Solo Leveling: How Far Can You Read for Free and How to Buy It Cheaply
Conclusion: it is not completely free
Piccoma offers the widest free reading range
Hello, this is Kanahina 😊
This time, I looked into how far you can read the manga Solo Leveling, known in Japan as Ore dake Level Up na Ken, for free.
I will also explain the best ways I found to buy the ebook version at a lower price.
First, let’s look at how far you can read it on Piccoma.
On Piccoma, you can read up to chapter 155 for free
The information below is based on data from May 19, 2024.
Including the prologue, the series has 180 chapters, so being able to read up to chapter 155 for free is quite generous.
However, it does take time.
With the “Wait and Read for ¥0” system, you can normally read one chapter per day. Even when “¥0 plus tickets” are distributed, 6 tickets are given at 6:00 and another 6 at 18:00, so the maximum is around 13 chapters per day.
I personally read steadily up to chapter 155 for free.
What should you do for the parts that are not free?
I could not find a site where the remaining chapters could be read for free, so you will need to consider buying them from an ebook store.
Buying all 16 volumes costs about 16,000 yen. Since each store has different discount limits, I considered two practical ways to buy Solo Leveling cheaply and explain them below 😊
If you want to buy every volume cheaply, ebookJapan is the best choice
This method is limited to new users who can use the first-time coupon, but it can make the full set much cheaper.
ebookJapan’s first-time coupon can be used a total of 6 times, with up to 2,000 yen off each purchase.
It also works extremely well with PayPay, so it is especially useful for people who regularly use PayPay.
Even Solo Leveling, which costs about 16,000 yen for all 16 volumes, becomes much cheaper if you split the purchase across 6 coupon uses. Here is a concrete example.
- 1st coupon: volumes 1–3 become 1,036 yen
2nd coupon: volumes 4–6 become 1,036 yen
3rd coupon: volumes 7–9 become 1,036 yen
4th coupon: volumes 10–12 become 1,036 yen
5th coupon: volumes 13–15 become 1,036 yen
6th coupon: volume 16 becomes 304 yen
↓ Total: 5,484 yen including tax
In addition, if you buy with PayPay during ebookJapan’s Comic Weekend event, held every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, up to 30% may return as PayPay Points.
In this example, you could receive about 1,578 yen in points later, making the effective cost about 3,906 yen. That is a very strong deal.
This is only an estimate as of May 19, 2024, so please note that it may change depending on ebookJapan’s terms.
If you only want to buy volumes 15 and 16 cheaply, DMM Books is a great deal
If you read up to chapter 155 on Piccoma and only want to buy the final unread part as cheaply as possible, this method is especially recommended.
This also requires a new registration and first-time coupon, but it can be extremely cheap.
DMM Books’ first-time coupon gives an impressive 90% off. It can only be used once, but the discount can be up to 2,000 yen.
Here is a concrete example.
- Use the 90% off coupon to buy volumes 15–16: 224 yen
↓
Total: 224 yen including tax
DMM often has a fairly good point return rate as well, sometimes around 26%.
In this example, you could receive about 58 yen in points later, making the effective cost around 166 yen. That is very inexpensive.
This is only an estimate as of May 19, 2024, so please note that it may change depending on DMM Books’ terms.
Ebook sites where you can buy digital manga at a discount
If you have already registered for ebookJapan and DMM Books and cannot use their first-time coupons, the following sites are also worth checking.
Many stores are especially generous for first-time users, and some let you use points you already collect in daily life.
Rakuten Points, Amazon Points and d Points are common examples, so using your saved points may help you buy the manga more cheaply 😊
| Service | Key points | Campaign |
|---|---|---|
ebookJapan  | One of Japan’s largest ebook stores, especially strong in manga, with more than 800,000 titles. It also offers more than 2,800 free manga titles at any time, and PayPay payments are a major advantage. | 70% off Usable for 6 purchases |
DMM Books  | A major Japanese ebook store with a very large catalog. New users may receive a 90% off coupon. | 90% off Save up to 2,000 yen |
| One of Japan’s largest general ebook stores. It has more than 1 million titles and offers many coupons and sales every day. | 70% off For 1 volume | |
| Kindle Store | Amazon’s Kindle Store. With Kindle Unlimited, more than 2 million titles are available in the subscription. It is also convenient if you use Amazon Points. | 70% off Save up to 3,000 yen Only for titles that show an eligible coupon. |
| Manga Kingdom | A digital manga service known for strong value, free manga, and point-back campaigns. Some titles can be read completely free. | Up to 50% back |
| A major manga and ebook service in Japan, also well known through TV commercials. It regularly offers free titles and sale campaigns. | 70% off For 1 eligible volume | |
| A service where you can buy or rent digital manga depending on the title. Some works can be read from 110 yen, so it is useful for keeping costs down. | Member rank system available | |
| d Book | A docomo ebook service that supports d Points. On d Book Day, held on the 10th, 20th and 30th of each month, point-back campaigns may be available. | 70% off For 1 eligible volume |
Rakuten Kobo  | A convenient ebook store for users who collect or spend Rakuten Points. New users may receive up to 70 times more points depending on the campaign. | Up to 70x points Save up to 2,000 yen |
Summary
Finally, here is a summary of how far you can read Solo Leveling for free and how to buy it cheaply.
↓
• On Piccoma, you can read up to chapter 155 for free.
• If you want to buy all volumes cheaply, ebookJapan is the strongest option.
• If you only want volumes 15–16 after reading on Piccoma, DMM Books is a great deal.
What did you think?
Solo Leveling is a masterpiece, but each volume is a little expensive. Use free reading options and first-time coupons wisely to enjoy it at a lower price.
