Crunchyroll and Hulu provide similar services in terms of what they offer, but there are a few differences that you should know. Crunchyroll is primarily focused on Japanese anime and manga while Hulu has a wider selection of TV shows and movies. For anime fans, Crunchyroll is the better choice because it offers more episodes per season at a cheaper price point.
Key Takeaways
- Crunchyroll gives its users unlimited access to anime content
- Crunchyroll has a free one-month trial and then you have to pay a monthly subscription fee of $6.95
- Crunchyroll has more than 1.8 million paying subscribers and it is one of the best anime streaming services in the world
- Hulu is available in over 200 countries and you can get access to Hulu through a set-top box, a smart TV, or a computer
- You will be surprised to know that Hulu has more than 50 million subscribers in the United States
- Crunchyroll is primarily focused on anime while Hulu primarily focuses on TV shows and movies
What Is Crunchyroll Streaming Service?
Crunchyroll is a leading streaming service that offers visitors of all ages access to an endless stream of anime content. Their platform allows users to watch unlimited series with their one-month free trial or with a paid subscription for $6.95/month which also gives them access to premium features like ad-free viewing, mobile viewing, and more.
It has a huge library of around 2,000 series and 15,000 episodes. In 2018, Crunchyroll attracted 1.8 million paying subscribers and it is considered one of the best anime streaming services in the world.
For those who are new to this streaming service, Crunchyroll offers a free trial for 30 days to decide if they want to pay monthly or yearly subscriptions.
The website was created in response to the success of Hulu and Netflix. The company was originally called Anime Network Online, Inc. They rebranded to what it is today in 2015. It has gradually increased its market share over time after expanding internationally. As of 2018, they have 160 million users worldwide and continue to grow their customer base by implementing new features and services for their audience.
What Is Hulu Streaming Service – the overview
Hulu is the streaming service that offers its content through a digital platform that can be accessed through a set-top box, a smart TV, or a computer. Hulu has been in existence since 1997 and was able to provide a good selection of top TV shows and movies. As well as being available in over 200 countries, it has also been able to maintain its presence in the industry for over two decades.
It has been able to provide quality programming not just on television but also in film and has made it possible for people who have different tastes to find something that they enjoy watching. It offers ad-supported streaming on multiple platforms including mobile devices, smart TVs, set-top boxes, game consoles, and personal computers.
Hulu is available solely in the United States and offers on-demand programming from over 20 networks including ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC. The service also features original series such as “The Handmaid’s Tale” through its subscription service.
Hulu has more than 50 million subscribers in the United States. The company’s headquarters are located in Los Angeles with operations in many countries including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan.
15 Differences Between Crunchyroll vs Hulu Streaming Service
Crunchyroll and Hulu are two popular streaming services that both offer a wide variety of programming for their viewers. These two streaming services come with their own differences and benefits.
The following is a comparison of the differences between Crunchyroll vs Hulu streaming services to help you decide which one is better for your viewing needs.
1. Crunchyroll has more anime content than Hulu, but this is restricted to countries where Crunchyroll is available. This means that some countries will only be able to use the service through VPNs or proxy servers that trick Crunchyroll into thinking they are in one of the available countries. Hulu on the other hand, has a much wider distribution of their content across all USA cable providers and more than 50 other cable providers outside of USA.
2. Content: Crunchyroll is primarily focused on anime while Hulu primarily focuses on TV shows and movies. There is a bigger selection of movies on Crunchyroll but the movies on Hulu are newer and tend to be more recent releases.
3. Crunchyroll has a smaller library of shows while Hulu has a wider range of content.
4. Crunchyroll is a streaming service that provides anime to fans worldwide, while Hulu is a streaming service that offers TV shows and movies to fans.
5. Business Model: Crunchyroll relies on ad-supported streaming, while Hulu uses its subscription model as their primary source of revenue.
6. Programming: Crunchyroll offers a wide range of programming with niche titles such as the popular series “Nanbaka.” Hulu’s programming includes popular TV shows like “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Stranger Things” as well as big name movies on demand.
7. Crunchyroll is a Paid service, $6.95/month or $35/year and Licensed content for Streaming service only available in North America, except if you live in Japan. Hulu has a Free trial service for the starters, but you can upgrade to a paid membership -Non-licensed content available worldwide and has over 7 million titles in the library -Streaming services available in North America, Canada, UK and Ireland. Crunchyroll offers a free trial with ads, while Hulu offers a 30-day free trial without ads.
8. Crunchyroll releases their titles to users on a 3-day delay, while Hulu releases them right away (in Live TV package).
9. Hulu’s catalog includes more than 100,000 titles from over 40,000 producers from every country in the world, while Crunchyroll’s catalog is limited to around 1,000 anime and manga series.
10. Crunchyroll provides more anime than Hulu does.
11. Hulu has a bigger collection of TV series than Crunchyroll does.
12. The interface for both these services is significantly different. While the interface for Crunchyroll has a lot of features, the interface for Hulu is much simpler and less cluttered.
13. Crunchyroll is an ad-supported site. Hulu is not.
14. Crunchyroll does not offer any TV shows or movies whereas Hulu has some of the most popular TV shows including The Simpsons and Seinfeld
15. Hulu has many international shows that Crunchyroll does not.
Conclusion
Crunchyroll is similar to Netflix because they are both streaming services that are providing anime content worldwide.
Hulu on the other hand is more like Amazon Prime Video because they are primarily focused on providing current TV content that’s airing on traditional broadcast channels.
If you’re looking for more of the latest episodes of your favorite shows, Crunchyroll might be better suited to your needs. If you’re more interested in catching up with old favorites, Hulu is probably the better choice for you.
References: 1 https://www.crunchyroll.com/forumtopic-927747/crunchyroll-vs-funimation-vs-hulu-plus
References: 2 https://www.hulu.com/network/crunchyroll-2f15417d-f262-4be5-a3c5-ffa20d2e02bf
Last Updated on October 23, 2022 by Magalie D.
Magalie D. is a Diploma holder in Public Administration & Management from McGill University of Canada. She shares management tips here in MGTBlog when she has nothing to do and gets some free time after working in a multinational company at Toronto.
