How Much Is Crunchyroll? 2026 Plans & Prices
Crunchyroll Premium costs $9.99 per month for Fan, $13.99 per month for Mega Fan, or $17.99 per month for Ultimate Fan as of August 2026 — every tier went up $2 a month in a price increase that took effect in February 2026. You can still watch a large part of the anime library free with ads, and every paid tier starts with a 7-day free trial, so the cheapest way to find out whether Premium is worth it is to try it and set a reminder to cancel before the trial ends. Here is what each plan actually includes, what changed this year, and every way to pay less.
Crunchyroll Plans And Prices (August 2026)
- Free — $0. Ad-supported streaming of a rotating selection of the catalog. No offline downloads, no simulcast early access on some titles, and you sit through ads.
- Fan — $9.99 per month. The entry Premium tier: no ads, the full anime and manga library, and new simulcast episodes as soon as one hour after they air in Japan. One stream at a time.
- Mega Fan — $13.99 per month. Everything in Fan, plus offline downloads for watching without a connection, four simultaneous streams, and store perks: 10% off select Crunchyroll Store products and free shipping on orders over $50.
- Ultimate Fan — $17.99 per month. Everything in Mega Fan, plus six simultaneous streams, an annual member swag bag, and priority access to limited merch drops.
What Changed In February 2026
Crunchyroll raised the price of all three Premium tiers in early February 2026 — the first across-the-board increase since the current tier structure launched. Fan went from $7.99 to $9.99, Mega Fan from $11.99 to $13.99, and Ultimate Fan from $15.99 to $17.99. If you see the old prices quoted on other sites (plenty still list them), they are out of date.
A second change landed in July 2026: the Crunchyroll Store now requires a Mega Fan or Ultimate Fan subscription to make purchases. Buying merch, figures, and physical media through the official store is no longer open to free users or Fan subscribers — it is a paid-tier perk.
Which Tier Should You Pick?
Fan covers most people. If you watch alone, online, and mostly care about no ads and same-day simulcasts, the $9.99 tier does everything that matters. Mega Fan is the upgrade with a real feature: offline downloads. If you watch on a commute, on flights, or anywhere with bad Wi-Fi — or you share the account with family across up to four screens — the extra $4 is justified. Ultimate Fan is for collectors. Six streams and merch perks are niche; the swag bag is fun but it is not $48-a-year-more fun unless you were buying from the store anyway.
Ways To Pay Less
- Use the 7-day free trial. Every Premium tier offers one for new accounts. You will not be charged until the trial ends.
- Bundle with Starz on Prime Video — $16.99 per month. New in late July 2026: Amazon sells a Crunchyroll + Starz bundle through Prime Video Channels for $16.99 a month. Starz alone runs $11.99, so if you were paying for both separately the bundle saves several dollars a month. You need an Amazon Prime membership to subscribe.
- Prepaid gift cards. The Crunchyroll Store sells multi-month Premium gift memberships (Fan and Mega Fan) that can shave the effective monthly rate versus regular billing. They are prepaid, non-refundable, and do not auto-renew — which also makes them a tidy way to cap your spending.
- Watch free with ads. The free tier still exists. It does not carry everything and you wait longer for some episodes, but for casual viewing it costs nothing.
How Crunchyroll Compares
Even after the February increase, Crunchyroll's Fan tier undercuts the big general streamers — Netflix's ad-free plans and HBO Max's Standard both cost noticeably more — and no mainstream service comes close on anime depth: day-and-date simulcasts, a manga library, and dubs across a catalog the general platforms only sample. The real alternative for anime fans is stacking a general service's anime shelf with Crunchyroll's free tier and upgrading only in heavy seasons. If you are budgeting across several subscriptions, our guide to auditing all your subscriptions in one place is the companion read.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there still a free version of Crunchyroll?
Yes. A free, ad-supported tier remains available with a rotating portion of the catalog. Premium removes ads and unlocks the full library, simulcasts, and (on Mega Fan and up) downloads.
Does Crunchyroll have a student discount?
No official student discount exists as of August 2026. The Starz bundle and gift cards are the only reliable ways to cut the price.
How many devices can I stream on?
Fan allows one stream at a time, Mega Fan four, and Ultimate Fan six. You can install the app on as many devices as you like — the limit is simultaneous playback. If your stream will not start, our Crunchyroll troubleshooting guide covers the usual fixes, and the activation walkthrough helps with TV sign-ins.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes — cancelling stops future billing and Premium keeps working until the end of the period you already paid for. Step-by-step instructions are in our how to cancel Crunchyroll guide.