Short-drama platforms currently dominate the free entertainment app rankings on Vietnam’s App Store. TikTok’s PineDrama leads, followed by DramaBox, NetShort, TikTok, CashFlicks, DramaWave and DramaSpot. ReelShort, MultiShorts, HookDrama, HotShort and VibeShort also feature in the top 25.

Short-drama apps thus account for more than half of the leading positions.

In the overall rankings, PineDrama is in the top 10, behind utility apps such as Viettel Tammi, Meta AI, Dola and VNeTraffic.

On Google Play in Vietnam, the popular entertainment app list is similarly crowded with names from the sector, including DramaBox, NetShort, FreeReels, DramaWave, StoryReel, VibeShort, BlinkDrama, ShortMax and GoodShort. PineDrama also ranks fourth on the top free apps chart.

Notably, most of these platforms do not rely solely on a subscription model like Netflix.

Instead, they combine free content, advertising, virtual currency and subscription packages.

Weekly fees range from a few dollars to more than $10

A common approach is to offer the opening episodes free, then lock some of the remaining content.

Viewers can wait, check in daily or watch advertisements to unlock episodes or earn coins. They can also use virtual currency to purchase individual episodes.

For those who want to keep watching without interruption, the apps offer VIP or membership plans. Common benefits include access to the drama library at no additional charge, downloads to a device, selected members-only titles and higher viewing quality.

On the App Store, for example, DramaBox currently lists a weekly membership at VND199,000 ($7.60), with a promotional weekly rate of VND129,000 ($4.93) for the first three weeks. Its annual membership costs VND1.99 million ($76.04).

DramaWave offers weekly VIP membership for VND149,000 ($5.69), monthly VIP membership for VND299,000 ($11.43) and annual VIP membership for VND2.49 million ($95.15).

Separate coin top-up packages are also available at VND199,000 ($7.60), VND149,000 ($5.69) and VND99,000 ($3.78).

NetShort lists weekly VIP membership at VND299,000 ($11.43), monthly VIP membership at VND999,000 ($38.17) and annual VIP membership at VND1.99 million ($76.04).

This pricing approach differs from conventional streaming services. Rather than paying a fixed fee to access an entire library, viewers may face repeated payment decisions while watching a single drama.

An episode ends on a cliffhanger, the next is locked, and the viewer must choose between watching an advertisement, spending coins or signing up for VIP membership.

The model is particularly well suited to the structure of short dramas. Stories are often divided into dozens or hundreds of episodes, each lasting just a few minutes and ending with a twist designed to keep viewers watching.

Analytics firm Sensor Tower describes the format as mobile-first storytelling, focused on emotionally charged genres and themes such as rebirth, powerful CEOs, revenge, family conflict and fantasy.

The market’s scale suggests that this strategy is generating substantial revenue. According to Sensor Tower, short-drama apps recorded more than 850 million downloads in the first quarter of 2026, up 140% from a year earlier.

In-app purchase revenue reached approximately $750 million, an increase of 20%.

Southeast Asia showed particularly strong growth, accounting for 32% of global short-drama app downloads in the first quarter, the largest share among the regions tracked by Sensor Tower.

Engagement is rising alongside user numbers. Average time spent on short-drama apps reached 25 minutes a day in April 2026, up 85% from January 2025.

In Southeast Asia, that figure approached 40 minutes, matching or exceeding the time users spent on some established forms of mobile entertainment.

Globally, DramaBox and ReelShort each generated nearly $140 million in in-app purchase revenue in the first quarter of 2026, while NetShort continued to grow.

The simultaneous rise of PineDrama, DramaBox, NetShort, DramaWave, ReelShort and numerous other apps in Vietnam’s rankings suggests that short dramas are moving beyond a content niche to become a segment competing directly for viewers’ entertainment time on their phones.

Du Lam