Anime streaming services offer huge collections of both contemporary and classic series in high quality. They allow you to catch up with the latest episodes as soon as they are released and are the go-to place for anime fans that want to access dubbed and subtitled episodes the moment they get translated as well as true anime savants who want to watch an old-school classic.
Top 9 Anime Streaming Services
- Funimation - English dubbed series
- Crunchyroll - Biggest anime collection
- RetroCrush - Vintage anime collection
- 9ANIME - High-quality anime streaming
- AnimeLab - Episodes available 1 hour after their release
- Netflix - Nice library of anime series
- Hulu - Refined search engine
- VRV - Newly released episodes are available instantly
- DC Universe - Free library of classic anime series
This overview covers the pricing, content variety, relevancy, and convenience of 9 platforms, allowing you to find the best anime streaming service for your taste. You can watch most of these services on any device you want and the content on some of them goes far beyond anime, allowing you to find a plethora of other interesting series.
1. Funimation - Our Choice
- Hundreds of dubbed series
- Trendy UI
- Intuitive search engine
- Offline downloads
- Can’t read manga
Verdict: Funimation is an enormous platform filled with dubbed anime series, and the perfect option for fans that prefer translated voice acting to subtitles. While this may sound like blasphemy for some, you can’t blame people for wanting to enjoy their favorite anime the way they want to. If you’re among that group, then congratulations as you’ve found the best anime streaming service already.
Being a service specifically created for anime fans, you’ll notice a lot of similarities with the collection offered by Crunchyroll. That said, Funimation goes a step further as it also hosts the entire Dragon Ball TV series.
2. Crunchyroll
- Huge collection of anime shows
- HD streaming offered in all subscription plans
- Lots of simulcast series
- Several original series
- UI is a bit cluttered
Verdict: Even though the UI of this option could be a lot better, the amount of anime series and the simulcast feature make Crunchyroll a strong contender for the title of the best anime streaming service. Additionally, it’s often listed among the best streaming services overall thanks to its huge collection of over 1000 anime series, movies, manga, and foreign drama.
Even though the majority of the content is subtitled, that won’t be a problem for anime purists that prefer the original voice actors anyway.
3. RetroCrush
- Doesn’t cost a dime
- Vintage anime series and movies that can’t be found anywhere else
- Minimum ads
- Relatively small collection of shows
Verdict: RetroCrush offers a carefully curated library of vintage series and full-length installments. Due to the heavy focus on older titles, you won’t find much of RetroCrush’s collection anywhere else. Some of the most noteworthy entries include Devil Lady, Golgo, and Urusei Yatsura among many others.
That said, while this service is the best when it comes to classics, overall its library isn’t that impressive compared to what similar platforms are offering. At this point, RetroCrush hosts about 100 shows and 40 movies of subbed and dubbed content.
4. 9ANIME
- MAL import support
- Doesn’t demand you to enter captchas
- Several fast servers
- Pleasant UI with a dark mode option
- Tons of annoying ads
Verdict: 9ANIME is the best streaming service for anime if you’re interested in watching the newest episode of your favorite show mere minutes after it was shown in Japan. It also has a robust search engine that lets you find series based on Country, Season, Language, Genre, Release Date, and Status.9ANIME hosts both subtitled and dubbed episode versions, with all videos being available in Full-HD resolution.
The service lets you quickly find the most noteworthy, ongoing, upcoming, and most-watched titles. Furthermore, 9ANIME has a request feature, which allows you to suggest an anime that you would like to see added to the already large library provided by the platform.
5. AnimeLab
- Suitable for playing video, audio, and DVD files
- DVD burning functionality
- Allows filming and editing videos
- Video sharing
- Rarely updated
Verdict: AnimeLab is very likely to be the best anime streaming service for fans interested in the latest episodes. While it also has a solid selection of both older and newer shows in all genres, one of its main hooks is the simulcast function that is paired with an in-depth schedule that ensures you never miss an episode.
You can filter series based on Date, Popularity, Subtitles, and Dubbing. AnimeLab lets you pick between a Basic Plan that is available for free, but is limited to 480p resolution, or a Premium subscription that removes ads and gives you simulcast access, subtitled and dubbed episodes, offline playback on smartphones, and superior customer support.
6. Netflix
- Zero ads
- Refined apps and functionality
- Offline downloads for smartphones
- Physical media option
- Lack of notifications about content becoming unavailable
Verdict: Netflix started from humble beginnings and grown not only into possibly the best anime streaming service, but also into the world’s most popular streaming platform as a whole. Netflix won over the hearts of anime fans by getting the classic Neon Genesis Evangelion show on their platform, which couldn’t be found elsewhere for years.
While some users around the world can suffer from regional restrictions, those can be easily bypassed by using a free VPN for Netflix.
That said, since anime licenses can cost a lot, this isn’t the go-to place for watching all of the latest series. For instance, Attack on Titan is represented only by its first season, and many shows that aren’t Netflix originals only appear on the platform long after their release.
7. Hulu
- Impressive collection of TV shows and films
- Cloud DVR
- Interesting channel selection
- Works on any media-watching device
- Offline downloads only for premium users
Verdict: Hulu is one of the most interesting anime streaming services on this list as it comes with a solid library of series and films, although their original content is very inconsistent in terms of quality. The platform also recently added an offline download feature, but it’s only accessible to premium members.
Thanks to its collaboration with Funimation, their library is now backed up by their biggest series, giving you even more reason to use a VPN for Hulu if you can’t access it otherwise. Alas, just like Netflix, not all series are featured here in their full glory, as this platform doesn’t have the depth of a service that is dedicated exclusively to anime. Another downside of this option is that most series only have either a dubbed or subtitled version, not allowing you to pick between the two.
8. VRV
- Offline downloads
- Allows opening as many simultaneous streams as you want
- Broad range of series and films
- Large number of anime genres and channels available
- Channels can be removed at any time
Verdict: VRV is another strong candidate for being the best anime streaming service for users that want to get their hands on the newest anime immediately. Not only does it include series that can’t be found on Hulu or Netflix, but it also provides simulcast support. If you can’t open a specific series in your region, consider getting a VPN for streaming.
If you check out VRV’s simulcast section, you’ll find the entire latest season of a series except for the newest episode. This platform also recently introduced HIDIVE to its library, expanding the number of dubbed entries even further. If you’re still not sure if getting VRV is worth it, you can make use of the 1-month free trial offer.
9. DC Universe
- Highly impressive original series
- Extensive comic book collection
- Supportive community
- Lacks a lot of classic movies and series
Verdict: DC Universe is considered to be among the best paid anime streaming sites, as it provides a mixture of both vintage and original series. By getting their subscription, you can watch a variety of famous DC animated series and live-action films as well as exclusive original shows. The only other service that can rival its vintage library is RetroCrush.
You can get DC Universe for $8 a month or an annual fee of $75. The platform also provides a 7-day free trial and can be accessed via a browser, iOS, Apple TV, Android, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Roku, and Kindle. PlayStation and Samsung TV applications are planned as well.
