The Best Streaming Websites to Watch Anime in 2025
Finding where to watch anime used to be a challenge for fans outside of Japan. A few top shows made it to platforms in the US, Canada, Australia, and elsewhere, but the viewing experience was often subpar because of bad dubbing and additional editing.
Now, anime streaming sites give fans around the world access to loads of content that’s dubbed to perfection. Plus, many titles start streaming within hours of their premiere in Japan.
Unfortunately, content catalogs vary from country to country, so you might miss out on your favorite shows when you’re traveling abroad. To avoid this, watch with PIA VPN and connect to a streaming-optimized server in your home country to access your usual library.
How to Access the Best Sites to Watch Anime Anywhere
Whether you prefer your anime hand-drawn or computer-animated, PIA VPN ensures you can stream without interruptions.
- Get PIA VPN.
- Connect to a streaming-optimized server.
- Access your preferred anime streaming site and press play.
Table of Contents
The 10 Best Anime Websites for Streaming ShowsWhy Do You Need a VPN for Streaming?
Why PIA Is the Best VPN for Streaming
FAQ
The 10 Best Anime Websites for Streaming Shows
We’ve rounded up a selection of the 10 best websites to stream your favorite anime titles worldwide – from Australia to Canada, India, the UK, and elsewhere in Europe.
1. Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll is often touted as the best place to watch anime – and for good reason. The site has the largest licensed library of anime of any streaming service, much of which is subtitled and dubbed. On top of on-demand content, top shows like Dr Stone, Dragon Ball Diama, and Zenshu are simulcast as they’re released in Japan.
You can watch many titles for free with ads, but some of the most popular anime series and their simulcasts are only accessible with a Premium subscription.
2. Hulu
Streaming giant Hulu offers an excellent selection of anime titles, making it a great choice if you’re looking for a platform that can give you access to your favorite Japanese animations and critically acclaimed original programming.
One drawback is that Hulu is only available in the US. That means that you might run into a location error message if you try to stream while you’re traveling abroad. Fixing this is relatively simple though – just get a VPN and connect to a server in the US before you stream.
3. AnimeKai
Fans who are looking for free anime websites without ads will love AnimeKai. It’s particularly good if you want to stream older anime series. Many of the classics offered on the platform have been upscaled, so you can watch them in the highest possible quality.
As it’s a relatively new player in the anime game, the library is a little limited. Plus, some shows are offered only with subtitles and no dubbing.
Anime is all about adventure, so you shouldn’t be restricted to watching it in one place. PIA VPN has streaming-optimized servers across the world that ensure you can always access your favorite anime platforms – even when you’re traveling abroad.
4. Animepahe
Animepahe is an “okay-ish anime website,” but that’s only if you believe the site’s tagline. As far as many viewers are concerned, it’s the best platform to watch anime for free. It has a lightweight player that offers reliable video playback – albeit with a lot of ads.
The site is extremely simple, allowing you to scroll through the latest releases on the home page, search the library, or browse the show index by title.
5. AnimeZ
With one of the largest libraries of any of the anime streaming services around, AnimeZ is one of the best free anime sites. It has a reliable self-hosted server that makes it easy to access shows – most of which are ad-free – any time you like.
Although it has a ginormous catalog, the search function isn’t great. This means that it can sometimes be a bit of a struggle to find the title you want to watch.
6. UniqueStream
Another relative newcomer to the anime scene, UniqueStream offers some of the most popular shows – pulled from the Crunchyroll library – in full HD and subtitled in a variety of languages. It’s also one of the best streaming services for anime movies, with new titles regularly added to the catalog.
You can stream most of the anime without running into ads in the video. However, you’ll likely have to compete with popup ads when you click on show cards and buttons around the site.
Some networks, like those at offices and schools, block streaming to minimize distractions. That’s not ideal when you want to watch the latest episode of your favorite anime during your lunch break. Fortunately, a VPN makes it easy to beat these restrictions so you can stream anywhere.
7. HiDive
HiDive is the best anime streaming service for dubs. Aside from having the widest range of dubbed anime series, the platform also features some exclusive shows that you won’t get anywhere else. Plus, the monthly subscription is one of the most reasonable out of all the anime streaming services.
While you can rest easy knowing that all of the titles you watch are streaming under license, this does mean that many shows can only be accessed in select countries or regions.
8. YouTube
If you’re looking for a convenient platform to watch top shows, this will be one of the best anime websites for you. Viewers in South and Central Asia can access the popular Ani-One Asia channel to watch anime for free. Plus, there are a bunch of community videos, clips, and even anime music videos available to viewers worldwide.
