So you‘re thinking about cancelling your Crunchyroll premium membership. Maybe the monthly fee feels too expensive, or you want to try a different anime streaming provider.
Whatever the reason, dropping your Crunchyroll subscription is quick and painless. Just follow these detailed steps.
But before we get started, let me give you some background on Crunchyroll and an overview of what to expect after cancellation…
A Brief History of Crunchyroll
Founded way back in 2006, Crunchyroll began as a site focused on sharing East Asian media and anime. Within a couple years, it pivoted towards video streaming.
Due to some early piracy issues, Crunchyroll established licensing deals with Japanese studios. This gave them access to simulcast top anime series shortly after their air dates.
Fast forward to 2022, and Crunchyroll sits atop the anime streaming world with over 5 million paid subscribers globally. They offer over 1,500 popular anime film/TV titles across a range of pricing plans – more on that next.
With the recently announced merger between Crunchyroll and Funimation too, we could see further expansion of their anime libraries down the line. However, some fans fear this consolidation could increase subscription prices.
In other words, now‘s a decent time to evaluate whether Crunchyroll still deserves your money every month. And if you ultimately decide to cut ties, cancelling your account is simple.
First, let‘s recap Crunchyroll‘s membership options before diving into the cancellation process…
Crunchyroll Membership Plans
Crunchyroll offers users both free and paid membership options:
Crunchyroll Free
- Stream select titles with ads
- Video playback in SD 480p
- No offline viewing
Crunchyroll Premium Fan ($7.99/month)
- Unlimited ad-free anime streaming
- Video playback in HD 1080p
- Offline viewing
- Simulcast access
- Crunchyroll store discounts
Crunchyroll Premium+ Fan ($9.99/month)
- All Premium features
- Exclusive behind-the-scenes content
- Offline viewing on 4 devices
- Office goodies & swag
- Special fan events
Over the past 3 years, we‘ve seen Crunchyroll slowly increase pricing across both paid tiers:
| Plan | 2019 Price | 2022 Price | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Premium Fan | $6.95/month | $7.99/month | +15% increase |
| Premium+ Fan | $9.99/month | Stayed consistent | 0% increase |
Table data sources: Crunchyroll and Web Archive
So while Premium+ has remained fixed, regular Premium jumped 15% in 3 years. Now whether or not that price increase seems justified depends on your personal anime viewing habits…
For casual watchers mostly sticking to simulcast content, moving to the Free ad-supported plan makes sense. But hardcore anime fans still gain good value from Premium‘s bonus content and HD streams.
Either way, if cutting costs is your goal, let‘s get into the step-by-step process for cancellation!
Step-by-Step: How to Cancel Premium Crunchyroll
Ready to take a break from your Crunchyroll subscription? Just follow these 7 straightforward steps to cancel:
Step 1. Log Into Your Crunchyroll Account
Navigate to Crunchyroll.com or open the mobile app and log into your personal account using your credentials:
If you run into login issues, first double check your password is correct. If it still fails after multiple attempts or via password reset, contact Crunchyroll customer support who can further troubleshoot.
Step 2. Access Account Settings Menu
Once logged in successfully, click your profile icon in the top right and select My Account in the dropdown menu:
This opens up your complete Account settings dashboard. The Overview tab shows recent watch history and updates.
Step 3. Click "Membership Plan" in Left Sidebar
On the left sidebar of your Account dashboard there are a series of links. Click Membership Plan to view your current subscription status:
Here we can see complete membership details including:
- Current tier
- Next billing date
- Available offline downloads
Essentially everything related to your Premium Crunchyroll subscription plan in one place.
Step 4. Click "Cancel Subscription" Button
Under your membership status box, click the Cancel Subscription button to start the cancellation process:
If you‘re within an ongoing free trial period, this button will instead read "Cancel Free Trial". Either way the next steps are the same.
Step 5. Confirm Cancellation Popup
After clicking Cancel Subscription, a confirmation popup appears to make sure you definitely want to cancel. Click OK to proceed:
This extra verification exists so users don‘t accidentally cancel memberships with a single misclick.
Step 6. Final Confirm on Cancel Page
Next you‘ll be taken to a page showing your updated membership status as canceled, with one final Cancel Premium button to click:
Go ahead and give this button a click too!
Step 7. Take Exit Survey (Optional)
Finally, Crunchyroll may prompt you with a brief survey asking why you decided to cancel premium membership:
Filling this out is completely optional, but does help Crunchyroll improve their service. Or just hit No Thanks to finish cancelling.
And that‘s it! Just 7 quick steps to cancel premium Crunchyroll membership. Pretty straightforward right?
Now let‘s talk about what happens next…
Post-Cancellation – What Happens When You Cancel Crunchyroll
After cancelling your paid Crunchyroll membership, here‘s exactly what you can expect:
-
Immediate Downgrade – Your account will instantly revert back to Crunchyroll‘s free tier with ads and less content. But your full watch history and queue remain intact.
-
Lose Offline Access – Any downloaded videos for offline viewing will disappear. But don‘t worry, your broader watch history still persists.
-
Billing Ends – You‘ll no longer be charged any subscription fees for Premium access. Any unused portion of already-paid membership time also goes away.
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Can Resubscribe Anytime – You keep full access to your original Crunchyroll account. If you change your mind down the road, resubscribing is always an option.
-
Incentives to Return – Crunchyroll may offer special promos like 1-2 months free Premium to try and win you back!
The key takeaway is that cancellation reverts you to Free access, while retaining account details like watch history, profile, and queue. It‘s exactly like having a brand new Free membership with your nostalgia intact.
And if you ultimately feel there‘s still value in paying to unlock bonus content or HD streaming, simply resubscribe in the future at any point. Easy!
Now you likely chose to cancel premium Crunchyroll for a reason…so what are the top alternatives?
Top Anime Streaming Alternatives
If Crunchyroll no longer meets your anime needs, below are the most popular services to consider next:
| Streaming Service | Starting Plans | Key Anime Series | Offline Viewing | Platform Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Funimation | $5.99/month | Dragon Ball, Demon Slayer, My Hero Academia | Yes | Apps on most devices |
| Hulu | $6.99/month | Naruto, Death Note, Cowboy Bebop | No | Web, iOS, Android only |
| Netflix | $9.99/month | Castlevania, One Punch Man, Aggretsuko | No | Web, iOS, Android, Smart TVs |
| RetroCrush | Free (ads) | Classic anime series | No | Web, iOS, Android |
| VRV | $9.99/month | Niche catalogs like HIDIVE anime | Yes | Popular device apps |
I recommend browsing through each service‘s available anime titles to compare against your watchlist preferences. Sample a few free trials!
Funimation makes for the closest Crunchyroll replacement given their comparable anime libraries and downloading functionality.
But niche services like RetroCrush for classic anime or VRV for eclectic under-the-radar shows also satisfy hardcore fans.
And mainstream options like Netflix produce some high quality original anime too, despite smaller catalogs.
Regardless of your final choice, cancelling Crunchyroll first is quick and simple. Just follow the above handy walkthrough.
Now go enjoy an anime service that truly aligns with your viewing preferences! Because there are plenty to choose from beyond Crunchyroll.
Have you cancelled Crunchyroll before? What made you ultimately leave and what service did you switch to? Let me know in the comments!
