Over the years, watching your favorite anime has become easier thanks to the various streaming platforms. While I’m sure people still look for DVDs to add to their collections, a huge audience has turned to platforms like Crunchyroll or VRV.
If you consume a lot of anime, you’re probably familiar with the two platforms, but which one is the ONE to subscribe to?
This is why I’ve compiled a guide detailing what VRV and Crunchyroll are, their subscription plans, pros, cons, and several other factors that will help you choose the best platform to satisfy your anime cravings.
VRV vs. Crunchyroll: Which Should I Choose?
What are Crunchyroll and VRV?
Crunchyroll and VRV are streaming platforms that heavily focus on providing quality anime to their viewers. The two platforms are actually related due to belonging to the same parent company Ellation, now just known as Crunchyroll.
Crunchyroll is probably the more popular of the two due to being promoted by streamers and different content creators across the globe. However, that’s no reason to count VRV out of the fight. VRV also has a lot to offer.
VRV works more like a “hub.”
If you’re familiar with Amazon Prime Video or Hulu, the platform works similarly to them. You can add other “channels” like Crunchyroll to your hub for a minimal fee or sometimes for free, and enjoy quality perks plus VRV exclusives.
VRV vs. Crunchyroll: What’s Streaming?
Both VRV and Crunchyroll heavily focus on anime, but there are differences in what shows you can find. Let’s see what both have to offer.
Crunchyroll’s Content Library
Crunchyroll offers subscribers the latest and most popular anime and manga content and depending on your plan, you can determine your experience with the platform. If you stick to the free plan, you won’t have full access to their libraries, and you might get bothered by ads while you try to watch your favorite shows.
The streaming library of Crunchyroll is impressive as it offers content distributed by the Crunchyroll library itself, Funimation, and AnimeLab. What’s more, you can watch the anime with subs or dubs, if there’s one available.
VRV Content Library
VRV is a whole lot bigger than Crunchyroll.
The service offers channels, including the entire Crunchyroll library. Besides that, VRV also offers the library of Mondo Media and VRV Select, which provides a lot of Western cartoon content like RWBY and VRV exclusives.
If you aren’t familiar with Mondo Anime, perhaps you’ve seen adult cartoons like Happy Tree Friends, and Mind Janitors. Those are two of Mondo Media’s most famous cartoons.
Meanwhile, VRV Select is a bunch of hand-picked shows and films available in VRV. These are usually independent cartoons or animations not available on Crunchyroll.
VRV vs. Crunchyroll: Which Offers the Best Deals?
Subscription prices are definitely a big factor when it comes to deciding what platform you would rather get, especially if you’re on a budget. But if you can squeeze a few extra dollars for more content, consider paying for the premium experience.
Crunchyroll Pricing & Plans
If you’re really on a tight budget, you can’t go wrong with getting Crunchyroll for free. The platform ensures that most of its content is available without paying cash. However, the downside of the free tier is you need to deal with commercials and a 480p resolution when watching.
Here’s a table of all of the different Crunchyroll plans:
| Plan | Price | Features |
| Fan Tier | $7.99/month | No ads. Full access to the anime and manga library. |
| Mega Fan Tier | $9.99/month | No ads. Full access to the anime and manga library. Offline viewing.4 simultaneous streams. Get $15 off on a $100 purchase in Crunchyroll Store (every 3 months). |
| Ultimate Fan Tier | $14.99/month | No ads. Full access to the anime and manga library. Offline viewing. 6 simultaneous streams. Get $25 off on a $100 purchase in Crunchyroll Store (every 3 months). Ultimate Member swag bag + access to purchase exclusive merchandise. |
Paid tiers allow you to stream without pesky ad interruptions with full access to their On Demand library as early as one hour after the show airs in Japan. You’ll also have access to all their translated manga.
The main difference between the tier is that a regular fan tier will only allow you to stream on one device at a time, while the other tiers will enable you to stream up to 4 or 6 devices simultaneously.
Not to mention, the higher tiers also offer offline viewing and additional fan merch.
Crunchyroll also has Premium and Premium Plus versions of all of their tiers, so it’s a good idea to check those out because they give amazing perks like being able to stream in a higher resolution which is what you want if you’re into anime like Attack on Titan or Violet Evergarden.
VRV Pricing & Plans
Next, let’s look at VRV. The platform only offers a free tier and a Premium tier. The free tier allows you access to their extensive library, but there’ll be several ads that could possibly ruin your experience.
