Streaming service Crunchyroll raises prices weeks after killing its free tier
Crunchyroll is one of the most popular streaming platforms among anime viewers. Over the past six years, the service has increased prices for fans and today announced it would increase prices for monthly subscriptions by up to 20%.
Sony purchased Crunchyroll from AT&T in 2020. At the time, Crunchyroll had 3 million paid subscribers and an additional 197 million users with free accounts, which allowed people to watch a limited number of titles with ads. At the time, Crunchyroll monthly subscription tiers cost $8, $10, or $15.
After its acquisition by Sony, like many big tech companies that buy a smaller, beloved product, the company made some controversial changes. The Tokyo-based company has integrated rival Funimation into Crunchyroll; Sony closed Funimation, which it bought in 2017, in April 2024.
In the process, Sony erased the Funimation digital libraries that Funimation had originally marketed as being available “forever, but there are some restrictions.” Sony also reduced the number of free titles on Crunchyroll in 2022 before removing the free option completely on December 31, 2025.
Crunchyroll becomes more expensive
Today, Crunchyroll increased the prices of its remaining tiers. The cheapest plan, Fan, went from $8 per month to $10 per month. The Mega tier, which allows up to four devices to stream simultaneously, has gone from $12 to $14. The Ultra tier, which supports simultaneous streaming on six devices and includes access to the Crunchyroll Manga app, has increased from $16 to $18.
Current subscribers will see the changes after March 4. Crunchyroll immediately charges new customers the highest prices.
Crunchyroll last raised its prices in May 2024, when its Mega tier increased from $10 to $12 and its Ultimate tier from $15 to $16. The last Fan tier price increase was in 2019.
Crunchyroll said higher prices would “give fans more of what they love.” Today’s announcement highlights “recent and upcoming” changes: teen profiles and PIN protection; multiple profiles; the ability to skip the introductory theme songs and end credits; and “extended device compatibility”.
