Anime fans know that Crunchyroll is one of the best streaming platforms to access anime. However, the in-demand platform is only available in certain regions, with the entire library accessible to U.S.-only users. If you want to watch Crunchyroll without those pesky restrictions in the way, it’s time to go hunting for a Crunchyroll VPN.
Key Takeaways:
- Crunchyroll episodes are released within an hour of them going live in Japan.
- You’ll need a VPN if you want to watch Cruchyroll episodes outside of the U.S. due to geo-restrictions.
- ExpressVPN is our top Crunchyroll VPN, followed by NordVPN and Surfshark.
Fortunately for you, we’ve done the digging and finished the hard part of finding a secure virtual private network. With these VPN services, you can access Crunchyroll stream anime from anywhere. Keep reading to find out how you can get your Naruto running and sharingans on with the best Crunchyroll VPNs.
-
Crunchyroll is not legally allowed to stream certain animes in specific regions. As a result, it attempts to restrict VPNs that get past its geoblocks.
-
If you don’t want to spend money, then yes, but free VPNs aren’t the most reliable in unblocking Crunchyroll. You’re better off with a paid service like ExpressVPN, or free VPNs like Windscribe or ProtonVPN.
Top VPNs for Crunchyroll
At a Glance: The 7 Best VPNs for Crunchyroll
VPNs have a lot of benefits. They hide your IP address and maintain your internet anonymity no matter where you’re accessing the internet. VPN apps also encrypt all the traffic going in and out of your device.
It’s no trouble to find a VPN service, but hunting for one that can bypass the Crunchyroll VPN ban — now that’s where the challenge lies. We’ve compiled a list of the top VPNs to stream Crunchyroll with below. Here’s an at-a-glance view of the best VPN providers out there to get the job done.
- ExpressVPN — The best Crunchyroll VPN with unrivaled streaming ability
- NordVPN — Very fast with excellent security and good for torrenting
- Surfshark — Best budget Crunchyroll VPN
- Windscribe — Solid free option for Crunchyroll, plus unique build-a-plan option
- ProtonVPN — Another great free VPN option with free servers in the U.S.
- CyberGhost — Great budget VPN with excellent customization options
- Private Internet Access — Affordable but faces minor trouble with Crunchyroll’s geoblocks
When you access Crunchyroll with a reliable VPN, you can hide your actual location and tap into U.S. server locations to unblock Crunchyroll’s vast library of anime content.
It’s time to make the best of what Crunchyroll offers, no matter where you are in the world. Get past those Crunchyroll bans and start streaming your favorite Crunchyroll shows — be it a cultural phenomenon like Gintama or something more philosophical like Neon Genesis Evangelion.
The Best 7 VPNs for Crunchyroll
Without further ado, here are the top VPN services that unblock Crunchyroll today, starting with the best VPN for streaming, ExpressVPN.
ExpressVPN helps you unblock Crunchyroll with its excellent speed and features.
More Details About ExpressVPN:
- Pricing: cheapest plan costs $ 6.66 per month (Save 49 %)
- Website: expressvpn.com
Pros:
- Very fast U.S. servers
- Unrivaled streaming ability
- Offers kill switch, split-tunneling & no-log policy
- Incredibly secure
ExpressVPN is a premium service provider in the VPN market that goes hand-in-hand with unfettered Crunchyroll access. It has unparalleled speeds and offers A-grade security for its users.
The VPN software is also beginner-friendly and can be operated with a simple click of a button. You won’t have a hard time bouncing between streaming services or operating the VPN to get HD streaming on Crunchyroll.
Excellent Streaming & Security
ExpressVPN is the best VPN app in the market for watching Crunchyroll anime.
ExpressVPN provides what every VPN should aim for: maximum security. It comes equipped with a kill switch that ensures your location remains secure even if your connection to the VPN server dips. It also offers DNS leak protection and split tunneling, meaning you can be selective about which apps fall under the VPN’s protective bubble — a great feature for multitaskers.
The only disadvantage is the price. ExpressVPN is on the more expensive end, given its premium service. However, you can give ExpressVPN a try by using its 30-day money-back guarantee. Read our full ExpressVPN review to see why it is our favorite virtual private network.
ExpressVPN Plans
NordVPN has no problem getting around the Crunchyroll VPN ban.
More Details About NordVPN:
- Pricing: cheapest plan costs $ 3.71 per month (Save 69 %)
- Website: nordvpn.com
Pros:
- Very fast
- Cheap long term plans
- Over 1,970 U.S. servers
- Easy to use
Cons:
- Expensive monthly plans
If you’re in the market for a premium VPN provider, but you’re not too eager to shell out the big bucks, NordVPN should be your top pick. The VPN provider comes packed with features at a more affordable price than ExpressVPN, and it provides reliable access for unblocking content. It also offers a huge server count in the U.S., with almost 2,000 American VPN servers.
