Anime fans often struggle to find trustworthy platforms to stream or watch their favorite anime series without downloading an unwanted virus from illegal sites or dealing with undesired copyright issues. To deal with this, we’ve found you the best 16 places to watch and stream your favorite anime.
Apart from these, you will be able to find multiple free online platforms to watch and stream anime, but it doesn’t mean that the said platform would you let you watch the shows hassle-free. The amount of ads and redirects from one page really makes it a bothersome task when you are trying to peacefully watch your favorite show.
Best Sites To Watch Anime [Free & Paid]
Imagine being troubled by redirects every second when you sit with your meal down to watch a 20-something-minute episode. This includes sites like 9Anime and Kissanime as well. Here are the best 16 (paid and unpaid) places to watch anime to release you from this burden.
Also read: 10 Anime like Suki na Ko ga Megane wo Wasureta
Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll is an American subscription-based streaming platform for East Asian shows, including Japanese Anime. Founded in 2006 by Berkeley graduate students, Crunchyroll has become the top-rated platform for streaming your favorite anime. With over 100 million subscribed users, Crunchyroll started as a subsidiary of Otter Media, and from 2016-18 it partnered with Funimation, ultimately leading to its merging into the company in 2022 after Sony acquired the company in 2021.
Today the most popular shows on Crunchyroll, as for now, are Kimetsu no Yaiba, Hell’s Paradise, One Piece, MASHLE: MAGIC AND MUSCLES, etc.
Funimation
Funimation is also an America-based ott platform for streaming anime and other foreign entertainment content, and similar to Crunchyroll, it is also owned by Sony Group. Established in 2016, it is one of the major platforms for streaming in North America. Funimation and its parent company were acquired by Sony group in 2017, and although a majority of the streaming catalog was moved to Crunchyroll after Sony acquired it, Funimation still remains as an active streaming platform and distributes the shows that were originally licensed by it.
The most streamed shows on Funimation are My Hero Academia, Cowboy Bebop, Kill la Kill, Code Geass, Death Note, etc.
Netflix
Offering shows and movies in multiple languages and genres, Netflix is an American OTT platform for streaming based on subscription. With over 230 million paid subscribers available in over 190 countries, it is the largest subscription-based OTT streaming service.
It was 2014 when Netflix had first decided to stream an anime, which was their first self production for the same; it was a computer-generated show based on the Knights of Sidonia manga series. Following this, it got an exquisite streaming license for The Seven Deadly Sins anime. It continued to license a few more shows over the year, but it was in 2017 that Netflix decided to put in a budget to spend on new content – anime.
In 2018, Netflix began to release shows under popular productions – and now becoming one of the largest platforms to stream popular anime shows and movies, both subbed and dubbed.
As of now, the most streamed anime on Netflix are Naruto, Kimetsu no Yaiba, The Seven Deadly Sins, One Piece, Hunter x Hunter, etc.
Also read: 60 Best Anime Available On Netflix
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video, or simply Prime Video, is another popular American subscription-based streaming platform. It mainly releases shows and movies under its original productions, called ‘Amazon Originals’, and apart from these, they also distribute other licensed shows, rental videos, and live sports broadcast, and they also provide purchasing services.
Amazon did not enter the anime scene till well about 2017, with the declaration of Anime Strike, an addition to Amazon Prime, which would let viewers stream anime for an additional $5 per month. It would license its own shows as well as shows licensed by Sentai Filmworks. However, since Anime Strike couldn’t run well after a year or so, even after streaming popular anime, Amazon Prime is now a standalone releasing licensed popular anime like Vinland Saga and Banana Fish.
The best anime available on Amazon Prime as of now are Pokemon, Vinland Saga, Dororo, Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku, etc.
Also read: 42 Anime To Watch For 13 Year Olds
Hulu
Hulu is an American subscription-based streaming platform as well, which is majorly owned by Wald Disney Pictures along with NBCUniversal, which owns the other minority of the portion. In all, Hulu is a wholly owned subsidiary. Launched on October 29th, 2007, it offers a variety of shows, films, and series from 20th Century Studios, Searchlight Pictures, Disney Television Studios, ABC, Freeform, and FX Network, etc, as well as their own original productions.
In 2018, Hulu entered into a partnership with Funimation, which was their largest agreement in terms of releasing anime, and it would expand Hulu’s anime collection with new shows, but subbed and dubbed, every year. With millions of streams every year, Hulu is one of the largest streaming platforms for anime in the US.
The most popular anime available on Hulu are Chainsaw Man, Spy x Family, Card Captor Sakura, Bleach, etc.
Also read: 8 Anime Like Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid
HiDive
HiDive is one of the newer and younger services, having formed by the end of 2017. They started off my first acquiring Anime Network, and after the end of Amazon’s Anime Strike, Hidive became the sole platform that released shows by Sentai Filmworks. Later, it also formed a partnership with Crunchyroll – similar to its situation with Funimation – as they shared some of the content between the three platforms.
The best anime series to watch on HiDive is Tokyo Mew Mew Mew, I’m Quitting Heroing, Shine post, etc.
