Shorts Revenue & Ads
A short drama streaming app with original serialized episodes in romance, fantasy and mafia genres, often adapted from novels.
Hyunjong Choi
Published Oct 19, 2026Updated Oct 19, 202613 min readPricing play
Est. monthly revenue
$301K
↓ 9.6% vs prev. period
Downloads / month
50K
↑ 127.0% vs prev. period
Rating
4.7
26.6K ratings · Entertainment
Meta ads running
346
1,176 found · median 23
Shorts revenue and downloads trend
Est. monthly revenue
$302K ↓ 4.9% in 90 days
Dec 5, 2025: $241KOct 18, 2026
Monthly downloads
50K ↑ 138.1% in 90 days
Dec 5, 2025: 16KOct 18, 2026
Daily estimates from AppKittie, 312 days ending Oct 18, 2026. Revenue changed +25% and downloads +213% over the period. Meta ads live went from 0 to 440 between Aug 24, 2026 and Oct 18, 2026.
Shorts Meta ads: 346 active, longest running 188 days
Top 13 by days live out of 1,176 found (13 video and 0 image creatives). Tap any one to open the original in the Meta Ad Library.
#1188 days liveWeb linkAd copy“She’s a student. He’s her history professor. What starts as a dare from mean girls turns into a sizzling forbidden romance. But secrets have consequences. Watch now: The Virgin and the Professor, only on Shorts.”Why it worksStudent and history professor logline for The Virgin and the Professor; a video live 188 days to the web.
#2178 days liveWeb linkAd copy“Caught her boyfriend cheating… then landed in his dad’s bed. Ellie never meant for this to go further, but Sebastian is powerful, irresistible, and off-limits. Office drama, forbidden romance, and betrayal collide. Watch now: Surrender to My Ex's Dad, only on Shorts.”Why it worksCaught her boyfriend cheating, then his dad's bed, the Surrender to My Ex's Dad hook; 178 days live.
#3178 days liveWeb linkAd copy“A fake daughter. A fake husband. A real mess. Nora’s political campaign depends on a lie, until her “husband” turns out to be an ex-MMA fighter with a deadly past. Watch now: My Knockout Fake Husband, only on Shorts.”Why it worksA fake daughter, a fake husband, a real mess, for My Knockout Fake Husband; 178 days live, web link.
10 more Meta ads are locked
Unlock freeAds from the Meta Ad Library via AppKittie, snapshot Oct 16, 2026. Store data from the App Store.
Weekly VIP, Coins and 346 Ads Written as Plot Twists
Shorts is a short drama app from Luni that streams original serialized episodes, many adapted from novels, across romance, fantasy and mafia stories. As of Oct 2026 it makes an estimated $301K a month from 50K downloads, 1.5x the Entertainment median revenue on 1.7x the median downloads, or $6.02 per download. Three weekly VIP prices run from $7.99 to $19.99, a $39.99 monthly, coin packs from $1.99, and no annual plan, sold through 346 active Meta ads.
Key takeaways
- 10 in-app purchases at 7 prices: Shorts VIP weekly at $7.99, $14.99 and $19.99, a $39.99 Monthly VIP, and coin packs at $1.99, $4.99, $9.99 and $19.99. There is no annual plan.
- 346 active Meta ads, 15.0x the Entertainment median of 23, from 1176 found and 0 Apple Search Ads creatives. All 13 top ads are video and link to the web; the longest has run 188 days.
- 5 distinct copy lines across the 13 top ads, each a show synopsis. Surrender to My Ex's Dad fills 7, My Knockout Fake Husband 3, and The Virgin and the Professor is the longest runner.
- Over 312 days estimated downloads rose from 16K to 50K (+213.3%) and revenue from $241K to $302K (+25.3%), with revenue peaking at $334K on Jun 8, 2026. Active Meta ads went from 0 to 440 in 35 days.
- 68 of 185 reviews (36.8%) mention price, trial or subscription and 58 of those are negative, mostly about paying for VIP and still being asked for coins. The sample averages 2.88 stars against a 4.7 store rating.
Full teardown
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Where Shorts spends on Meta
Audience and spend estimates built on Meta Ad Library data (reported for ads shown in the EU, with other countries modeled), lifetime of the ads found. The biggest audience is 25-34, taking 38.8% of spend.
