QuestMobile: Chinese short-drama viewing shifts to standalone apps
Standalone apps reached 402m users in May, up 77.1% year on year, against 508m on WeChat mini-programs, up 25.4%. Douyin mini-program users fell 83.3% to 14m.
What this basis means: Third-party research vendor estimate. The vendor is named wherever the source identifies it.
QuestMobile's 2026 short-drama marketing report (《2026年短剧营销行业报告》), released on 28 July 2026, puts de-duplicated short-drama users in China at 851m as of May 2026.
Within that total, standalone apps reached 402m users, up 77.1% year on year, growing roughly three times as fast as WeChat mini-programs, which reached 508m, up 25.4%. Douyin mini-programs fell to 14m, down 83.3%. The Douyin and Kuaishou main apps together reached 472m, up 27.1%.
Engagement on standalone apps runs at 26.9 h/month across 125.6 sessions, which the vendor places above online video.
The figures cover China only, where the channel structure differs from other markets.
Companies Douyin, Kuaishou, WeChat
Sources
- 《2026年短剧营销行业报告》, 28 July 2026 QuestMobile