12 Best Free Anime Streaming Sites to Watch HD Anime Online

Anime is a style of Japanese film and television animation, typically aimed at adults as well as children.

Anime is no longer a mere Japanese animated series watched by a few people outside of Japan. Gone are the days when it was hard to get hold of the latest anime series, and there were virtually zero TV networks who used to air anime series. It is the complete opposite today. Thanks to the recent boom in internet penetration and growing streaming platforms, Anime has reached audiences worldwide. The demand for anime has grown significantly in the past few years, and with that, the production of anime series has also seen a huge spike.

Whether you are a hardcore anime fan, someone who just likes to watch anime once in a while, or just want to see what all the fuss about anime series, you will want to know what are the best anime streaming services available. The huge popularity of anime has inspired many anime-only streaming platforms and forced top streaming giants to include anime to their catalog. With all these advancements, it is still hard to find a decent website to watch anime online for free. But not anymore! With research, we have come up with this list of 12 free anime streaming sites where you can watch anime online for free. Many of these sites don’t even ask to sign up or log in. So, if you are new anime, or simply looking for a better alternative to watch free anime online, this article is for you.

12 Best Free Streaming Websites to Watch Anime Online Without Downloading

1. Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll- free anime streaming

[su_label type=”success”]FREE[/su_label]

You can not talk about anime streaming and not mention Crunchyroll. It is probably the very first legal dedicated anime-only streaming platform. With over 1000 anime series and films, it is the most visited free anime site. The service is free, meaning you can binge-watch any anime series or film without spending a single penny.

Crunchyroll also offers a premium subscription for $7.99 per month. With the paid membership, you can watch anime in higher resolution than 480p – free membership caps the resolution to 480p only. Also, there are no ads with a paid membership, whereas, on free accounts, you will have to watch ad breaks in between every episode.

Crunchyroll offers both dubbed and subbed anime options. I am more of a subbed anime guy, but it is good to know that it offers both the options. The web layout is very old school like, but very functional at the same time. You can find all the anime series and films to watch by using its filters and categories. Along with Anime, Crunchyroll also offers manga and foreign dramas for free on the website.

As long as you are fine with 480p resolution and don’t mind watching a few ads, you can use Crunchyroll anime streaming site to watch free anime series online without downloading.

2. Funimation

Funimation- watch dubbed anime free online

[su_label type=”success”]FREE[/su_label] [su_label]Available in select countries[/su_label]

Just like Crunchyroll, Funimation is also a dedicated streaming platform for watching anime online. They both even shared their anime library for a few years. Today, Funimation is a separate entity and has become one of the best anime sites to watch free anime on the go. Funimation is best known for its huge catalog of dubbed anime series and movies. They have a reputation for uploading the latest episodes in the English language as soon it airs in Japan.

Funimation has a vast library of thousands of anime movies and series that can be accessed for free. Many latest as well as all-time classic series such as all the anime series under Dragon Ball (Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball Z Kai, and Dragon Ball GT, etc.), Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and so on.

Similar to Crunchyroll, Funimation offers both free and paid membership. The paid membership (costs $5.99/month) gets you ad-free anime and higher quality video support; free membership includes ad-supported anime with the relatively lower video quality. If ads + lower video quality don’t matter much to you, Funimation is probably among the best option to watch anime online for free without downloading. And don’t forget that this is a legal anime streaming platform.

3. Anime Lab

AnimeLab - free anime straming

[su_label type=”success”]FREE[/su_label] [su_label]Australia & New Zealand [/su_label]

The next website on the list of best anime streaming websites is AnimeLab. Anime Lab is one of the free legal websites to watch anime online without downloading. Being a dedicated anime platform, it has a huge catalog of anime series and movies. You will be able to find many all-time popular anime series such as Naruto, Fairy Tail, Dragon Ball, One Punch Man, Death Note, One Piece, and so on. Anime Lab also popular for adding new episodes at the same it airs on the original TV network.

Like many other legitimate websites for anime, AnimeLab offers both free and paid membership. Free membership comes with a few restrictions such as access to a limited anime library, 480p video resolution; subbed anime only; ads and 1-week delay for the latest episodes.

Even though the free catalog gives access to a limited number of anime shows, it has many popular full anime shows, including One Punch Man, Dragon Ball Super, My Hero Academia, Attack on Titan, Sword Art Online and many more.

If you are new to anime and want to see some popular anime series before committing to a long term relationship with anime, AnimeLab is the perfect website. Please note that the AnimeLab is only available for people living in Australia and New Zealand.

