Insightrackr has released the May 2025 Global Short Drama App Download and Revenue Rankings based on its monitoring data of the global mobile market.
The rankings are sorted according to the app downloads and overall revenue calculated by Insightrackr, presenting the Top 15 Short Drama Apps by Downloads and Top 15 Short Drama Apps by Revenues. It also dissects the advertising and creative strategies of the popular cases in May.
Spotlight Case Studies: Short Reels / ShortMax / ReelShort
Top 15 Short Drama Apps by Downloads
- Top Players
According to Insightrackr’s app download rankings, in May, ReelShort by Crazy Maple Studio reclaimed the top spot. DramaBox by Dianzhong Tech, which had held the number one position for two consecutive months, fell to third place with a 34.4% MoM drop.
RapidTV from Kennedyy performed strongly, with a 43.27% MoM increase in downloads, climbing to second place.
RapidTV continues to push Chinese-translated dramas, focusing on Southeast Asia and Latin America. Since January this year, the app has seen explosive download growth. (For more on RapidTV’s marketing strategy and creative analysis, click here.)
- New Entrants
Soda Reels showed strong momentum, with May downloads soaring 94.14% MoM. This newcomer, which entered the Top 15 in April, quickly rose to seventh place in May. (Click here to learn about Soda Reels’ market strategy.)
Other rising players also stood out: Micro Drama and ByteDance’s Melolo saw MoM growth of 48.27% and 46.66%, respectively. These free-model short drama apps are rapidly capturing market share. Insightrackr data reveals that Melolo focused heavily on Southeast Asia in March (detailed analysis here).
Short Reels was May’s biggest dark horse, with downloads jumping 95.01% MoM, climbing to 13th place.
However, former strong performers StardustTV and Fun Drama faced setbacks in May, with downloads dropping 31.69% and 41.08%, respectively.
Top Short Drama App Downloads – May 2025
Top 15 Short Drama Apps by Revenues
- Top Players
The leading tier remains stable, with mainstream apps like DramaBox, NetShort, ReelShort, and GoodShort holding top spots in the Top 15. Notably, Dianzhong Tech’s DramaBox overtook NetShort in May to claim the top spot in revenue.
- New Entrants
According to Insightrackr’s app revenue rankings, ShortMax was the fastest-growing app in May, with revenue surging 279.03% MoM. This sharp increase propelled ShortMax back into the Top 5 revenue chart.
RapidTV and Soda Reels, both of which posted impressive download numbers, continued their strong performance in revenue, rising to 7th and 15th place respectively on the revenue chart.
Notably, previously high-performing apps My Drama and April’s fastest-growing app MeloShort saw sluggish growth in May, with both experiencing significant drops in ranking.
Top Short Drama App Revenue – May 2025
Short Drama Advertising Case Analysis
01 Short Reels
The android app Short Reels has been running steadily for nearly a year.
- How Advertising Strategy Impacts Performance
According to Insightrackr, Short Reels saw a peak of over 180 ad creatives in a single day in May—double April’s peak of fewer than 90—indicating a significant ramp-up in promotional efforts.
The surge in Short Reels’ ad spending closely aligns with its impressive 95.01% MoM download growth in May. According to Insightrackr, downloads climbed to nearly 3 million that month.
Regionally, Mexico, Indonesia, and Colombia make up Short Reels’ core markets, contributing over 40% of total downloads. This distribution mirrors its advertising strategy, which focuses heavily on Latin American and Southeast Asian countries such as Brazil, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
Brazil emerged as Short Reels’ top revenue source, accounting for 19.14% of total income, followed by Mexico (16%) and Indonesia (13.45%).
In terms of traffic sources, Insightrackr’s real ad traffic tracking shows that TikTok dominates, accounting for 94.35% of Short Reels’ ad impressions.
Overview of Short Reels’ Advertising Strategy and Creative Approach
- Innovative Creative Formats
In terms of creative content, Short Reels continued its strategy of promoting translated dramas in May. April’s viral hit, Lucky Wife Spoiled by Diamond Tycoon, was localized into Indonesian—with dubbed audio and subtitles—and once again became one of Short Reels’ top-performing ad creatives.
Interestingly, some ad materials featured watermarks from other popular free short drama platforms, suggesting possible connections between these apps in terms of content distribution or advertising operations.
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Indonesian Creative from Lucky Wife Spoiled by Diamond Tycoon |
Localized Creative from Short Reels |
In late May, Short Reels began testing locally produced dramas, signaling an effort to diversify its content offerings. Notably, the app introduced a new creative format: using nearly 4-minute-long drama clips that hook viewers within the first few seconds, then smoothly inserting a pop-up showcasing the app interface before continuing the storyline. This approach marks a return to the classic three-step structure: Hook + Feature Highlight + Call to Action.