Est. spend
$12K
Reach
814.4K
Avg. CPM
$14.84
Ads delivered
1288
Spend by age
Spend by gender
Top countries by reach
| Country | Reach | Spend | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States est. | 366.3K | $7,783 | 64.4% |
| France | 166.4K | $1,622 | 13.4% |
| United Kingdom | 104.8K | $1,389 | 11.5% |
| Spain | 63.4K | $483.99 | 4.00% |
| Belgium | 26.1K | $221.99 | 1.84% |
Rows marked est. are modeled by AppKittie from Ad Library coverage, not reported by Meta.
What Shorts does differently
Weeks and coins, never a year
7 prices
three weekly VIPs, one monthly, four coin packs
The synopsis is the ad
346
active Meta ads, 15.0x the category median
Installs tripled, revenue up a quarter
+213.3%
downloads over 312 days, 16K to 50K
The measurement gap
13 of 13
top ads link to the web, not the App Store
1. Weeks and coins, never a year
Shorts lists 10 in-app purchases at 7 distinct prices on the US App Store and none is annual. Shorts VIP comes by the week at $7.99, $14.99 and $19.99, by the month at $39.99, and beside it sit Packs of Coins at $1.99, $4.99, $9.99 and $19.99 for single episodes. Three weekly prices test what a binge is worth; coins catch the viewer who wants one more episode. The two systems overlap, and reviews show the friction: 58 of 68 pay mentions in the latest 185 are negative, often that a paid VIP still had to buy coins. The week-plus-coins pairing needs a clear line on what VIP includes before the first coin prompt.
2. The synopsis is the ad
Shorts runs 346 active Meta ads, 15.0x the Entertainment median of 23, from 1176 found, and every top ad is a plot summary. The longest, 188 days, reads: She's a student. He's her history professor. Watch The Virgin and the Professor, only on Shorts. Surrender to My Ex's Dad, Caught her boyfriend cheating, then landed in his dad's bed, fills 7 of the 13. That is 5 copy lines across 13 videos, all linking to the web, with a median run of 167 days. Active ads went from 0 to 440 in 35 days with a 684 peak on Sep 22, 2026. Each hook is a logline, and the show's own footage is the creative.
3. Installs tripled, revenue up a quarter
Over 312 days estimated Shorts downloads went from 16K to 50K, a +213.3% change, with the latest 30 days alone at +127.1%. Estimated revenue rose from $241K to $302K a month, +25.3%. New installs are arriving faster than they pay, which fits a weekly VIP: the first week of a binge is cheap and the second depends on the next show. Meta Ad Library spend estimates show $12K of lifetime spend reaching 814.4K people, 64.4% in the United States, 13.4% in France and 11.5% in the United Kingdom. There are no top country ranks, so the ads, not the charts, are the engine. At this pace, second-week renewal by cohort says more about Shorts than the install chart.
4. The measurement gap
Shorts sends all 13 top ads, and most of its 346 active ones, to a web page before the store, then sells weekly VIP at $7.99 to $19.99 or coins from $1.99. The question is which synopsis, Surrender to My Ex's Dad or The Virgin and the Professor, brings the viewer who renews a second week or keeps buying coins, rather than the one who installs for one show and lapses.
How much does Shorts cost?
10 in-app purchases, 7 distinct prices. Prices as listed on the US App Store, Oct 16, 2026.
| Weekly | $7.99 · $14.99 · $19.99 |
|---|---|
| Monthly | $39.99 |
| Other | $1.99 · $4.99 · $9.99 · $19.99 |
Shorts vs the Entertainment median
| Shorts | Median | |
|---|---|---|
| Est. monthly revenue | $301K | $207K |
| Downloads / month | 50K | 30K |
| Meta ads running | 346 | 23 |
| Rating | 4.7 | 4.5 |
Median of 80 Entertainment apps with active Meta ads in our set. See the Entertainment hub ›
What Shorts users say about paying
Of 185 reviews from Jun 2024 to Oct 2026, 68 (36.8%) mention price, trial or subscription and 58 of those are negative, mostly about VIP members still being asked for coins and about cancelling. The sample averages 2.88 stars against the 4.7 store rating.
