Streaming service Crunchyroll raises prices weeks after killing its free tier

Crunchyroll is one of the most popular streaming platforms for anime viewers. Over the past six years, the service has raised prices for fans, and today, it announced that it’s increasing monthly subscription prices by up to 20 percent.

Sony bought 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 let people watch a limited number of titles with commercials. At the time, Crunchyroll monthly subscription tiers cost $8, $10, or $15.

After its acquisition by Sony, like many large technology companies that buy a smaller, beloved product, the company made controversial changes. The Tokyo-based company folded rival Funimation into Crunchyroll; Sony shut down Funimation, which it bought in 2017, in April 2024.

In the process, Sony erased people’s digital Funimation libraries that Funimation originally marketed as being available “forever, but there are some restrictions.” Sony also reduced the number of free titles on Crunchyroll in 2022 before eliminating the free option completely on December 31, 2025.

Crunchyroll gets more expensive

Today, Crunchyroll raised prices for its remaining tiers. The cheapest plan, Fan, went from $8 per month to $10 per month. The Mega tier, which allows for streaming from up to four devices simultaneously, went from $12 to $14. The Ultra tier, which supports simultaneous streaming across six devices and includes access to the Crunchyroll Manga app, increased from $16 to $18.

Current subscribers will see the changes after March 4. Crunchyroll is charging new customers the higher prices immediately.

Crunchyroll last increased prices in May 2024, when its Mega tier went from $10 to $12 and its Ultimate tier from $15 to $16. The Fan tier’s last price hike was in 2019.

Crunchyroll said that the higher prices would “give fans more of what they love.” Today’s announcement pointed to “recent and upcoming” changes: teen profiles and PIN protection; multiple profiles; the ability to skip intro theme songs and ending credits; and “expanded device compatibility.”