, they are also a cinematic experience, with incredible sound and music to experience, so I took audio quality into account too.
Of course, cost comes into play as well, so this will be taken into consideration. How good of a deal are each given their user experience and libraries? Value is something that matters, but if you are someone who prefers the best experience over cost, other options may be what you are looking for.
So to recap, personal experience, user experience, video quality, cost, size, and variety of their libraries are the metrics I used to determine which of the anime streaming sites are the best. With this all taken into consideration, I found the following to be the best anime streaming services of 2024! I will update this post each year with new updates and new anime streaming services if they surface.
Tips for Anime Streaming
Since audio and visuals are such a huge part of the viewing experience when it comes to anime, it helps to have a good TV setup. It’s not a necessity if you are on a budget, but if you are someone who likes to have a more immersive experience, you may want to look into getting a good TV and sound system setup if you don’t already have one. If you are limited in space for a full-on sound system or like a more minimalist setup, a soundbar is a great option.
I have a 55″ Samsung 4K TV and the Sonos Arc soundbar, and even though they are minimal, they provide an incredible viewing experience. There are a lot of affordable options out there in terms of 4K TVs and soundbars, so you don’t have to splurge a whole lot to get a good setup. The same goes if you are watching anime on your laptop or desktop.
I recently upgraded my setup with the Govee Envisual TV LED Backlight and it’s been a game-changer, especially when watching anime. The cameras in this kit allow the lights to sync with the anime’s on-screen colors, which enhances the overall viewing experience. I highly recommend checking these out.
Another thing to keep in mind is that select anime apps are only available for download on certain devices. Most commonly, though, they are available on Xbox, PS4+, Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android, Roku and Apple TV.
If you are wanting to watch anime on the go, you may want to use your phone or look into getting a Nintendo Switch. If you are looking to stream anime from home, though, you may want to look into getting an Xbox, PS4+, Roku, or Apple TV. I will be sure to list what devices each app is available for download on below, so you can see if your device(s) is compatible.
Now, let’s get into the best anime streaming services!
Where to stream anime
Crunchyroll – Best anime library and most simulcast titles
Crunchyroll is the indisputable giant of anime streaming platforms, especially now that they’ve acquired Funimation and its library. Because of its extensive library of over 1,000 anime series and the variety of anime genres you can watch on its platform, Crunchyroll is the best anime subscription service.
Here’s everything you need to know about watching anime on Crunchyroll as well as the pros and cons of using their service!
- Has the largest library of anime
- Most diverse selection of genres to browse
- Most simulcasts
- Simulcast episodes go up one hour after they air on Japan
- All premium plans offer an ad-free experience
- 14-day free trial for new users
- Serve more countries and languages
- Can cancel anytime
- Select plans have offline viewing
- Good value for the price
- Prone to outages
- Buffering issues
- App needs some improvement
Library size
Crunchyroll has over 1,000 anime series and movies on its platform, and this number is constantly growing with the arrival of each new anime season. They have the largest anime library by far. To give you an idea as to just how large their anime library is, the second largest, HIDIVE, has just over 325.
As far as simulcast titles go, Crunchyroll added 43 new anime to their platform in the Spring 2022 anime season, including Spy x Family, Kaguya-sama Season 3, The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2, Love After World Domination, and more. So far, they’ve announced 31 new anime titles for Summer 2022 and more are to be announced. They get the most new simulcast anime titles by far and they release each new episode one hour after they air in Japan.
So, in addition, to having the largest anime library out there, they also get the most new simulcast titles as well. Because of this, they are the best place to keep up with new anime releases as well as the best place to watch older or previously released anime series.
As far as their variety goes, Crunchyroll has one of the most diverse anime catalogs. They break genres down more than other anime platforms, so you can find what you are looking for more easily.
Most anime streaming platforms have them broken down by action, comedy, romance, etc., but Crunchyroll breaks them out even further into demographics like shonen anime, seinen anime, and shojo anime as well as more specific genres and themes, like mecha anime, magical girl anime, harem anime, and slice of life anime. There’s a little bit of something for everyone on Crunchyroll, especially since they have the widest variety of anime genres and anime titles to browse.
If you aren’t sure what to watch on Crunchyroll, here are the best anime on Crunchyroll right now.
User Experience
Crunchyroll’s user experience could use some improvement, but their app is easy to navigate. The homepage is relatively simple and uncluttered. You are greeted by popular anime, simulcasts, and new releases when you open up the app. The menu allows you to access your queue, where all of the anime you’ve started watching as well as those you have saved to your watchlist reside, as well as your history, browse, and settings.
