10 best manhwa like Solo Leveling

Solo Leveling has become one of the most popular Korean webtoons, captivating readers with its engaging story about Sung Jin-Woo, a low-rank hunter who gains incredible power, allowing him to level up and take on extremely dangerous dungeons and monsters. It has developed such a massive fanbase with its stellar art, captivating story, and epic fight scenes. Fans are constantly searching for best manhwa like Solo Leveling to enjoy.

If you've caught up on Solo Leveling and need something else to fill the void, there are plenty of fantastic manhwa out there that can scratch a similar itch. Many feature overpowered main characters, apocalyptic settings, RPG-inspired power systems, or thrilling action that Solo Leveling fans are sure to enjoy.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the writer's opinion and is not ranked in any particular order.

Top ten manhwa like Solo Leveling

1. Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint

Cover of Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint by Sing Shong (Image via D&C Media and Yen Press)

Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint will appeal to fans of Solo Leveling thanks to its apocalyptic setting where monsters start appearing and threatening humanity. It follows Kim Dokja, who is an avid reader of a web novel called Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World. When the events of the novel start occurring in real life, Kim Dokja uses his knowledge to try and save as many people as he can.

With its thriller plot about survival in an apocalypse and a main character whose quick wits give him an advantage, Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint shares some strong similarities with Solo Leveling. It also features RPG elements as skills and abilities become a key part of surviving in the new world.

2. The Beginning After the End

Cover of The Beginning After the End by TurtleMe (Image via Tapas Media)

For another fantasy manhwa with RPG-inspired elements, check out The Beginning After the End. It follows King Grey, who is reincarnated into a new body in a magical world. He retains the knowledge and skills from his previous life and aims to master powerful new abilities in magic and combat.

There’s a heavy focus on Grey training, leveling up his skills, and putting them to the test against stronger foes. Like with Jin-Woo in Solo Leveling, readers get to witness Grey unlock new abilities and put them to clever use in increasingly difficult battles as the story progresses. It’s very satisfying to see the fruits of his labor pay off down the line.

3. Overgeared

Cover of Overgeared by Park Saenal (Image via Kakao Page)

Gaming litRPGs were a major inspiration for Solo Leveling, so manhwa with VR gaming themes could also appeal to fans. Overgeared follows Shin Youngwoo, who gets stuck in a VR game and must figure out how to survive in the new world he finds himself in. It has a very strong focus on game mechanics, skill builds, crafting, and large-scale guild battles.

Fans of Solo Leveling’s RPG progression system should feel right at home here. Like Jin-Woo unlocking new capabilities through leveling up, Shin Youngwoo finds clever ways to push the boundaries of the system and pursue power. With repetitive grinding and creative strategies to overcome challenges, Overgeared will be very familiar territory for Solo Leveling fans.

4. The Second Coming of Gluttony

Cover of The Second Coming of Gluttony by Ro Yu-jin (Image via Breathe)

For an action-packed story about power and survival, check out The Second Coming of Gluttony. After a failed suicide attempt, Seol Jihu finds himself suddenly transported to an alternate world. To survive and find a way to get back home, he has to fight fiercely and gain strength quickly in his new dangerous environment.

Like Jin-Woo, Seol Jihu pursues any means possible to rapidly gain power in the alternate dimension he finds himself in. Both stories feature overpowered main characters facing off against giant, deadly monsters. If you found the constant life-threatening battles in huge dungeons to be a major draw of Solo Leveling, you’ll enjoy more of that in The Second Coming of Gluttony.

5. Regressor Instruction Manual

Cover of Regressor Instruction Manual by Ant Studio (Image via Kakao Page)

The Regressor Instruction Manual has a plot that will be instantly recognizable to fans of Solo Leveling - a man finds himself returned to the past with special abilities that give him the advantage to grow stronger and change the course of events.

Much like Jin-Woo unlocking new power-ups in Solo Leveling, protagonist Lee Ho Jae uses his knowledge of the future and regressed abilities to train harder and explore new skills at an accelerated rate compared to his first run through life.