Also read: 12 Anime Like Zom 100: Zombie Ni Naru Made Ni Shitai 100 No Koto
Tubi TV
Tubi TV is an American ott ad-supported streaming platform founded in 2014 and owned by Fox Corporation. As of January 2023, Tubi TV has over 64 million monthly active users. It was in June 2016 that Sentai Filmworks had announced that they would stream anime on the free, ad-supported streaming platform, which is Tubi TV. Following this, in November, Toei Animations had also decided to stream 10 anime on Tubi TV.
The best anime series available on Tubi TV is One Piece, Attack on Titans and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, etc.
Also read: 30 Anime like Psychic Princess That You Should Watch
YouTube
A lot of people began their journey of watching free anime from YouTube. YouTube, as a platform, releases anime content for free without needing any subscription. It has tons of anime content available. They are also available in both subbed and dubbed versions. There are various channels that make streaming anime for free available to others.
To most people’s surprise, a large portion of Naruto is available for free on YouTube to stream. Apart from Naruto, you can also find portions of Bleach, Death Note, Hunter x Hunter, Sailor Moon, and even the entirety of InuYasha on YouTube for free.
Also read: 34 Best Anime Like Mashle: Magic and Muscles To Watch Right Now
Bilibili
Bilibili is often nicknamed the B site, and it is somewhat similar to YouTube – it is a video-sharing website where you can view, upload submit videos, as well as a comment under other videos. It is based out of Shanghai, and it may seem illegal and slightly shady at first glance, but having been bought by Sony in 2020, bilibili moved to become a legal site from a pirated one.
Established in 2010, they are the biggest video streaming site in China, and they have a variety of content like anime, manga, gaming, etc. The most watched shows on Bilibili are One Piece, Oshi no Ko, Spy x Family, Kaguya-sama: Love is War, etc.
Also read: 40 Rom-Com Anime Like The Dangers in My Heart
Disney+
Disney + is an American subscription-based streaming website that is owned by the Disney Entertainment section of the Walt Disney Company. It is home to major movies and shows from Disney, Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars, and National Geographic.
Apart from this, Disney has also added a new collection of shows to Disney+, which includes various anime series – and it is, however, not available to US subscribers yet. This anime collection may vary from country to country. Disney is also signing newer deals for the inclusion of more shows and original content so that we can hope for a larger collection of anime with time.
As of now, the most-watched anime on Disney+ are Bleach, Tokyo Revengers, The Owl House, etc.
Also read: 50 Best Comedy Anime Streaming On Netflix
Viu
Viu is a Hongkong based over-the-top streaming platform for delivering content on various genres of shows, anime, dramas, etc. Viu began streaming Japanese anime and Korean drama in 2015, a year before Netflix entered the domain, becoming one of the bigger platforms to stream the same, and it had also begun to stream Chinese content and the same in other South-East Asian languages.
The most watched anime on Viu is Slam Dunk, Detective Conan, One Piece, Sailor Moon, etc.
Also read: 40 Dark-Fantasy Anime To Watch If You Liked Hell’s Paradise
Wakanim
Established in 2009, briefly after YouTube was established in France, Wakanim is a French-owned over-the-top subscription-based streaming site owned by US-based Funimation. This site was specialized for the streaming of Japanese anime series and was also the first site in Europe to provide videos for download without any issues with rights.
The most-watched anime on Wakanim are Attack on Titans, Kimetsu no Yaiba, Erased, Fire Force, etc.
Also read: 50 Best Fantasy Anime Of All Time – Ranked By Fans
HBO Max
HBO Max is also an American subscription-based over-the-top streaming service that is a property under WarnerMedia Direct, LLC which is a unit owned by Warner Bros. While it is known as Max, it is popularly known as HBO Max outside the United States.
Approximately around the first week of July 2020, Crunchyroll planned on launching 17 new anime on HBO Max streaming service, after which they made a target to launch a set of new anime series on Max every quarter.
The best anime to stream on HBO Max are Studio Ghibli movies, namely Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky, My Neighbour Totoro, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, etc.
PlutoTv
Pluto TV is a free streaming service that has been operating for quite a long time now – specifically in the US. It has grown now, to include over 200 channels of live TV and, alongside that, on-demand content. It is not as popularly known outside the US, even though it is available in several major European countries like the UK, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and Latin America as well.
After releasing anime in 2021, the most-watched anime series on Pluto TV to date are JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure, Death Note, Inuyasha, Bleach, etc.
Asiancrush
Asiancrush is a well-known streaming platform for mainly anime and it gives access to various subbed and dubbed anime for free – and moreover, it is also a legal streaming platform. Asiancrush also provides high-speed streaming and is also quick, so it enhances the quality of streaming. Apart from anime, you can watch multiple Asian movies and Korean dramas.
The most watched anime on Asiancrush are Arcadia of My Youth (movie), Cardcaptor Sakura, Music Girls, Kowabon, etc.
Also read: 35 Best Old School Anime From 1999 And Before
ConTV Anime
ConTV was established in March 2015 and is an over-the-top streaming service that was created with the intention of creating a joint venture between Cinedigm and Wizard World. This streaming platform mainly caters to geek and nerd fans and includes cult classic movies, television series, digital comics, and bts content from Wizard World’s Comic Cons.
ConTV Anime from Cinedigm is a free channel that lets you stream anime for free but has advertisements. It is these advertisements that help to keep the content free for everyone. This site streams anime from top creators and is perfect for binge-watching.
The popular anime on ConTV is Yu-Gi-Oh!, Beyblade, Shining Tears x Wind, etc.
