Short answer: the most popular manhwa in 2026 is still Solo Leveling, followed by Omniscient Reader and Tower of God. If you want what readers are jumping on right now, the fastest-rising series this month is Myst, Might, Mayhem.
This ranking isn’t based on our taste. We ranked every Korean series by how many readers track it on AniList, one of the largest public reader databases, and checked where each one is officially published in English. Numbers were last checked on September 15, 2026.
How We Ranked These Manhwa
- Popularity = the number of AniList users who have added the series to their list (reading, completed, planning or dropped). It’s a count of real readers, not a vote, so it favors series that have been around for years.
- Score = the average AniList user rating, out of 100.
- Where to read = the official English publisher listed for the series. We only link to licensed platforms.
- Adult-only titles are excluded.
The 12 Most Popular Manhwa at a Glance
| # | Manhwa | AniList readers | Score | Status | Read officially on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Solo Leveling | 284,700 | 84 | Completed | Tapas, Tappytoon, Manta |
| 2 | Omniscient Reader | 131,500 | 86 | Ongoing | WEBTOON |
| 3 | Tower of God | 99,900 | 81 | Ongoing | WEBTOON |
| 4 | Bastard | 76,900 | 83 | Completed | WEBTOON |
| 5 | The Greatest Estate Developer | 68,000 | 90 | Completed | WEBTOON |
| 6 | SSS-Class Revival Hunter | 67,000 | 83 | Ongoing | Tapas |
| 7 | The Horizon | 64,500 | 85 | Completed | WEBTOON |
| 8 | Teenage Mercenary | 56,200 | 79 | Ongoing | WEBTOON |
| 9 | Sweet Home | 55,700 | 82 | Completed | WEBTOON |
| 10 | The God of High School | 54,900 | 76 | Completed | WEBTOON |
| 11 | I’m the Max-Level Newbie | 50,400 | 77 | Ongoing | WEBTOON, Tappytoon |
| 12 | A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special | 49,900 | 76 | Completed | Tapas, Tappytoon |
The Rankings
#1 — Solo Leveling
284,700 readers · Score 84 · Completed
Jinwoo Sung is known as the weakest hunter alive, until a raid in a hidden dungeon nearly kills him and a mysterious System picks him as its only player. From there he levels up in a way no other hunter can. Solo Leveling is the series that brought a huge wave of new readers to manhwa, and the anime pulled in even more.
Read it if: you want the definitive power-progression story, finished, with no waiting for new chapters.
- 📖 Read on Tapas · Tappytoon · Manta
- 🛒 Print volumes on Amazon
- More: where to read Solo Leveling after the anime and what to read after Solo Leveling
#2 — Omniscient Reader
131,500 readers · Score 86 · Ongoing
Dokja Kim is the only person who read his favorite web novel, Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse, all the way to the end. When the novel’s apocalypse suddenly becomes real, he is the only one who knows how the story goes, and he starts bending it to keep people alive. Art is by Sleepy-C, adapting singNsong’s original novel.
Read it if: you like clever protagonists, meta storytelling and a huge cast you get attached to.
- 📖 Read on WEBTOON
- 🛒 Print volumes on Amazon
- More: where to read Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint legally and manhwa like Omniscient Reader
#3 — Tower of God
99,900 readers · Score 81 · Ongoing
Twenty-Fifth Bam enters a mysterious Tower to follow Rachel, the only friend he has ever had. Every floor is a new test, and the Tower’s factions, families and politics get deeper the higher he climbs. SIU has been publishing it since 2010, which makes it one of the longest-running webtoons of all.
Read it if: you want a long, lore-heavy epic with plenty of chapters to binge.
#4 — Bastard
76,900 readers · Score 83 · Completed
Seon Jin is a sickly, bullied high school student with a secret: his father is a serial killer, and Jin has been forced to help him hide it. The story follows Jin as he finally starts to fight back. Written by Carnby Kim with art by Youngchan Hwang, the same team behind Sweet Home.
Read it if: you want a tight psychological thriller rather than a power fantasy. It’s dark and violent, so it’s not for everyone.
#5 — The Greatest Estate Developer
68,000 readers · Score 90 · Completed
A civil engineering student falls asleep reading a fantasy novel and wakes up as Lloyd Frontera, a lazy noble whose family is drowning in debt. Instead of swords and magic, he gets out of trouble with engineering, schemes and a lot of comedy. With a score of 90 it is the highest-rated series on this list.
