Are you wondering whether you should subscribe to Funimation or HBO Max? What’s the difference between Funimation vs. HBO Max, anyway, and which one is better for your needs? In this guide from Flixed, we’ll take a look at the similarities and differences between both of these video on demand (VOD) platforms, and help you decide which one may be right for you.
A quick overview of Funimation vs. HBO Max
Funimation is one of the leading anime streaming services in the United States, second only to Crunchyroll. Interestingly, it merged with Crunchyroll, and the Funimation service shut down on April 2, 2024, with subscribers moved to Crunchyroll. Funimation focuses exclusively on anime shows and movies. In the past, it used to mostly provide dubbed shows, but it has expanded its selection of subbed anime, too.
HBO Max is not focused on anime, and is a newer streaming service than Funimation. It’s quickly become very popular, since it has a ton of shows and movies from WarnerMedia, as well as a full lineup of HBO’s popular prestige shows and movies. Here’s how these streaming services stack up head-to-head:
| Funimation | HBO Max | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Premium: $7.99/month Premium Plus: $9.99/month | HBO Max Basic with Ads: $10.99/month HBO Max Standard: $18.49/month HBO Max Premium: $22.99/month |
| Free Trial Length | 14 Days | No free trial |
| Popular Content | Attack on Titan, Jujutsu Kaisen, Fire Force, Demon Slayer, One Piece | Succession, The Wire, Game of Thrones, Dune, The Righteous Gemstones |
| Original Content | None | Peacemaker, The Sex Lives Of College Girls, Clone High |
| Home Theater Features | Up to 1080p Stereo Sound | Up to 4K Dolby Vision HDR and HDR10 Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound and Dolby Digital Plus |
| Offline Viewing | Yes | Yes (Ad-Free) |
| Device Support | Web browsers, iOS, Android, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Xbox/PlayStation, select smart TVs | Web browsers, iOS, Android, Amazon Fire, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android TV, Xbox/PlayStation, select smart TVs |
| Simultaneous Streams | 2-5 | 2-4 |
Enjoy Funimation for half the price of HBO Max
Funimation is the winner here, with its most expensive plan, Premium Plus, matching HBO Max’s cheapest and offering much better features. Both of its plans are ad-free and give you access to its entire library of shows and movies, with subbed and dubbed viewing experiences available.
In contrast, HBO Max’s most expensive plan, Ultimate Ad-Free, costs double that of Funimation’s Premium Plus plan. And it’s cheapest plan, which costs the same as Premium Plus, is with ads and offers less simultaneous streams.
Take advantage of Funimation’s 14-day free trial
Source: Funimation
Funimation wins in this category too. With Funimation, you can get a one-time 14-day free trial of either subscription. That means you can try it out and watch some of your favorite shows for free, and see if you like it.
HBO Max doesn’t offer a free trial, though. You can get a 7-day free trial when you add HBO Max to other services like Hulu or Amazon, but not if you just want HBO Max by itself. Your only option is to watch a handful of free episodes that are available on its website, and you can only watch the very first episode of any given series.
HBO Max has a far more diverse content library
HBO Max wins here, but there’s a catch. Funimation is better if you like anime, but HBO Max is better for everything else. HBO Max has tons of dramas, comedies, blockbusters, and original shows, and even a few anime titles like Tokyo Revengers and Weathering With You. It also has exclusive streaming rights to the Studio Ghibli catalog in the US, which is a huge plus.
But since Funimation focuses on anime, it’s obviously much better on that front. HBO Max has only a few anime titles, while Funimation has hundreds of shows and tens of thousands of episodes. Anime lovers will be better off with this service.
