Not long ago, reading a new chapter in English the week it came out in Japan usually meant a fan scan from a site of uncertain origin. Today many of the biggest series are available officially, often free, and often on the same day as Japan. Reading through official services puts money back into the artists, translators and publishers who make the work, and it keeps those English releases coming.
Here’s where to read, what each service offers and what it costs, based on each one’s own pages. Prices and catalogs change, so check the app or site before you subscribe.
What “simulpub” means
You’ll see this word everywhere. A simulpub is a simultaneous publication: the English chapter goes up the same day the chapter comes out in its home country. Comikey’s FAQ defines it exactly that way. Simulpubs are what made legal reading keep pace with Japan, because you no longer wait months for a translated volume to find out what happened.
Apps from the Japanese publishers and their partners
Shonen Jump (VIZ Media). VIZ’s Shonen Jump app carries English chapters of series such as Dandadan and Sakamoto Days. Its App Store listing says the latest chapters are always free and new ones arrive weekly. VIZ’s apps page says a membership unlocks a digital vault of 20,000+ chapters for $3.99 a month, and the listing mentions a seven-day free trial. You can also buy digital volumes in the app.
VIZ Manga (VIZ Media). VIZ’s second app has its own library. VIZ lists a $1.99 monthly plan for 10,000+ chapters, new free chapters every week, and digital volumes to buy and keep.
MANGA Plus by Shueisha. This is Shueisha’s own service, on the web and in apps. Its App Store listing, published by SHUEISHA Inc., advertises simul-release from Japan with the latest chapters free at the same time as Japan, and says you can read the first three and newest three chapters of series free. It also says you can read every chapter of ongoing series in English once for free. Paid MAX plans on the US App Store are listed at $1.99 for the Standard Plan, which covers current series, and $4.99 for the Deluxe Plan, which adds completed classics. The app runs in English and eight other languages, though the listing says only English titles are in the subscription plans.
K MANGA (Kodansha). K MANGA is Kodansha’s official app. Its store listing cites more than 500 titles and more than 60 series available the moment they’re published in Japan. It works on points: the listing promises a free chapter every day, and point bundles on the US store run from $1 to $25. Kodansha’s K MANGA site also says you can read the latest chapter free on its official comic site.
Independent platforms
Comikey. Comikey is an official English platform for manga, manhwa, manhua and webcomics, with licenses from publishers including Square Enix, Shogakukan, Shueisha, Hakusensha and Coamix. Its FAQ says most series let everyone read the first chapters free, usually three. After that you unlock chapters with Keys, Comikey’s currency. Most chapters cost 2 or 3 Keys, chapters you unlock with Keys don’t expire, and packs on the website start at $1.99 for 20 Keys. The app adds a daily pass, one free chapter per series every 23 hours, plus ad-supported unlocks, though the newest chapter of a series can’t be unlocked those ways.
Omoi, formerly Azuki. If you used Azuki, it has a new name. Its Wikipedia entry says Azuki was rebranded as Omoi in November 2025, and azuki.co now redirects to omoi.com. Omoi offers officially licensed manga on a monthly subscription with a 14-day trial, a free-to-read section, a release calendar and iOS and Android apps. Its catalog includes English manga from publishers such as Kodansha, Futabasha and Coamix, plus exclusive series it translates itself.
Owning volumes, and reading free at the library
If you’d rather own than rent, buy digital volumes from the publishers’ own apps, as VIZ offers in both of its apps, or pick up print. Your local comic shop can usually order manga volumes for you.
One thing to know about digital purchases: services close. NTT DOCOMO’s MANGA MIRAI, for example, announced in August 2026 that it would shut down on December 15, 2026. Eligible purchases could move to another service, MangaPlaza, but free titles and some paid ones couldn’t, according to Anime Corner. Before you spend a lot on one platform, it’s worth knowing what happens to your library if it goes away.
Your library card may be the best free option you’re not using. Libby, the library app from OverDrive, offers comics, graphic novels and manga free with a library card, though titles vary by library and region. Some manga in Libby comes from Media Do and opens in your web browser instead of Libby’s reader. Libby’s help page says those titles usually read right to left and can’t be downloaded, so you need a connection. hoopla, another library service, says its comics are licensed through its partner libraries, with no waitlists, and that titles vary by library. If your library doesn’t have a series in Libby, you may be able to request it for purchase.
How to tell an official service from a pirate site
Official apps are published under the company’s own name in the app stores. On the US App Store, MANGA Plus is listed by SHUEISHA Inc., K MANGA by Kodansha Ltd. and Shonen Jump by VIZ Media, LLC. Official sites name their publishers, explain how they charge, and don’t offer every series ever printed for free with pop-ups on every page. If a site has a series that no English publisher has announced, that’s a good sign it isn’t licensed.
Once you’ve found something you love, browse our manga series pages for reader reviews, and look up the publishers behind your favorites to see what else they put out.