The internet is an ever-changing landscape filled with uncertainty. Platforms and hubs will come and go, either from the site shutting down, dissatisfaction with the management of the platform or any other reason. This resource is loosely a companion piece to fellow writer Masha Zhdanova‘s piece back in May on the future of webcomics. So if you’re a creator who is looking for a dedicated home for their webcomic or webnovel, or one who just needs ideal alternatives to mirror their projects, this is the resource just for you.
This is a list of various sites you can host your webcomic or webnovel, in no particular order. It is organized into four main categories: Comic hosting sites, Site builders, blog sites that can be repurposed or have support for webcomics and webnovels, and webcomic rings and databases.
I will also mention whether these platforms do have support for mature/NSFW content, as well as if these platforms utilize AI in some form, since these are variables many creatives consider for their projects.
Comic hosting sites
These are sites that are built from the ground up to be a platform for hosting your webcomics or webnovels. They usually have built in algorithms to promote series and monetization options for creators to make some money to fund their projects. Some have customizable layouts and themes, while others don’t to fit the theme of the platform itself.
ComicFury
ComicFury: A tried and tested free webcomic hosting site that has existed for a long time, it is easy to use and ad-free so you can host your webcomics with only a few clicks. The biggest draw of Comicfury is how you can easily edit and personalize your webcomic’s site and even go a step further to edit the layout using HTML to achieve the exact look you want.
When it comes to hosting comics, it is designed more for horizontal page-by-page comics. While there is support for vertical comics, there is a limit of 25 pages under 950 px wide and below 5MB in size.
ComicFury is also an ideal site for hosting NSFW/Mature comics and comes with flags for Violence, Nudity, Sexual themes/content, and Language. Doing so will have letters for those flags appear on your comic and be easily identifiable to those browsing and discovering webcomics on the platform.
Features:
- Easy-to-use customizable site layout
- Optional HTML site editing
- Blog posts
- Horizontal comic support
- supports mature rated comics
- Vertical comic support (25 image limit)
- Accessible forums
- Analytics and statistics
NamiComi
NamiComi: Launched in 2023, NamiComi has been shaping up to be quite the promising platform for webcomics but also ideal for webnovels as it has support for both mediums. It also allows you to create customizable banners for when your series is displayed on NamiComi. What also stands out is their in depth analytics which even displays your reader demographics and how they have discovered your series.
NamiComi also takes the time to promote various series on social media which is a nice way to discover new series to read on the platform.
Just like ComicFury, Namicomi also has support for mature rated comics and content.
Features:
- Webnovel support
- Customizable banners
- Horizontal and Vertical comic support
- Supports mature rated comics
- Monetization options
- Analytics and statistics
- Demographic and Audience acquisition overview
WEBTOON
WEBTOON: A big name in the webcomic sphere for years, big green is home to many webcomic series that are both self-published on the WEBTOON Canvas side to those green-lit as a WEBTOON Original. While there are a few popular series that treat each episode as a page, majority of the comics on the platform are made primarily for the vertical scroll format.
It is also supports mature comics, though there are limitations as to how much is too much in terms of mature content especially in regards to blood and violence. When it comes to Sexual content that is a larger grey area so do approach those topics and content at your own risk. Mature rated comics will also require users to have a registered webtoon account to read so that is something to consider as well. It is also worth keeping in mind that Webtoon also has embraced AI with interactive 3D avatars and optional mutli-language translations for Canvas users.
Features:
- Horizontal and Vertical comic support
- Limited mature comics support
- Monetization options (Ad share and Super likes if qualified)
- Comment manager
- Analytics and statistics
TheDuck/Drunk Duck
TheDuck/Drunk Duck: Another ol’ reliable webcomic hosting site that has been on the net for ages. But its simplicity and ease of access cannot be beat. Surprisingly it also supports vertical scrolling comics as I have discovered a few on there. I do like how there is an optional Credits page to credit and link to those who helped in the creation of the webcomic.
While the site layout is quite simple, limited to changing the background, or using a background image, and having a small banner or title logo at the top, it just works if you want something simple.
Also if you want to upload your mature rated comics, this is also one such spot as there are some hosted on this site as well.
