It's the end of an era for anime viewing as Crunchyroll confirmed it will end its ad-supported streaming at the end of this year. While the number of anime available through this ad-supported tier has been clawed back over the years, Crunchyroll has now finally confirmed that ad-supporting streaming will end entirely on December 31, 2025.
A message shown to Crunchyroll's ad-supported viewers, encourages them to upgrade to one of the premium memberships "to ensure your viewing is 100% ad-free and uninterrupted."
Crunchyroll's move to a premium membership streaming service has been slow, but methodical. Premium tiers — Fan, Mega Fan, and Ultimate Fan — were introduced in August 2020, marking a major shift from having a single, standard Premium plan. But it wasn't until March 2022 where we really started to notice a turning point when Crunchyroll announced that new Simulcast episodes would require a premium membership and would no longer be available a week later for free users. In late 2024, Crunchyroll began moving huge portions of its back catalog — such as the incredibly popular One Piece series — from its free, ad-supported tier to the premium tier.
Crunchyroll Ad-Supported Streaming ends December 31
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The list of anime titles that you could watch for free with ads included Beast Tamer, Blue Lock, Chainsaw Man, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch of Mercury, My Dress-up Darling, Soul Eater, Spy x Family, and more.
Crunchyroll currently offers three premium membership plans: Fan, Mega Fan, and Ultimate Fan. Fan is your cheapest option, costing $7.99/month or $79.99/year, and offers complete access to Crunchyroll's library with no ads. new episodes debut shortly after they air in Japan.
The Mega Fan plan costs $11.99/month or $119.99/year and also removes ads while granting access to all content. It also allows for streaming on up to four devices at a time and the downloading of HD videos as well as access ot the Crunchyroll Game Vault.
The Ultimate Fan tier costs $15.99/month or $149.99/year. This adds access to Crunchyroll Manga, streaming on up to six devices at a time, and offline viewing.
Crunchyroll, once the go-to destination for anime streaming, is now facing stronger competition. Hulu, Disney+, Netflix, and Prime Video have all expanded their anime libraries—and they all charge monthly fees. However, even the cheapest tiers of these rival services include ads.
That’s why some Crunchyroll subscribers are worried it’s only a matter of time before the platform’s lowest-priced Fan tier introduces ads as well, forcing viewers to upgrade to Mega Fan or Ultimate Fan for completely ad-free streaming.
Do you plan on subscribing to one of Crunchyroll's paid tiers?