Latest 185 US reviews, Jun 12, 2024 to Oct 16, 2026
Mention price, trial or subscription
37%68 of 185 reviews, 58 of them 1 or 2 stars
Some of their movies are great, but if you sign up for a subscription and get charged for it, they might still tell you that you need to pay money to keep seein…
This is the 5th app I have tried that contain short stories. It is the worst one of them all. It glitches sometimes when I go to watch something. Example after …
How to measure a playbook like Shorts's
Shorts runs 346 active Meta ads built on show synopses that land on the web before the App Store, then sells weekly VIP and coins, so measurement has to tie a logline to the viewer who pays past the first week.
- 01
Connect RevenueCat to see revenue by channel
Every purchase and renewal joins the install it came from, so each channel shows real revenue, not only installs.
- 02
Compare markets, not only campaigns
With several price points, the same campaign earns different revenue per country. Break revenue down by country and channel together.
- 03
An annual buyer and a monthly buyer look the same at install. Retention by channel shows which source keeps paying.
Measure this on your own app with Airbridge Core
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How we built this teardown
- Revenue and downloads are third-party estimates from AppKittie, snapshot Oct 16, 2026. Store intelligence estimates for a single app can be off by 30% or more. Treat them as a range, not a figure from the developer. Daily revenue and download series cover 312 days ending Oct 18, 2026.
- Ads come from the public Meta Ad Library. "Days live" counts days since an ad first appeared. Spend and audience breakdowns start from Meta's EU transparency figures; country splits outside the EU are AppKittie models.
- Prices, ratings and ranks come from the App Store (US storefront) on the same date. Prices differ by country and by paywall offer. Review stats use the latest 185 US reviews from Apple's public review feed.
- Category medians are computed across 80 Entertainment apps with active Meta ads in our set of 860 subscription apps.
- Written by Hyunjong Choi. Ads, prices and estimates are refreshed every 30 to 90 days. Updated Oct 19, 2026.
Top Entertainment apps by estimated revenue
All 25 ›| # | App | Est. revenue / mo | Ads live |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  TikTokTIKTOK PTE. LTD. | $126M | 487 |
| 2 |  Disney+Disney Electronic Content, Inc. | $51M | 843 |
| 3 |  Paramount+CBS Mobile | $44M | 2,000 |
| 4 |  CrunchyrollCrunchyroll, LLC | $40M | 29 |
| 5 |  HBO MaxWarnerMedia Global Digital Services, LLC | $39M | 86 |
| 30 | ShortsLuni | $301K | 346 |
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GagaOOLalaFrequently asked questions about Shorts
How much does Shorts make?
An estimated $301K a month as of Oct 2026, 1.5x the Entertainment median of $207K, with a -9.6% change versus the previous period. These are AppKittie estimates, not figures reported by Luni.
How much does Shorts cost?
Shorts is a subscription with 10 in-app purchases at 7 distinct prices on the US App Store: Shorts VIP weekly at $7.99, $14.99 or $19.99, a $39.99 Monthly VIP, and coin packs at $1.99, $4.99, $9.99 and $19.99. There is no annual plan.
How many ads does Shorts run?
346 active Meta ads as of Oct 2026, 15.0x the Entertainment median of 23, out of 1176 found, with 0 Apple Search Ads creatives. All 13 top ads are video synopses that link to the web, and the longest has run 188 days.
How fast is Shorts growing?
Installs fast, revenue slower. Over 312 days estimated downloads rose from 16K to 50K (+213.3%) and estimated revenue from $241K to $302K a month (+25.3%). Downloads are up 127.0% versus the previous period.
Who does Shorts advertise to?
A balanced, young audience: 51.0% of estimated Meta spend targeted men and 47.9% women, with 38.8% going to ages 25 to 34 and 28.5% to 18 to 24, on $12K of lifetime spend, 64.4% of it in the United States.
Who makes Shorts?
Luni develops Shorts. The app launched on May 7, 2024, is 29 months old, and was last updated on Oct 12, 2026.
What do Shorts reviews say about price?
In 185 reviews, 68 (36.8%) mention price or subscription and 58 are negative, mostly that a paid VIP still required coins to keep watching and that cancelling was hard. The sample averages 2.88 stars.
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Go-to-market, Airbridge Core
Works on go-to-market for Airbridge Core, the self-serve attribution plan for subscription apps. Writes these teardowns from public App Store data, the Meta Ad Library and AppKittie estimates.
About Airbridge
Airbridge is a mobile measurement partner for Meta, Google, TikTok and Apple Ads, with native RevenueCat, Superwall and Adapty integrations. Subscription teams like NOICE cut measurement setup time by 75% after switching.