How Are Mobile Devices and Content Innovation Driving the Global Webtoons Market?

Market Overview

The global webtoons market was valued at USD 9.17 Billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 97.19 Billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 28.50% during the forecast period of 2025-2033. The growth is driven by increasing smartphone penetration, technological advances, extensive R&D, and expanding media and entertainment sectors, coupled with higher global internet access. Asia-Pacific dominates the market with a significant share exceeding 28.9%.

Study Assumption Years
• Base Year: 2024
• Historical Year/Period: 2019-2024
• Forecast Year/Period: 2025-2033

Market Key Takeaways
• Current Market Size: USD 9.17 Billion in 2024
• CAGR: 28.50% during 2025-2033
• Forecast Period: 2025-2033
• Asia-Pacific held over 28.9% share in 2024, dominating the market.
• Rapid growth fueled by smartphone prevalence, technological progress, R&D, and media expansion.
• Increasing global internet penetration significantly boosts market accessibility.
• Subscription and advertisement-based revenue models sustain creators and platforms.
• Rising popularity of webtoons in merchandise and gaming industries expands market reach.

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Market Growth Factors

The webtoons industry is driven by increasing smartphone penetration. As of 2 January 2025, there are approximately 4.69 billion smartphones around the world, and this is expected to grow to 5.83 billion by 2028. Mobile phones are the most commonly used device for access to the internet. From 2022 to 2023, the number of smartphone users grew up by 1.3 billion (+38.38%). With the average time spent online being three hours and 45 minutes, digital entertainment is driving growth of the webtoon market.

According to research, along with the trend of digitalization, as of 2023, 59% of companies in the EU are at least at a basic level of digital intensity. As consumers access content through online mediums increasingly, webtoons on smartphones and tablets entertain because they interact, contain multimedia, and exceed print-based media. The format fits the pace of global cultural changes.

Improved R&D practices eased developing new webtoon formats, technology solutions, and interactivity features in webtoons. Prominent new features are augmented reality, AI-based content personalization, and novel user interfaces to enable a better reading experience. Webtoon ecosystems become more accessible, functional, and engaging to meet the needs of consumers.

Market Segmentation

Analysis by Type:
• Comedy: Largest segment in 2024 with around 38.3% market share, driven by audiences seeking humor and entertainment. Social media promotion and revenue from subscriptions and in-app purchases enhance engagement and sustainability.

• Action
• Sci-Fi
• Horror
• Romance
• Others

Analysis by Revenue Model:

• Subscription Based
• Advertisement Based: Leading model in 2024; offers free content to users while generating revenue from advertisements targeting platform users. This approach democratizes access and ensures constant revenue streams.

Analysis by Application:

• Mobile: Leading segment with around 53.3% market share in 2024, supporting portable and on-the-go content consumption with user-friendly interfaces and responsive design.
• Laptop
• Tablets
• Television

Regional Insights

In 2024, Asia-Pacific is the largest webtoons market, commanding a global market share of over 28.9%. Factors that contribute to its dominance include many people owning smartphones, the internet infrastructure being superior, people having a cultural affinity for visual narratives particularly in South Korea, and the creator ecosystem providing support. The region is a main world center for webtoons. It provides a wide range of genres and styles.

Recent Developments & News

• November 2024: Webtoon launched a revamped Webtoon Shop, an online retail hub featuring merchandise from popular franchises like Lore Olympus and All of Us Are Dead.
• November 2024: DC Comics announced DC GO, a new vertical-scroll webtoon range on its digital subscription service DC Universe Infinite (DCUI).
• September 2024: Manta planned to add over 300 webcomic titles and overhaul its in-app currency system, GEM.
• August 2024: Dashtoon signed an agreement with the Korean Webtoon Industry Association (KWIA) to license and host premier webtoons, following KWIA's partnership with Google Korea.

Key Players
• Izneo (Fnac Darty)
• Kakao Corp.
• Lezhin Entertainment Inc. (KidariStudio Inc.)
• Naver Webtoon Corp. (Naver Corporation)
• NHN Corp.
• Shueisha Inc.
• SideWalk Group
• Tappytoon
• Toomics Global Co. Ltd.
• ToryWorks Co. Ltd.

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