Features:
- Horizontal and Vertical comic support
- Ability to create subpages
- Credits page
- Assistants page where you can even request assistants
- Accessible forums
- Analytics and statistics
GlobalComix
GlobalComix: Despite its heavy push to be an all-in-one digital comics platform being home to comics from many publishers, GlobalComix does have the option to self publish your own webcomics either in a page-by-page format or as a vertical comic fit for webtoons. You also have the option to set up a paywall for certain issues/chapter of your comic as well as sell .pdf files of your comics.
GlobalComix also supports mature rated comics if you are searching for another spot to publish your stories.
Though it is worth noting as an air of caution to anti-AI artists that the platform, like Webtoon, does utilize AI for translations and their TOS allows the use of AI tools that support creator workflow.
Features:
- Horizontal and Vertical comic support
- Monetization options and crowdfunding tools
- Creation of community forums for your comic
- Analytics and statistics
Site Builders
These are for the toolkits and themes that allow you to create a site as your webcomic or webnovel’s home. Some are tools that can be deployed onto sites like WordPress, others are themes that transform WordPress into a webcomic site, while others give you the resources to make your own with some additional features.
Neocities
Neocities: A long-running web hosting service for static pages. While it requires knowledge of HTML, you can create and customize your own site to your liking to meet the needs of your webcomic or webnovel. The biggest benefit is the existence of webcomic templates that already exist so you can quickly and easily get started with hosting your comic online. Such templates and plugins include Rarebit and Eleventy-Rarebit that can get you started.
Features:
- HTML site editing
- Customizable site layout and themes
- Horizontal and Vertical comic support
- Webnovel support
Comix Cleric
Comix Cleric: currently in early access, it is a free and Open-Source software. Primarily a web toolkit that can be deployed on your own site, with many features included out of the box which can be easily customized from the dedicated admin panel. It is also designed from the ground up for horizontal and vertical comics which can be viewed on desktop or mobile devices. Mature comics are also allowed to be created using this, so long as it doesn’t involve illegal content or usage of generative AI.
The toolkit doesn’t have support for literary content such as webnovels yet but there is plans to add better features to support webnovels and more text-heavy formats.
While some features are implemented, there’s more that are interesting or in-progress. You can see which features are already available from Comix Cleric’s features and FAQ page.
Features:
- Horizontal and Vertical comic support
- Add music and sound effects
- Social media integration
Comic Easel
Comic Easel: Originally created by Frumph and actively maintained by Coraislovely, this is a WordPress plugin that allows you to create a webcomic with any wordpress theme. It uses WordPress’ media library functionality to achieve this with other features such as displaying how many times a character or setting has been in the comic and their debut moment in the story.
There are a lot more features than can be listed here, but you can check it out from its dedicated GitHub page.
Features:
- Horizontal and Vertical comic support
- Compatibility with custom themes and layouts
- Multi-language/translation plugin compatibility
- Transcripts
Webcomic.app
Webcomic.app: A website builder that is making the rounds online, it allows you to easily create your webcomic by uploading your comic as a WebP, PNG, JPG, or even an animated GIF. One notable benefit of this site is you can implement music and sounds into your webcomic almost like how some Webtoon Originals do. You can also have the bubbles from your comic be an element created by the app itself with the option to have the text easily be translated to other languages if you take the time to write those yourself.
There are also plans to have the ability to export your webcomic from webcomic.app as a video to be uploaded onto YouTube or social media using the tools and setup from the app itself. There is also no proper monetization system or option available yet for Webcomic.app but that is a planned feature that will be implemented soon.
Features:
- Easy-to-use customizable site layout
- Horizontal and Vertical comic support
- Simple analytics
- Autoplay webcomic
- Add music and sound effects
Blog Sites
Blog sites are one other alternative and have been used by some creators to host their webcomics and webnovels. Depending on the blog site itself it should have HTML editing or themes that can suit your needs for your project. Some can even have the domain be purchased to give it a unique name on the net. Others already have social media integration which can allow your webcomic or webnovel to easily be spread around the platform and increase the discoverability of your project.