If you were intrigued by Jin-Woo gradually building his strength over time with future insights, you’ll probably enjoy seeing that concept explored further in the Regressor Instruction Manual.

6. Tower of God

Cover of Tower of God by SIU (Image via Naver Webtoon)

If you loved Solo Leveling’s focus on dungeons and making your way to the top while clearing increasingly difficult floors, then Tower of God is worth reading. The story centers around a massive tower with over 134 floors, each filled with deadly challenges. Powerful warriors climb the tower, trying to reach the top and gaining allies and strength along the way.

Protagonist Twenty-Fifth Bam enters the tower looking for his friend, facing grueling tests on each floor that push the limits of his abilities. Like Jin-Woo’s steady development of skills climbing through dungeons in Solo Leveling, Bam unlocks new powers and builds his strength by hitting new checkpoints in the tower.

7. A Returner's Magic Should Be Special

Cover of A Returner's Magic Should Be Special by Yook So-Nan (Image via D&C Webtoon Biz)

A Returner's Magic Should Be Special is another fantasy manhwa dealing with someone reliving part of their life with future knowledge that gives them new advantages. Desir Arman is a mage who failed to stop the demon king from taking over in his previous life. When he wakes up and returns to the past as a student of magic once more, Desir uses his experience and skills from before to train harder.

Much like Jin-Woo in Solo Leveling, Desir makes clever use of the insights only he possesses to seek out new abilities and invent creative techniques that no one else has access to. With an impending demon king attack on the horizon, he readies himself to get much stronger and quicker this time around.

8. Survival Story of a Sword King in a Fantasy World

Cover of Survival Story of a Sword King in a Fantasy World by Kwon Sun Kyu (Image via Kakao Page)

In Survival Story of a Sword King in a Fantasy World, modern high schooler Han Bin finds himself transported into a fantasy game-like world where he has to use the gaming skills he honed over many years to navigate this new dangerous environment. With monsters roaming everywhere, he struggles to stay alive and levels up what abilities he can.

Much like Jin-Woo unlocked skills through relentless battling early on in Solo Leveling, Han Bin has to fight for his life repeatedly in dire scenarios to build his combat prowess. Over time, he unlocks an overpowered set of capabilities that let him easily dispatch threats that regular people would find impossible to handle.

9. Kill the Hero

Cover of Kill the Hero by D-Dart (Image via Kakao Page)

In Solo Leveling, Jin-Woo has to build the strength to eventually be able to change the course of massive looming threats facing humanity that most people remain oblivious to. Kill the Hero plays with a similar concept: Kim Jin Cheol finds himself returned to the past with the foreknowledge that the world’s heroes will one day go mad with power and bring ruin to humanity.

To avoid this disastrous fate, Kim Jin Cheol starts training harder than anyone else, realizing he needs to get strong enough to have a chance at stopping the insane heroes before it's too late.

Much like Jin-Woo, Kim Jin Cheol uses his insights into the future to push his limits further than anyone else around him is willing to go. He steadily builds overwhelming power and skill in facing life-or-death fights.

10. The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years

Cover of The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years by Barnacle (Image via Kakao Page)

For another fantasy manhwa dealing with a protagonist who has returned from the past and is now vastly more capable than his peers, check out The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years. Frey Blake is resurrected 4000 years after his previous life ended. And even after many millennia have passed, his magical abilities and insights far exceed those of modern mages of the current era.

Much like Jin-Woo discovering he has access to system mechanics that give him huge advantages over everyone else in building power, Frey Blake is working magic on a level people of this period simply cannot fathom. Watching him flex creative applications of strength untethered to the limits binding others is quite satisfying.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Korean webtoons have featured many stellar series in recent years that capture the thrill of watching characters unlock awe-inspiring strength. With so many fantastic manhwa out now, there are plenty of options to fill the entertainment void left upon catching up with the manhwa chapters of Solo Leveling.

Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, The Beginning After the End, Overgeared, and The Second Coming of Gluttony, just to name a few, all provide more riveting journeys about fearsome power gained facing lethal adversity.

Edited by Dev Sharma