7 Best Free Legal Streaming Services for Anime

cord-cutting › best free legal streaming services for anime • October 16, 2024 • The Staff

Japan has been providing us with world-class anime for decades. Some of the series you might have heard of are Dragon Ball and Naruto, as well as Studio Ghibli films from the early 2000s. Meanwhile, a much younger audience might have seen the most popular animes of today, like Attack on Titan, My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer, and Jujutsu Kaisen.

If you're just getting into the scene, the bad news is it's not easy to find good anime on streamers. Sure popular services like Netflix and Amazon carry some titles, but they're quite limited in reach and accessibility, which is why some fans resort to illegal sites to watch their favorite movies and series.

The good news is there are, in fact, a few streaming services that offer a multitude of anime choices legally and for free. You might need to sign up and register, but at least you can rest easy knowing you're watching with no strings attached and no penny spent. Below, we’ve rounded up a list of the best free legal streaming services for anime.

Our recommended three best free legal streaming services for anime:

Tubi 78 channels included	free	Watch

Crunchyroll 7 days free trial	$7.99	Watch

RetroCrush No contract, cancel anytime	free	Watch

Tubi

Dubbed "The Free Netflix," Tubi is one of the best options for streaming quality movies and TV shows online. The completely free, ad-supported service has one of the most extensive title lineups, plus it's compatible with most devices, making it an extremely popular option for cord-cutters. Though it has been noted to have a less-than-stellar resolution, most viewers don't mind due to its easy interface, constantly updated library, and of course free titles. Parents will also be glad to know that the service has parental control features.

Price: free for 78 channels available

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android Phones, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Google TV Streamer, iOS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Sony, TiVo, Vizio, Website, Xbox One

Channel lineup: 21 Jump Street, ABC Localish, ABC News, ACC Digital Network, AFV Family, All Real, Baywatch, Bein Sports XTRA, bein Sports Xtra en Espanol, Bloomberg, Bloomberg Quicktake, Bounce XL, Brat TV, BUZZR, Caught in Providence, CBC News, Cheddar, CINEVAULT: 80's, CINEVAULT: Classics, CINEVAULT: Westerns, Circle, Comedy Dynamics, Cosmos, Deal or No Deal, Dove Channel, El Rey, Estrella News, EuroNews English, Fear Factor, FilmRise Classic TV, FilmRise Westerns, Forensic Files, FOX, Fox Deportes, FOX SOUL, Fox Sports, Fox Weather, fubo Sports Network, Game Show Central, Gordon Ramsay, Heartland, ION, Johnny Carson TV, live now from Fox, LOL-Network, Lone Star, Masked Singer Channel, Maverick Black Cinema, MLB, Moviesphere Free, My Time Movie Network, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Nash Bridges, NBC News Now, Newsy, NFL Channel, NHRA TV, Nosey, Pac-12 Insider, Pattrn, People TV, Real Madrid TV, REELZ, Revolt Mixtape, So Real, Sports Wire, Stadium, Supermarket Sweep, The Biggest Loser, The Bob Ross Channel, The Carol Burnett Show, The Conners, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Grio, the NFL Channel, The Only Way is Essex, TMZ, TODAY All Day, Tubi Originals, Unsolved Mysteries, USA Today, Vice, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Weather Nation, Wipeout Xtra

There are more and more options to cut the cord and keep your live TV channels w...

Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll is a video-on-demand streaming service that specializes in all things anime. It's also recently absorbed a competitor, FUNIMATION, offering an even bigger catalog. You can opt for either a free ad-supported plan or subscribe to one of its paid tiers, which starts at $7.99. These tiers remove ads out of the picture and feature episodes that are simulcast from Japan. for the longest time, you could try these plans free for 14 days, but it's since shortened that trial period to 7 days. You can access Crunchyroll via a web browser or app, the latter of which is available on all major streaming devices.

Go to Crunchyroll

Price: $7.99/month

Free Trial: 7 days

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, and Xumo Stream Box, Android Phones, Android TV, Apple TV, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Roku, Xbox, Xfinity Flex, Xfinity X1

Sports enthusiasts get their daily dose of the NFL, NBA, Tennis Open, Formula 1,...

Sling TV Freestream

In response to the growing popularity of free streaming services like Tubi, Xumo, and Pluto, Sling TV has come up with Sling TV Freestream, an ad-supported version of its live TV and on-demand streaming service. Compared to its paid tier, Freestream has fewer channels and premium titles, but with more than 200 live channels and on-demand content to boot, it's certainly worth giving a try—you don't even need to sign up for an account to start watching.

Sling TV has been at the forefront of live TV for years, but it breaks new ground with Freestream, a platform designed to both entertain and entice users to upgrade to their meatier packages. Recently, Freestream also added free DVR.

