Free Episodes Index: How Much Vertical Drama Apps Give Away
Every vertical drama app lets you watch the first episodes for free and then asks for coins or a subscription. This index compares how much each app gives away, from the series pages our crawler reads every day. Tables are below; the data is free to cite and download.
Free episodes by app
| App | Series | Free episodes (median) | Free episodes (mean) | Free share | First locked episode | Locked by ep. 10 | Fully free series | Episodes per series (median) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NetShort | 9,410 | 9 | 8.9 | 18% | Episode 11 | 56% | 0.1% | 50 |
| ReelShort | 4,676 | 9 | 11.5 | 16% | Episode 11 | 51% | 6% | 60 |
| DramaBox | 3,052 | 9 | 8.6 | 18% | Episode 11 | 66% | 0% | 50 |
| GoodShort | 2,950 | 9 | 8.1 | 14% | Episode 12 | 61% | 0.2% | 58 |
| ShortMax | 834 | 10 | 8.9 | 16% | Episode 11 | 49% | 0% | 61 |
Free share: the median share of a series' episodes that are free. First locked episode: the most common episode where the paywall starts. Locked by episode 10: share of series that lock episode 10 or earlier.
How long the series are
| App | Under 40 episodes | 40–59 episodes | 60–79 episodes | 80–99 episodes | 100+ episodes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NetShort | 31% | 34% | 28% | 6% | 1% |
| ReelShort | 20% | 28% | 36% | 14% | 3% |
| DramaBox | 21% | 55% | 21% | 3% | 0.6% |
| GoodShort | 20% | 33% | 34% | 11% | 2% |
| ShortMax | 17% | 23% | 40% | 17% | 4% |
Same series, different apps
1,114 series are on two or more of these apps. 74% of them give the same number of free episodes everywhere; for the rest, this is how often each app gives the most.
| App | Series where this app is most generous | Share |
|---|---|---|
| NetShort | 154 | 52% |
| DramaBox | 85 | 29% |
| ReelShort | 70 | 24% |
| GoodShort | 52 | 18% |
| ShortMax | 6 | 2% |
A series can count for more than one app when two apps tie for the most free episodes. Shares are of the series where the apps differ.
Most free episodes before the paywall
| # | Series | App | Free episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Beggar King’s Bride | NetShort | 28 of 78 |
| 2 | Lucky Strike | ReelShort | 28 of 56 |
| 3 | The Royals | ReelShort | 27 of 195 |
| 4 | A Live Show of Ranking Emperors | ReelShort | 27 of 103 |
| 5 | The Rise of the Lycan Queen | NetShort | 27 of 102 |
| 6 | Stole My Hate? Now They LOVE Me | NetShort | 26 of 70 |
| 7 | The Stolen Life:True Heiress Returns | DramaBox | 26 of 58 |
| 8 | Master Chef Returns | NetShort | 25 of 121 |
| 9 | Western Legend | NetShort | 25 of 64 |
| 10 | Godlike Summoner With a Sweet Girl System | ReelShort | 24 of 100 |
Series that still have a paywall; fully free series are listed separately in our collection of completely free dramas.