The Free Tier also won’t get you access to channels like Crunchyroll and some VRV exclusives. To add those channels you need to subscribe to its Premium Tier.
With the Premium Tier, you get to enjoy Crunchyroll Premium perks at the same time the platform releases new anime. But the best part of being a Premium member is that you can enjoy hours of uninterrupted watching since no ads will disturb you.
| Plan | Price | Features |
| Free Tier | Free | Ad-supported. Limited access to their content library |
| Premium Tier | $9.99/month | No ads.Full access to the library. Crunchyroll, Mondo Media, and VRV Select are available. Crunchyroll Premium Perks. |
That’s a lot cheaper than getting a Premium stand-alone tier on Crunchyroll!
VRV vs. Crunchyroll: What Countries Are They Available In?
Crunchyroll is hailed as the world’s largest anime streaming platform because of its content library and its reach. The anime streaming giant (sorry Netflix!) is accessible in nearly 100 territories.
Crunchyroll is available in countries like the US, the UK, Croatia, Egypt, India, and Vietnam, to name a few. While other platforms stream anime in different countries, nothing can beat Crunchyroll’s library since it merged with Funimation.
VRV can only be enjoyed by the US audience as the platform is geo-blocked due to content licensing. While the service announced plans to expand back in 2020, anime fans are still left waiting for the platform to arrive on their shore.
But what if I told you there is a way to get VRV on your device or system? You can do so through a VPN subscription.
A VPN hides your real-time IP address and replaces it with a different address in almost any part of the world. So if you replace your address with a US one, you can get VRV easily.
However, VPNs are not free, so before jumping onto this idea, consider the pros and cons of spending the extra money to get the VPN and VRV.
VRV vs. Crunchyroll: What Are the Compatible Devices?
Both services can be used on a desktop or laptop, but when it comes to mobile devices, it looks like Crunchyroll has a slight edge.
Crunchyroll is available on iOS and Android mobile devices, PlayStations 4 and 5, Nintendo Switch, Android and Apple TVs, Desktops, Laptops, XBOX One, Chromecast, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV.
Meanwhile, VRV is available on the same devices, minus the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5. The platform has yet to update its subscribers if they’ll be adding those devices in the future.
VRV vs. Crunchyroll: Which is the Better Platform in 2023?
It all depends on what you want out of the platform.
Crunchyroll has fewer issues, gets updated frequently with popular anime titles, and is probably available in your country.
However, VRV offers some great deals and makes adding channels in one place easier.
The only downside I see with VRV right now is that it’s only available in one country, and there are rumors about the site shutting down. Subscribers also make multiple complaints that the app is becoming difficult to use.
I suggest taking advantage of the free trial to see how the app runs on your device. In fact, use the Crunchyroll free trial as well so you can compare them.
Does Crunchyroll Have Everything in VRV?
You can’t get VRV or its exclusive content in Crunchyroll, but you can get Crunchyroll on VRV when you get VRV Premium. So if you like all things geek plus Crunchyroll’s streaming library, VRV is the way to go.
However, some VRV anime will be transferred to the animation streaming giant slowly. So perhaps, there’s some weight about the rumors of VRV possibly shutting down to be true.
Why Should I Get VRV?
If you love independent cartoons and other geek content like gaming, then VRV has all that. Crunchyroll doesn’t feature those types of shows since they mainly focus on anime, Asian drama, and manga.
Why Should I Get Crunchyroll?
If you just want to see anime the moment you open the service, then Crunchyroll is the ultimate platform for otakus.
While VRV does an excellent job accessing Crunchyroll, you still need to select the channel to see your usual choices versus just opening the platform and being blessed with the best anime titles straight away.
I prefer Crunchyroll for all my anime streaming needs because it’s more friendly on my wallet, and I like my shows filtered to only anime when I think about opening an anime streaming platform.
I’m not a big fan of standalone cartoons since I prefer the mainstream ones, which are usually available on other platforms like Disney+ and Netflix, so there really isn’t a big reason for me to spend extra for VRV.
The risk of VRV possibly making a full transfer to Crunchyroll in the near future is also present, and can deter potential new users from the platform.
Both platforms still have unique things to offer, and it’s really up to you which platform you feel you will get the most use out of.
I hope this article helps you make your decision on which streaming platform you should choose to watch your favorite anime-related shows for 2023.