The place they chose to put the different dub options clutters the series page. It can be hard to find the season you are looking for as a result. It would provide a much better user experience if users could either set their preferred language or place them in the video player as Netflix does. They did update where you can choose a sub-language, though. You can now choose your sub-language directly on the video player, whereas in the past you’d have to sort through a list of subs on the series page. This is a welcomed improvement.
They have one of the best browse sections I’ve seen on an anime streaming site. They break things down by select genres and themes, including action, adventure, comedy, drama, fantasy, harem, historical, idols, isekai, magical girls, mecha, music, mystery, post-apocalyptic, romance, sci-fi, seinen, shojo, shonen, slice of life, sports, supernatural, and thriller. They have more genres listed than most, which makes it easier to find what you are looking for.
In the video player, you can skip ahead or go back in an episode, you can pause or play, and you can skip forward or back an episode. They mark episodes as watched too once you complete them, which is nice. All pretty standard options for a video player, but theirs has better functionality than most.
Load time and buffering is something that is an issue on Crunchyroll as well. I’ve been using the app for many years and Crunchyroll, aside from HIDIVE, had the most downtime as well as the most issues with buffering.
On one particular day, when all other apps were working fine, it took Crunchyroll two minutes to load an episode and it wasn’t until past the three-minute mark that it reached full video quality. Even though they have their issues, though, Crunchyroll has become somewhat of a necessity for anime fans, especially now that they acquired their biggest competition, Funimation.
Video Quality
Crunchyroll is one of the best when it comes to video quality when compared to other streaming services dedicated to anime, like HIDIVE, but their video quality isn’t as great as others like Netflix. Their episodes stream up to 1080p, but the quality of their videos is inconsistent. When there aren’t load time or buffering issues, Crunchyroll’s videos are some of the most crisp and sharp I’ve watched when they reach full video quality. Their video quality, however, is inconsistent, and often, full quality isn’t reached.
How much does Crunchyroll cost?
At the time of this post, there are three Crunchyroll plans, Fan, Mega Fan, and Ultimate Fan, and each level features new perks. The Fan tier of their plans, which is the most affordable and basic of their plans, has no ads, unlimited access to their library, access to episodes that go up one hour after they release in Japan (simulcast anime titles), and full access to their manga library. This plan will only run you $7.99 a month, so it is the most cost-effective of the bunch. The catch with this plan? You can only stream on one device at a time and you don’t have access to offline viewing.
The second tier of Crunchyroll’s plans, Mega Fan, which is $9.99 a month, has all of the same perks as the first and more. Where the first only lets you stream on one device at a time, this tier allows you to stream on four devices at a time.
You also get access to offline viewing, which allows you to sync episodes to your device and watch them without an internet connection. This is especially great if you are traveling and it works especially well if you have a Nintendo Switch. On top of all that, you get first access to special Crunchyroll expo events and lotteries as well as a $15 off $100 coupon to use on the Crunchyroll store every 3 months.
Finally, the third tier is Ultimate Fan, which is $14.99 a month and includes everything the previous two do, but it has even more perks. Where the second tier, allows you to stream on 4 devices at a time, the Ultimate Fan Crunchyroll plan allows you to stream on six devices at a time. The Crunchyroll store coupon, which you get every three months, also increases from $15 off $100 to $25 off a $100 purchase. This tier is the only tier that includes an annual swag bag and access to an exclusive limited-run Hime Nendoroid figure.
If you are someone who doesn’t shop at the Crunchyroll store or care about limited extras, like swag bags or early access to events, the first plan is a great choice unless you are a multi-person household that will be streaming their platform on more than one device. In that case, the second tier and above is more suited to you. If you are someone who wants the capability to stream anime offline, you will also want to look into getting the Mega Fan or Ultimate Fan plans.
Update as of July 18, 2022: Crunchyroll has announced they are reducing prices in almost 100 countries & territories.
Crunchyroll offers
If you have yet to sign up for a Crunchyroll account, you can get a 14-day free trial. After 14 days, your account will switch to a normal monthly billing cycle. It’s great that they offer a free trial if you are wanting to give their platform a shot before committing to their cancel-at-anytime plan.
Languages served
Most of Crunchyroll’s anime are available to watch in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Arabic, Italian, and Russian. Crunchyroll dubs anime in more languages than most, which is a positive to using their site or app.
