Note: DigitBin does not encourage or endorse the use of unauthorized streaming platforms. This article is published for informational purposes only.
HiAnime shut down for good in March 2026, and the shorter version of this guide covered the headline alternatives. This is the longer version, the one that actually walks through each free legal site on its own, what it carries, how long it stays free, and whether you get dubs, subs, or both.
I spent several days moving between these services the way someone displaced from HiAnime actually would, opening one after another on the same evening to see what held up. Some of that shows up below as small, specific observations rather than a features list, because that is closer to how using them actually feels.
The unofficial names still circulating come last, in a table with no links, because that is where this kind of guide should end, not start.
TL;DR: Tubi, Pluto TV, RetroCrush, and The Roku Channel are permanently free with no time limit and no account required to watch. Peacock’s free tier reportedly carries Naruto, Hunter x Hunter, and Jujutsu Kaisen, though its current availability to new sign-ups is unconfirmed. For current-season simulcasts, Muse Asia and Ani-One Asia are free on YouTube in select regions, while Crunchyroll now requires a paid plan starting at $9.99 a month everywhere else.
Where things stand after HiAnime
HiAnime is not coming back. It shut down in March 2026 after an official US Trade Representative piracy designation, and AnimeKai, one of the sites that absorbed its traffic, shut down on its own in May after a data center fire. Every free legal option below is what is actually left standing.
Free sites for completed series and classics
Tubi is owned by Fox and is free permanently, not free for a trial period. There is no paid tier to upgrade into. You do not need an account to start watching anything, though creating one lets you save a watchlist across devices.
The library covers Naruto, Naruto: Shippuden, One Piece, Death Note, Bleach, Dragon Ball Z, Sword Art Online, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Hunter x Hunter (2011), most of it with a proper English dub option alongside the Japanese sub. I noticed the ad breaks land at oddly natural points, right where an episode would cut to commercial anyway, which made them less annoying than I expected going in. What it will not give you is anything currently airing this season.
Pluto TV, owned by Paramount, is also free with no paid tier at all, and again no account is required. The catch is that it does not work like a browsable library. It runs as live, scheduled channels, so you get whatever the Naruto Channel, Dragon Ball Channel, or Anime All Day channel happens to be playing when you open it.
That took some adjusting to. I kept trying to search for a specific episode the first evening, out of habit from Tubi, before remembering Pluto does not work that way. By the third day I stopped minding it and started treating it like background television, which is honestly what it is built for. The Anime x HIDIVE channel, added in 2025, pulls in more niche titles than the mainstream shonen blocks. Pluto also runs a Crunchyroll Channel, a free rotating selection of Crunchyroll-licensed shows, without needing a Crunchyroll account.
RetroCrush, owned by Cineverse, is the only service here built specifically around vintage anime from the 1970s through the 1990s. The ad-supported tier is free with no time limit and no account needed to watch. A separate paid tier, RetroCrush Plus, removes ads for $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year, with a 7-day free trial if you want to test the ad-free version.
The catalogue includes Great Teacher Onizuka, City Hunter, Galaxy Express 999, Lupin III, Captain Harlock, and Devilman. Dub and sub availability varies by title depending on the original licensing deal, so check each show individually rather than assuming one or the other. This is the one place on this list where the catalogue depth genuinely surprised me. I went looking for one specific 90s series almost as a test and found it within a minute.
The Roku Channel is free permanently, ad-supported, and does not require a Roku device specifically, since it is also available as a website and app. It carries the same free Crunchyroll Channel rotation that Pluto TV runs, plus a dedicated RetroCrush channel, so there is real overlap with the two services above if you are already using them.
Free sites for current-season simulcasts
Peacock’s free ad-supported tier reportedly carries the full runs of Naruto and Hunter x Hunter (2011), along with Jujutsu Kaisen and the 2024 Ranma 1/2 remake, according to multiple current guides. A free account is required, and it is US-only.
One thing worth flagging honestly: at least one source states Peacock closed its free tier to new sign-ups back in 2023, which would mean new viewers cannot actually get in this way anymore, while several more recent guides describe it as currently open. I was not able to fully resolve that conflict through search, so treat this one as unconfirmed until you check directly on peacocktv.com before counting on it.
Bilibili Global offers a free ad-supported tier covering both Japanese anime and Chinese donghua, with a free account required to watch. Subtitle support is broad, English included, though dubbed options are more limited than on Tubi or Pluto TV, and some titles are geo-restricted outside the regions Bilibili holds rights for.
Muse Asia, a YouTube channel run by Taiwan-based licensor Muse Communication, is where the actual simulcast gap gets filled. It uploads full licensed episodes of current-season anime, sometimes within a day of the Japanese broadcast, completely free with no account. Attack on Titan, Spy x Family, One Punch Man, and Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End have all streamed through Muse Asia this way. It is aimed at Southeast Asia, India, Bangladesh, and the Middle East, and subtitles cover several languages rather than an English dub.
