Dubbed and subbed Chinese dramas just suddenly became the craze of the moment, thanks to apps like DramaBox, ReelShort, Dramawave, and others. These apps’ advertisements made many people subconsciously interested in random Chinese and Asian dramas, even when the plots always seem the same, and you have to pay to continue watching the episodes.
The apps reviewed below are among the best, offering a wide range of Chinese short drama titles that may be of interest to you. Yeah, they are quite similar to each other in the sense that you get a few episodes to watch for free, then you either pay for a subscription or watch ads to get coins and continue streaming.
Top 10 Apps to Watch Chinese Movies and Short Drama Series
Here are the top 10 apps to watch Chinese short dramas and movie series. The episodes are around 60 – 150 seconds each, and a complete title is about 45 minutes or 2 hours long (at most).
1. DramaBox (Visit)
DramaBox is the most popular app to watch Chinese short dramas: The platform packages full-length, short Chinese dramas into a few-minute episodes (micro-episodes) and entices viewers by offering a few episodes for free. So, as a new user, you get to watch quite a handful of clips for free, then are forced to unlock subsequent clips using the platform’s “coins,” which are bought with real money or by watching rewarded ads.
The Chinese dramas on DramaBox are usually sourced from mid-tier Chinese film/production houses, indie studios, and occasionally, some are user-submitted. Also, sometimes, they may supplement licensed titles with in-house short-form remixes and recap edits. DramaBox is not free; you must keep paying (via coin purchases) to keep following a series, or watch a wanton amount of reward-based ads.
Mostly, DramaBox offers subbed titles, so the subtitles are displayed scene by scene, and you can see the lip-sync matching effectively. Nevertheless, some titles are dubbed, and you can see the delay in lip-sync.
2. Netshort (Visit)
The quality of the dramas you’d find on Netshort is much better than what DramaBox offers, but ultimately, they follow the same operational pattern. Netshort focuses on serialized short dramas and original short-form content produced specifically for mobile phone screens. Episodes are ultra-short, just about 45–75 seconds, and structured as daily cliffhangers.
Netshort movies have many unexpected plot twists, which is good, and they’re a means of keeping you hooked. Unlike most others, Netshort has “unrepeatable originals,” which, of course, are limitedly available to VIP subscribers. The movies are typically sourced from small studios and independent creators; they also host lab-style pilots where successful shorts get commissioned to series.
The good thing is, Netshort is a lot better than the others, and the movie quality is good. However, the dubbed titles are messy, and at some point, you’d wish they’d just use subtitles instead of the dubs.
3. Dramawave (Download)
Dramawave blends classic Chinese dramas re-edited into micro-form with modern short-form originals. The platform’s UI emphasizes discovery playlists and “one-minute binge” stacks. They partner with studio archives and co-produce new short-form adaptations of popular IPs, although they sometimes buy regional streaming rights and reformat. Dramawave boasts a library of 20,000+ dramas across multiple languages.
Ultimately, they position themselves as a premium reformatting platform, investing in editorial quality (better cuts and pacing) to stand out. Again, the platform is premium; you get to watch a few episodes for free, then the paywall blocks you from continuing further. However, one good thing about Dramawave is that they offer episode bundles like “unlock 10 episodes for a fixed price” kind of subscriptions, and seasonal passes, and that’s quite awesome.
Furthermore, Dramawave offers features like on-screen comments during playback for real-time engagement and offline viewing. Content is refreshed weekly with originals; you’ll kinda get a good value for the payments you’re making to stay connected on the app.
4. ReelShort (Visit)
ReelShort’s payment pattern is quite a good one; you can watch a limited number of ads and have 24-hour-long free access to unlock premium episodes, if you don’t wish to make a real payment. The platform first offers you short teasers to trigger your interest, and there is a lot of refreshed content uploaded to the library regularly. The titles are mostly sourced from multiple distributors, while some are compiled from user-submitted clips.
One thing to love about ReelShort is the plot-heavy narratives and cliffhangers that drive repeat viewing – you just want to see what happens at the end of the title. Some titles have over 500 million views already. ReelShort subscription prices are much lower compared to its competitors, while its library is actually huge and refreshed regularly. The UI comes off as that of a pro movie streaming service, really intuitive and seamless to navigate.
5. Goodshort (Visit)
Here’s another good one, but it’s not as popular as the other; it emphasizes “feel-good” short dramas and romcom micro-series. The UI is very simple and easy to understand. GoodShort offers cinematic-quality short dramas segregated into episodes for viewers. The movies are binge-watch-worthy, mostly romance/emotional titles with captivating plots to keep you coming back every day.
