Crunchyroll has announced a price hike across all of its streaming plans for U.S. subscribers. The price increases go into effect for new subscribers starting today, while existing subscribers will see the new prices reflected in billing cycles after March 4.
The changes generally increase every monthly subscription plan by $2, broken down as follows:
- Fan Tier will increase from $7.99/month to $9.99/month.
- Mega Fan Tier will increase from $11.99/month to $13.99/month.
- Ultimate Fan Tier will increase from $15.99/month to $17.99/month.
This is Crunchyroll’s second price increase since merging with Funimation. The previous increase, which took effect in May 2024, had been the service’s first price hike in over five years. The new price hike notably follows Crunchyroll's removal of its free streaming plan at the end of 2025.
The price increase, announced through a post on the Crunchyroll website, includes the following statement about Crunchyroll’s current value: “Crunchyroll subscribers enjoy the world’s largest dedicated anime library with 50,000+ episodes, 25,000 hours, and 2,000 series and films, alongside music videos, concerts, games, and more.”
The statement goes on to highlight “Recent and upcoming platform enhancements,” including:
- Teen profiles and PIN protection
- Multiple profiles
- Skip Intro/Credits
- Expanded device compatibility
The service also recently expanded its offerings with Crunchyroll manga, a digital-only service bolstered by connections with publishers like Viz Media and Square Enix.
The announcement is not accompanied by any indication of financial challenges. Crunchyroll, which is currently streaming the winter anime season, reported crossing 17 million paying subscribers in March 2025. Deadline reported Sony’s desire to double down on the streaming service after reaching the subscriber milestone: “Amid the anticipated continued growth of the anime market, Sony plans to accelerate Crunchyroll’s growth.”
This strategy will leverage connections with other Sony properties, including the animation studio Aniplex as well as PlayStation. The Ghost of Tsushima anime, which will stream exclusively on Crunchyroll in 2027, is an example of the synergy Sony seems to be pursuing. It remains to be seen whether that synergy offers enough value to consumers over the spread of free anime streaming options.
Blythe (she/her) is an Audience Development Coordinator at IGN who, when she isn't following streaming news, spends way too much time in character customization screens and tracking down collectibles.