4. KissAnime (dot) ru

KissAnime.ru free anime streaming watch online

[su_label type=”success”]FREE[/su_label] [su_label]Use VPN [/su_label]

KissAnime is by far the most popular anime streaming site when it comes to watching anime online for free. It has thousands of anime series and movies in its library, which anyone can access for free without any restrictions. KissAnime gives you the liberty to choose video resolution (240p to 1080p) depending on your internet speed and preference. It offers anime in both dubbed and subbed variants giving you the option to choose either of the two depending on your liking.

You can find all kinds of anime series and movies from old classics to new latest episodes. Many all-time popular series are available on the homepage itself, saving you time and energy. There is an option to sign up/login, but it is not mandatory, unlike many other sites on this list. If you choose to log in, however, you will be able to add series to your watch list, discuss with other fellow anime lovers, and more.

KissAnime is very active when it comes to adding new anime series episodes. You can find the latest episodes for most series with a couple of hours of its first airing. This is very uncommon for free streaming sites for anime. Apart from anime, you can also read manga, read novels, watch drama, or join the conversation with other anime fans.

Before you get all excited, I must warn you that KissAnime is a bootleg anime site and not a legal website. That being said, it is definitely one of the best free sites to watch anime on the internet.

5. Twist (dot) moe

Anime Twist- best anime websites for streaming online

[su_label type=”success”]FREE[/su_label]

Anime twist is a fascinating anime streaming site that runs on donation. It offers hundreds of anime series and movies on its website, and anyone can watch them for free without having to pay. Its no-nonsense approach gives you a clean user interface. It has just one homepage where you will find a list view of all the series and movies available on the website. Every ongoing series is marked with an ‘ongoing’ label. Clicking on the series/movie name will take you to a page where you can watch the selected episode or movie. There is no need to sign up or download anything.

The Anime Twist offers good video quality with English subtitles. I couldn’t find any series with English dubbing. That might be a let down for many. As this site runs on donations, there is no stupid ads or pop-up; just pure entertainment.

The anime library on Twist is also very good with many ongoing and popular anime series and movies available to binge-watch. There is also a chat box that lets you chat instantly with other live users on the website. All in all, Anime Twist is an interesting free anime streaming platform for anyone looking for a free and clean platform to watch free anime.

6. 9Anime (dot) to

9anime- watch dubbed and subbed for free online

[su_label type=”success”]FREE[/su_label]

9Anime is one of my favorite free anime sites to watch HD full-length anime series and films. It has an extended library of almost all kinds of anime in every popular genre. You will be easily able to find your favorite anime using its filter options. You can apply many different filters such as genre, season, quality, year, language, and many others to find an anime that suits your taste. The anime library of 9anime is huge, and very few other sites can compete with 9anime.

Almost all the anime series are available in Full HD video quality. Not just that, it also lets you set a video quality (SD, HD, Full HD) depending on your connection and preference. It offers both English dubbed anime and English subbed anime and lets users pick what they prefer.

9Anime cares a lot about users’ experience, and that can be seen with all those subtle little features provided. Take its theme switcher as an example; with a simple click, you can easily switch between dark and light themes. Similarly, there is a schedule menu where you will find a schedule for all upcoming episodes of ongoing series. This allows viewers to keep track of all the upcoming episodes and plan accordingly.

With all of its features, a huge anime library, video playback quality, and the fact that it is a 100% free anime platform make it one of the best sites to watch anime for free.

7. Sony Crackle

Crackle free legal anime watch online

[su_label type=”success”]FREE[/su_label] [su_label]Available in select countries[/su_label]

Sony Crackle is a very well know streaming site for free movies, TV series as well as for anime. This Sony-owned platform has a decent catalog of anime series and movies from many popular anime studios. It supports both subbed and dubbed anime options. What it lacks in the quantity of anime, it fulfills in the video quality. Despite being a free platform, it offers videos in the highest quality possible. It offers an excellent and modern web layout that offers features that are only available on the premium platforms.

Sony Crackle is an ad-supported 100% free streaming site with no premium option whatsoever. Everything on Sony Crackle – including anime – is free and available in the best streaming quality.

So, if you are looking for a free anime site where you can watch HD anime for free without playing, consider checking out Sony Crackle. Yes, the anime catalog is limited but whatever it offers, it offers in the best quality. And it is also a legal streaming website.

8. GogoAnime (dot) io

Gogo Anime- free anime online

[su_label type=”success”]FREE[/su_label]

The next website int his list is GogoAnime – an anime-only streaming website made by keeping anime lovers in mind. From website layout to fonts and color scheme, all screams anime. The anime library is impressive and can easily put many premium sites into shame. Everything an anime fan might search for can be found on the homepage itself. There are different sections for all the ongoing anime series, latest releases, and popular anime series. From its menu, you can find anime by genre, language (English dubbed or subbed), anime list, and many others.

