The global anime streaming market is a rather small one. Particularly here in Australia. Crunchyroll is by far the most popular dedicated streaming service in the space, but streaming giants like Netflix have been making a concerted effort to take that crown for themselves. Enter a new challenger: HIDIVE.
What is HIDIVE?
HIDIVE is a dedicated anime streaming service that offers simulcast Japanese anime streams, exclusive TV shows, English dubs, and subtitles in English, Portuguese, and Spanish. It is owned by Sentai Filmworks, a subsidiary of AMC Networks.
It offers downloadable titles for offline viewing and two simultaneous streams. It has a significantly smaller library than its main competitor, Crunchyroll, with approximately 150 titles, primarily comprising TV series.
When the HIDIVE streaming app first started to take off in 2020, it offered a Watch Party chat feature, which allowed users to live chat during streams and simulcasts, but the chat feature was removed back in 2023.
Here in Australia, HIDIVE is available as a standalone streaming service but also as an Amazon Prime Video add-on, meaning you can technically stream HIDIVE on any device that Prime Video is already available on.
Dodo's NBN 500 Unlimited plan is our pick for the best NBN 500 plan for September.
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Dodo
FTTP, HFC
Editor's Pick
nbn500 Unlimited Plan
$62.99/mth
Min. cost $62.99
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How much does HIDIVE cost in Australia?
HIDIVE costs $8.99 per month when paid monthly or $89.99 per year when paid upfront annually. That’s the same whether you sign up for a standalone service or as a Prime Video Channel add-on.
HIDIVE offers a 7-day free trial regardless of the plan you choose. Even the HIDIVE Amazon Prime Video Channel offers a 7-day free trial.
What can I watch on HIDIVE in Australia?
HIDIVE offers a niche selection of anime content, particularly exclusive content from Sentai Studios. You won’t find mega-popular shows like Demon Slayer and My Hero Academia, but HIDIVE does have deeper cuts like Food Wars! and Parasyte and a few classics like Lupin the 3rd.
A fun game to play is: Is it HIDIVE anime or an essay by David Foster Wallace?
- Twittering Birds Never Fly
- Jellyfish Can’t Swim at Night
- How I Attended An All-Guys Mixer
- Gushing All Over Magical Girls
- Humanity Has Declined
- I’ve Somehow Gotten Stronger When I Improved my Farm-Related Skills
- From Bureaucrat to Villainess: Dad’s Been Reincarnated?
- Bang Dreamz
- The Dreaming Boy is a Realist
Trick question. Those are all anime titles available on HIDIVE.
HIDIVE offers English dubs on most of its content as well as subtitles in English, Portuguese, and Spanish. There is also a ‘Schedule’ tab in the HIDIVE web player with dates and times for upcoming simulcasts straight from Japan.
HIDIVE vs Crunchyroll
The difference between Crunchyroll and HIDIVE is immense. Here in Australia, Crunchyroll currently offers over 1,400 titles, with heavy-hitters like Attack on Titan, Dragon Ball Z available as well as new anime hits like Kaiju No.8 and The Apothecary Diaries. HIDIVE, on the other hand, has a more limited selection with roughly 140 titles at the time of writing.
Crunchyroll plans are a little more expensive, starting at $10.99 per month and costing up to $13.99 per month for the Mega Fan plan (which offers offline viewing and streaming on four devices) but it also gets you a lot more than HIDIVE's $8.99 per month deal.
Do see how HIDIVE's plans compare take a look at Crunchyroll's plans below:
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Crunchyroll
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Crunchyroll
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Crunchyroll
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More streaming deals
Looking for something to stream tonight but don't want to pay full price? We've rounded up the best deals from Australia's major streaming services.
These are the most popular NBN 50 plans with WhistleOut users this week:
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#1
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Dodo
All Fixed Line nbn®
Editor's Pick
nbn50 Unlimited Plan
$57.99/mth
Min. cost $57.99
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#2
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amaysim
All Fixed Line nbn®
NBN50
$75/mth
Min. cost $75
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#3
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Belong
All Fixed Line nbn®
NBN Standard Plus – Unlimited
$55/mth
Min. cost $55
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#4
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Tangerine Telecom
All Fixed Line nbn®
Value Plus NBN 50/20
$64.90/mth
Min. cost $64.90
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#5
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Superloop
All Fixed Line nbn®
Extra-value nbn50/20
$69/mth
Min. cost $69
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#6
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TPG
All Fixed Line nbn®
nbn50 Unlimited Plan
$69.99/mth
Min. cost $69.99
Link not supplied
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#7
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iiNet
All Fixed Line nbn®
nbn50 Liimitless
$69.99/mth
+ $10 Upfront
Min. cost $79.99
Link not supplied
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#8
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Kogan Internet
All Fixed Line nbn®
Silver Unlimited
$69.90/mth
Min. cost $69.90
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#9
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Flip
All Fixed Line nbn®
Unlimited Family nbn50
$68/mth
Min. cost $68
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#10
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Vodafone
All Fixed Line nbn®
Essential+ nbn®
$94/mth
Min. cost $94
Link not supplied
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Brodie Fogg
Managing Editor - Streaming
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