The Best Free Anime Streaming Sites of 2021

Anime has had a rocky road to where it is now. It began with low engagement, poor dubbing, westernization of perfectly good eastern productions and the coming and going of studios and technologies. From those humble days of VHS tapes shared around the classroom to top quality HD streams, anime has come such a long way.

Is it still possible to legally access good quality content without having to pay? Unsurprisingly, you have plenty of options to stream anime online—but not every site is as good as the rest. These five sites are the best free anime streaming services in 2021.

KissAnime

When it comes to watching anime online, it’s tough to beat KissAnime. The site has been around for as long as we can remember, making it well established with a good reputation. With its popularity, the site does go down from time to time, but it always seems to respawn after just a bit of offline time. It’s a lot like The Pirate Bay of anime-specific sites: it’s attacked more than any other site, but it always comes back.

The site features an unbeatable collection of anime, from legacy titles to new releases, with both subs and dubs available online. Quality is strong, buffering is minimal and the click-through content is easy enough to use without getting lost in the weeds. It’s a fantastic website, and well worth its reputation.

Anime Twist

Are you looking for a truly ad-free site? Look no further than Anime Twist, a site that features no advertisements and a huge library of anime to pick from. If you’re a fan of dubbing, however, you’re going to want to avoid it—like many newer anime sites, Anime Twist only features subs. Some of the shows are only listed with their Japanese titles, so make sure you type in the correct phrases to find your shows in search. Likewise, you’re only dealing with one source, and it’s hosted locally, so if you like having variety in how you stream, you might want to look elsewhere.

In our opinion though, Anime Twist is one of the best ways online today to stream your favorite shows. As long as you can get past the smaller library size compared to sites like KissAime, Anime Twist provides subtitled shows in glorious HD—and you won’t even need an ad-blocker to do it. Anime Twist is funded by donations, so if you like what they do, consider donating.

AnimeVibe

AnimeVibe is a lot like Anime Twist: it features no ads, relies on the donations of fine viewers like yourself, and uses Japanese titles as opposed to translated titles to sort through its library. That said, AnimeVibe features a few distinct differences from Anime Twist, including support for dubbed shows and multiple hosting sources. It also has a great layout and user design that makes it super easy to find the show you’re looking for. As with any ad-free, donation-based source, we suggest you donate to the site if you find yourself streaming.

AnimeVibe also has downloadable videos, so you can take your favorite anime on the go without having to keep a mobile network active.

9Anime

Moving back to larger libraries like KissAnime, 9Anime is another well-established anime streaming site worthy of mention. Unlike our previous two sites, you’re going to want an ad-blocker to browse through 9Anime, since the site is absolutely full of them. It’s hard to compete with the library size though, especially for underrated new content and older, forgotten legacy shows you might want to check out. The site supports subs and dubs and multiple sources, with all videos hosted by Google. It’s a good site, even if it’s not perfect, and it’s well worth checking out if you can bear the ads.

FireAnime

Are you streaming on a Fire Stick or an Android TV device? If you’re just looking for a straightforward application that doesn’t require the need for Kodi, FireAnime is the perfect option. Developed by an unofficial modder, FireAnime was designed for Android TV and Fire OS, and it’s the perfect application for streaming anime online to your device. The app has a solid interface, making it easy to discover and find new episodes and shows for binging, and the app is regularly updated through the platform’s subreddit online. As of this year, the app now supports outside video players like MXPlayer or VLC, and can stream from multiple options online.

The app is still a work in progress, so keep an eye on updates and watch the subreddit to make sure the app doesn’t go down. You can check out more anime apps for your Fire Stick in our guide here.

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Have any other anime sources you love streaming from? Let us know in the comments below!