What devices is Crunchyroll available on?
In addition to streaming anime online via your desktop or laptop, you can download the Crunchyroll app on the following devices: Xbox, PS4, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android devices. You can also stream the anime on Crunchyroll via Samsung Smart TVs, Roku, and Apple TV.
Find out more about our thoughts in our comprehensive review of Crunchyroll.
Hulu – Best if you stream TV shows, movies, and anime
Hulu may not be a strictly anime-only streaming service, like Crunchyroll, but it has a lot of anime to browse in addition to other TV shows and movies.
If you are looking to stream normal TV shows and movies in addition to anime, Hulu is a good way to go, but if you are looking to stream anime exclusively, other platforms that are dedicated to anime, like Crunchyroll, are a better option, especially when you compare the cost of their monthly plans and anime libraries. Still, Hulu is one of the best anime streaming services, because they have a good library of anime to browse and they have some simulcast titles to watch as well.
Here’s everything you need to know about watching anime on Hulu as well as the pros and cons of using their service!
- Has anime as well as other movies and TV shows, which some may enjoy
- Have some simulcast titles
- Simulcast shows go up the day after they release
- Offers a 30-day free trial for new users, which is longer than competitors
- Can cancel anytime
- Good user experience
- Has both subs and dubs of most series on their platform
- Anime leave their platform a lot in comparison to others
- No anime exclusives
- Serve few languages
- Plans are more expensive than others
Library size and selection
Hulu has over 300 anime titles on its platform to watch, which is more than Netflix has right now, but this number is always fluctuating. Much like Netflix, anime are leaving and coming to Hulu’s platform all of the time, so this number is extremely variable.
That being said, at any given time, they have more anime on their platform to stream even in comparison to some streaming services that are dedicated to anime, like HIDIVE.
Don’t know what to watch on Hulu? Check out the best anime on Hulu right now.
User experience
My experience with watching anime on Hulu over the years has been a positive one. The app has seen a lot of updates, so they do change things up more than most. I appreciate this, though, because it means that they are constantly working to improve their user experience.
The app is rather easy to use. They have an anime section in their browse tab that’s easily accessible. You can browse from A-Z, their simulcasts, or popular anime titles. They don’t have as much breakdown in terms of genres as others like Crunchyroll do, but they have a dedicated page for anime.
The video player on the app has all of the functionality I would look for or need. You can toggle subtitles on or off directly in the video player too, which is nice.
How much does Hulu cost?
Hulu has three different plans, Hulu with ads, Hulu with no ads, and Hulu with Live TV. They all give you the same access to Hulu’s library, but their Live TV plans give you access to 75+ channels, Unlimited DVR, Disney+, and live sports with ESPN+, in addition to the anime and more that’s currently available on their platform.
There are two main plans, though, the Hulu with ads plan, which is $6.99 a month, and the Hulu with no ads plan, which is $12.99 a month. With most anime episodes being 20-25 minutes long, I did find their ad plan to be intrusive over time, especially given that there were so many long breaks in between such quick episodes. But, their ad plan is the most cost-effective of the three. The Hulu + Live TV is the most expensive of the three at $69.99 a month.
If you are just using Hulu to watch anime, the first or second plans are the best. For viewing experience, though, the Hulu with no ads plan is my favorite, because you don’t have any ads interrupting the episodes.
Hulu offers
Hulu offers a 30-day free trial for first-time users. They have the longest free trial period out of any of the streaming platforms featured on this list.
Languages served
Right now, the anime on Hulu is only available to watch in English and Japanese. This is much less than other competitors, like Crunchyroll or Netflix.
What devices is Hulu on?
According to Hulu’s site, the app is downloadable on Android and iOS devices, Android TV, Apple TV (4th generation or later), Chromecast, Echo Show, Fire Tablets, Fire TV and TV Stick, LG TVs (select models), Nintendo Switch, Mac and PC, PlayStation, Roku, Samsung TVs, Vizio SmartCast TVs, Xbox, and the Xfinity Flex Streaming TV Box.
HIDIVE – Best for uncensored anime content
HIDIVE is an anime streaming service dedicated to bringing you uncensored anime content. Here’s everything you need to know about watching anime on HIDIVE as well as the pros and cons of using their service!
