Crunchyroll Review 2025 — Plans, Cost & Animes

Crunchyroll started off as a pirate site hosting fan-uploaded unlicensed content but is now a completely legal streaming platform owned by Sony. 

So, if you are an anime fan, you will likely have this question in mind: Is Crunchyroll worth your time and money?

The short answer is yes, and through this review, I will tell you about Crunchyroll’s offerings in great detail. We will discuss everything from the platform’s premium plans, benefits, and features to its pricing and limitations.

Quick Verdict: Crunchyroll 2025 Review

Overall, Crunchyroll is one of the best anime streaming platforms. It has an impressive content library, a free ad-based version, and a range of premium plans fitting different budgets. 

Here is a brief summary of the platform’s offerings:

Features/Parameters	Details
Free Plan	✅ (Ad-supported, limited content)
Crynchyroll Premium Plans	Three tiers starting at $7.99/month
Streaming Quality	Upto 1080p
Simulcast	✅ (With all premium plans)
Simultaneous Streaming	4-6 devices
Ads	No ads with premium plans
Downloads	✅ (With Mega Fan and Ultimate Fan)
My Overall Rating	4.5/5

While most of the things seem nice, I have a few complaints with the platform. Keep reading to learn more.

Crunchyroll’s Pros And Cons

Before we get into a detailed breakdown of Crunchyroll’s good and evil, here are a few pointers to give you a rough idea.

Crunchyroll Pros

• Free plan available
• Multiple premium tiers suiting diverse budgets
• Full HD streaming on all pricing tiers
• A wide range of simulcast content
• Diverse lineup of over 1400 anime titles
• Complementary store discounts and game access

Crunchyroll Cons

• No downloads on the starter plan
• Limited subtitle options
• Sub-par games

Crunchyroll Pricing: How Much Does It Cost?

Crunchyroll offers three premium plans starting at an affordable price of $7.99/month. However, the most premium tier costs $15.99/month, which I find a bit costly for streaming anime content.

Each of Crunchyroll’s three premium tiers—Fan, Mega Fan, and Ultimiate Fan—gives you full access to the platform’s anime library. However, they differ due mainly to their other benefits. Have a look:

	Fan	Mega Fan	Ultimate Fan
Monthly Price*	$7.99	$11.99	$15.99
Number of Devices	1	4	6
Ads	❌	❌	❌
Offline Viewing	❌	✔️	✔️
Game Vault Access	❌	✔️	✔️
Simulcast	✔️	✔️	✔️

*These prices are valid in the United States. 

1. Fan Plan

The Fan tier is the cheapest premium plan on Crunchyroll, giving you ad-free access to the platform’s lineup at just $7.99/month. However, it lacks some useful benefits, such as downloads and concurrent streaming—something I found a bit disappointing.

On the bright side, though, the plan offers benefits beyond content. You get a 5% discount on select products and free shipping on orders above $75 at the Crunchyroll store, along with other deals and offers.

2. Mega Fan Plan

At $11.99/month, the Mega Fan plan packs many great benefits missing in the starter plan. Besides content, you get downloads and concurrent streaming on up to 4 devices.

The plan also has more complementary benefits, including:

• 10% discount on select products at Crunchyroll Store
• Free shipping for orders over $50
• Access to Crunchyroll games

Overall, this plan is feasible. However, if you are only interested in content, it will boil down to paying $4/month extra just for downloads and concurrent streams.

3. Ultimate Fan Plan

The Ultimate Fan plan at $15.99/month has all that Crunchyroll offers. It has everything available in the Fan tier, plus downloads and streaming on 6 devices.

Of course, you also get complimentary store and game benefits, such as:

• 15% discount on select products
• Free shipping on all orders
• Access to games

If you remain an Ultimate Fan for 12 months straight, you will also get a “swag bag” for free from the Crunchyroll Store. I still don’t find this plan a value-for-money deal, though.

Can You Watch Crunchyroll For Free?

Besides the three premium plans, Crunchyroll also offers a free version that lets you stream 1000 hours of anime content with ads. However, that’s actually quite less compared to the premium lineup, and I couldn’t find a lot of popular titles here.

That said, if you want to try the platform with its premium features, you can go for a 7-day free trial of any of its premium plans.

Is There A Discount Available On Crunchyroll?

Crunchyroll does not offer any over-the-top discount on its plans. However, if you choose the Fan plan, you can get a billing discount of 36% on quarterly billing ($22.99/three months) and 44% on annual billing ($79.99/year).

Also, learn about 15% off with Crunchyroll student discount with our detailed guide.

Anime On Crunchyroll: What To Watch?

Expansive is one word that aptly describes Crunchyroll’s content lineup. The platform’s anime content comprises over 45,000 episodes from over 1400 titles. 

Crunchyroll has everything from mass favorites like Death Note and Demon Slayer to the latest episodes of popular shows like Shangri-La Frontier, Solo Leveling, and Dragon Ball DAIMA.

Here are some of the most popular titles available on Crunchyroll:

• Spy x Family
• Tower of God
• Dr. Stone
• Dandadan
• My Hero Academia
• One Piece
• Jijitsu Kaisen
• In/Spectre
• Durarara
• Honey Lemon Soda

Besides shows, Crunchyroll also lets you watch music videos featured in anime series. 

