Fanfiction is work created by fans based on the settings, characters, world, and plot of an existing TV show, movie, comic, book, anime, cartoon, or game.
These types of literature and creations are inspired by fans’ immense love for certain works to the point where they try to recreate an alternative narration. Most pieces of fanfiction are free as they can’t be monetized because that would amount to copyright infringement.
In exchange for that, fanfiction creators gain a lot of popularity among other fans, and this can catapult them to new opportunities in life.
I am a huge anime fan and have come across some of the best fanfiction works over the years. If you’ve been a consumer of certain types of art and would like to expand your horizons to include fanfiction works, you’ve come to the right place.
I’ll discuss fanfiction sites like Wattpad, Webtoon, Quotev, and many more. So let’s roll!
Types of Fanfiction
Before we dive into the best fanfiction sites around, it’s essential to understand the types of fanfiction. This is because most sites we’re about to cover broadly fall into these categories.
Canon Compliant Fanfics
This type of fanfiction stays as close to the original source material as possible. The writers simply expand on the existing core plotlines and fill in the gaps that may be causing a lot of discussions and guesses by other fans. Canon-compliant fanfiction is among the most popular, but pulling them off is the hardest.
Alternative Universe Fanfics
This is where the writer goes off on a different tangent and creates a whole new world with new settings and scenarios from the canon plotline. This type of fanfiction tries to answer the question, “What If.” So it takes other fans to other worlds where they get to see another version of the story that they feel the original work should have followed.
Crossover Fanfics
This is when the fictional writer merges characters and other elements from different fictional stories and creates a compelling story to allow other fans to witness unexpected adventures and interactions. However, pulling them off is very hard because it requires the fanfiction writer to understand all the stories they choose to use.
Shipping Fanfics
These are fictional creations where fans try to bring together characters they believe would have made a perfect romantic matchup. The story usually revolves around passionate romantic escapes, sex, love triangles, affairs, and other would-be romantic fantasies.
Fix-It Fanfics
Sometimes fans of original works feel cheated by canon works by how the story progresses and ends. So they create a fix-it type of fanfic where they rewrite the whole thing in a way they feel that it fixes all the plotholes. This is how they can add a happy ending instead of a sad one.
Historical Retelling Fanfics
Here fanfic writers take modern characters of their favorite story and then put them in another older era, creating a new narrative for them. This allows them to create a fascinating account that touches on historical events.
Parody Fanfics
This is a humorous recreation of popular stories, and it always tries to poke fun at the original creations. Its primary purpose is to provide comic relief, especially for originally dark or sad stories.
Best Fanfiction Websites
Let’s check out some of the best fanfiction websites now.
1. Webtoon
I have been using Webtoon for years to read thousands of amazing original stories by fanfic writers. The site mainly focuses on comics and anime, and it receives submissions from various writers worldwide.
What makes Webtoon a top fanfic recommendation is how clean the site is. Every story is categorized, so finding what you want is very easy. Furthermore, Webtoon comes with smartphone and PC apps with very clean user interfaces.
Furthermore, this fanfic site supports over nine languages, including Korean, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, English, Indonesian, French, Spanish, and German.
The platform was first launched in 2004 in South Korea by JunKoo Kim, with various upgrades undertaken over the years.
You can read stories without signing up, but the only drawback is that some stories are locked and require you to purchase Webtoon coins to unlock and read them.
Webtoon has smooth iOS and Android apps
2. Goodreads
Goodreads is a good place for finding both canon and fanfiction works. But as far as quality goes, no other site comes close to it. This is the only place where fanfic writers put in the effort judging by how good their works are.
This is also one of the few places where fanfiction writers are compensated for their world, as they’re even allowed to sell them while attributed to the original creators of the canon stories from which they borrow.
One of the standout fanfiction books I liked from Goodreads was James Potter and the Hall of Elders Crossing by Norman Lippert. It borrows from the Harry Potter books, and it’s an ebook with over 390 pages, published in 2007.
If you want fanfiction works that are written just as well as their canon counterparts, Goodreads is a fantastic place to start. However, you need to have a Goodreads account to access these books.
You can also read your fanfiction favorites on your Android and iOS devices.
Explore the best alternatives to Goodread in this post.
3. Commaful
Commaful is an exciting source of reading materials that go beyond fanfiction pieces. You can find poetry and picture books, all presented on a very colorful website that’s easy to navigate.
A fanfiction section directs you to unlimited fandom book titles like Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Game of Thrones, comics, anime, historical stories, and more. All you have to do is tap on any trending titles, and you’ll have access to different written works by various writers worldwide.
