While Crunchyroll’s monthly prices haven’t risen in five years, Sony is preparing to change that for subscribers in several countries.
Crunchy Roll announced today that prices for Mega Fan and Ultimate Fan streaming subscription tiers are rising as a result of “the company’s investment in more anime, additional services like music and games, and additional subscriber benefits.” While basic Crunchyroll Premium will continue to cost $7.99/month, Mega Fan tier subscriptions are increasing from $9.99 to $11.99/month, and the Ultimate Fan tier will increase from $14.99 for $15.99/month.
Crunchyroll is also reducing its free trial period from two weeks to just one. Notably, the price changes are expected to only impact subscribers in Argentina, Colombia, France, Portugal, the United States and “select additional countries.”
While users can still sign up for completely free, ad-supported accounts that give them access to a limited selection of titles from Crunchyroll’s library, they won’t be able to watch things offline or access simulcasts. With all the big streamers demanding more money from their customers, Crunchyroll’s changes aren’t surprising. But they’ll likely be a hassle for subscribers who don’t really see discounts on Crunchyroll Store purchases as perks worth paying a premium for.