Whether you want to witness goofiness, teenage romance, or nostalgic Japanese action, anime is your go-to choice. There are several streaming platforms, yet not all have a significant collection. As a result, your options narrow down, and you would want to check out Funimation vs Crunchyroll-detailed comparison. So, while you are wondering which platform you should subscribe to or which deserves your time, we have covered you all!
Funimation or Crunchyroll – Which One has Better Features?
You want to watch anime, so you would think which between Crunchyroll and Funimation is the best. While both are anime streaming platforms yet, there are differences in their features. In the former, you can do much more than watch anime. You can play games, read manga, and shop for toys, clothes, or other accessories on Crunchyroll.
Besides, when you find it difficult to choose something to watch, you can use its Random Play feature.
On the other hand, Funimation also lets you watch and has additional activities. It would be available in apparel, videos, or other stuff. The drawback is that they are not much enjoyable on Funimation.
Both have a community for exclusive members, while Crunchyroll is much more active and responsive. Additionally, Crunchyroll also lets you stream Japanese shows and movies apart from watching anime.
Which One is Easy to Use, Funimation or Crunchyroll?
Crunchyroll’s unique features make it a comprehensive app. However, the drawback is that so many features are not well-organized. The interface is quite messy, which makes it challenging to navigate. Here’s where Funimation is easy to navigate. Besides, Crunchyroll’s many features aren’t mobile-optimized. So, you would find its app a bit tricky to use. While on the same side, Funimation is mobile-friendly.
You would often feel like gaming on the go, and here’s where both platforms have games on their mobile app. There’s also musical content on Funimation. You will not have difficulty using the latter as it’s easier to navigate.
But when it seems complicated to navigate over Crunchyroll, you would use its Search option and Search Filters feature. However, the former option is often inefficient, and the latter one is not reliable when you want to search using anime titles.
Crunchyroll also has an Alphabetical filter which is again a hassle amidst such a vast database. It has Popular, Genres, Updated, and such categories to browse, which are not that useful.
Besides, Funimation has Shows, Genres, Simuldub, and Popular categories apart from different genres classification. Its neat user interface makes your browsing experience smoother.
Funimation vs Crunchyroll – Who has better Content?
Crunchyroll is the oldest anime streaming platform. For sure, it has a vast database and several originals to stream. Moreover, it also has exclusive rights to stream Dragon Ball Z. When looking for the latest anime, Crunchyroll has the best content collection.
You would find Japanese shows also, along with anime. Besides, if you want to dig into the nostalgia of old-school anime, Funimation has a beautiful classic collection. Whether horror, Sci-Fi, Romance, Action, or Shoujen, Shoujo, both the platforms have these categories and several more. Further, there’s the latest anime available on Crunchyroll, which may or may not be over Funimation.
For some anime, both platforms have some common shows also. Samurai Champloo, Full Metal Alchemist, and Attack on Titan are what Funimation’s users enjoy the most. You would find Naruto on both platforms. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Boruto: Naruto Next Generation, and Ahiru no Sora are the best collections on Crunchyroll. Some Crunchyroll originals are exclusively on the platform for its premium users.
Which Amongst Funimation and Crunchyroll Offers Better Ease of Anime Selection?
You often find it challenging to decide which anime to watch. As a result, you will start browsing over a particular platform to explore something incredible. But streaming it directly without know-how is not what most of you would go for. You will check out what the description is about. Here’s where Funimation again stands better than Crunchyroll. The former gives you comprehensive information about the show summary, its star ratings, and the language in which it is available.
On the other hand, when you head over to Crunchyroll, the anime description is not very detailed and directly plays the content. Therefore, you cannot carefully consider the show conveniently on Crunchyroll.
Where are Anime Clips Available for Funimation and Crunchyroll?
You would prefer to watch short clips before actually watching the content. Here’s where both platforms stand differently in terms of convenience. To watch Crunchyroll’s video clips, you must move to its YouTube channel to watch anime or show clips. Moreover, Funimation provides all the anime clips in the app also. However, if you want to check out the anime content of the latter before using its platform, that is not possible.
Does Crunchyroll Provides Better Subtitles than Funimation?
Comparing the subtitles of Crunchyroll and Funimation, both platforms stand differently. On the former, you will have subtitles; on the latter, you will have closed captions. The difference is that on Crunchyroll, the text does not have a background but a black border, making it less distracting.