What to watch on Funimation
Funimation has about 700 shows and related anime movies in its content library. As you’d expect, they exclusively focus on anime. You can watch dubbed shows as well as subs on some anime titles. Funimation doesn't currently produce any original shows, but licenses shows that air in Japan, instead. Some of its top titles include:
- Golden Kamuy
- Demon Slayer
- Attack On Titan
- Dragon Ball Super
- One Piece
What to watch on HBO Max
HBO Max has pretty much everything. From old-school sitcoms to prestige dramas and the latest blockbusters, you can find it all on this service. They also have a plethora of original content to watch. Some top titles include:
- The Righteous Gemstones
- Harley Quinn
- The Harry Potter franchise
- Friends
- The Batman
Experience HBO Max titles in 4K
HBO Max has support for features like 4K UHD, HDR10/Dolby Vision HDR, and Dolby Digital 5.1/Dolby Digital Plus on select titles. If you want to make the most of your home theater, it’s a better option.
Funimation just supports 1080p HD and stereo sound. This isn’t a bad thing, though. Most anime shows are produced at 720p or 1080p and in stereo, so you’ll still have a good viewing experience.
Download more shows and movies with HBO Max
Both HBO Max and Funimation offer offline viewing. However, HBO Max lets you download a wider range of shows, and has a higher limit on downloads. You can download up to 30 episodes or movies with the Ad-Free plan and 100 with the Ultimate Ad-Free plan. They’ll be deleted after 30 days, or 48 hours after you’ve started watching your video.
In contrast, Funimation only lets you download up to 13 videos at once with the Premium Plus plan. And if you download both the English dub and the Japanese sub of an episode, this counts as two videos, so you’ll have to keep this in mind when downloading shows for offline viewing. On the positive side, though, your downloads won’t expire until you delete them manually – there’s no time limit.
Both services have great device support
This is a tie. Funimation and HBO Max both support pretty much any streaming device you may want to use to watch anime, movies, or shows. This includes the following devices:
- iOS and Android
- Web browsers
- Amazon Fire
- Roku
- Apple TV
- Chromecast
- PlayStation/Xbox consoles
- Select smart TVs
Stream on more screens for a lower cost with Funimation
This category easily goes to Funimation, based on what you’re paying for. It’s Premium plan comes with two simultaneous streams, the same amount as HBO Max’s With Ads and Ad-Free plans.
With HBO Max’s Ultimate Ad-Free plan, you get six simultaneous streams. This is undoubtedly impressive, but for half the price, you’ll get five streams with Funimation’s Premium Plus plan.
Our takeaway: Anime fans will love Funimation
Our conclusions probably won’t surprise you. HBO Max is a better overall value for most cord-cutters, since it has a lot of highly-desirable content and a more diverse selection of movies and shows, with even a handful of anime shows sprinkled in.
But if you’re a true anime lover, Funimation is definitely better than HBO Max. It’s cheaper, offers great features, and has a huge selection of anime shows and movies. Sure, you won’t get shows like Succession, but if it’s anime you care about, that won’t really matter.
Eric Liston • Author
Eric Liston is a content writer based in Columbus, Ohio. Since 2015, he’s been writing about technology, cord-cutting, and helping everyday people save money. He also has expertise writing about medicine, dentistry, insurance, and a variety of other industries. No matter what he’s writing, his focus is always on simplifying complex concepts and making them approachable for everyone. When he’s not slamming away on his keyboard at his home office, you’ll find Eric reading sci-fi novels, improving his disc golf game (he just hit his first 400-foot drive) and playing video games on his gaming PC.
Davan Hamilton • Editor
Davan Hamilton is an editor and writer based in Jacksonville, FL. Holding a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, her writing spans a wide range, from essays on film criticism and analysis to surreal poetry. Now, she works for Flixed as an editor, continuing to ignore the list of passion projects she’s accumulated. When she’s not glued to her computer, you can find her building endless amounts of Lego sets, binge-reading manga, or playing with (fighting) her cat.
How To Watch
Flixed.io's contributors and editorial team will often recommend products we believe to be useful for our readers. We may receive an affiliate commission from product sales generated through these affiliate links.