NordVPN also provides consistent speeds. Though not on par with ExpressVPN, it streams HD content without annoying buffering lags interrupting your nail-biting episode of My Hero Academia. You can also use up to six devices simultaneously if you’re sharing the account with roommates or siblings.
Double-Hop Servers
NordVPN’s a great alternative to ExpressVPN if you’re looking for something slightly easier on the pocket.
NordVPN also has double-hop servers, which means your connection gets routed through two encrypted locations instead of one. This can protect you from internet providers or agencies going through your data.
NordVPN’s monthly plans are on the expensive end, but if you opt for the long-term plans or even the annual one for that matter, you’ll make killer savings. The VPN also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can give NordVPN a try before making a full commitment to its services. Read our full NordVPN review for more details.
NordVPN
Surfshark makes a great budget VPN service to watch Crunchyroll.
More Details About Surfshark:
- Pricing: cheapest plan costs $ 2.49 per month (Save 81 %)
- Website: surfshark.com
Pros:
- Amazing price
- Unlimited devices on all plans
- Split tunneling for multitaskers
- Great speeds
You wouldn’t expect a VPN with a killer price to provide stellar speeds, but Surfshark certainly does the job well enough to have you bingeing your favorite anime. Its stand-out feature is its incredibly affordable price, especially on the two-year plan. It also offers unlimited simultaneous connections meaning you can stream, browse and torrent from as many of your devices as you want.
However, while its speeds are great once you’re connected, you may encounter some trouble getting that connection going at the start with some servers.
Security Features
Surfshark’s one of the most reliable budget-friendly options you can go with for streaming anime.
Security-wise, Surfshark has you covered. It’s based in the British Virgin Islands, so it’s out of jurisdiction from some of the U.S. and the U.K.’s snooping laws. It also offers the standard no-log policy, kill-switch and DNS leak protection to ensure your IP address remains safe and your internet identity uncompromised.
An extra bonus is that you can also use the VPN’s CleanWeb feature to block out ads and keep them from plaguing your sight as you stream your favorite anime.
If you don’t want to dive in with Surfshark despite the incredible pricing, the VPN offers a seven-day free trial on mobile devices. You can also check out the 30-day money-back guarantee before going with a long-term plan. Read our full Surfshark review for more details.
Surfshark Plans
- : Unlimited GB bandwidth,
Unlimited devices - : Unlimited GB
- : Unlimited
- :
Windscribe is our favorite free VPN, but we also love its unique build-a-plan option.
More Details About Windscribe:
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Gets into other streaming sites
- Unlimited simultaneous connections
Cons:
- Slower speeds
- No split tunneling
If you’re not keen on spending money just yet and want to test the waters with a free VPN for Crunchyroll, you should start with Windscribe. It’s the best free VPN in the market, offering 10GB of free data each month. Unfortunately, that’ll be “crunched” up fast, so we recommend you invest in the paid plan if you want the most value from the VPN.
However, Windscribe is also a great low-cost option as you can build your own plan that lets you add a server to your free plan for just $1 each — and that includes U.S. servers. The only downside is that Windscribe has a limited number of U.S. servers, so you won’t be able to switch around as much to get into the Crunchyroll library if one gets blocked.
Unlimited Simultaneous Connections
As far as free VPNs go, Windscribe is one of the few trustworthy ones.
Another benefit of this VPN is the unlimited simultaneous connections — you can share Windscribe across as many devices as you want without it affecting your streaming experience. However, it also has middling speeds, which can disrupt your episode streaming. The lack of split tunneling is a bummer too.
If you want to give Windscribe a shot, you can sign up for the free plan. Alternatively, you can also check out its 30-day money-back guarantee if you’re considering their paid or build a plan model. Read our full Windscribe review for more details.
Build a Plan
- : Per “Pro” server location
- : 10 GB
- : Unlimited
- :
Pro Plan
- : Unlimited GB
- : Unlimited
- :
ProtonVPN’s free plan offers unlimited data, but in only three server locations — luckily that includes the U.S.
More Details About ProtonVPN:
Pros:
- A solid free plan with no data limit
- Easy & user-friendly
- Split tunneling, kill switch & no-log policy
Cons:
- Expensive paid plans
- Slower speeds
Made by the team behind ProtonMail, the highly encrypted email service, ProtonVPN not only provides you with some of the best privacy features any VPN service can offer, but it’s also very good for streaming with zero data limits.
ProtonVPN is based in Switzerland, so it is protected by some of the world’s strongest privacy laws. The MIT and CERN scientist team behind this VPN firmly believes in open source, so the codes can be examined by anyone, providing that extra level of confidence for its users.
It also provides you with all the basic features like a no-log policy and a kill switch. ProtonVPN also has an edge over Windscribe as it offers a split tunneling feature.