However, the part that really steals the deal for me is Simulcast. It means you can watch the latest episodes of your favorite anime just a few hours after they air in Japan.

Crunchyroll maintains seasonal lineups of simulcast shows across the year, along with a simulcast calendar that helps you view the day-wise schedule of simulcast content.

What Does Crunchyroll Not Include?

Even with its expansive collection of anime, Crunchyroll doesn’t have everything. It lacks some popular titles, such as Made in Abyss, Beastars, Violet Evergarden, and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. 

The availability of some shows or their specific seasons also varies across regions because of the absence of local licenses or pending license renewals. 

However, there are just a handful of such titles, so you will likely find most of the shows you are looking for.

Crunchyroll Features And Specifications

We have talked enough about content. Now, let me tell you about my experience using the Crunchyroll website and app.

Interface: Website And App

I liked Crunchyroll’s interface. The orange-focused color scheme seems just right, and searching for titles is a breeze on both the website and mobile app.

The clean website interface particularly stood out to me. There are just a handful of options at the top, including a Browse button and the Search icon, making navigation a no-frills experience. The mobile app is naturally more packed, but there are separate tabs for browsing and simulcasts, which is also a good thing.

Streaming Quality

Notably (and thankfully), Crunchyroll offers the same streaming quality across all its premium plans. So, you can watch anime in full HD (1080p) resolution regardless of your pricing tier. 

You can easily adjust a video’s quality by tapping on the gear icon while playing a video, which I find much more convenient than having to change it from the app’s settings.

Multiple Profiles

Crunchyroll rolled out the Multiple Profiles feature recently, and it will come in handy if you are going to share your Crunchyroll account with others. You can have up to 5 profiles per account and even set an anime character as a profile avatar.

Crunchyroll Device Compatibility

Crunchyroll is available on almost every device that can stream videos. Here is a list of all the common devices that can run Crunchyroll:

Device Category	Devices
Mobile Phones	iPhonesAndroid Phones
Gaming Consoles	PS 4/5Nintendo SwitchXbox
Smart TVs and Headsets	Apple Vision ProApple TVGoogle TVAndroid TVRoku TVAmazon Fire TV
Media Players	Xumo Stream BoxSky Stream
Cable TV Providers	ClaroXfinityTELUSKoodo

Refer to this article to get details on the minimum OS versions of different devices.

Crunchyroll Games

Just like Netflix, Crunchyroll offers a unique offering in the form of mobile games. A handful of free games, but most are available in Crunchyroll Game Vault, accessible only to Mega Fan and Ultimate Fan subscribers.

Some popular games include Kawaii Kitchen, River City Girls, and Tokyo Dark. If you ask me, though, most of the games are average at best and don’t contribute much value to the Crunchyroll subscription.

Crunchyroll Reviews On Reddit

I have told you enough about my thoughts on Crunchyroll. Now, let’s turn to Reddit to see what other users have to say about the platform. 

Overall, existing users usually like Crunchyroll for its expansive library and affordable prices. However, many users point out problems with subtitles and simulcast schedules. 

Is It Worth It To Get Crunchyroll?

Crunchyroll is completely worth it as an anime streaming platform. It has the largest anime library you will find anywhere at a very affordable starting price. 

While its Store benefits and games may not suit everyone’s interest or liking, the content alone is enough. 

The interface is mostly smooth, the streaming experience is just right, and the simulcast is a major draw. All of these benefits easily justify the pricing.

Crunchyroll vs. Its Alternatives

Let’s look at how Crunchyroll compares to other streaming platforms offering anime content.

Platform	Free Version	Starting Price	Streaming Quality	Simulcast	Content
Crunchyroll	✅	$7.99/mo	Up to 1080p	✅	Anime only
Netflix	❌	$7.99/mo	Up to 4K UHD	Limited shows	Anime and others
Hulu	❌(Free trial available)	$9.99/mo	Up to 4K UHD	Limited shows	Anime and others
HiDive	❌(Free trial available)	$5.99/mo	Up to 1080p	✅	Anime only
Tubi	✅	Free	Up to 720p	❌	Anime and others
Retrocrush	✅	$4.99/month	Up to 720p	❌	Anime only

While platforms like Netflix and Hulu offer diverse content beyond anime, Crunchyroll shines with its ultra-vast anime library and simulcasts with HD quality, along with a free version that allows you to test the waters before diving into the premium plans.

The Bottom Line: Crunchyroll Is One Of The Best Anime Streaming Platforms

Crunchyroll is clearly among the best anime streaming platforms we currently have. 

Crunchyroll makes for a great deal thanks to a mix of an expansive content library, a decent simulcast lineup, and affordable pricing starting at $7.99 a month. The add-on benefits from Crunchyroll Store and Games Vault are only a plus.

If you love anime and are considering getting a Crunchyroll subscription, I suggest you go for the 7-day free trial of the Ultimate Fan plan and try out all the features. It is a great way to test all the features and decide which plan will be the best for you.

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