Leaflet.pub
Leaflet.pub: A site that provides tools to publish blogs, documents, and newsletters. That alone makes it one such spot to host your webnovels online, but there are also customizable themes that allow you to host your webcomic on there as well. These customizable layouts can allow your gallery to support horizontal comics as well as vertical scroll comics. A major benefit to Leaflet.pub is that you can send updates to your readers via email and even Bluesky. There is also a tag feature that allows for discoverability between sites on Leaflet.
- Easy-to-use customizable site layout
- Horizontal and Vertical comic support
- Webnovel support
- Analytics and Statistics
- Email and social media integration
Pckt.blog
Pckt.blog: A blogging platform mentioned in some discussions from webcomic and webnovel creators, this site is designed for the easy creation of blogs. There are several packages both free and paid to keep in mind. The free package only allows the creation of 15 posts per month and 1 active blog at a time. Like Leaflet.pub, Pckt.blog has a tag/search feature that allows you to discover other blogs in the ecosystem including some from Leaflet. While the themes might be simple, the gallery for each post can be set up for horizontal or vertical scroll comics.
Features:
- Easy-to-use customizable site layout
- Horizontal and Vertical comic support
- Webnovel support
- Analytics and Statistics
- Email and social media integration
Tumblr
Tumblr: An odd pick for sure, but from my experience it is a good alternative to consider. There are dedicated and customizable webcomic themes and layouts for your tumblr blog to transform it into a proper functional webcomic regardless of the format. Add ontop of that the repost feature and you got a good way to circulate your webcomic online throughout the platform. There is also the ask and submission function which adds a fun interactive layer for Q&A with the creator or characters within your comic which was the bread and butter of many ask blog-webcomic hybrids back in the day. Since it’s also a blog site, it is also a good alternative to host webnovels with each blog post being a dedicated webnovel chapter or page.
Back in the day, Tumblr was home to some NSFW/Mature rated comics and art on the site. I do vividly remember the 2018 content purge when many blogs and art were removed and it led to an exodus onto other platforms. So in regards to mature content, I am not sure if those policies still exist. So do approach Tumblr with caution if you wish to post your mature webcomics or webnovels there.
Features:
- Easy-to-use custom layouts
- Optional HTML layout editing
- Horizontal and Vertical comic support
- Webnovel support
- Custom domain purchase options
- Ask questions feature
- Social media integration
Webcomic Listing Sites/Webrings
A bonus category that is quite useful. These are sites that are a database compiled of other webcomics and sites that allow you to link your webcomic with others. Altogether this creates a network to encourage discovering other webcomics like how an algorithm would, but more archaic. But it still works!
TopWebComics
TopWebComics: A classic webcomic database that is going strong for over 20 years! You can register your webcomic here with a banner and a link to your webcomic’s site. The rules are very simple where you can vote for one title every 24 hours. These votes will rank that webcomic higher on the list, allowing more readers to discover them. It also incentivizes you to promote your series and encourage fans to vote for your webcomic as a form of support. There is also an optional feature to advertise on the site for as little as $1 USD a day.
ComicsRocket
ComicsRocket: An online crowd-sourced platform that indexes a large number of titles that can be read for free. New titles can be added to the database through a dedicated page that uses the first and second archived page for that title online. These titles can also be given a rating from PG, R, and NC-17 to help users and readers know what type of content will be in the story. There is over 40,000 comics indexed on the site for you to read and discover, as well as links to lead you to the original site where these titles are hosted on.
Webcomicring
Webcomicring: A webring that is designed for static html sites. It will link together all webcomic sites that have the webcomicring code together to generate traffic and feature new titles to readers in this ring. They accept all-ages comics to pg-13 rated comics. Mature rated 18+ comics won’t be accepted.
SmallWeb Subway
SmallWeb Subway: A webring in the style of an interactive subway map, each colored line represents a specific webring. These lines can include webcomics, zines, poetry, creative clubs, and more.
Honorable Database and Webring Mentions
Here are some honorable mentions of additional database and webrings that can be of interest to you:
Hopefully this list gives you some ideas and options to consider for your projects, whether they be webcomics or a webnovel. I do look forward to where you will publish your stories when the time comes.
There is no doubt even more sites and tools to mention here. Some I most likely have overlooked or are wasn’t made aware of. So if there are any you feel is worth bringing up, you can mention them down in the comments.
