The best webtoons to read include Lore Olympus, True Beauty, Solo Leveling, Sweet Home, UnOrdinary and Let’s Play. They are grouped by genre below so you can pick by taste.
If you have ever typed “best webtoons” into Google at 1 a.m. because you finished a series and didn’t know what to do with your life, you are in good company. Webtoons have gone from a Korean digital comics niche to one of the biggest reading habits online, and the sheer volume of titles out there makes picking the next one genuinely hard.
This list skips the generic “top 50” approach and instead breaks things down by what actually gets people hooked: story type, art style, and how far along the series is. Whether you want romance that makes you yell at your phone screen, fantasy with real stakes, or horror you probably shouldn’t read before bed, there’s something below for you.
What makes a webtoon one of the best?
Ratings help, but they don’t tell the whole story. A webtoon earns a spot on a real recommendation list when it does at least two of these well:
- Consistent art quality, not just a strong pilot episode
- A plot that develops instead of stalling for filler
- Characters worth remembering after the last panel
- An ending (or an active, well-paced ongoing run) instead of an abandoned series
Sites that catalog thousands of titles, including Webtoon XYZ, are useful for browsing by genre once you know roughly what you’re after. If you’re still getting your bearings on the format itself, this guide to manga covers how best webtoons fit into the wider world of Japanese and Korean comics.
Which are the best webtoons by genre?
Romance
Lore Olympus reimagines the Hades and Persephone myth with modern relationship dynamics layered on top. The art alone would carry it, but the writing handles trauma and power imbalance with more care than most romance titles bother to.
True Beauty follows a girl who uses makeup to hide from years of bullying, and it’s messier and more honest than the drama-clichés it sometimes leans on. It’s also one of the few best webtoons that got a live-action adaptation, which tells you something about its reach.
Down to Earth and Age Matters are worth a look if you want slower-burn romance without the love-triangle theatrics, Visit more.
Action and Fantasy
Tower of God is the one people usually recommend first, and for good reason. It’s got a huge cast, a genuinely strange setting, and a slow-build payoff structure that rewards patience.
Solo Leveling made the jump from webtoon to global phenomenon (anime included) because the power fantasy is so cleanly executed. If you like watching an underdog become terrifyingly strong, start here.
God of High School and The Beginning After the End round things out for readers who want tournament arcs and reincarnation-style world-building, respectively.
Horror and Thriller
Sweet Home turns an apartment building into a monster-infection nightmare, and it does the slow dread thing better than most horror manhwa. The Netflix adaptation is decent, but the source material hits harder.
Bastard is a quieter, more disturbing read about a teenager living with a serial killer father. Not for the faint of heart, but well constructed.
Comedy and Slice of Life
UnOrdinary mixes high-school politics with a superpower hierarchy, which sounds like a strange combo until you’re three episodes deep and can’t stop.
Let’s Play is a genuinely funny, low-stakes romance between a game developer and her online critic. Good palate cleanser between heavier reads.
How do the best webtoons compare at a glance?
| Title | Genre | Status | Best For |
| Lore Olympus | Romance/Mythology | Completed | Character-driven drama |
| True Beauty | Romance/Slice of Life | Completed | Coming-of-age readers |
| Coming-of-age readers | Action/Fantasy | Ongoing | Long-term world-building fans |
| Solo Leveling | Action/Fantasy | Completed | Power-fantasy lovers |
| Sweet Home | Horror | Completed | Slow-burn dread |
| UnOrdinary | Action/Drama | Ongoing | School-setting stories |
| Let’s Play | Romance/Comedy | Completed | Lighter, funnier reads |
Where can you read the best webtoons?
Most of these titles are available on official platforms like WEBTOON and Tapas, but readers often end up searching around under similar-sounding names while trying to find mirrors, alternatives, or just a different reading experience. If that’s you, a few related reads worth checking:
- Wentoons XYZ breaks down what that particular site offers and whether it’s actually worth your time.
- Webtoonz Cyz explains why so many people search that specific misspelling and what they usually find.
- Webcomics XYZ is a good next stop if you’ve already burned through the list above and want a wider genre spread.
- Comics Like Webtoon rounds up alternatives if you want something with a similar reading format but a different catalog.
- Readers specifically chasing free Korean-language original content should look at Korean Webtoon Free.
A quick word of caution: a lot of “xyz” and “xuz” style names floating around search results are unofficial mirrors, and quality (and legality) varies a lot between them. When in doubt, check whether a platform is licensing content from the original creators before you commit hours to a series there.
FAQs
What is the single best webtoon to start with?
There isn’t a universal answer, but Lore Olympus and Tower of God are the two most commonly recommended starting points because they’re finished (or far enough along) and represent two very different genres well.
Are webtoons the same as manga?
Not exactly. Manga is traditionally Japanese, printed in black and white, and read right to left. Webtoons are digital-first, usually full color, and scroll vertically. Both fall under the broader comics umbrella, but the format and reading experience differ.
Is it safe to read webtoons on unofficial sites?
It depends on the site. Some mirrors carry malware-laden ads or pull content without creator permission. Sticking to official apps like WEBTOON or Tapas, or well-reviewed aggregators, is the safer bet.
How often do webtoons update?
Most ongoing series release weekly, though schedules slip during hiatuses. Completed series, obviously, don’t have this problem, which is part of why they’re easier to binge-recommend.
Do I need to pay to read webtoons ?
Many are free with ad support or a “coin” system for early access to new episodes. Older episodes usually become free over time. For background on the format, see the Wikipedia entry on webtoons .
Conclusion
The best webtoons aren’t necessarily the most popular ones, they’re the ones that match what you’re actually in the mood for. Start with a completed series like Lore Olympus or Solo Leveling if you want a full arc with no cliffhanger wait, or dive into an ongoing title like Tower of God if you don’t mind following along in real time. Either way, the format rewards a bit of patience, so give a series a handful of episodes before deciding it’s not for you
