Alternatives to Crunchyroll
By App Store Tracker Editorial · Updated — live App Store data verified
The short version
RetroCrush is the strongest legitimate Crunchyroll alternative, streaming licensed classic anime and exclusive English releases. For tracking rather than streaming, MyAniList and MyAnimeList Official help you organize what you watch. Crunchyroll Manga extends the same library into manga from the same company. Each touches Crunchyroll's core: discovering, watching, or tracking anime, though several picks are unofficial trackers rather than licensed streamers.
The app you searched for
Crunchyroll, LLC
Stream anime shows and movies
People look for Crunchyroll alternatives when the ads pile up between scenes, when a season is subbed but not dubbed, or when they want to track shows across services. The apps below touch its core: stream anime, read related manga, or organize what you're watching. Some are licensed streaming services, others are tracking-and-discovery tools, and a few are unofficial catalogs that vary in reliability. We ranked them using embedding similarity against Crunchyroll's anime-streaming model, then weighed live App Store ratings and how many people use each one. The top picks mirror Crunchyroll's watch-and-discover purpose most closely. Pricing and ratings beside each app come straight from the live store.
Why it's similar
Crunchyroll Manga comes from Crunchyroll itself, extending the same anime universe into manga from the series you already watch.
How it differs
It's a dedicated reading app rather than a video streamer, so it complements Crunchyroll instead of replacing the streaming. With a modest rating and small base, it's the official next step for fans who want manga too.
Shanghai Xinying Dimension Artificial Intelligence Technology Co., Ltd.
Why it's similar
Anime Watching Apps - Elser.AI shares Crunchyroll's anime focus, offering anime shorts and interactive comics for quick entertainment.
How it differs
It centers on short, AI-crafted skits rather than full licensed series, a very different format from Crunchyroll's catalog. With only a few ratings, it's an unproven, niche alternative.
Why it's similar
Anime TV ◆ Manga Reader matches Crunchyroll's pitch: a wide anime collection of shows and movies plus manga reading.
How it differs
It's an unofficial aggregator rather than a licensed service like Crunchyroll, so reliability and legality are uncertain. With a decent rating and moderate base, it's a catalog-style alternative to weigh carefully.
Why it's similar
Anime Land shares Crunchyroll's discovery angle, cataloging and tracking a large collection of series and movies.
How it differs
It's mainly a catalog and tracking app rather than a licensed streamer, and it has no ratings yet. It's an untested organization tool rather than a Crunchyroll streaming replacement.
Why it's similar
HAnime shares Crunchyroll's goal of discovering and keeping up with anime, with sub and dub options.
How it differs
It's an unofficial discovery app rather than a licensed service like Crunchyroll, so content sourcing is unclear. With a decent rating and small base, it's an unverified alternative.
Why it's similar
9ANIME shares Crunchyroll's tracking and notification idea, helping you follow shows and get episode alerts.
How it differs
It's an unofficial GoGoAnime-style tracker rather than a licensed streamer, and its low rating signals reliability problems. It's a risky alternative compared with Crunchyroll's official service.
Why it's similar
RetroCrush matches Crunchyroll's streaming core with a focus on classic anime and exclusive first-time English releases.
How it differs
It's a licensed service from Cinedigm specializing in older and forgotten gems rather than Crunchyroll's new-season simulcasts. With a strong rating and solid base, it's the strongest legitimate alternative for classic anime.
Why it's similar
AnimeKai shares Crunchyroll's discover-and-track purpose, surfacing trending anime and tracking episodes plus manga.
How it differs
It's a tracking and discovery app rather than a licensed streamer, and it has only a few ratings. It's an unproven companion alternative rather than a Crunchyroll replacement.
Why it's similar
MyAnimeList Official ties into Crunchyroll's world as the official app for the well-known anime database and community.
How it differs
It's a tracking and recommendation tool rather than a streamer, so you watch elsewhere and log here. With a modest rating and small base, it complements Crunchyroll for organizing your watchlist.
Why it's similar
MyAniList matches Crunchyroll's discovery side, tracking and finding anime and manga with a polished native experience.
How it differs
It's a tracker built for AniList users rather than a streaming service, so it manages lists instead of playing video. With a strong rating and large base, it's the top alternative for tracking what you watch.
Every app in our database carries a dense vector embedding derived from its title, subtitle, full description, and category metadata. To find apps similar to Crunchyroll, we compute cosine distance against every other app and surface the closest 60 candidates. The similarity score shown on each pick is 1 - distance/2 clamped to [0,1] — 100% means the embedding spaces are identical, 0% means orthogonal.
We then re-rank the candidate set using current App Store rating and review-count signals so a 4.8-star app with 100,000 reviews ranks above a 4.5-star app with 200 reviews even when their embedding distance is similar. Apps that haven't shipped an update in 12 months are filtered out before re-ranking.
The similarity cache is recomputed weekly. Live App Store data (rating, review count) is verified every 6 hours.
No paid placements. No affiliate links. No sponsored picks. Read our full methodology.
More popular iPhone apps with curated alternative lists, each ranked by embedding similarity, rating, and category fit.
