Revenue and download maps for short-drama apps have pulled apart
DataEye's first-half data puts revenue in the US, Japan and Canada and downloads in India, Indonesia and Brazil. Four of the twenty largest apps by revenue are not Chinese-owned.
What this basis means: Third-party research vendor estimate. The vendor is named wherever the source identifies it.
Revenue and installs now sit in largely different markets, on DataEye's first-half data. The United States, Japan and Canada together account for more than 44% of overseas revenue, and developed markets for more than 60%. Korea has risen to fourth and the United Kingdom has slipped to fifth.
Downloads concentrate elsewhere. India, Indonesia and Brazil account for more than 50% combined, while the United States has fallen from fourth to seventh at 4% of downloads.
The download ranking has also reshuffled. FreeReels, owned by Kunlun, leads with more than 218m and is the only app above 200m, ahead of NetShort and ReelShort. ByteDance's Melolo and PineDrama are both in the top ten.
Four of the twenty largest apps by first-half revenue are not Chinese-owned: My Drama (Ukraine), Vigloo (South Korea), Shortical (Israel) and CandyJarTV. CandyJarTV comes from Inkitt, which was founded in Berlin and is headquartered in San Francisco, making it the only top-20 app of German origin rather than a German-based operator.
Companies FreeReels, NetShort, ReelShort, Melolo, PineDrama, My Drama, Vigloo, Shortical, CandyJarTV, Inkitt
Sources
- H1 2026 overseas short-drama data DataEye