14 Best Streaming Services for Anime

Hulu is an on-demand service that is currently only available in US territories. You can get access to Hulu's on-demand content library for $9.99 a month with commercials, and $18.99 without. There's also an option to bundle it with Disney+ for $10.99 a month with ads.

FuboTV’s comprehensive Starter Plan gives YouTubeTV a run for its money. $79.99 a month gets you over 100 channels, a huge amount of DVR storage space, and since Fubo is a sports-focused live streamer, all the main sports channels are included. As an added bonus, the package includes simultaneous streams on up to three screens.

Netflix is an ad-free streaming platform that operates on a monthly, or annual, subscription. There are three pricing plans – Basic, Standard and Premium – and the one you choose will determine the number of devices that you can simultaneously use to watch Netflix, in case you want to share the account with someone else. There are three plans, though pricing differs from region to region. First up is the Basic plan, which allows you to watch on one device at a time. Upgrading to the Standard plan allows you to watch shows and movies, and download them for offline viewing, on up to 2 different devices at a time. The top-tier Premium plan lets you watch and download on up to 4 different devices, and comes with the options to watch videos in HD and Ultra HD. Once subscribed, you can watch movies and TV shows directly on your browser via Netflix.com. You also have the option of downloading the app on pretty much any mobile device, including iOS, Android, or Windows. The app also works on computers using Windows XP or later and Macs with OS X Tiger or later.

Amazon's premium membership program is an all-in-one bundle that includes access to the streaming platform Prime Video, more commonly referred to in this publication as “Amazon Prime.” A subscription entitles you not only to Amazon Prime's thousands of films and TV shows, but also to Amazon's delivery benefits, which include discounted fees, free shipping, and same-day delivery on select items. The membership bundle costs $14.99/month, but you can access the streaming service as a standalone for just $8.99.

Depending on where you live, access to Amazon Prime might differ. If you live in the US, UK, or Germany, you have the option of paying a yearly or monthly subscription fee for an Amazon Prime account. Users from the US, UK, France, and Brazil likewise have access to Amazon Prime's sports content which, depending on the season, may include live and on-demand coverage of basketball, football, and baseball events. Meanwhile, people in countries where Amazon is not operating may only be able to access it from a browser.  

In addition to on-demand streaming, you can rent or buy titles that are not on the service or purchase add-on channels like HBO, Starz, and MLB.TV to watch on the Amazon Prime platform. And apart from Amazon devices, the app is available on any mobile device, including iOS, Android, or Windows. The app also works on Apple and Windows computers, a wide range of TVs, mobile devices, and gaming consoles.

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.

Peacock is a streaming service owned by NBC, with options for paid subscriptions as well as a free plan. The free plan offers about 13,000 hours of ad-supported content, with the option to upgrade to premium for more access to content. The premium options include two plans: $7.99 a month or $80 a year for ad-supported; $13.99 a month or $140 a year for ad-free. With both premium plans, you'll get access to the full catalog of 2,000 movies and shows, including every episode of the original NBC series. You'll also get next-day access to all the new episodes of ongoing NBC shows, and early access to talk shows such as Late Night with Seth Meyers and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on the air night. You can stream Peacock on Apple devices like the iPhone and Apple TV, Google devices like Android phones and Chromecast, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles. But there is still no app available for Roku or Amazon platforms.

Formerly HBO Max, Max is a subscription-based on-demand platform that is only available in the US. New subscribers can choose from three monthly tiers ranging from $9.99 (with ads) to $16.99 (no ads) to $20.99 (no ads, plus more concurrent streams, downloads, and 4K streaming). An annual subscription option is also available. When you subscribe, you'll get HBO’s world-class exclusives, such as The Wire and Game of Thrones but Max also functions as a bundle: you'll get content from Discovery, DC, Criterion Collection, Looney Tunes, Studio Ghibli, Turner Classic Movies, and Crunchyroll. And as of September 2023, you will also get a live stream of CNN. Most mobile devices that can stream video support Max, although there is yet no app for Amazon Fire TV and Roku devices.

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.

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.

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.

Crunchyroll is a video-on-demand streaming website that specializes in anime and is available in 170 countries. It has also recently absorbed a competitor, FUNIMATION, offering an even bigger catalog. You can opt for either a free ad-supported plan or subscribe to the paid tier. The free version doesn't include simulcasts or access to all of Crunchyroll's content, but for $7.99 per month the premium tier removes those limitations. You can access Crunchyroll via web browser (www.crunchyroll.com), while the Crunchyroll app is also available on all major platforms, mobile devices including Android and iOS, and media streaming devices including Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV Chromecast, and Android TV, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

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. 

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 ads. To avoid ads and avail of perks such as concurrent viewing and download privileges, iQiyi offers a VIP membership that costs $2 per month.

Hidive focuses mainly on anime shows and films. Its offerings include classical anime, popular anime films and shows, as well as hidden gems of the anime world, put together for those who love anime and don’t want to wait for the releases of their favorite shows.

They add new content via simulcasts which means that you’ll be able to stream new anime shows online as they’re released in real-time. This service is great for anime lovers who don’t want to wait months for their favorite anime shows to be released on DVD. Hidive is an independent anime streaming company based in Texas that was launched in 2017.