# Crunchyroll vs Sift

The clearest difference is ads: Sift at none against Crunchyroll's shown. Sift also leads on update cadence (daily vs weekly) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). Crunchyroll's advantage is chart position (#5 vs unranked). On price, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Crunchyroll sells 15 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month and Sift sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Crunchyroll ships an update weekly, Sift daily. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Crunchyroll | Sift |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (1.5M ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/crunchyroll/id329913454/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **1.5M** | — |
| Positive reviews | 47.1% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Weekly | **Daily** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Best chart rank | **#5** | — |
| Size | 242 MB | 59 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Vision Pro** | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Crunchyroll, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/329913457) | [Duwit Technologies](https://appshunter.io/developer/1724155729) |

## What reviewers say

### Crunchyroll

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/crunchyroll/id329913454)

**Currently charting:** #5 Top Grossing · Entertainment, #10 Top Grossing, #40 Top Free · Entertainment (US App Store)

Stream a vast library of anime shows, movies, and exclusive music content. Enjoy ad-free viewing, simulcasts from Japan, and personalized recommendations. Download episodes for offline playback and access exclusive games.

**Highlights:** Stream new and classic anime episodes, Ad-free and high-quality viewing, Exclusive music videos and concerts, Subbed and dubbed anime options, Simulcast episodes from Japan, Offline viewing, Crunchyroll Originals

**Features:** SharePlay, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (15)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Anime Membership | $7.99 | per month |
| Anime Membership | $7.99 | per month |
| Fan | $9.99 | per month |
| All-Access Membership | $11.99 | per month |
| All-Access Membership | $11.99 | per month |
| Monthly Premium+ Membership | $11.99 | per month |
| Mega Fan  Monthly | $13.99 | per month |
| Fan Manga Bundle | $13.99 | per month |
| Mega Fan Manga Bundle | $17.49 | per month |
| Ultimate Fan | $17.99 | per month |
| Fan | $79.99 | per year |
| Crunchyroll Premium Membership | $99.99 | per year |
| Mega Fan  Annual | $139.99 | per year |
| Ultimate Fan | $149.99 | per year |
| Ultimate Fan Annual | $179.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great app for watching anime
- 👍 Huge variety of anime content
- 👍 Affordable premium subscription
- 🚀 Smooth app performance

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💥 Too many ads for free users
- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and bugs
- 🔒 Logging out issues and account problems
- 🔍 Limited content selection compared to other services

**Reported bugs**

- Subtitles not working or out of sync
- Video playback issues and freezing
- Login/logout problems and account management bugs

**Requested features**

- Add skip intro/outro feature
- Improve ad placement and reduce frequency
- Implement user profiles and watch history management
- Expand content library with more anime titles


### Sift

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sift-chat-wrapped/id6762253833)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Sift Weekly | $1.99 | per 7 days |
| Sift Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Sift Annual | $42.49 | per year |
| Sift Lifetime | $89.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Crunchyroll free?

Crunchyroll is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Sift free?

Sift is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Crunchyroll or Sift have ads?

Crunchyroll shows ads; Sift does not.

### Which is updated more often, Crunchyroll or Sift?

Crunchyroll ships an update weekly, and Sift daily. Most recently, Crunchyroll was updated on October 27, 2026 and Sift on October 24, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*