Both Crunchyroll and Funimation are well-known anime streaming platforms. In 2022, Funimation was acquired by Crunchyroll, meaning both platforms will be merged into one.
Both are free to use, but each offer a subscription plan for those wishing to use their premium versions. Thus, most users will only subscribe or invest into one of the platforms.
Anime lovers can find it difficult to choose between the two, as both platforms offer a wide variety of anime. However, they each have their own drawbacks and benefits, which we’ll cover in this review.
Crunchyroll vs Funimation – Funimation library moving across this year
As of March 2022, the argument between whether Crunchyroll or Funimation is better has become unnecessary – all of the Funimation library of anime titles will be moving to Crunchyroll.
This is great for anime fans, as you’ll be given access to a larger library of classic anime and new anime shows to stream online. That means that both Crunchyroll and Funimation libraries will be combined for the ultimate anime streaming platform.
If you want to see how Crunchyroll fares against the remaining competition, then you should check out this article about the best anime apps, which gives some suitable alternatives.
Free Version vs Premium Plans
If you’re looking for a free way to watch anime online, then Crunchyroll is the better streaming service – it allows access to a larger library of free content without having to upgrade to the paid version.
However, if you’re happy to pay for your anime titles then the battle between the two streaming services becomes much closer.
We’ll discuss the fundamental aspects of each platform, compare them to each other, and use the information to help determine which platform is better for anime viewers.
First, we’ll discuss what each platform offers for free users, as well as the benefits included in their respective premium plans.
Free Version
There is quite a great disparity between what each platform offers to free users.
Funimation locks most anime episodes for free users. Many anime series are not available to free users at any capacity; such as Naruto, K-On!, and Re:ZERO.
All of their episodes require a subscription in order to access them
Funimation also has many anime series, where some of the episodes are unlocked for free users. These are usually the first few episodes of the first season available, or all the episodes of the first season. Such shows include Free!, Attack on Titan, and Black Clover.
However, there are a few anime series that are completely available to free users. Such anime include Fate/Zero and Fruit Basket.
Unfortunately, these series are quite rare on Funimation. Most series will have locked episodes unless you subscribe to the platform. This greatly limits the platform’s usability for free users.
On the other hand, Crunchyroll doesn’t lock any anime for free users.
The only episodes unavailable to free users are episodes that have just been uploaded. Fortunately, this is only temporary. After a week from their upload date, the locked episodes will become available for free users.
Most anime episodes are available for free. The newest uploaded episodes may be currently locked, but they should become available soon. This means that older or finished anime won’t have any locked episodes. The platform offers many anime series; such as Tokyo Ghoul, Food Wars, Haikyuu!!, and Attack on Titan.
Another drawback of Funimation is that they lock some subs or dubs for free users. Even if the episode is free to watch, free users are unable to access certain subtitles or dubs for those episodes. For example, English subtitles can be locked for an episode, meaning free users can only watch it in English dubs.
Crunchyroll has no such feature. The platform doesn’t lock subs or dubs for free users. Both are available for free.
Premium Plans
Both Crunchyroll and Funimation have multiple premium plans.
Funimation has two subscription plans, which only differ in regards to price. You can either pay £4.99 per month, or £49.99 per year (approx. £4.17 per month).
The premium benefits are ad-free access to anime episodes, access to all content on Funimation, access to all subs and dubs, 5 simultaneous streams, and the ability to download content for offline viewing (for Android or iOS devices only).
Unfortunately, the download feature is only available on the Funimation app. This means that you can’t download episodes on Windows.
On the other hand, Crunchyroll offers three different subscription plans. These plans differ in both price and benefits.
The cheapest and most basic plan is the FAN subscription plan, at a price of £6.50 per month. The plan offers an ad-free viewing experience, full access to content on Crunchyroll, access to new episodes an hour after their Japanese release, access to digital manga (in English only), and the ability to stream on 1 device at a time.
The second and most expensive plan is the MEGA FAN (1-Month) subscription plan, at a price of £7.99 per month. This plan offers the same benefits as the FAN plan, but with the additions of being able to stream on 4 devices at once, and offline viewing (only on iOS and Android).
The final plan is the MEGA FAN (12-Month) plan, at a price of £79.99 per year (approx. £6.67 per month). This plan offers the same benefits as the MEGA FAN (1-Month) plans, but at a discounted price.
Overall, Funimation offers cheaper subscription plans. It also allows users to stream on 5 devices at once, instead of the 4 devices in Crunchyroll’s MEGA FAN plans.
However, Crunchyroll’s premium plans do offer more benefits in total. Both platforms offer ad-free viewing, full access to content, and offline viewing. In addition to those benefits, Crunchyroll also offers access to digital manga, and new episodes almost immediately after their release in Japan.
Funimation also allows premium users to watch episodes soon after their Japanese debut, but Crunchyroll uploads episodes faster than Funimation. Funimation uploads new episodes a few hours after their Japanese release, whilst Crunchyroll uploads episodes an hour after their Japanese release.
