
If WEBTOON is a huge stadium, then Tapas is a more intimate but very useful stage: you can test the English version, gather feedback, grow a fan base, and eventually reach monetization.
1️⃣ What is Tapas
🌐 tapas.io
Tapas is a platform for webcomics, webtoons, and web novels. It launched in 2012, was originally called Tapastic, and in 2021 became part of the Kakao Entertainment ecosystem.
Now it's part of a big IP machine: comic → novel → print → licenses → adaptations. Tapas claims 75,000+ authors, 100,000+ series, 1.6 million+ episodes, and 10 million+ registered users.
2️⃣ Where is the audience
Tapas is primarily an English-language market. According to Semrush estimates for May 2026, the top traffic countries are: USA, India, Philippines, Brazil, Canada. Similarweb separately highlights the core age group 18–24.
3️⃣ Who has already grown on Tapas and numbers
The main case is TurtleMe and The Beginning After the End: the author started publishing TBATE on Tapas in 2016, and now the comic has about 52.6 million views, 556 thousand subscribers, and 2.7 million likes on Tapas.
From the Russian-speaking field, there are also examples to study:
• Kelheor:
tapas.io/series/Three-in-a-Tree/info
tapas.io/series/Hexameron/info
Three in a Tree — about 220 thousand views, 935 subscribers, 22.4 thousand likes; Hexameron — about 57.7 thousand views and 2 thousand subscribers.
• Kat Solomko:
tapas.io/series/Arcane-Flames/info
Arcane Flames — about 282 thousand views, 5.6 thousand subscribers, 20 thousand likes.
• Grinya Lesnoy:
m.tapas.io/series/SRI-Void/info
SRI of the Void — an example of a Russian-language original posted on an English platform.
• Almost Magical RU:
tapas.io/series/Almost-Magical-RU/info
Russian translated version with permission: about 229 thousand views.
4️⃣ Where to start for an author
🌐 creators.tapas.io
Prepare a starter pack:
— English title and description;
— square cover that reads well in thumbnail;
— 1–2 genres;
— one month buffer;
— mobile vertical version;
— short one-sentence pitch.
5️⃣ How to promote
regular schedule → question at the end of episode → reply to comments → test cover/description → cliffhanger → bring in first readers from outside.
Tapas provides a Creator Dashboard: see where people read, subscribe, drop off, react.
6️⃣Money
Publishing — $0. Independent authors retain rights to their work. Monetization unlocks in stages: Ad Revenue — from 100 subscribers, Support — from 250, Early Access — usually from 5,000 subscribers and a regular schedule.
7️⃣ What's important to remember
Tapas is not a replacement for a Russian-language start, but a second track. The ideal scheme: test the pilot in Russian, strengthen weak points, translate the first episodes, and go outward.
Toonlio can be the first testing ground: check the story with Russian-speaking readers, gather reactions, refine the packaging, and then go to Tapas more confidently.
Also, we remind you that the promotion with 50 internal coins for new Toonlio users is still ongoing 🎁 Come in and invite friends!
toonlio.ru
t.me/toonlio
vk.com/toonlio
Comments
0No comments yet.
Sign in to join the discussion.