Although there’s a lot of anime content on YouTube, a lot of this has low-quality video and poor quality subtitles. Both of which can make your viewing experience less than exceptional.
Some ISPs will slow your connection speed when they detect that you’re streaming anime – or anything else – leading to buffering and long load times. A VPN can help you avoid this content-based throttling by encrypting your connection and hiding your online activity.
9. HiAnime
Formerly known as Zoro and aniwatch.to, HiAnime is a longstanding streaming platform and one of the best sites to watch anime. It has a reliable streaming server and offers most of the shows in its large library with subtitles in multiple languages.
That said, the typesetting of the subtitles is often broken, which can make them difficult to read. Plus, you’ll have to dodge a lot of ads before you can start playing shows.
10. Netflix
Netflix is a convenient choice if you’re looking for an all-in-one streaming service where you can watch anime and a bunch of other content. Although its anime collection is limited, it does include popular titles like One Piece and Avatar: The Last Airbender, alongside a range of original shows.
Besides the small library, Netflix is quite pricey and its content library varies from country to country. That means you aren’t guaranteed to find the same titles in your library if you log in from a different location.
Why Do You Need a VPN for Streaming?
A VPN can help you stay connected to your favorite streaming service so you can stream anime and other content any time, anywhere:
- Traveling abroad: Use a VPN to mask your IP address and virtually relocate yourself to your home country to maintain access to your usual platforms and content libraries.
- Stream on restricted networks: Get around streaming blocks on networks like those at work or school to watch without interruptions.
- Avoid ISP throttling: Hide your online activity to avoid slowdowns and buffering caused by content-based ISP throttling.
- Stay safe on any network: With VPN encryption, your data stays safe from hackers, so you don’t have to worry about anyone snooping on your online activity.
Why PIA Is the Best VPN for Streaming
PIA is a top VPN service with powerful features that are designed to enhance your viewing experience, so you can stream content on the best anime websites and other streaming platforms without any hassle.
Its massive 10-Gbps server network covers 91 countries and features streaming-optimized servers in key locations, ensuring you can watch your favorite shows in HD or 4K without buffering on your preferred streaming service.
There’s no need to worry about streaming blocks limiting access, either. PIA’s robust VPN encryption helps you bypass restrictions, enabling you to watch on any network. Plus, it keeps your connection private so that you can stream safely anywhere, even when connected to public Wi-Fi networks.
With native VPN apps for Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Amazon Fire TV Stick, and other popular streaming devices, it is easy to set PIA up on your preferred device.
What’s more, every subscription comes with unlimited bandwidth, so you can binge-watch as much as you like without slowdowns. And if you ever need help with your VPN, the PIA customer support team is available to help 24/7.
FAQ
Licensed platforms like Crunchyroll, HiDive, Netflix, and Hulu are the safest options for streaming anime. They’re paid platforms that give you legal access to anime content and keep you safe from the malware and intrusive ads you’ll likely find on many free sites.
Crunchyroll is the best website to watch anime. It has a massive library of titles, many of which come with subtitles and dubbing. The platform also offers simulcasts of some shows, so you can watch them at the same time they’re released in Japan.
Crunchyroll in the US has the largest anime library, with over 1,300 series and films in its catalog. Unfortunately, not all of its other country catalogs are as extensive. When you’re traveling abroad, you can use a VPN to change your virtual location and stay connected to the US library.
Although it’s often praised as being the best platform to watch anime for free, 9anime is an illegal website as it streams anime without proper licensing. This means that it’s often shut down, and puts you at risk of accessing malicious sites when you search for it.
Crunchyroll is way better than Hulu for anime. Although Hulu features some popular anime titles in its library, Crunchyroll has the largest library of anime on any streaming platform and offers simulcasts of top shows.
If you’re looking for a streaming platform that offers a good mix of anime and other content, you’ll want to choose Hulu. It has a much wider selection of anime shows and movies in its library than Netflix.
Crunchyroll is your only choice here. It merged with Funimation in 2022, combining their libraries to give Crunchyroll subscribers access to an extensive library of subtitled and dubbed anime content.
Watching anime on illegal websites exposes you to legal risks, malware, and intrusive ads. They also don’t support anime creators. It’s best to stick to legal platforms like Crunchyroll or Hulu for a safer experience and to support your favorite anime creators, ensuring you get more shows to come.
Can I use a VPN to watch a streaming service in another country?
Some VPN users may use a server in another country, where a certain streaming service is available, to connect to that service. While we cannot see what you are doing online due to our no-logs policy, this goes against our terms of service and is not acceptable.
PIA VPN puts your privacy first and we don’t track our users’ activity. That said, you should always comply with relevant laws, including copyright.