Read it if: you want something funny and clever, and you’re tired of grim hunter stories.
#6 — SSS-Class Revival Hunter
67,000 readers · Score 83 · Ongoing
A hunter with a mediocre life gets a legendary skill that copies the ability of whoever kills him. His first death, at the hands of the top-ranked hunter, gives him the power to go back in time every time he dies. The series is built around how he turns that into a way to climb the Tower.
Read it if: you like regression stories with a smart, unusual power.
#7 — The Horizon
64,500 readers · Score 85 · Completed
A boy and a girl walk alone through a world destroyed by war, surrounded by broken adults. It’s short, quiet and bleak, and one of the highest-rated completed webtoons.
Read it if: you want a short, emotional read you can finish in one sitting.
#8 — Teenage Mercenary
56,200 readers · Score 79 · Ongoing
Ijin Yu lost his parents in a plane crash at age eight and survived by becoming a child mercenary abroad. Ten years later he comes home to Korea and has to get through something he was never trained for: high school.
Read it if: you like grounded action with a fish-out-of-water angle.
#9 — Sweet Home
55,700 readers · Score 82 · Completed
After a family tragedy, a reclusive teenager moves into a run-down apartment building just as people start turning into monsters. The residents have to survive together inside the building. Netflix adapted it as a live-action series.
Read it if: you want monster horror with real tension and a complete ending.
#10 — The God of High School
54,900 readers · Score 76 · Completed
Taekwondo prodigy Jin Mori enters a nationwide fighting tournament that promises the winner anything they want. The tournament turns out to be part of something far bigger. Yongje Park’s fight scenes are the main draw, and the series got an anime adaptation in 2020.
Read it if: you love tournament arcs and fast, stylish fights.
#11 — I’m the Max-Level Newbie
50,400 readers · Score 77 · Ongoing
Jinhyuk Kang is a streamer and the only person who ever cleared the game Tower of Trials. On the day he plans to quit, the game’s Tower appears in the real world, and his eleven years of game knowledge suddenly matter.
Read it if: you like gamer protagonists who win by knowing every mechanic.
#12 — A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special
49,900 readers · Score 76 · Completed
Desir is one of six mages making humanity’s last stand against the Shadow Labyrinth, and they fail. He wakes up 13 years earlier, about to enter magic school, and sets out to prepare everyone for what’s coming.
Read it if: you want a regression story set in a magic academy, with a finished ending.
Just Missed the Top 12
These are right behind the list, each with around 45,000 to 48,000 AniList readers: Nano Machine, The Legend of the Northern Blade, Eleceed, Lookism (where to read Lookism legally) and Lout of Count’s Family.
Trending Right Now (September 2026)
Popularity rewards series that have been around for years. These are the ones gaining readers fastest this month, based on AniList’s trending score:
- Myst, Might, Mayhem — a revenge murim story: after his grandfather’s murder, Jeong trains in martial arts to hunt down the killer. Read on WEBTOON
- The Regressed Mercenary Has a Plan — the Mercenary King dies before avenging his family, then wakes up as his teenage self. Read on WEBTOON
- The Novel’s Extra — an author gets pulled into his own web novel as a background character. Read on Tapas
- Revenge of the Baskerville Bloodhound — an assassin son killed by his own father is reborn with his memories. Read on Tapas
- The Reborn Young Lord is an Assassin — the empire’s best assassin is betrayed and wakes up as a boy again. Read on WEBTOON
- Absolute Sword Sense — a failed spy is sent 10 years into the past. Read on WEBTOON
FAQ
What is the most popular manhwa of all time?
Solo Leveling. With about 285,000 readers tracking it on AniList, it has more than twice as many as the next series, Omniscient Reader.
What is the most popular manhwa right now?
For all-time popularity it’s Solo Leveling. For momentum this month, Myst, Might, Mayhem and The Regressed Mercenary Has a Plan are gaining readers fastest on AniList.
Where can I read these manhwa for free and legally?
Most of this list is on WEBTOON, where most episodes are free and only the newest ones (Fast Pass) cost coins. Tapas and Tappytoon also offer free episodes. Our guide to the best sites to read manhwa online free compares them.
Which popular manhwa are already completed?
Solo Leveling, Bastard, The Greatest Estate Developer, The Horizon, Sweet Home, The God of High School and A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special are all finished.
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