GogoAnime mostly focuses on English subbed anime. That is not to say that there exists no dubbed anime, it has, but the catalog is very limited. Another feature of GogoAnime is its request option. You can put a request to add any specific anime series and movies, and in most cases, they do add those requested series or movies. Talking about series and movies, it is worth mentioning that almost all the contents on this platform are available in the best video quality possible.

GogoAnime is one of the best and 100% free sites to stream anime online.

9. Tubi TV

Tubi TV- among the best sites to watch free anime legally

[su_label type=”success”]FREE[/su_label]

Tubi TV is one of the many free ad-supported streaming sites for movies and TV series. Like most other streaming platforms, Tubi TV also has anime in its collection. The anime catalog on Tubi TV is not as big as many dedicated anime streaming sites; it is still better than nothing. You will find a few all-time classic blockbusters to brand new anime shows airing weekly.

Tubi TV is an ad-supported site with no premium subscription offer. That means it treats everybody the same. You get access to all the anime contents as well as other content on the website in HD video quality. As I said, it is an ad-supported free anime streaming portal. This means all the contents are free as long as you are willing to watch a few commercial breaks during your streaming session.

Despite being a streaming site with a limited catalog of anime, it is still an excellent option for those looking for sites to watch anime online for free and legally.

10. CONtv

CONtv- anime streaming for free

[su_label type=”success”]FREE[/su_label]

CONtv is an online streaming portal that mostly focuses on anime series and movies. Over the past few years, CONtv has evolved itself as a popular destination for those looking for streaming sites for anime. The anime library on CONtv is small compare to many other sites in this list, but it is working towards adding more and more anime to its library. Its current anime library consists of many classic anime blockbusters and a few latest ongoing anime series.

The video quality offered is that of decent quality. It is a free website that shows a couple of ads during each episode or movie. Along with anime, CONtv also offers a few movies and TV series. Movies and TV series catalog is very small compared to anime. One thing that I don’t like about CONtv is that it has made it compulsory to log in before watching anything.

11. Amazon Prime Video

Amazon prime video for free anime online 30 days

[su_label type=”warning”]30 Days Free Trial[/su_label]

Prime Video from Amazon is among the best streaming platforms to watch all kinds of movies and TV series. Considering the growing popularity of anime, Prime Video has started adding more and more anime collections to its library. Today Prime Video has a decent catalog of anime series consisting both popular as well as recent anime episodes. Moreover, Prime Video supposedly working on multiple projects to bring Prime original anime series to its platform.

I know Prime Video is not free; it requires premium subscription access to its catalog. With the prime subscription, Amazon is offering many benefits such as free 1 day/2-day deliveries, free access to Prime Music, free e-books from Kindle store, Prime early access, and access to thousands of free movies, TV series, documentaries, and Anime. The Prime Video offering itself justifies the amount. Anyway, what I am trying to say is that with just one subscription you can get access to all kinds of entertainment contents such as music, movies, TV shows and of course anime. Currently, Amazon is offering a free 30-days free trial offer where you can enjoy everything Amazon Prime has to offers for free for 30 days.

12. Netflix

Use Netflix to watch anime online

[su_label type=”important”]PAID[/su_label]

Nowadays, it seems like everyone is subscribed to Netflix to stream hundreds and thousands of movies in more than 50 international languages. Most of the content on Netflix is produced by Netflix for Netflix. Netflix has given us shows such as Breaking Bad, Strangers Things, Money Heist, House of Cards, and so on. If you have a Netflix account or have access to Netflix of your friend’s account (like most of us 😛), why not use that to watch anime? Netflix knows how popular anime is, and they are constantly working on improving its anime catalog. Currently, you can watch many popular anime shows on Netflix. Not just that, Netflix has produced and is producing many original anime shows and movies for the platform.

I know this is not a free site, and like most people, if you are already subscribed to Netflix, then why not use it to watch anime as well.

Conclusion

There you have it, a list of 12 best free anime streaming sites for anime fans. All of these sites offering anime series that can be watched for free online without downloading. Most of the sites don’t even ask for registration or sign up. You just select an episode or a movie and start watching. I have also made sure to add sites for both English subbed anime as well as English dubbed anime. If you prefer not to use any piracy sites, you can easily choose the legal alternatives that I have shared. I hope you found this article helpful and was able to find a couple of websites to watch anime online free. Please share this article with your other anime fan friend and help him/her stream anime for free.

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