Three Free VPN Server Locations
ProtonVPN is a free VPN alternative to Windscribe with U.S. servers to access Crunchyroll.
ProtonVPN’s main disadvantage is its inconsistent speed over the multiple servers provided. The free version of the VPN is also geoblocked in more locations than most other free service providers, but it does at least provide U.S. servers as part of the free plan. The big advantage of the free plan, though, is that your data isn’t capped — unlike Windscribe’s 10GB limit.
While ProtonVPN’s plans are a bit on the expensive side, the security features and privacy policies it provides are second to none. The VPN also provides you with a 30-day money-back policy, so you can always get a refund if this is not the service for you. The free plan is definitely worth a try. Read our full ProtonVPN review for more details.
CyberGhost offers plenty of U.S. servers to help you watch Crunchyroll.
More Details About CyberGhost:
- Pricing: cheapest plan costs $ 2.15 per month (Save 83 %)
- Website: cyberghostvpn.com
Pros:
- Extremely budget-friendly
- Very easy to setup and use
- Great for Crunchyroll
Cons:
- Decent speeds but not the fastest available
- Inconsistent with streaming access
If you’re on a budget and still need a great overall VPN service, CyberGhost is a good place to start looking. This service is one of the oldest VPN providers in the industry while also being one of the few VPNs to have dedicated servers for streaming — although accessing streaming services can be hit or miss sometimes.
CyberGhost is good for security and privacy, as it provides military-grade AES-256 encryption and necessary features like split tunneling and a kill switch — while also having a very strict no-log policy.
Streaming & Geoblocks
If you’re on a super tight budget, you should check out CyberGhost’s affordable plans.
CyberGhost VPN normally provides you with great streaming speeds for Crunchyroll without any buffers, but the consistency of speeds between servers is a little questionable. The streaming service has been geoblocked in China and UAE countries, so keep that in mind if you’re traveling to these destinations.
Not only does CyberGhost provide you with incredible streaming with an optimized server for Crunchyroll, the price (if you go for the two-year plan) is an incredible bang for your buck. An added plus is the extended 45-day money-back guarantee if you decide to unsubscribe from the service. Read our full CyberGhost review for more details.
CyberGhost Plans
PIA helps you unblock Crunchyroll from outside the U.S.
More Details About Private Internet Access:
Pros:
- Affordable
- Consistent speed across all servers
- Many encryption options
Cons:
- Faces minor trouble with Crunchyroll’s geoblocks
This VPN provider has not only been in the business for more than 10 years but also has some of the best protection for streaming. Since it’s based in the U.S, PIA provides you with plenty of U.S.-based servers for excellent streaming speed and quality with consistency.
PIA provides a reasonable price with consistent speeds to stream titles like Attack on Titan on Crunchyroll. It’s also 100% open source like ProtonVPN, while also ticking all the basic boxes for VPNs like secure protocols, kill switch, split tunneling and even torrenting support.
Crunchyroll Geoblocks
PIA is a solid VPN but with inconsistent performance with Crunchyroll.
However, for the lower price you’ll also have to settle for PIA not always getting past Crunchyroll’s geoblocks. It doesn’t work every time, so you’ll have to be patient.
The customer support is also not that great when compared to the competition where live chat is concerned. The support staff are inconsistent about responding on time, so you’ll most likely resort to using their email ticketing system instead.
If you’re looking for an affordable VPN service that offers great speeds and vast server support in the U.S. with consistency, Private Internet Access provides you that, with the bonus of a 30-day money-back policy. Read our full PIA review for more details.
Standard Plans
Do I Need a VPN for Crunchyroll?
If you’re thinking of catching up on the latest season of Attack on Titan or rewatching old classics like Death Note without the Netflix version’s inaccurate subtitles, Crunchyroll streaming is the best place to go. The best part about streaming anime with Crunchyroll is that all the episodes are released within an hour of them going live in Japan.
However, thanks to the platform’s geo-restrictions, the popular streaming service’s vast library of weeb content is only available to U.S. members. If you’re planning on a weeklong trip to Rome, you can bid sayonara to Crunchyroll content access while you’re there. That is, unless you have a VPN to save the day.
Final Thoughts: The Best Crunchyroll VPN
The best way to watch an episode right after it airs is by hopping onto Crunchyroll and streaming newly released episodes there. Using a VPN makes this possible from other countries outside the U.S.
ExpressVPN is the best Crunchyroll VPN option out there, but NordVPN is close on its heels — though the five other VPN recommendations are worth considering, depending on your needs.
What about you? Do you watch anime from outside the U.S., and if so, what VPN do you use to access Crunchyroll? Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading and ganbatte on your anime streaming adventures this year.
Let us know if you liked the post. That’s the only way we can improve.
