WEBTOON vs Tapas

Until September 2026 this was a fair fight between the two biggest free webtoon apps. Then Kakao Entertainment announced that Tapas would end service, and the comparison changed from "which is better" to "what do I do with my Tapas account". The dates and the fine print are in our news piece on the Tapas shutdown. The rest of our head-to-heads are on the comparisons index.

What the Tapas shutdown means

Tapas's own FAQ sets out the terms. The service ends on March 31, 2027 at 23:59 PT. From October 1, 2026 Ink can no longer be acquired, so no new purchases are possible. Ink you already hold can still unlock episodes until the end. After that, unlocked episodes become inaccessible; they cannot be moved to other Kakao services, and Ink is non-refundable. Creators may keep publishing until the closing date.

That leaves about five months to read what you have paid for. Unlocked episodes can be downloaded in the app, but downloads are removed from the device after 30 days, so they do not outlive the service. Readers looking for a new home should start with Tapas alternatives.

tapas.io

Catalog and formats

WEBTOON (NAVER WEBTOON Ltd.) publishes its own ORIGINALS, some graphic novels, and the open CANVAS self-publishing section. Its genre tabs run from Drama and Fantasy to Romance, Thriller and Horror, and CANVAS adds tabs such as Romance Fantasy and LGBTQ+. The website runs in seven languages.

Tapas (Tapas Entertainment, Inc.) carries premium Korean webtoons, Tapas Originals, web novels and a Community section of creator uploads. Its comics tabs include Romance Fantasy, Romance, Action, Drama, Thriller and Horror, BL, GL and LGBTQ. Both are vertical-scroll first.

Mature and explicit content

WEBTOON allows sexual themes but not explicit content. Its Content Guidelines say: While sexual themes and discussions are allowed, we do not allow nudity or content that is solely intended to be sexually gratifying. Even censoring is regulated: Box and mosaic censoring are not allowed; censoring of nudity must be a natural part of the imagery. Mature-rated series exist and are hidden from accounts under 18, but there is no adult edition on the app or the web.

Tapas splits its catalog. The apps carry all-ages versions only. The website has a Mature section, a web-only feature for readers ages 18 and older that is solely dedicated to Premium stories that feature explicit content, with shelves such as "Spicy Romance" and "BL Hot Picks". Many premium series exist in both versions, and purchases do not transfer between them. Community uploads stay non-explicit, and the Mature section takes no submissions.

If explicit webtoons are what you are after, neither is a long-term answer: WEBTOON does not carry them, and Tapas has five months left. The adult webtoon platforms list covers services that sell them.

help.tapas.io

Free reading

WEBTOON's ORIGINALS are free on a weekly schedule, and CANVAS is free. The newest episodes sit behind Fast Pass, many of which turn free after a while. Ad Pass unlocks an episode for 3 days after you watch ads. WEBTOON dropped its Daily Pass in May 2025, according to Comics Beat; the Daily Pass removal moved some completed series to coins.

Tapas runs Wait Until Free in the app: one episode per series each time the timer completes, readable for 72 hours, with 3-hour timers on some series and up to three ad-unlocked episodes a day. Free Access premium titles are free from start to finish, and most Community series are free. WUF works only in the app. Our wait-for-free glossary entry explains how these timers work.

Coins, Ink and what an episode costs

WEBTOON sells Coins in the app only; the website cannot buy or spend them. The US App Store list shows 10 coins for $0.99 (9.9 cents a coin), 100 + 8 for $9.99 (about 9.25 cents) and 300 + 30 for $29.99 (about 9.1 cents). The coin price of a Fast Pass episode is set per series and shown only in the app before you unlock, so WEBTOON publishes no per-episode figure. Comics Beat reported three coins an episode for the series moved off Daily Pass, which would be about 30 cents at the 10-coin price. WEBTOON Premium, a monthly coin plan, runs from $3.99 (20 + 2 coins) to $49.99 (500 + 75 coins) with ad-free Originals and, above $3.99, episode discounts. Bought coins never expire. Full figures are on WEBTOON coin prices.

Tapas never published Ink pack prices outside the logged-in shop, and the last official episode price was from March 2023 (375 or 450 Ink an episode, less with 1-Tap). Since Ink is no longer sold, the question is now only how far your remaining balance goes.

App and web

WEBTOON reads in the app and on the web, with the same content rules in both; coins are app-only. Tapas reads in both too, but the Mature section is web-only and WUF is app-only, so a Tapas reader who wants both uses both. The WEBTOON app is rated 13+ in the App Store; the Tapas app is rated 16+.

Offline reading

Both allow downloads in the app. WEBTOON lets you download some ORIGINALS, once per episode per account, kept for 30 days; Fast Pass and Ad Pass episodes cannot be downloaded. Tapas lets you download unlocked or free episodes, removed after 30 days. More services with downloads are on offline reading.

Age check and privacy

Both use a self-declared birthdate. WEBTOON asks at sign-up and locks Mature series to adult accounts. Tapas sends Mature visitors to a verify-age page: "You must be 18 years or older to continue browsing mature content. Please verify your age." Both sets of terms admit users from 13. Both Google Play listings show ads and data-sharing summaries, and WEBTOON's coin payments run through Apple or Google.

For creators

WEBTOON CANVAS is open self-publishing with two money streams. Ad Revenue Sharing pays creators 50% of ads on their series once they reach 1,000 subscribers and 40,000 monthly page views. Super Likes, bought by readers 18 and over, pay creators 70% of net revenue after a 30% deduction for app fees, so about 49% of gross. A January 2026 notice cut the PayPal minimum payout from $100 to $25. Explicit work is banned, even at the Mature rating.

Tapas pays about 70% of ad revenue to creators from 100 subscribers, plus reader Support with no Tapas cut after third-party fees, and cashes out by PayPal from $25. Creators may publish until March 31, 2027, but there is no future in building a readership there now. The platforms for NSFW webtoon creators page covers where explicit work can go.

Which one should you pick?

For anything long-term, WEBTOON. It is free for most reading, it is not closing, and its coins do not expire. Know what it is: a mainstream platform where mature means themes and language, never explicit scenes.

Use Tapas only to finish what you have. Spend your Ink before March 31, 2027, read the Mature versions you unlocked while they last, and do not expect any purchase to survive the shutdown. For explicit reading after that, look at the licensed adult stores; for free mainstream reading, stay with WEBTOON.