Volume, Weekly, or Chapter? Which Manga Purchase Option is the Most Cost-Effective for Ebooks?
When buying manga online or through apps, there are several options such as "volume purchase," "weekly issues," and "chapter purchase." In this guide, we look at the advantages of each option and explore which purchase method offers the best value for money.
Modified at: 2025.9.12Posted at: 2022.3.7
Summary of Digital and App Manga Purchase Methods
First, let’s review the different ways to purchase digital or app-based manga.
| Type | Details |
|---|---|
| Weekly | Same content as the print edition |
| Comic Volume Sales | Same content as the print edition. Sometimes with a delayed release date. |
| Chapter Sales | Buy individual chapters from any part you like |
The unique option is "chapter sales," which exists only on apps, while the others follow the same format as printed books.
Check the Cost Performance of Each Purchase Method
Next, let’s look at the cost performance of each purchasing option.
| Type | Number of Chapters | Price | Per Chapter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comic Volume Sales | 8–15 chapters | $4–7 | Approx. $0.5 |
| Chapter Sales | 1 | $0.5–1 | $0.5–1 |
| Weekly | Around 20 serialized works | Approx. $3 | Approx. $15 |
The highest cost efficiency is the weekly magazine, with a cost of about ¥15 per chapter. Next comes comic volume sales, and chapter sales rank the lowest in terms of cost efficiency.
Weekly vs Comic Volume Sales – Which Is the Better Deal?
The biggest advantage of the weekly magazine is being able to read the latest chapters. However, while the cost efficiency per chapter is high, if you only like a few series, the value decreases. If you follow 4–5 manga series weekly, the cost performance becomes higher than buying comics.
On the other hand, comic volumes let you read only the manga you like, but the disadvantages are that they are about 3–4 months behind the latest magazine chapters and that the price per chapter is slightly higher. In some cases, digital comic releases also come later than print.
| Type | Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly | High cost efficiency if you like many series Access to the latest chapters | Poor cost performance if you only like a few series |
| Comic Volume Sales | Read only the series you like | Slightly higher price per chapter 3–4 months delay from latest chapters Delayed digital release in some cases |
"If you follow 4–5 series, weekly magazines are the most cost-efficient."
Comic Volume Sales vs Chapter Sales – Which Is the Better Deal?
Now let’s compare comic volumes and chapter sales.
The advantage of chapter sales is that you can buy "any part of the manga you like, exactly how much you want." However, the per-chapter price is usually set at ¥50–100, which is significantly higher than weekly magazines or comic volumes.
Since chapter sales are often released at the same time as weekly serializations, if you only follow a small number of series, chapter sales can be more cost-efficient than a weekly magazine.
Recently, many digital and manga app platforms offer "specified chapters for free," which often entices readers to continue via chapter sales. But if the continuation is already bundled in a comic volume, it’s better to buy the comic. For chapters beyond the latest comic volume, using chapter sales makes sense.
| Type | Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly | High cost efficiency if you like many series Access to the latest chapters | Poor cost performance if you only like a few series |
| Chapter Sales | Read only the manga you want Access to the latest chapters Start from any point you like | Higher per-chapter price |
We’ve now looked at the different purchase methods and their cost performance for digital and app-based manga.
Each has pros and cons, so there’s no single “best” option, but you can keep in mind the following general rules:
- If you like many series, weekly magazines are the best deal
- If you like only a few, comic volumes are better
- If you absolutely must read the latest chapters, chapter sales are an option—though cost efficiency is worse