Information about various types of publishers for manga and manhwa. Image quality (resolution, compression & codec) varies by publisher and by platform. Convenience of platform apps varies, consider testing them if you plan to read without removing DRM.
Volumes
General Platforms
| Store | Resolution | DRM Removal | SFW | Recommended |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon (Kindle HD) | Semi-dead1 | Medium | YESN'T | |
| Neon Ichiban2 | High | Medium | YES | |
| GlobalComix3 | High | Medium | YES | |
| Apple Books | Standard | Medium | NO | |
| BookWalker Global | Standard | Hard | NO4 | |
| Google Play Books | Standard | Very Easy | YES | |
| Humble Bundle | Highest | DRM-Free | YES | |
| Kobo | Standard | Easy | YES |
Notes
- PSA: Kodansha, Seven Seas, Dark Horse and other previously-actual-HD suppliers of books have stopped uploading HD books on Amazon starting in 2024-07. If the book says it's Kindle Edition (instead of Kindle & Comixology), it's not HD (do cross-check with the listed filesize). Additionally, even if the book says Kindle & Comixology it can be upscaled still (see: Titan Comics' Speed Grapher v01). Post 2024-07 books are therefore generally recommended to be bought elsewhere.
Original:Blurry downscales for anything that would be above that on other platforms.As of December 5th 2023, Kindle now offers HD on their mobile app (at or above 320dpi and some resolution threshold). Web is likely limited to x1920 (unconfirmed as of December 7th 2023). - Only Kodansha offer an extensive manga catalog, making NI the go-to for Kodansha and Kodansha only as of April 9th 2026.
- The main two publishers with a big lineup on GlobalComix are Kodansha and Seven Seas.
- Unless they have exclusives or discounts, as other platforms are easier
Publishers
| Store | Resolution | DRM-Free | SFW | Highest Quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ablaze1 | ~x1800 | Humble Bundle | ||
| Alpha Manga | x1800 | - | - | |
| Dark Horse | ~x2400 or 2560x2 | (GlobalComix) / Amazon Kindle | ||
| DENPA3 | Varies | Own Store | ||
| FAKKU! | x3200 | Own Store | ||
| Glacier Bay Books | Varies | Own Store | ||
| Irodori Comics | x3200 | Own Store / Fakku | ||
| J-Novel Club | x3840 | Own Store | ||
| Kaiten Books | ~x2400 | Own Store | ||
| Kodansha USA | ~30004 | Humble Bundle / Neon Ichiban | ||
| Medibang 5 | x2048 | - | - | |
| Media Do/Coamix 5 | x1800 | - | - | |
| Omoi | x48007 | Own Store | ||
| Seven Seas Entertainment | x30006 | GlobalComix | ||
| Square Enix Manga & Books | ~x2230 | Same Everywhere | ||
| Titan Comics | x2150 | Amazon Kindle8 | ||
| TOKYOPOP | ~x23009 | Same Everywhere | ||
| VAST Visual | ~x225010 | Apple Books | ||
| VIZ | x2100-x247511 | Kobo | ||
| Yen Press | x1291-x1350 | Same Everywhere |
Notes
Ablaze doesn't seem to sell manga on Humble yet (it does sell comic bundles), therefore Amazon Kindle or Apple Books are the go-to source.
Dark Horse have shut down their digital store on February 24th 2025. Highest quality is technically on Neon Ichiban or GlobalComix, but the manga lineup on those platforms is really slim, making Amazon Kindle actually the best and easiest source.
Their store has a broken download issue with no ETA for a fix.They've fixed their store as of May 2024, but they've not updated their catalog post ~March 2023. It's recommended to use Kobo to get any of their newer books for now. Their own store is DRM-free.Humble Bundle PDF export resolution (at 600 dpi) ranges from x4200 - x4913. CMX resolution varies, older volumes were mostly between x3056 and x3684, and post-CMX Amazon HD volumes are ~x2700. Standard non-CMX/Amazon HD resolution is 1600x -> x227x - x2400 (except for their own storefront which should be avoided, as it offers the worst quality and resolution combination at x2160 q40).
Both do NSFW releases on FAKKU, and anything on Fakku that isn't their unlimited chapters is x3200 more or less.
Ranges between x3206 - x3713 for Comixology volumes. Post-CMX Amazon HD volume res has been downgraded to x2565 - ~x272x. Standard non-CMX/Amazon HD resolution is x2000 everywhere until sometime late 2025, since then it is x1500 (same as Bookwalker Web, which has always been x1500).
Standard resolution outside of their own storefront is x2400, chapters are
also x2400now x3000 - these figures are only validated for their own licenses.Only 2 manga titles on Neon Ichiban; once they update their manga lineup, NI will be the recommended source.
~x2300 for newer (~post mid-2021) releases, but ~x1600 for older releases. Same quality no matter where you buy.
Older titles are low quality, recent titles are decent quality. Apple Books has the highest quality.
Amazon Viz books are generally upscaled, especially older books (pre-HD-demise as mentioned up above). Some books can still be much lower res natively (e.g. x1500 for certain Viz Select volumes) than what's mentioned here.
Chapters
Manga
| Platform | Resolution | SFW |
|---|---|---|
| Alpha Manga | x1536 | |
| Comikey | x2048 | |
| Coolmic | x1536 | |
| INKR | Varies1 | |
| K Manga4 | x1378 | |
| Mangamo | ~x17xx | |
| MangaPlanet | x1536 / x1600 | |
| MangaPlus | x21002 | |
| MangaUp! | x3072+3 | |
| Omoi | x2400-3000 | |
| Yen Press | x1291-x1350 | |
| VIZ | ~x1145 |
Notes
- Every manga is cross-licensed. So whatever the original publisher's standard resolution release is.
- For Non-VIZ imports. Kaiju No. 8 is an exception despite being also simulpubbed by Viz, MangaPlus started simulpubbing it a few weeks earlier.
- Own licenses are x3072 or higher (lowest is x2560) [Yen Press imports are Yen Press resolution. Rare Crunchyroll imports are usually Crunchyroll resolution, so x1600]
- Region-locked to the US, extremely rare random simulpub/backfill chapters are HD (2000x). Kodansha USA-licensed volume chapters imported into K Manga are Kodansha USA's standard-res (so 1600x -> x227x/x2400 based on the trim size).
Long-strip
These websites focus on Manhwa, Manhua and OEL.
| Platform | Resolution | SFW |
|---|---|---|
| Toptoon 1 | 720x | |
| INKR | Varies2 | |
| Lezhin | 1280x 3 | |
| Line Webtoon | 720-800x | |
| MangaToon | Varies4 | |
| Manta 5 | 720x | |
| Tapas 5 | 940x | |
| Tappytoon5 | 720x | |
| Toomics 6 | 720x | |
| WebNovel | 800x |
Notes
- Merged with Toptoon Plus so they primarily have pornhwa now, but they do also have SFW titles.
- Inkr does have their own licenses, for manhwa it's typically 1080x but they do plenty of cross-licensing here as well. Their own licenses are often SFW but they have plenty of NSFW content on the site both cross-licensed from others and licensed by themselves so they've been marked as NSFW.
- By default, Lezhin is 1080x. But 1280x is available, if you know how.
- Most of the titles are 1000x. Some are 800x or 720x.
- Manta, Tapas and Tappytoon have some mature (non-porn) titles.
- Does have SFW titles, even if they're primarily known for their NSFW titles.