WEBTOON: Manga, Comics, Manhwa

Review by eFreeware

If you already read webcomics on your phone, or you have been meaning to start, WEBTOON is probably the first place to look. It is a free app from NAVER WEBTOON that gathers a very large catalog of webcomics, manga and manhwa in one place, with millions of episodes available at no cost and a community built around following series as they update. The install numbers back up the scale: more than 100 million downloads and a 4.6 average across over 4.6 million ratings.

What that means in practice is a library deep enough to fill months of reading. You can pick a genre, follow a handful of series, and let the app tell you when something new lands. The app is free to download and supported by ads, with in-app purchases for those who want more than the free catalog gives them.

A catalog built for long reading sessions

The core of the app is reading. Episodes are organized by series, and the selection spans action, romance, thriller and plenty of territory in between. Because the catalog is so wide, the useful skill is narrowing rather than finding: following a few series and subscribing to them keeps new chapters from getting lost in the noise.

The catalog also reaches beyond original webcomics. The developer lists licensed graphic novels and familiar properties alongside the originals, including Fullmetal Alchemist, Batman: Wayne Family Adventures, Godzilla, Avatar: The Last Airbender and From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman. That mix gives the app two audiences at once: readers who come for the serialized webcomic format and readers who want recognizable titles in the same reader.

Several of the platform's originals have moved into television and film, with adaptations of Tower of God, True Beauty, Sweet Home and Marry My Husband appearing on streaming services. For readers who arrive after watching an adaptation, the app is where those stories began.

Video episodes and the Watch tab

Reading is not the only format here. WEBTOON now includes Video Episodes, which the developer offers free and describes as a way to experience fan-favorite stories in motion. Highlights and new video episodes also sit in that tab.

I would treat this as a companion to the reading experience rather than a replacement. It gives a series a second life for people who already follow it, and it works as a way to sample a story before committing to a long run of chapters. Whether a given series has video episodes is a per-series matter rather than something the app guarantees across the catalog.

Coins, ads and what the free tier covers

The app carries ads, and it sells in-app purchases in the form of Coins, which the developer says unlock premium content such as full series access and early episode access.

That structure is worth understanding before you settle in. A series you follow normally may have episodes available ahead of the free schedule for readers who spend Coins, so patience is a real alternative to paying. If you read widely and want to stay current on several series at once, Coins are the lever the app gives you; if you are happy to read at the free pace, the catalog is still substantial.

The content rating is Teen, which is a reasonable guide to the general tone of the catalog rather than a description of every series in it.

Following series and talking back

WEBTOON is as much a community as a reader. You can subscribe to the series you follow, and each series has a comments section where readers respond to episodes as they arrive. For serialized storytelling, that layer matters: weekly chapters become something to discuss rather than something to consume alone.

The comments also give new readers a way in. A series with an active thread is easier to judge before you invest hours in it, and the back-and-forth around a big reveal is part of why people keep up with a story week to week. If you prefer to read quietly and skip the discussion entirely, nothing forces you into it.

Publishing through CANVAS

The app is not only for readers. CANVAS is a publishing platform inside WEBTOON that lets creators post their own webcomics and reach a global audience. The developer frames it as a place to share a story and build a following.

For someone who draws or writes and wants an audience without building a website or an audience from scratch, that is a meaningful part of the package. The same app that supplies reading material also supplies readers.

Where the app asks something of you

The trade-offs here are mostly about attention and money rather than missing features. The catalog is large enough that discovery takes effort; without subscribing to series and pruning your list, it is easy to end up with a long queue and no clear next read. The Watch tab helps, but it is a browsing surface.

The second consideration is the Coin system. Free reading is the default, and premium access costs money, which means the app can be either entirely free or a recurring expense depending on how you read. Ads are present as well. Neither is unusual for a free comics platform of this size, but both are worth going in with your eyes open.

The app was released in July 2014 and receives ongoing updates; the most recent one listed is a set of minor bug fixes, which suggests maintenance rather than a major overhaul.

A deep library for serial readers

WEBTOON is best suited to people who read comics in serialized form and want a large, active catalog to follow over time. If you like having several series running at once, enjoy the discussion around weekly chapters, or want a place to publish your own work, the app covers all three without asking for payment up front. The scale of the install base and the 4.6 average suggest the format works for a lot of readers.

If you read comics occasionally and prefer to buy complete volumes, the Coin rhythm will feel like more machinery than you need, and the ads will be a recurring interruption. For everyone else, the free catalog alone justifies the download, and the Coin system is there if you decide you want to read ahead.

What's new in version 3.9.13

- Minor bug fixes