Hadlee Simons / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Crunchyroll has reportedly announced that it will end its free, ad-supported streaming plan.
- The free tier will apparently be discontinued on December 31, 2025.
- This comes after services like Hulu and Peacock ended their own free plans in recent years.
Hulu and Peacock both discontinued their free, ad-supported plans in recent years. Unfortunately, we can add another streaming service to the list of companies that have ditched their free plans.
Cord Cutters News reports that Crunchyroll will discontinue its free, ad-supported streaming plan on December 31, 2025. The news apparently came via an in-player message in place of a regular advertisement.
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For what it’s worth, the free plan only offered access to select shows. Users still needed to pay for the Fan plan to access a larger library and quicker access to new episodes. Meanwhile, the Mega Fan plan also lets you download shows in HD quality for offline viewing, multi-device viewing, and access to the platform’s Game Vault.
This announcement also comes over a year after Crunchyroll announced a price hike of $1 to $2 for its middle and top-end plans. The company also cut its 14-day free trial down to just seven days.
In any event, this news means users have to look elsewhere if they want free, ad-supported TV content. The good news is that Pluto TV, Tubi, and Google TV’s Live tab are all viable options in 2025. But a niche like anime might be hard to fill.
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