Previously, Insightrackr identified two common creative formats for short drama ads:
- Extended Clip Format: Featuring a single, engaging scene from a drama, often several minutes long, to draw viewers into the story.
- Montage Format: A rapid cut of several short clips (a few seconds each) from different dramas, often combined with in-app screen recordings to highlight the app’s wide content library.
Click here to see real examples.
02 ShortMax
Since its launch in late 2023, ShortMax has been active in the short drama space for over a year and a half. According to revenue data tracked by Insightrackr, the app—using a hybrid monetization model combining IAP (in-app purchases) and IAA (in-app advertising)—generated over $7.2 million in revenue in May.
- Global Marketing Strategy
Southeast Asia emerged as the key revenue driver for ShortMax during the month. The top three markets were Indonesia (16.62%), Thailand (9.82%), and the Philippines (8.19%).
In May, Indonesia accounted for over 30% of ShortMax’s total downloads, with Nigeria and Thailand ranking second and third, respectively.
On the advertising front, ShortMax continued its large-scale creative deployment strategy. In April, the app peaked at over 800 active ad creatives in a single day and maintained around 600 daily on average. However, by late May, the number had decreased to approximately 400 creatives per day.
ShortMax adopted a global marketing strategy, with ad placements across North America, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. May data highlights the U.S., Japan, and Malaysia as key focus markets for the app.
According to Insightrackr’s real traffic channel monitoring, TikTok remained the top exposure channel for ShortMax, accounting for over 60% of ad impressions. Mintegral ranked second with a share exceeding 20%, followed by Pangle.
In addition to TikTok, ShortMax also gained significant exposure through utility apps such as CapCut and TeraBox, as well as casual games like Cake Sort, leveraging sub-channel traffic to broaden reach.
Overview of ShortMax’s Advertising Strategy and Creative Approach
- How Mature Creative Pipelines Drive Global Hits
In terms of creative content, one of ShortMax’s key featured dramas in May was a localized version of the Chinese series '犬父定乾坤'. This male-targeted fantasy-revenge drama blends supernatural elements with a savior narrative. Originally released in China in March, the series was fully localized and launched in global markets—such as South Korea, Vietnam, and Indonesia—within just two months, targeting regions with high acceptance of traditional Chinese fantasy themes.
This rapid global rollout highlights how leading distributors have built mature, assembly-line-style pipelines for exporting hit short dramas, allowing them to bring domestic viral content to international audiences almost immediately.
Currently, ShortMax still heavily relies on a "video + landing page" ad format, which enables better user data feedback and more precise campaign optimization.
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Video Ad of of the Chinese Series '犬父定乾坤' |
Landing Page of ShortMax |
03 ReelShort
- Large-Scale Ad Deployment in the Americas Market
As a benchmark product in the short drama sector, ReelShort continues to show strong download performance. According to Insightrackr data, ReelShort recorded approximately 15 million downloads in May, primarily from the Americas market. Brazil led with a 21.96% share, followed by the U.S. (9.29%) and Mexico (7.74%).
Focusing on locally produced original dramas, ReelShort’s core revenue still comes from the North American market. In May, the U.S. and Canada together contributed over 25% of its revenue, with Brazil ranking as the third-largest revenue market at 9.33%.
ReelShort maintains a substantial ad presence. From April to May, its daily active ad creatives typically ranged between 600 and 900, peaking near 1,500 per day by the end of May. These campaigns were mainly concentrated in the U.S. and Latin American markets.
Regarding traffic channels, over 90% of ReelShort’s ad impressions were served via the AdMob platform. Notably, popular sub-channels such as image editing apps (CapCut, Remini) and casual games (Block Blast, Solitaire Clash) have driven significant ad traffic for ReelShort.
Overview of ReelShort’s Advertising Strategy and Creative Approach
- Female-Oriented Dramas Become Top Ad Creatives
In terms of creative content, ReelShort focuses on high-quality, locally produced original dramas from Western markets. Recently, female-oriented titles such as The Double Life of My Billionaire Husband have become top-performing ad creatives.
According to Insightrackr audience data, over 80% of ReelShort’s users are female, so the promoted dramas primarily revolve around themes like romance, marriage, and powerful CEOs.
Regarding ad formats, ReelShort also employs a “video + landing page” combination strategy, which is a more mature approach favored by leading short drama publishers.
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Video Ad of The Double Life of My Billionaire Husband |
Landing Page of ReelShort |
In conclusion, amid increasing competition from free short drama products and intensified market reshuffling, leading apps continue to build strong competitive barriers through large-scale creative deployment, mature advertising strategies, and proven creative approaches.
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