Furthermore, you can even change the appearance and customize it per your preferences. Besides, Funimation has closed captions with a black background that often covers the content. The biggest drawback to Funimation is you cannot turn off the closed captions. So, if closed captions aren’t your call or you think it covers the content, there’s no option to opt out.
Which has a Massive Collection of Dubs: Funimation or Crunchyroll?
If you love watching anime Dubs in English, then Funimation has the best and a massive collection of dubs. You would not find many dubs on Crunchyroll. Therefore, if you want to watch English versions of a vast range of anime, Funimation would work best for you.
Which Platform Offers Simuldubs?
The term “Simudubs” is derived from simultaneous and dubs. So, these imply that dubbed versions of anime are simultaneously released in Japan. Crunchyroll does not have many dubs but is best known for Simuldubs. Thus, it lets you watch the latest anime currently running in the English version. Crunchyroll has a responsive community that always considers fandom options so that you can ping them for your demands.
Funimation and Crunchyroll are Compatible with Which Devices?
Both Funimation and Crunchyroll are available on many platforms. However, the options are a bit narrow on Funimation compared to Crunchyroll.
Here’s a detailed comparison of the device compatibility of both platforms:
| Crunchyroll | Funimation |
| Android devices | Android devices |
| Apple TV | Apple TV |
| Amazon Fire TV | Amazon Fire TV |
| Google Chromecast | Google Chromecast |
| iOS devices | iOS devices |
| PlayStation 3 | PlayStation 3 |
| PlayStation 4 | PlayStation 4 |
| PlayStation Vita | PlayStation Vita |
| Xbox 360 | Xbox 360 |
| Xbox One | Xbox One |
| Roku | Roku |
| Web browsers | Google Chromecast |
| Wii U | Smart TVs |
| Windows Phone |
What is the Pricing of Funimation and Crunchyroll?
Price is the deciding factor when you choose whether a platform is worth going for. Funimation and Crunchyroll have similar pricing plans, yet Funimation is more affordable.
There’s even a free plan for Funimation that contains ads. However, Crunchyroll lets you access the platform free for a limited time. It has a premium plan which costs $7.99/month. Its paid plan gives you access to more than 1k titles with more than 30k episodes. All of the content it has is original but does not let you watch offline. It has smooth playback in 1080p/720p resolution.
Funimation has two paid plans- Funimation Premium and Premium Plus. The former starts at $5.99/month and costs $7.99/month. You can access 950 titles and 25k episodes with both plans, but none has all the original content. While both let you watch 1080p/720p HD, Premium does not let you download content, whereas Premium Plus allows you.
The Funimation plan is more affordable, and you can watch simultaneously on two different devices. However, it’s noteworthy that not all content over Funimation is original, while the same is not valid for Crunchyroll.
The Conclusion
Upon a Funimation vs Crunchyroll-Detailed Comparison, there are several factors to consider. If you want an affordable plan, then Funimation would work for you. Further, if you’re going to watch in English, it also has the best and most enormous dubs available. However, Crunchyroll has simuldubs and better subtitles to enhance your experience. You can even turn off subtitles when you don’t want them. But, if you are okay with it, then too, they are not distracting.
In contrast, Funimation has closed captions that you cannot turn off. As of now, both permit you to watch with a VPN. But when it comes to better and more extensive content, then Crunchyroll is the best.
Frequently Asked Questions?
Major Season 5, Monster, Vinland Saga, and Ping Pong The Animation are some big animes unavailable on Crunchyroll.
Yes, Crunchyroll has more content than Funimation. The prime difference is that Crunchyroll has anime, TV shows, and movies, while Funimation only has anime. The former also has originals, and all of it with simuldubs make the library of Crunchyroll vast.
The answer is subjective. If you want to watch anime in English, then Funimation is better. Besides, if you can watch in another language with subtitles or read Manga, then Crunchyroll is better.
Yes, there are nearly 5 ads in every video of Funimation in its free plan. You can upgrade to its premium or premium-plus for ad-free streaming.
Crunchyroll subscription costs INR 79/month in its Fan subscription plan. While for access to more titles, you can avail of its Mega-Fan subscription plan, which costs INR 99 per month.
This is Karan, a Freelance Entertainment & Tech journalist with over 10 years of experience covering the film and television industry. I have been writing for various publications including Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and Indiewire and a regular contributor to New Vision Theatres Blog, providing in-depth analysis of Movies, Web Series and interviews with the industry’s top talent.