A standout feature of Commaful is how well-illustrated the fanfiction stories are, especially comics and anime. It’s the only option on this list that’s closest to Webtoon.
However, you must create an account to read the many works the platform offers. Writers can also participate in contests, and at the same time, they can make a shop where they can sell their original stories to other fans.
Commaful comes with an Android app and an iOS app.
4. Wattpad
Wattpad is a little more professional than most of the other free fanfiction sites on this list and is ideal for writers looking to build their name in the fanfiction world.
According to information on its website, the platform has over 85 million readers, making it a good place for fanfiction writers to get significant recognition.
Some notable genres of fanfiction available on Wattpad range from adventure, horror, adult, anime, and comics, just to mention a few.
But what puts Wattpad above most of the other fanfiction websites on this list is the availability of a text-to-speech feature that allows you to listen to the story if you don’t have time to stare at the screen to read. This is very convenient and helpful.
However, Wattpad isn’t free. To access its unlimited fanfiction libraries, you have to create an account and subscribe to one of its two premium plans. You can choose the Premium plan at $4.99 per month or the Premium+ option at $7.49 monthly.
Other perks of having a premium account are eliminating ads, customization options, and access to offline fanfiction stories.
You can use Wattpad on Android, iOS, and Huawei.
5. Literotica
If you loved 50 Shades of Grey but needed more wild bedroom stories, then Literotica is the perfect place. This is among the top adult-themed fanfiction sites on this list, and it has everything you can imagine.
This erotic website has a simple user interface that works best on PCs. Once you open the site, you have to confirm that you’re an adult to gain access, and the best part is that you don’t have to create an account to access the thousands of stories uploaded daily.
And if you have an interest in writing your erotic fanfiction based on your favorite book or if you simply have an original story, you can submit your pitch based on the Literotica guidelines.
You could have your work published and read by the world. But for this to work, you must be a member with an active account.
There are story contests that fanfic writers can participate in, too, and recently, the platform added an option for videos.
6. Quotev
Quotev is another fantastic fanfiction site where writers can fully exercise their creative juices. It has one of the largest ranges of languages, including English, Dutch, Polish, Germana, French, Chinese, and Italian, among many others.
This makes it a universal platform where readers and writers worldwide can share their works.
The site has a simple user interface that is easy to navigate, with all the latest fanfiction works displayed. You can also take advantage of the categories to find exactly what you need much faster.
One thing I found very helpful with each written fanfiction story is that you’re provided with important information beforehand. For example, you get to know the story’s theme, some disclaimers on uncomfortable elements of the story, a brief synopsis, and the age rating.
Quotev is free; you don’t have to sign up to access the stories, and that’s an added advantage. You can also access it through an Android app.
7. Asianfanfics
This is as straightforward as any fanfiction site comes. It goes straight to the point right from the moment you open it. You’re met with the latest fanfiction work, accompanied by a thumbnail alongside information about the length of the story, the number of words and chapters, and the comments and likes.
However, there’s a unique way through which things are done to Asianfanfics. For example, if you want to promote a story you like, you have to participate in public bidding, and if you win, you get to display the most popular story on your profile. I’m unsure what that achieves for the original writer, but the practice is quite popular.
You can also sort out the stories based on the genre or whether they have been completed. However, there are some stories you can access unless you have an account or a members-only affiliation. So that may lockout new readers starting on Asianfanfics for the first time.
And just as the name implies, most of the content on this fanfiction website is primarily Asian.
8. Archive of Our Own (AO3)
Archive of Our Own, better known as AO3, is one of the largest collections of fanfiction works on the internet. According to the information displayed on the website, it is home to over 11 million written works that go as far back as the 90s.
The site also has more than 5.5 million users, a massive audience for anyone looking to make a name for themselves in the fanfiction writing world.
The overall user interface may not be as stylish as Webtoon, but it gets the job done regarding finding what you need. For example, all the stories are grouped into categories like theater, books, TV shows, anime and manga, movies, video games, and many more.
You simply tap on a category to be redirected to a vast collection of Amazon fanfiction stories by writers worldwide.
Another helpful thing about AO3 is that each fanfiction work has all the information you need to know, even before you open it. Information like the number of words, chapters, the language used, and the number of comments and hits the story has received ever since it was published.
You can create an account on AO3 but still read all stories without signing up.
9. FanFiction.net
FanFiction is almost similar to AO3 in terms of content and how the website has been designed, only that it’s in blue instead of red. All the same, it also boasts a vast collection of fan-written fictional works that are based on canonical and also original foundations.