- Have over 325 anime to browse
- Uncensored content available
- More affordable plan
- Unique DUBCAST feature
- 7-Day Free Trial
- Has offline viewing
- Recently updated their interface
- Less anime exclusives
- Less simulcasts than other platforms
- Issues with downtime
- Smallest trial period
Library size and selection
HIDIVE has a decently sized library of over 325 anime to browse from several different genres, including action, comedy, drama, horror, romance, sci-fi, sports, supernatural, and more.
To give you an idea of how much anime they receive each new anime season, I checked out their simulcast titles from the Spring 2022 anime season. A total of eleven new anime were released on their platform in the Spring 2022 season, including Ya Boy Kongming!, The Executioner and Her Way of Life, The Demon Girl Next Door Season 2, and more. Thirteen new anime titles are coming to HIDIVE in the Summer 2022 season, including Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? IV, and Call of the Night.
As far as exclusives go, they don’t get as many, but they get some of the best each new anime season. For instance, Oshi no Ko, The Eminence in Shadow, The Dangers in My Heart, Insomniacs After School, and Call of the Night are only on their platform. I suspect the number of exclusives they get will continue to improve as they gain more users and viewership. As of now, they have to fight against larger streaming services like Crunchyroll and Netflix for exclusivity, but they still have a lot of amazing anime exclusives that make their platform worth it.
User Experience
HIDIVE recently made an update to their platform to make it better to use and the new interface seems to be an upgrade to their old one. I’m happy that HIDIVE takes in customer feedback and improves its platform, including new features that make the app and site more user-friendly and all-around better to use.
Still, I want to note that the app has crashed from time to time when using it and HIDIVE does have issues with downtime. There have also been times when I closed out of an episode and the app didn’t save my place. HIDIVE used to have the most bugs of any of the apps on this list and they, unfortunately, also used to have one of the worst user experiences.
After I use the new interface for a while (It just rolled out), I’ll be sure to update my experiences and report whether or not they fixed the above issues. It will take some time for me to find out whether there are still bugs and downtime, but the fact that HIDIVE is improving its platform is a good sign that it will continue to improve over time. I’m looking forward to reporting my experience with this new user interface.
My first impression is that they still have some ways to go in terms of their user-friendliness and ease of use of their app and site, particularly in terms of their categorizations and video player, but this is a step in the right direction for HIDIVE to compete more with apps like Crunchyroll.
Unique features
HIDIVE has DUBCAST, which gives you early access to dubbed versions of select anime on their platform. They added this new feature to complement their already existing subtitled simulcast titles. According to HIDIVE’s site, “DUBCAST-enabled shows will offer subscribers local-language dubbed versions within two weeks following the first simulcast”.
The DUBCAST dubs are directly produced by HIDIVE, so they are different than the ones you would watch on other platforms. They are hit and miss in terms of dubbing, but if you like to watch dubbed anime and want access to select anime titles as soon as possible, this is a feature you may enjoy.
They recently included offline viewing as well. Previously, Crunchyroll was the only platform with this feature, so this is a nice addition to their platform. On top of that, their new user interface allows you to create customized watchlists, which is a welcomed feature.
How much does HIDIVE cost?
HIDIVE only offers one plan, which you can pay for monthly at $4.99, or pay for a year in advance and save 20% off the standard monthly subscription price. Their subscription gives you access to their DUBCAST feature, which gives you early access to dubbed versions of select anime, simulcasts, anime exclusive to their platform, and more. With the subscription, you can stream their anime on two devices simultaneously.
HIDIVE offers
If you have yet to sign up for a HIDIVE account, you can get a 7-day free trial, which allows you to stream anime on their platform for 7 days. Crunchyroll and Hulu have longer trial periods than HIDIVE.
Languages served
Most of HIDIVE’s anime is available to watch in Japanese, English, Spanish (Latin American), and Portuguese.
What devices is HIDIVE on?
The HIDIVE app is downloadable on Android and iOS devices, Chromecast, Xbox One, Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, Fire Tablet, and Roku.
RetroCrush – Best for streaming classic anime
RetroCrush is an anime streaming service for classic anime fans that has both free and premium viewing options. Here’s everything you need to know about watching anime on RetroCrush as well as the pros and cons of using their service!
- Has a library of over 160 classic anime
- Free to use unless you want to purchase their ad-free premium plan
- The series on their platform are uncut and unfiltered
- Offers a 14-day free trial for new users
- No new anime titles, which some may not like
- Library is smaller than others
- Doesn’t offer as many features
- Service is only available in US and Canada
- Video quality caps out at 720p
- Site and app has bugs
Library size and selection
RetroCrush has the most extensive library of classic anime I’ve seen with over 160 classic anime, like Astro Boy, City Hunter, GTO, and Flame of Recca, on their platform, but there aren’t any new anime titles on their site.