Go to Sling TV Freestream

Price: free for 43 channels available

Device availability: AirTV, Amazon Fire TV, Android Phones, Apple TV, Chromecast, Cox, Google TV, iOS, LG TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Samsung TV, TiVo, Vizio, Website, Xbox, Xfinity Flex

Channel lineup: AajTak International, ABC News Live, Al Arabiya, Al Jazeera English, Always funny, Anthony Bourdain A Cook's Tour, Architectural Digest: Open Door, ARY News, Asian Crunch, BBC Comedy, BBC Earth, BBC Game Shows, BBC Top Gear, Bein Sports XTRA, Bizarre Foods with Anthony Bourdain on WBtv, Buzzr: Family Feud, CBS News, Cheddar News, Christmas Plus, Court TV, Craftsey TV, Crunchyroll, Defiance, Dilemma, Documentary Plus, Drag Race Universe, Electric Now, EntrepreneurTV, ESPN On Demand, ESR, FailArmy, Fear Factor, FilmRise: Hell's Kitchen, Forensic Files, Fox Weather, France24, Fubo Sports, Glewed TV, GoTraveler, Grit extra, Heartland, ION, ION Mystery, ION Plus, Life OK, Maverick Black Cinema: Boxed In, Military Times, Nash Bridge Channels, Noticias Univision 24/7, Real Wild, Rick Steves Europe, Rig TV, Scripps News, Shout TV, SonyKal, TD Ameritrade Network, Teen Vee, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Pet Collective, The Walking Dead Universe, Travel and Adventure, TVP World, Unsolved Mysteries, USA Today, VH1 I Love Reality, Willow Channel, World Poker Tour, Zona TUDN

Live sports coverage, game highlights, and in-depth commentaries on NFL, NBA, an...

RetroCrush

RetroCrush is a free streaming platform fully dedicated to vintage anime. If you're a hardcore fan in desperate search of a discontinued series, a 90s classic, or an obscure show that practically no one has heard of, chances are you'll find all of what you're looking for and more in this treasure trove of a platform. RetroCrush gives you access to a number of shows without charge, but if you want to stream even more titles ad-free, you can opt to sign up for a premium account that costs $4.99 a month, with a free 14-day-trial.

Go to RetroCrush

Price: free for channels available

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android Phones, Google TV, iOS, Roku, Vizio, Website

Pluto TV Live

Pluto TV is a modern take on traditional cable: it has hundreds of channels streaming live, a huge library of on-demand content, and it’s supported by ads. But the key difference from the competition? It’s totally free.

Price: free for 33 channels available

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android Phones, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Google TV Streamer, iOS, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Roku, Virgin Media, Vizio SmartCast, webOS, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Channel lineup: 60 minutes Pluto, BBC Food, BBC Home, Bein Sports XTRA, Bloomberg TV+, Bodas+, CBS Sports HQ, CBSN, Check with Pluto TV for the full channel lineup, Cheddar News, CNN Headlines, CNN Originals, Crimen, ET Live, Family Feud, Food TV, Fox desportes, Fox Sports, Hallmark En Espanol, Hip Hop Family, Hip Hop Family VH1, Hit Sitcoms by WBtv, La Familia del Barrio, Love & Hip-Hop VH1, Major League Soccer, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, MLB, MotorTrend FAST TV, Mythbusters by WBtv, NBC News Now, Newsmax, NFL Channel, NFL Super Bowl Classics, No Reservations by WBtv, Nosey, People TV, PGA Tour, Pluto Channels, Queens of Reality, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Sky News, Smithsonian Channel, Stories AMC, TBN, Today, TuDiscovery, TuWarner, TV Land Drama, WeatherNation, WOW – Women Of Wrestling, WPT

iQiyi

Largely known as China's Netflix, iQiyi is a popular and wide-ranging streaming platform that hosts the best of East Asian content. Among its catalog are Asian blockbusters, Chinese variety shows, Japanese anime, and of course, Korean dramas. iQiyi also has multiple deals with studios all over the world, including Netflix, so it's able to stream global content to its Chinese audiences. Perhaps the best part about iQiyi is that it comes for free; no need to pay to see its plenty and diverse titles, although you will be subject to some (okay, a lot of) ads. To avoid ads and avail of perks such as concurrent viewing and download privileges, iQiyi offers a VIP membership that costs $8.99 per month.

Go to IQiyi

Price: free for channels available

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android Phones, Android TV, Apple TV, iOS, Roku, Website

freevee

Editor's note: unfortunately, Amazon has said it plans to shut down Freevee in the coming weeks.

Amazon Freevee, or simply freevee, is a free, ad-supported streaming service powered by Amazon. It has a notable library of licensed titles and original shows, not to mention 24/7 live channels, plus it's easy to access since it runs on most if not all available devices. Although other free streamers have it beat in terms of range and variety, freevee is still a great option for newbie cord-cutters, especially since it already comes on most Amazon platforms.

Price: free for 38 channels available

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, Echo Show, Google TV, Google TV Streamer, LG, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Xbox, Xfinity Flex

Channel lineup: ABC News Live, Amazon Originals, BBC Earth, Bosch, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Confess by Nosey, Court TV Live, Criminal Minds, Filmrise British TV, From Asia With Love, Hot Ones, Hunter, Judy Justice, Jury Duty, Latino Vibess, LiveNOW by Fox, MLB, NBC Comedy Vault, Neighbours, NHL FAST, OUTtv Proud, PGA Tour, Project Runway, QVC, Real Crime, Swerve Sports, Tastemade en Español, Teen Wolf, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Price Is Right: The Barker Era, The TED Channel, The Walking Dead Universe, The Washington Post, Top Gear, Unsolved Mysteries, Unspeakable, USA Today, USA Today Sports, Vevo, Washington Post, World's Most Evil Killers, XITE

Which are the best free legal streaming services for anime?

You can get free legal streaming services for anime with Tubi, Crunchyroll, Sling TV Freestream, RetroCrush, Pluto TV Live, iQiyi, or freevee.

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