When you open the website, you’re met with story categories that range from anime/manga, books, movies, comics, plays, TV shows, and many others. There’s also a special section for crossovers as well as a thriving community where fans and writers mingle and interact with each other every day.
There’s also Fictionpress which is a compilation of tweets from the official social media accounts posting updates on the stories being posted on the platform.
When you tap on each category, you’re redirected to a page with fanfiction stories arranged alphabetically. Under each story, there’s an option for readers to leave their honest reviews and comments, which everyone can see.
Be warned, though; the user interface is cluttered and crowded and not easy to see.
10. Inkitt
Inkitt is similar to Wattpad, and it offers a good platform for fanfic writers looking to monetize their skills, but it mainly focuses on books. It has a dazzling user interface with simple colors, which is easy to access and navigate, even for first-time users.
The site has a simple framework that involves three steps. First, the writer chooses the title of the story they want to write. They pen the work and upload the manuscripts on Inkitt, where they retain 100% of their copyrights.
The second stage is for Inkitt to allow readers to read the written works for free without interruption from the ads. Readers are also entitled to give the authors some feedback on their works.
Finally, once the written fanfiction performs well and receives good ratings from readers, Inkitt publishes it officially on its Galatea app.
Inkitt has an active online community where readers and writers interact with their favorite writers and can even access more resources with an account. Some notable genres of fanfiction you can find on this platform include fantasy, sci-fi, romance, horror, drama, thriller, and mystery.
The platform has free apps for iOS and Android.
Check Out: StoryGraph vs Goodreads
11. Twisting the Hellmouth
Twisting the Hellmouth may have a suspicious name, but it’s home to some of the most fantastic fanfiction stories on the internet. Based on the information provided on the website, the site has over 20,000 stories, most revolving around Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel crossovers.
The user interface isn’t the cleanest, but navigating around isn’t all that hard, thanks to the many categories that the platform provides for its readers. You can check out anime, cartoons, and other forms of literature.
The homepage is also littered with popular titles like Lord of the Rings, Marvel Universe, Twilight, Smallville, Supernatural, Star Wars, and so many others. What I liked the most about this platform is how they display the exact number of written fanfiction works and the date of the latest submission.
Readers can also add their reviews and comments to the works they read, but they must create an account to do that. The site is free but users can make a PayPal donation that helps keep it running.
12. Fimfiction
Fimfiction is primarily focused on cartoons and anime, and it comes with an easy-to-navigate site that looks much better than Twisting the Hellmouth and FanFiction.
This is also one of the few fanfiction sites that offer a live chat option where users can instant message each other to discuss various fanfiction and canon works.
There’s also a button toggle to view mature content, a beneficial feature that helps keep kids from accidentally viewing inappropriate content if they come to the website.
Besides live chat, there are thriving groups and communities where readers and writers talk to each other, sharing story ideas and offering constructive feedback to the best fanfiction pieces.
Unlike other platforms where you open a story and read it directly from the site, Fimfiction allows you to download any story you want without having to create an account so you can read it offline. This is very convenient.
Furthermore, each story is furnished with all the essential information you need to know beforehand, like the number of words, the name of the author, the designer of the cover art, the genre, and the date.
This is also the site with one of the most active readers who love commenting on the works they read, and that’s very encouraging for the writers.
13. DeviantArt
DeviantArt may be known for art, but it has a section where users post all kinds of fanfiction borrowed from a wide range of genres.
Finding the fanfiction section is not as straightforward as the other options, so you have to manually type the world fanfiction into the search feature to find related content.
However, it has a vibrant collection of fictional works by fans, with over 780,000 search results when I looked it up at the time of this writing.
The most fantastic part of DeviantArt fanfiction is the use of high-quality artwork, which isn’t surprising considering that talented digital artists predominantly run the site. So you can always be guaranteed high-quality stories that are beautifully illustrated.
But you need to create a DeviantArt account to get the best access to the stories. There’s a premium DeviantArt plan called DeviantArt Core that ranges from $1.66 per month to $6.25 per month.
Interesting Read: Why Is DeviantArt So Weird?
Wrapping Up
Only some people can be a best-selling author, but you’ll be surprised at how talented and imaginative people can be when given the right resources.
Webtoon is my best recommendation if you’re into manga and anime, as it has more range and is one of the best artwork styles around.
Goodreads is the best if you are looking for more mature and professional fanfiction works.
Enjoyed the post?
