Crunchyroll Ends Free Ad-Tier: Subscription Mandatory by 2026

The era of legally streaming free anime on the world’s biggest platform is officially coming to a close. In a move that marks a massive shift for the industry, Crunchyroll has announced it will discontinue its free, ad-supported viewing tier on December 31, 2025. The change came to light abruptly when users on the free tier began receiving a pop-up message on the site and app warning that "Ad-supported streaming ends December 31, 2025." 

The notification urged fans to upgrade immediately to ensure their viewing remains "100% ad-free and uninterrupted," effectively giving current free users only a few weeks to decide if they want to pay up or lose access to their favourite shows as the calendar turns to 2026.

This decision forces a strict ultimatum on the community: subscribe to a premium plan or stop watching. For those willing to stay, a paid subscription will be mandatory starting January 1, 2026. Crunchyroll currently offers three membership levels, starting with the "Fan" plan at $7.99 per month for single-device streaming.

The "Mega Fan" plan costs $11.99 per month, while the "Ultimate Fan" tier is priced at $15.99 per month in the U.S. For subscribers in India, the rates are localized, with the Fan plan available at ₹79 per month and the Mega Fan plan priced at ₹99 per month.

Popular Series Locked Behind Paywall

While these prices haven't changed yet, the removal of the free tier suggests that subscription costs could go up soon. The removal of the free tier locks away a massive legacy catalog that was once the best way for casual viewers to experience anime. A specifically curated selection of popular series will soon be fully paywalled. This includes massive hits like Chainsaw Man, Spy x Family, Blue Lock, and Bocchi the Rock!. 

Other affected titles include Bungo Stray Dogs, Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, The Daily Life of the Immortal King, Don't Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro, Golden Kamuy, Lycoris Recoil, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch of Mercury and more. 

Notably, shows like One Piece had already moved away from the free option last year, shrinking the pool significantly even before this final cutoff.

This strategy has been building for years under the ownership of Sony, which merged Funimation into Crunchyroll to consolidate its grip on the industry. While the platform stopped offering free simulcasts of new episodes back in 2022, it had maintained this "seasonal sampler" of older titles. 

As the genre booms globally, the cost to secure rights has skyrocketed, leading Crunchyroll to push for steady subscription revenue rather than relying on fluctuating ad income. This mirrors broader industry trends, such as Netflix's acquisition of Warner Bros. content and HBO Max consolidation, where streaming services are increasingly commodified by media giants.

The reaction from the anime community has been swift and largely negative, with social media platforms exploding with complaints. There is a growing fear that this "all-or-nothing" approach will drive younger viewers and those on tight budgets back toward piracy, undoing years of progress in the legal streaming market. 

Furthermore, users are anxious that Crunchyroll may eventually introduce ads into the cheapest paid tiers, similar to strategies seen with Amazon and Hulu. For now, however, the days of low-cost Crunchyroll viewing appear to be over.