Name

Tomato Novel

Legal name

北京时光荏苒科技有限公司

Website

https://fanqienovel.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Literature / Digital Publishing

NAICS

Other Publishers (51319)

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Reader Community, Serialization & Monetization Platforms (Web fiction, Subscriptions) (MPAJAJAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Author Website, Storefront & Direct-to-Reader Commerce (D2C Sales) (MPAJAJAE)

Keywords

• Web novel platform
• Digital publishing
• Online fiction
• Content monetization
• IP licensing

Headquarters

HQ city

Beijing

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Advertising Revenue (Reading/Listening): Authors earn revenue from ads displayed during reading and audio-listening sessions. Readers accessing content for free generate ad impressions; revenue is shared with authors based on engagement metrics. Subscription members (who pay to remove ads) contribute to a pooled revenue distributed proportionally across all works they read during their membership period.
2. Reader Gifts to Authors: Registered (signed) works can receive direct reader gifts/p tips. The platform deducts channel fees, and authors retain 70% of net gift value. iOS readers pay higher prices due to Apple's platform fee structure.
3. Platform Incentives and Bonuses: Authors can earn additional bonuses on top of ad/gift revenue through platform incentive programs: 全勤奖 (attendance bonus for consistent updates), 完本续签奖 (completion bonus), 星火计划 (quality incentive based on reading completion rates at milestone word counts), and short story incentives such as 千字万金 (up to 500万+ yuan prize pool for short story writers).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Tomato Novel is a free, ad-supported web novel and short story reading platform that provides Chinese-language serialized fiction across dozens of genre categories to individual readers via web (fanqienovel.com) and mobile apps. The platform operates a two-sided marketplace: readers consume content free with advertising (or via paid ad-removal membership), while authors publish through a self-serve portal, earn ad revenue share, receive reader gifts, qualify for performance bonuses, and license IP for film, TV, animation, and short drama adaptations.

Product overview

Tomato Novel (番茄小说) is a ByteDance-owned online literature platform operating as a web and mobile platform offering free web novels, short stories, and audiobooks to readers while providing comprehensive publishing tools, revenue sharing, and IP development services to authors. The platform features two main product lines: long-form web novels (番茄小说网) with over 30 genre categories and a short story vertical (番茄短故事) targeting 8k-80k word stories with adaptations to short dramas and animation. The ecosystem includes the main reading platform, mobile apps for both readers and writers, a copyright licensing service (版权专区), and structured author incentive programs (作家福利) with revenue splits, attendance bonuses, and milestone rewards. Notable IP adaptations include 《十日终焉》 and 《我在精神病院学斩神》 adapted into both animation and film/TV.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 番茄小说网: Main web novel platform offering long-form web novels in Chinese
• 番茄短故事
• 番茄作家助手

Products and services

• Tomato Novel Web Platform (番茄小说网) The primary web-based reading platform for Chinese-language serialized web novels across 30+ genres, featuring bestseller rankings, personal bookshelves, writer zone for self-publishing, and copyright management tools. Targeted at general Chinese readers seeking free, continuously updated fiction.
• Tomato Novel Mobile App (番茄小说 / 番茄免费小说) iOS and Android mobile applications providing readers with on-the-go access to the Tomato Novel library, including reading, audiobook/listening features, and synchronized bookmarks across devices.
• Author Helper App (作家助手) Dedicated mobile application for writers to publish chapters, monitor work analytics and earnings, receive platform notifications, manage copyright, and access writer support resources.
• Tomato Short Stories (番茄短故事) A dedicated short story vertical within Tomato Novel featuring 8k-80k word stories with development pathways to short dramas, animation, and comics. Includes structured incentive programs (千字万金, IP金品共创计划) designed to attract short-form fiction writers and build an IP pipeline for short-form video adaptations.
• Copyright Zone (版权专区) IP Licensing Service A dedicated IP licensing service showcasing works with sold adaptation rights across TV dramas, animations, short dramas, and publications. Includes partnership announcements with major Chinese streaming platforms and media companies, enabling authors and rights holders to monetize popular web novels through visual media adaptations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Authors can earn up to 500,000+ RMB through the 千字万金 short story incentive program
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Youku (优酷)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 December 2024Youku partnered with Tomato Novel to co-produce web novel IP into film and television series. The platform announced a collaboration to jointly promote IP adaptation of web novels. This aligns with Tomato Novel's strategy of monetizing popular works through drama and streaming media.
• iQiyi (爱奇艺)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 December 2024iQiyi partnered with Tomato Novel to explore IP adaptation opportunities, leveraging Tomato Novel's original library and iQiyi's production and streaming capabilities. The collaboration aims to develop web novel content into visual media.
• Shiguang Media (尚世影业)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 December 2024Shiguang Media officially announced a partnership with Tomato Novel for the animation adaptation of 《星河白鹭起》. The collaboration represents Tomato Novel's active push into animation co-production beyond drama.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Wattpad: Global web fiction platform (Naver-owned) with serialized stories, ranking systems, and IP licensing into film/TV. Comparable platform mechanics and two-sided reader/writer marketplace, though serving English and international audiences rather than Chinese-language readers.

Direct peers

• Webnovel: China Literature's international web novel platform and a direct global competitor. Same underlying business model (free chapters, paid unlocks, author revenue share) and operates a comparable IP licensing flywheel.
• 七猫小说 (Qimao Novel): Free ad-supported Chinese web novel app that competes head-to-head with Tomato Novel for mass-market free readers. Closest direct peer in monetization model (free, ad-supported, mobile-first) and target reader demographic.
• 纵横中文网 (Zongheng): Established Chinese web novel platform (PCP-backed) competing in male-oriented fantasy and historical genres. Directly comparable product offering (serialized novels, ranking systems, author incentive programs) to Tomato Novel's male-reader segment.
• 晋江文学城 (JJWXC): Leading female-focused Chinese web novel platform dominant in romance, danmei, and ancient costume genres. Comparable to Tomato Novel's female reader segment (女频) with overlapping genre coverage and IP licensing into drama adaptations.
• China Literature (阅文集团): Tencent-backed, HKEX-listed parent of Qidian and Webnovel — the dominant incumbent in Chinese online literature. Directly comparable business model (free + paid tiers, ad revenue share, IP licensing) and overlapping author/reader base.
• 塔读文学 (Tadu Literature): Mid-tier Chinese web novel platform with comparable free + paid monetization and author incentive programs. Overlaps with Tomato Novel on serialized fiction across multiple genres, though smaller in scale.
• Qidian (起点中文网): China Literature's flagship web novel platform and the historical category leader. Comparable serialized fiction offering across male/female genres with similar ranking/curation mechanics and IP adaptation pipeline.

Emerging players

• Dreame: Singapore-headquartered web and mobile novel platform targeting global romance/serialized fiction. Comparable serialized fiction model with reader-to-author monetization, though primarily serving overseas Chinese and SEA markets.
• Royal Road: English-language web fiction platform focused on fantasy/sci-fi serialized novels with a strong community and author monetization mechanics. Comparable product category (user-generated serialized fiction with rankings and reviews) at a smaller scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Tomato Novel