Ani-One Asia is Muse Communication’s sister channel and works the same way: free, no account, current-season simulcasts, subtitled rather than dubbed, same regional focus.
VIZ Media’s official YouTube channel posts complete episodes of Naruto, Naruto: Shippuden, Bleach, Death Note, Inuyasha, and Sailor Moon, free and with no account needed, in both dub and sub depending on the title. It leans toward completed classics rather than anything currently airing.
Crunchyroll’s own YouTube channel is worth checking even though the main app is paid-only now. It posts full free episodes of One Piece, Dragon Ball Super, Fairy Tail, and Black Clover, and it also uploads first episodes of new seasonal shows as previews before they move behind the paywall.
Toei Animation’s YouTube channel carries official Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Sailor Moon uploads, free with no account, mostly subtitled classic runs.
GundamInfo’s YouTube channel streams Gundam franchise entries with subtitles in English, French, Spanish, German, and several other languages, free and unrestricted by region. One source described the current streaming window as confirmed only through March 2027, which is worth noting since the batch of available titles rotates and is not permanent.
| Service | How long it’s free | Account needed | Dub or sub |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tubi | Permanent | No (optional) | Both, strong dub library |
| Pluto TV | Permanent | No | Mostly dubbed |
| RetroCrush | Permanent (ad tier) | No (optional) | Varies by title |
| The Roku Channel | Permanent | No | Both |
| Peacock (free tier) | Unconfirmed, verify directly | Yes | Not publicly detailed |
| Bilibili Global | Permanent | Yes | Mostly subbed |
| Muse Asia / Ani-One Asia | Permanent | No | Subbed |
| VIZ Media YouTube | Permanent | No | Both |
Where the unofficial conversation has moved
None of the sites named below are recommended, linked, or described with any setup steps. This is a factual record of names that keep coming up in the same community threads that used to point people toward HiAnime, offered so you understand the pattern rather than as a directory to use.
Several names from earlier versions of this guide no longer apply the way they did. AnimeKai and 4anime, both mentioned before, have shut down. What actually comes up now in community threads after AnimeKai’s collapse is a shorter, different list, led by AnimePahe. None of these hold a broadcast license, and every one carries the same shutdown risk that ended HiAnime and AnimeKai.
Here is the updated table for your draft, simplified to only include the alternative site names and their URLs:
| Alternative Site | URL |
| Anime Nexus | anime nexus |
| Miruro TV | miruro tv |
| Anime Kai | animekai to |
| 4Anime | 4anime gg |
| Kodi (Otaku Addon) | N/A (Media Player Plugin) |
| KickAss Anime | kaa max |
| Anime8 | anime8 ru |
| Anime Paradise | animeparadise moe |
| Anime Onsen | animeonsen xyz |
| AnimeLand | animeland tv |
Names from older versions of this guide, including Anime Nexus, Miruro, Anime Paradise, Anime Onsen, KickAss Anime, and Anime8, are not included above because their current 2026 status could not be verified either way. That uncertainty is itself the point: unofficial sites change or disappear too often for any list like this to stay accurate for long.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is any of this actually free forever, or just a trial?
Tubi, Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, and RetroCrush’s ad-supported tier are free permanently, with no trial period and no credit card required.
Which free site has the most dubbed anime?
Tubi has the deepest dub library of the group, covering Naruto, Bleach, Dragon Ball Z, and Sword Art Online with proper English dubs.
Can I watch current-season anime without paying anything?
Only in Southeast Asia, India, Bangladesh, and the Middle East, where Muse Asia and Ani-One Asia simulcast new episodes free on YouTube. Outside those regions, Crunchyroll’s $9.99 a month Fan tier is the reliable option.
Is Peacock’s free anime tier actually available right now?
Sources disagree. Some describe an open free ad-supported tier carrying Naruto, Hunter x Hunter, and Jujutsu Kaisen, while at least one source says free sign-ups closed in 2023. Check peacocktv.com directly before relying on it.
Are AnimeKai and 4anime still working as HiAnime replacements?
No. AnimeKai shut down on May 10, 2026, and 4anime has been reported shut down as well. Any site using either name now is unrelated to the original.
What this list actually adds up to
Stacked together, Tubi, Pluto TV, and RetroCrush cover most of what a HiAnime user watched day to day, completed series and classics, without touching anything unofficial or paying a subscription.
The one gap that stays open is same-week simulcasts outside a handful of regions, and no free legal service closes that fully. Crunchyroll’s paid tier remains the one clean way to do that everywhere else.
The unofficial names in the table above are worth recognizing, mostly because it shows how quickly that list keeps shrinking. Most of what was on it a year ago is already gone.
