Reading Manga for free can be pretty tricky – at least if you want to do it the legal way. With Webcomics and Manhwa, you have way more options. So where can I read Manga and Manhwa legally? Here are my favorites.
Here is the overview of some sites, where you can get Romance-Comics and -Manhwa for free – completely legal:
- Manta
- Webtoons
- Tappytoon
- Tapas
- Lezhin
Where can I read Manga and Manhwa legally? – and for free?
- Focuses heavily on romance comics.
- Notable titles: “The Accidental Heiress,” “When Fate Finds Us,” “Under the Oak Tree.”
- The first eight or nine episodes are often free; afterward, you can wait 24 hours for new chapters or pay.
- Offers Manta Unlimited for around $4.99/month in the US, allowing unlimited reading.
- Check out Manta
Manta is very popular in Korea but the App is also available in English. Many of the comics focus on romance so as a romance manhwa lover you will have plenty to read. While there are some good lesser-known comics like “The Accidental Heiress” or “When Fate Finds Us” one of the most popular Romance Manhwas “Under the Oak Tree” can also be read on the app. The first eight or nine episodes are often free and after that you will either have to wait 24 hours for a chapter or you have to pay. What I really like though: With Manta Unlimited – the price varies but for the US I think it’s 4,99 per month – you can read everything you want. Considering the cost of single chapters on other apps, I personally think it’s a great deal. I just wish there would be more historical romance manhwas.
- One of my favorite apps with many free comics updated weekly.
- Introduced “Daily Pass” for older, completed series: one episode free per day.
- Offers coins for early access to episodes; frequent events provide free coins.
- Explore Webtoons
Webtoons is one of my favorite apps. Many comics on this site are free and they get updated weekly. They introduced “Daily pass” a while ago, where you can no longer read all the chapters for free – especially completed ones. You only get one episode a day. If you want to support the creator and/or are impatient you can buy coins to unlock episodes, to get the content before everyone else. There are also many events where you can get free coins if you participate. Either you have to read about 30 episodes from a specific webtoon, or you have to open the Webtoon app every day.
- Has a limited selection of free comics.
- Most popular comics require buying ink, but there are options to earn ink for free (surveys, games).
- Time-consuming to earn ink for free, but events sometimes offer triple ink.
- Discover Tapas
Tapas also has a section for free comics but the selection is very limited. Most of the popular comics require you to buy ink but there are options to earn ink for free. You just have to download the app and choose the task of your choice – playing games or participating in surveys for example. I must say, that this method is very time-consuming but there are also events, where you can earn triple the ink for the same amount of time.
- The most expensive option.
- Some comics update weekly for free, but most require buying coins.
- Learn about Lezhin
Lezhin is probably the most expensive of the options mentioned above. Some of the listed comics do follow the same concept as Webtoon: meaning that they get updated every week for free, but with most of the comics, you have to buy coins.
Reading Manga legally – with free options
Where can I read Manga and Manhwa legally?
- ComiXology
- Book Walker
- Tappytoon
- Extensive and growing collection of Korean Manhwa.
- Offers tokens for purchase and occasional events for more value.
- Check out Tappytoon
Tappytoon has a great collection of Korean Manhwa and the library keeps expanding. For about 5 US Dollars you get 41 tokens. Sometimes there are events where you get more bang for your buck (this sounds like an ad, but I swear it‘s not!). They also offer a monthly plan, where you get points so you can read more and the wait time for new free chapters is halved.
Legal sites for Romance Manga
And last but not least we have two great options for Manga. In all the options above Mangas weren’t really part of the library but Comixology and Bookwalker offer mainly Mangas – Shoujo and Josei included of course. Both of these sites offer some free comics, although you will probably be a bit disappointed as a romance fan – but check it out nonetheless – you never know.
On these sites, you can buy your favorite Manga and read it online. There are some free Manga-chapters on Bookwalker too, although you have to pay for most of them. The selection of free Manga varies every month though.
- Best ebook store for manga, especially for romance fans.
- Frequent sales and nearly all recommended romance manga available.
- Option to buy individual chapters.
- Browse BookWalker
Bookwalker is by far the best ebook store for Manga that I know (if you know something better, please tell me). You will find almost every romance manga I recommend over there. They often have sales and it’s the best address for Romance-Fans like me in my opinion. In a few Manga, you have the option to buy only one chapter (Yubisaki to Renren for example) – which is a great option if you want to support the creator but don’t have money to buy the whole volume.
- Offers a mix of manga, with some free titles.
- Limited selection for romance manga.
- Visit ComiXology
There’s also ComiXology but the library for Romance-Manga isn’t that big. If you are not sure about a certain comic, head over to kodansha.com. They often offer a preview of the Manga (for volume 1 at least), where you can check out if you like the art style and so on. As this was supposed to be an overview I will not go more in-depth, but if you like to see more content like this or you want me to write another article about publishers and sites where you can read Manga without a heavy conscience let me know or leave alike, so I can plan my content better in the future.
