Funimation was one of the most popular streaming on-demand services for anime streaming and other foreign media content. It had a wide range of anime shows, and it was a favorite among the anime community in the US and abroad.
However, Funimation was shut down in April 2024, in a move that surprised the anime community. Most of its catalog has since been moved to Crunchyroll.
So, a little back history: Sony purchased Funimation back in 2017, and it purchased Crunchyroll, another popular anime streaming site for anime movies, in 2021.
Funimation was later incorporated into Crunchyroll, and although Funimation continued to be an independent site for a while, it was shut down on April 2, 2024. Most of its catalog has since been moved to Crunchyroll, and you can no longer access the Funimation website.
You might be wondering what happened to your Funimation account. Don’t worry, we will cover that in this article.
Funimation Account Types and Benefits
All Funimation accounts have been automatically converted to Crunchyroll accounts. People with Funimation subscriptions now have Crunchyroll subscriptions. So, let’s talk about Crunchyroll account types.
First off, Crunchyroll has a free tier that is supported by ads. You won’t get access to the entire library, and it will take some time after anime shows are released in Japan for them to be available to you. However, you will still get access to a decent catalog with ad-supported viewing.
There are three tiers of Crunchyroll premium accounts, which remove ads:
- Fan: At $7.99/month, you get ad-free streaming access to the entire library and enjoy early episode access – you can view new episodes shortly after they are released in Japan. You can only stream on one device.
- Mega Fan: Mega Fan costs $9.99/month and allows you to watch on four devices. In addition, it allows you to download shows for offline viewing. You also get access to a catalog of free games from Crunchyroll Game Vault.
- Ultimate Fan: For $14.99/month, you get to stream on six devices.
There are some additional perks as well.
For example, Mega Fan gives you free tickets to special Crunchyroll events and expositions and special anime discounts – a $15 store credit in the Crunchyroll Store every three months (on purchases of $100 or more).
Ultimate Fan includes all that, although you get a $25 store credit every three months instead of just $15. In addition, you get a free swag bag once a year and an exclusive limited-run Hime Nendoroid figure.
Instead of a Funimation free trial, you can sign up for a Crunchyroll free trial to any of the paid plans. Free trials last for 14 days.
Can You Get a Free Funimation Account?
In lieu of a Funimation free account, you can get a free Crunchyroll account. Free accounts don’t cost any money, but you will have to watch ads along with the free anime episodes. In addition, you won’t get access to the entire catalog.
In addition, the Crunchyroll free premium trial has replaced the Funimation premium trial, allowing you a taste of the entire Crunchyroll catalog for 14 days.
How Do You Get Free Funimation Premium?
The Funimation free premium trial has been replaced with the Crunchyroll free premium trial. So, the question is now not how to get Funimation Premium for free but how to get Crunchyroll Premium for free.
The answer is that you can get it for free, but only for 14 days. It’s not lifelong access. If you have a family member who has a Crunchyroll Mega Fan or Ultimate Fan, though, you can use their account. If they only have Crunchyroll Fan, though, it will be inconvenient, because it only allows you to watch on one screen at a time.
Can I Watch Anime on Funimation for Free?
Funimation’s free content has been replaced by Crunchyroll’s free content. If you want to watch anime for free, you can do that with a free Crunchyroll account. However, the free account only lets you watch anime with ads. In addition, some shows are restricted to premium members.
Which Is Cheaper, Funimation or Crunchyroll?
As of now, it is no longer relevant to compare Funimation vs. Crunchyroll, since the two have merged. Funimation.com now redirects to Crunchyroll. They share the same anime streaming price, content library, anime dubs, etc.
Is Funimation Better Than Crunchyroll?
There’s no doubt that Crunchyroll is the best anime streaming service. It offers the best anime subs vs. dubs options. There’s a reason Funimation was absorbed into Crunchyroll and not the other way around – think about it!
Understanding Funimation’s Reach
According to data, Crunchyroll had around 13 million paid subscribers as of January 2024.
There are two things to note here. First of all, that refers to paid subscribers. We can assume that a majority of Crunchyroll users are free users, so it definitely had a lot more than 13 million users overall.
In addition, those numbers were from before Funimation was shut down. All of the Funimation subscribers were since absorbed by Crunchyroll, likely adding at least a few million users and increasing the anime streaming popularity score of Crunchyroll.
Funimation Family Plan
If you’re looking for the Crunchyroll equivalent of the Funimation shared account for Funimation simultaneous streams, try the Ultimate Fan plan on Crunchyroll. It allows you to sign in on up to six devices, which is more than enough for the entire family.
Can Funimation Be Shared?
Just like you were able to share a Funimation login password, you can share a Crunchyroll login password. Instead of using Funimation on multiple devices, you can now use Crunchyroll on multiple devices – but only if you have the Mega Fan or Ultimate Fan plan.
The free plan and Fan plan don’t allow sharing. Mega Fan allows sharing (up to four devices in total, including your device), and Ultimate Fan also allows sharing (up to six devices in total, including yours).
As of April 22, 2024, Crunchyroll is adding a new feature: user profiles. When you share your account with someone, they can create their profile to track their watch history. That way, you don’t mess up each other’s watch histories.
For a long time, Crunchyroll did not offer such a feature. However, due to heightened demand (Netflix offers user profiles), it is now releasing it to premium users only. However, it is being rolled out just as of this publication, so you might not see it in your account just yet.
Funimation Account Security
Don’t share your Crunchyroll password (which was formerly your Funimation password, if your Funimation account was automatically converted to a Crunchyroll account) with just anyone. Only share it with someone you trust.
Even then, follow secure password tips. Don’t use the same password for Crunchyroll as you do for your banking logins, for example. Make sure the password is not easy to figure out (it should have a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols and be at least nine characters for optimal security).
Is Funimation Expensive?
Crunchyroll pricing has replaced the Funimation cost. If you were previously wondering, “Is Funimation worth it?” you might now be wondering, “Is Crunchyroll worth it?”
In my opinion, it is very well-priced. First of all, there is a free tier, which doesn’t cost any money whatsoever. Even Netflix doesn’t offer a free tier.
In addition, the paid plan of $7.99, which is enough to watch on one device, remove ads, and get access to the entire library, is on par with or cheaper than the prices charged by other popular streaming services, such as Netflix. Granted, it’s a much more specific library, but that should make it cost more, not less, as that kind of content is available from fewer outlets.
Conclusion
The Funimation sign-up page has been replaced by the Crunchyroll sign-up page. If you want to try Funimation, you should try Crunchyroll instead.
You can sign up for a Crunchyroll account here and start your 14-day free trial right away, after which you can either decide to pay or stay with a free plan. You can also skip the free trial and simply sign up for the free plan.
