ReelShort vs DramaBox vs ShortMax vs GoodShort: what each one really costs
Short drama apps don’t make pricing easy. Coin packs change with promotions, episode prices vary, and app store listings often show a price without saying what it buys. We checked all four big apps on October 2, 2026, and we’ve separated what each app states officially from what users and testers report.
At a glance
| ReelShort | DramaBox | ShortMax | GoodShort | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coins per episode | 60, official | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Smallest common pack | $4.99 for 500 coins, official | $4.99, coin count not shown | $3.49, coin count not shown | $4.99 for 500 coins, app store |
| Cost per episode | About $0.60 | Unknown | Unknown | About $0.50 to $0.70, reported |
| Weekly pass | $14.99 web, $11.99 first week | $19.99, per app-tracking data | $9.99 and $19.99 tiers in app store | Several weekly tiers from $5.99 to $19.99 in app store |
| Affiliate or invite program | Invite rewards; RS Boost for creators | No official program found | Through third-party networks | Gift codes, reported |
ReelShort: the only one with clear prices
ReelShort publishes its prices on its own site. A standard episode usually costs 60 coins, 500 coins cost $4.99, so an episode is about 60 cents. The weekly VIP pass is $14.99 on the web, and new users get their first week for $11.99. Monthly VIP is $49.99 and yearly is $199.99. Bigger coin packs include bonus coins, which lowers the price per episode.
Because the numbers are public, we can price every ReelShort drama. The typical one costs about $26 to finish with coins.
DramaBox: you can see the price, not what it buys
DramaBox’s US App Store listing shows coin offers at $4.99, $9.99 and $19.99 and membership items at $5.99, $17.99 and $19.99. It doesn’t say how many coins each offer includes, or how long the cheaper memberships last. App-tracking data lists the weekly membership at $19.99. DramaBox doesn’t publish a per-episode price, and the figures quoted around the web disagree widely, so we’re not repeating them.
Third-party guides report that DramaBox lets you unlock some episodes by watching ads, and that it occasionally posts gift codes on its official social accounts.
ShortMax: watch the episode prices
ShortMax’s App Store listing shows six coin purchases from $3.49 to $24.99 without coin counts, plus two weekly pass tiers at $9.99 and $19.99. ShortMax doesn’t publish a per-episode price. Some recent App Store reviews complain that episodes which used to cost 50 coins now cost 200. We can’t confirm that, but if you use ShortMax, check the price on the unlock button before you tap it.
GoodShort: generous free runs, reported
GoodShort’s app store listing shows simple packs: 500 coins for $4.99 and 1,000 for $9.99. Users report episodes costing 50 to 70 coins, which would mean 50 to 70 cents an episode, close to ReelShort. Testers report that GoodShort gives about 15 free episodes per drama and hands out short-lived gift codes for free episodes. GoodShort doesn’t document either on its own help pages.
Which should you use?
- If you want to know what you’ll pay before you start, use ReelShort. It’s the only app that publishes the numbers, and every ReelShort drama on GASP shows its cost to finish.
- Whatever the app, compare coins with the weekly pass. On ReelShort, the pass wins once a drama has more than about 25 locked episodes.
- Don’t pay for “free coin generators” or modded apps. They don’t work, and they get accounts banned.
Method: prices checked on October 2, 2026 from ReelShort’s coin guide and subscription page, the four apps’ US App Store and Google Play listings, and app-tracking data. Anything not stated by the app itself is marked as reported. Prices change often and can differ between the web and the app. We’ll recheck monthly.