On the app, you get a handful of free episodes, as with the others, and after a while, you have to deal with the episodic paywalls. GoodShort partners with niche studios specializing in romantic shorts and lifestyle series: They also license web-novels adapted into micro-episodes. It appears to be meant for a particular target audience—people who love romance movies and dramas with a lot of emotional rollercoasters.
6. Stardust TV (Visit)
Stardust TV positions itself as a closer alternative to traditional streaming but reimagined for micro-episodes. It offers curated channels and scheduled “drops” where multiple episodes unlock at a set time. As a microdrama and short-film platform, StardustTV offers a diverse range of engaging content across multiple genres, including palace drama, romance, fantasy, psychological thrillers, and mystery.
Interestingly, Stardust TV allows you to watch up to ten episodes for free before unlocking additional content with coins. It costs around 59 coins to unlock new episodes, each. The content on Stardust TV comes from Chinese studios and distributors, so there are quite more premium titles to enjoy here, compared to other similar platforms. For an ad-free experience, you’ll have to subscribe to the monthly or yearly VIP plan.
7. RapidTV (Visit)
This one is only accessible via the iOS or Android mobile app. RapidTV is a mobile-focused Cdrama platform optimized for speed and low-bandwidth playback. It re-encodes full-length dramas into micro-episodes that stream efficiently, even on low-data bandwidths. Its shows are vertically-formatted, with each episode reaching around 3 mins max. There are titles across multiple genres like suspense, romance, and fantasy.
RapidTV is available for free with ads or VIP subscriptions for ad removal, and boasts quite a vast library of licensed, original content. The short duration of the episodes makes you catch up faster, and the storylines are engaging, but then you remember that once your free viewing limit elapses, you’d have to pay consistently for subsequent 1 – 3 minute episodes. Coins can be purchased or earned via operator billing and telco bundles.
8. FlareFlow (Visit)
Offered by FlareFlow PTE.LTD, FlareFlow is one of the top Chinese microdrama platforms that ranks high in terms of original content and vast library archives. Although relatively new, launched in April 2024, the FlareFlow app has been downloaded over 10 million times across 177 countries. Of course, it follows the same pattern as all the other ones mentioned here: a couple of free episodes at first, then you pay to get coins and continue.
The rapid popularity of FlareFlow is tied to its originality; the platform offers a good number of original shows you won’t find elsewhere, plus titles are available across genres. Flareflow sources content via direct licensing agreements with both established Chinese studios and up-and-coming indie producers.
The platform leverages algorithmic recommendations based on viewing patterns and integrates light social features, such as favorites, comments, and sharing, to draw a larger audience.
9. MiniDrama (Visit)
The episodes on MiniDrama are about 5 minutes maximum in length, and there are about 20 episodes per title. MiniDrama is another impressive Chinese short drama streaming platform to find multiple random titles that may intrigue you and keep you going daily.
You have to install the mobile app on your iOS or Android device, as it does not support web streaming. One of the major downsides of MiniDrama is that they’re heavy on ads; you could watch up to 3 ads just to gain access to 1 episode.
10. FlickReels (Download)
Finally, we have FlickReels, a strong competitor in the niche. FlickReels comes in as a premium short-film streaming service with a focus on North American audiences, but of course, it is accessible from any part of the world. The platform offers high-quality microepisode dramas across an expansive genre library, delivering regular content drops and personalized recommendations.
The majority of FlickReels’ stories are silver-haired dramas, which is an untapped subniche in the industry. Unlike its competitors that reformat full-length shows, FlickReels focuses on original short works and micro-series, which are often exclusive to their platform, giving them a slightly differentiated catalogue. FlickReels licenses a broad mix of short-form dramas, mini-series, and highlight reels from established Chinese networks.
Note: Only the Google Play Store link for these apps has been provided; hence, you can install them on your Phone, smart tv and other supported Android devices. For the iOS version of these apps (for iPhone and iPad devices), copy the name and search on the Apple App Store to download any of them.
What Do These Short Chinese Drama Apps Have in Common?
To a greater extent, it’s almost like it’s just the names that are different, because the short dramas, episodes, and even the actors are often recycled and repeated with a different title. The subbed titles are usually much better to watch than the dubbed ones.
Also, all of these platforms will welcome you by offering a few episodes for free, then hit you with so many ads if you wish to continue, or entice you to concession into purchasing their high-priced VIP bundles for an ad-free experience.
Conclusion
What else is there to say? If you’re already intrigued with the short drama ads you see across social platforms and wonder if there’s a place to get lots of it, then these are the best apps and platforms where you’d find quality Chinese short movies and full drama series.
Be ready to watch over a hundred ads just to complete one title, or pay your way through it. Sounds crazy, right? Well, that’s a fact. Good luck.