Free Trials
Both Crunchyroll and Funimation offer free trials with each subscription plan. Both platforms require you to subscribe first in order to access the free trials.
Both platforms offer 14-day free trials with each subscription plan.
However, Funimation’s free trial includes most of the premium benefits. You will have access to all content, be able to stream on multiple devices simultaneously, and have immediate access to new episodes. Unfortunately, you will still get ads when watching anime. This is a big drawback to Funimation’s free trial.
On the other hand, Crunchyroll’s free trial offers all the premium benefits included in the plan you choose to subscribe to.
Features
Funimation has three different tabs on anime pages. These tabs include episodes & movies, extras, and details.
The episodes & movies tab showcases the anime episodes.
The extras tab shows additional or related content, such as trailers, behind the scenes, and previews. This can be useful for users who wish to easily find bonus material for certain anime.
Unfortunately, some of this additional content is available only to premium users.
Similarly, Crunchyroll also has multiple tabs on anime pages. Crunchyroll has four tabs, which consist of videos, reviews, comments, and more info.
The videos tab showcases the anime episodes.
The reviews tab showcases user reviews for the anime. This can help users determine whether a show is worth watching.
The comments tab showcases and allows users to comment on the anime. This is much more casual than reviewing anime. It allows users to speak their thoughts or queries about the anime, and lets users interact with each other
The more info tab is for details about the anime.
However, most anime pages have no information under this tab. Thus, it’s not very useful, and serves little purpose.
On another note, both platform have similar options on their players. They do differ slightly, though.
Funimation’s player has a fullscreen option, a languages/subtitle option, a video quality option, and a skip option. It also has ‘skip 10 seconds forwards/backwards’ options.
Crunchyroll’s player has slightly different options. It also has a fullscreen option, a video quality option, and a subtitle/language option. However, it has an autoplay option in place of a skip option, and has no ‘skip 10 seconds’ option. You can skip 5 seconds forwards/backwards with the right/left arrow keys
For mobile or touch-screen devices, there are ‘skip 10 seconds’ options available.
Overall, the two players are more or less the same in terms of functionality and features.
Subs vs Dubs
Both platforms offer anime in subs and dubs. However, the platforms do not offer subs and dubs in equal quantity.
Funimation mostly offers dubbed anime, whereas Crunchyroll mostly offers subbed anime.
Nonetheless, both platforms do offer shows in both varieties.
Funimation offers a few shows in subs, but it is unclear as to how many shows are available in subs. Some anime that are available in subs include My Hero Academia and Naruto.
On the other hand, Crunchyroll has been reported to have over 200 shows available in dub. These shows include Anohana, and Free!.
However, some dubs are not available in certain regions due to copyright restrictions. For example, both Blue Exorcist and Cardcaptor Sakura’s dubbed episodes are unavailable.
Overall, each platform has their specialty. Depending on your preference, you should choose the most suitable platform. If you prefer watching subbed anime, use Crunchyroll. If you prefer watching dubbed anime, use Funimation.
Funimation
Pros
- Free to use.
- The app is free to download.
- Has extra anime content available.
- Has a skip option for easy episode navigation.
- Has anime in both subs and dubs.
- Cheaper subscription prices.
- Offers a 14-day free trial.
Cons
- Free version is not ad-free.
- Free trial is not ad-free.
- Premium version is a subscription service.
- Locks most episodes for free users.
- Locks some subs/dubs for free users.
- Locks some extra content for free users.
- Must subscribe to access free trial.
Crunchyroll
Pros
- Free to use.
- The app is free to download.
- Has an autoplay option for easy episode navigation.
- Has anime in both subs and dubs.
- Offers a 14-day free trial.
- Most anime episodes are available to free users.
- Uploads new episodes an hour after their Japanese release.
Cons
- Free version is not ad-free.
- Premium version is a subscription service.
- More expensive subscription prices.
- Must subscribe to access free trial.
Common Questions
Is Crunchyroll free?
Yes, Crunchyroll is free to use. However, it is not ad-free unless you pay for a membership. There is a 14-day free trial available with each membership plan. You must subscribe first in order to access the trial.
Is Funimation free?
Yes, Funimation is free to use. However, it is not ad-free unless you pay for a membership. There is a 14-day free trial available with each membership plan. You must subscribe first in order to access the trial.
Conclusion
The acquisition of Funimation’s library makes the argument between the two pretty useless. This now means that this debate is largely irrelevant now, and though sometimes the Crunchyroll app stops working, it’s definitely the best streaming service for watching anime in the West.
In conclusion, Crunchyroll is much more friendly to free users than Funimation. Crunchyroll allows free users almost full access to their library, whereas Funimation locks most of its content to free users. If you don’t wish to pay a subscription service, Crunchyroll is the better choice.
However, Crunchyroll mostly offers subbed anime. If your prefer subbed anime, then Crunchyroll is the ideal choice. Alternatively, if you prefer dubbed anime, Funimation is the better choice. Funimation mostly offers dubbed anime.
