With so many great anime to watch, and a rise in popularity of these shows, there are tons of places you can go to watch them. Anime, or Japanese animation, is available on plenty of streaming services like Netflix or Hulu. If you have a smartphone, watching anime whenever you want becomes even easier.
However, if you don’t have a subscription to any streaming service that has anime, you might be trying to find a way to watch it for free. Many apps for both iPhone and Android allow you to watch your favorite or new anime for free.
Below we’ve listed the best free anime apps where you can watch shows for free, whenever and wherever you want.
Funimation
Funimation is a well-known distributor of anime for the U.S., and they now also have a streaming service of their own. You can subscribe for $7.99 a month or $79.99 a year, but you can also have a free account with ads. There are many shows you can watch for free dubbed in English or subbed form from the original Japanese.
Since Funimation is an established anime distributor, the app is high-quality and works well. You can find all the trending, latest anime here; however, you may not be able to watch them all for free. But, this app does have a good selection of free anime to watch, including new episodes of popular shows such as Attack on Titan, One Piece, Cowboy Bebop, and more.
Download for iOS
Download for Android
Crunchyroll
Another well-known distributor of anime is Crunchyroll, and they also have a great app you can use to stream anime for free. This service also has a premium version to get access to every show on the app for $7.99 a month. But there are plenty of shows available to watch without paying.
Crunchyroll is bar-none the best app for watching anime. The interface is easy to use, and you can find almost any anime in the service’s massive library. You can also pick up right where you left off from shows you’re in the middle of and save shows you want to watch later.
You can watch both dubbed anime in English or subtitles with the original Japanese audio. You can also watch simulcast episodes, where you watch new episodes simultaneously that air in Japan. For anime fans, Crunchyroll is the app you’ll want to try first.
Download for iOS
Download for Android
VRV
For completely free anime, this app is fantastic. Every show available on this app is free with ads. A premium subscription allows you to watch brand-new episodes and remove ads.
This app finds free anime and cartoons from different streaming services and presents them on one easy-to-use platform. You can add shows to a watchlist, search for specific shows, or browse through the different channels VRV sources shows from.
Download for iOS
Download for Android
4 Anime
4 Anime has a huge selection of anime shows and movies. You can find tons of popular anime as well as lesser-known series here. You can also see how others have rated the shows, favorite them to find them more easily later, or add them to a watch list. You also don’t need to worry about any premium subscriptions to watch the shows.
The only drawback of this app is that the interface is a bit slow, and the video player can be a bit wonky. However, it’s a small price to pay for the massive library and no fees.
Download for iOS
Retro Crush
If you’re a fan of retro, classic anime, this app is where you want to be. There are tons of older anime available here, and the app is very user-friendly and easy to use. You can browse their offerings or search for specific shows within their extensive library. The app also has a livestream of old anime shows playing 24/7.
All the anime on this app are free, though some are restricted to registered users. However, it’s free to sign up for the app. There is a premium version of the app available that takes away all ads during shows.
Download for iOS
Download for Android
Tubi
Tubi is an entirely free app where you can choose from a vast library of TV shows and movies to watch. There are many live-action shows and movies on Tubi, but there is also a wide selection of anime titles available on the streaming service.
Tubi is great because you get all the functionality of a larger streaming service for free and plenty of anime movies and shows to choose from. The only downside is that Tubi plays ads during streaming, but they’re not overwhelming when you get to watch for free.
Download for iOS
Download for Android
YouTube
One place you may not think of to look is YouTube. This video streaming site has lots of anime episodes available, and it’s straightforward to find episodes for popular anime like Death Note, Naruto, One Piece, and more.
Although finding the episodes in chronological order may be a bit more difficult than on a streaming service, the perks are that you don’t necessarily need to sign up for anything, and you can watch for free. You might be surprised how many complete anime series you can find on YouTube.
Download for iOS
Download for Android
Find Your Next Favorite Anime on iOS and Android
You can find the best anime content to watch for free with these apps. No matter what kind of show you’re looking for, you should be able to watch your favorite anime for free on one of the best anime streaming apps listed above. Anime lovers should check out a few of these and start watching shows for free.