That being said, if you are a fan of retro series, RetroCrush is an incredible site to watch on, but if you want to browse both new and old titles or want to watch anime as they release in Japan, you’ll want to look into one of the other streaming sites on this list.
Video quality
Since RetroCrush streams classic anime, their video quality caps out in some cases at 720p, but in most cases, it caps out at 480p. In comparison to the remasters you can find on other streaming services, like Akira, which you can stream now on Hulu up to 1080p, the video quality is not nearly as great as what you can experience on other sites.
Now, I will say that RetroCrush has a lot of series that you can’t stream elsewhere and the video quality, for some, may add to the nostalgic nature and retro appeal of their platform.
If you are a stickler for video quality, though, and prefer to watch upscaled versions of these older series when they become available, you may not enjoy watching anime on their platform. As mentioned previously, though, they are the sole platform where you can stream many of these classic anime, and given the period during which these series were made, I can overlook the video quality more so than I can on other anime streaming sites.
Another important thing to note is that video quality is dependent on the device you are watching these series on as well as your internet speed. Internet speed can determine how quickly series buffer and whatnot, so this is something to consider as well.
How much does RetroCrush cost?
RetroCrush’s anime are free to stream with ads, but if you want an ad-free experience, you’ll have to purchase their premium plan. In addition to ad-free streaming, you get access to exclusive movies and series that are age-gated with their premium plan. You can pay monthly for the plan at $4.99, which would cost you $59.88 per year, or you can purchase an entire year of streaming for a discounted price of $49.99.
RetroCrush offers
Like Crunchyroll and HIDIVE, RetroCrush offers a 14-day free trial for new users. When you go to their homepage, there’s also a pop-up that shows up. If you sign up for their newsletter via that pop-up, they’ll give you 20% off.
Languages served
Right now, RetroCrush’s anime is only available to watch in English and Japanese. Some titles are only subbed, while others have sub and dubs available.
What devices is RetroCrush available on?
RetroCrush is downloadable on the Microsoft Store, iOS, Android, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku, Plex, Chromecast, and Vizio.
Netflix – Best anime originals and streaming experience
Much like Hulu, Netflix is especially great if you are someone who likes watching anime as well as TV shows and movies. What gives Netflix an edge over Hulu, though, is its anime originals, which are the best in the market, even when compared to those found on Crunchyroll, the only other streaming platform that releases anime originals.
Here’s everything you need to know about watching anime on Netflix as well as the pros and cons of using their service!
- Best anime originals
- Few streaming and buffering issues
- Least outages
- Nice selection of anime as well as other media
- Great functionality and features, like “Skip intro” feature
- Best recommendations feature
- Release select anime series or seasons in full on release day
- HD and Ultra HD viewing for select plans
- Some anime films have 5.1 surround sound
- Has both subs and dubs of most series on their platform
- Serve more languages than most
- App is downloadable on a lot of devices
- Search doesn’t return expected results or all results in category
- Need special Netflix codes to browse select genres of anime on app
- No free trial period
- They are constantly increasing their monthly rates
- Most expensive plans
- Not all plans have HD viewing
- Anime leave their platform a lot
Library size and selection
Netflix has over 260 anime series and movies available to watch on their platform. Like Hulu, though, this number varies, because anime are leaving as well as coming to their platform all of the time. They have a lot of popular anime series, like One Piece, Death Note, and Hunter x Hunter, as well as originals to browse on their site and app.
While Netflix’s originals are hit and miss a lot of the time, they still have the best library of anime originals. Even though Crunchyroll has originals, like TONIKAWA: Over The Moon For You, Tower of God, So I’m a Spider, So What? and The God of High School, Netflix has more anime originals.
Even more so than that, though, they have more anime originals that are successful and good, like Dorohedoro, Great Pretender, Komi Can’t Communicate, Beastars, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean, Hi Score Girl, Violet Evergarden, Teasing Master Takagi-san, The Disastrous Life of Saiki K., Aggretsuko, Blue Period, Kotaro Lives Alone, and Devilman Crybaby to name a few. That all being said, they have the best anime originals you can watch.
Don’t know what to watch on Netflix? Here are the best anime on Netflix right now!
User experience
Out of all the streaming platforms I’ve used on this list, Netflix has the best streaming experience. Not only do they have the best uptime, but I’ve had the least streaming hiccups with Netflix in general. Over the many years I’ve owned Netflix, I’ve had a few issues with buffering, and the episodes load and play smoothly. The quality of the videos has always been great too.
The one thing that’s a downside to Netflix’s user experience is that it can be difficult to find and browse all of the anime on their platform. You have to use secret codes to find exactly what you are looking for a lot of the time, which is somewhat of a headache. In my opinion, they have the worst search, especially when you are trying to find anime to watch. Looking for those secret codes? Here are all of the Netflix anime codes you can search for.
The one thing they do well, though, is offer you recommendations based on your previous likes and watch history. Usually, I ignore recommendations because they tend to be off, but there have been many times when Netflix has recommended anime series that I wanted to watch.
One of the best things about Netflix’s app, though, is that you can skip intros. This is a capability that other streaming services on this list do not have. I watch the intro on the first episode, or the first few episodes I watch, but after that point, I like to skip it. If you like to do the same, Netflix is the only one on this list that has a “Skip intro” function.
Video quality
The video quality on Netflix depends on the type of plan you get. The video quality on Netflix is amongst the best when you get their standard or premium plans, which have HD streaming. They have little issues with buffering and load time in comparison to other sites.
Netflix streams their anime in HD (Standard and Premium plans) or Ultra HD (Premium plan only). Not many aside from titles like Sol Levante, which is the first-ever hand-drawn anime to be made in 4K HDR, are available to stream in higher quality, though.
How much does Netflix cost?
Netflix has three plans right now, Basic, Standard, and Premium. The Basic plan is $9.99 a month and it allows you to watch on one screen at a time. You get unlimited movies, TV shows, and mobile games with this plan. The Standard plan is $15.49 a month and it has everything the first to do, but it opens you up to HD streaming. And finally, the third plan is $19.99 a month and it opens you up to Ultra HD streaming.
Netflix’s plans are the most expensive on this list. Another thing to note is that they are constantly upping their monthly fees.
Netflix offers
Netflix is not currently running any offers and they don’t have a free trial period. This is a negative because all of the other sites on this list offer a free trial period for first-time users.
Languages served
It varies by anime, which languages are served. For instance, Demon Slayer is available to watch dubbed in English, French, Japanese, Spanish, and German or with subtitles in Arabic, German, Spanish, English, and French, whereas some, like Hunter x Hunter, are only available to watch in English or Japanese.
Their anime originals, though, are usually always available to watch in English, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish. Crunchyroll is more consistent in releasing their titles in many different languages, but you can watch most of the anime on Netflix in several different languages as well.
What devices is Netflix on?
The Netflix app is downloadable on Android devices, iOS devices, Windows Phone, Apple TV, Chromecast, Portal, Fire TV, NVIDIA Shield, Roku, Hisense TVs, LG TVs, Panasonic TVs, Philips TVs, Roku TVs, Samsung TVs, Sanyo TVs, Sharp TVs, Sony TVs, Vizio TVs, PS Vita, PS3+, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, as well as several set-top boxes and Blu-ray players that are listed on Netflix’s site.
Final Verdict: What is the best anime streaming service?
It depends on what you are looking for. If you want the most extensive anime library, Crunchyroll has over 1,000 titles, which is a lot more than its competitors. If you want an anime streaming platform that gets the most simulcast titles, Crunchyroll is the best. Crunchyroll, Netflix, and Hulu all have good audio and video quality, but Netflix has the best user experience. Best bang for your buck? I’m going to say Crunchyroll here. While they aren’t the most affordable, they are affordably priced and they have the most anime to watch on their platform.
If you want to stream anime legally for free and don’t want to pay for a premium plan, Tubi and RetroCrush are good options. Like classic anime? RetroCrush has a nice library of classic anime. Looking for uncensored anime content? HIDIVE is a good option. HIDIVE has been getting some amazing anime exclusives as of late that make it worth checking out as well.
Best overall, though? This award goes to Crunchyroll. They are the best anime streaming service because they get the most new anime titles, they stream new episodes an hour after the release in Japan, and they have the most anime to stream on their platform. They also have great features, like offline viewing and access to their manga catalog, that others don’t have as well.
As anime continues to grow even further in popularity, I’m sure more anime streaming sites will pop up over the years. I will continue to update this post with new services or updates and changes.
In other anime news, check out all of the new anime that will be released in 2024!
