HiShort vs ShortBox
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
HiShort
Discover a vast library of dramas, from romance and adventure to historical and urban tales. Enjoy exclusive releases and seamless HD streaming on your mobile device. Elevate your entertainment with captivating storylines and a smooth viewing experience.
- Unlimited drama library
- Multiple genres available
- Exclusive releases
- Continuous updates
- HD streaming
- Smooth viewing experience
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Enjoy unlimited delightful dramas and uplift your spirit with HiShort ! From romantic love stories to thrilling adventures, from historical period dramas to modern urban tales, from heartwarming moments to intense mysteries, our drama library offers a variety of genres for you to explore. Never miss out on any great shows again! Download the HiShort app and embark on your own dramatic journey. We bring you carefully curated top-notch dramas that cater to your preferences, whether you're a fan of romantic love stories, thrilling adventures, historical period dramas, or modern urban tales, HiShort has got you covered. Immerse yourself in captivating storylines with seamless audio and video quality. Premium content is no longer hidden away but presented right on your mobile phone by HiShort . 【Exclusive releases, continuous updates】 【Powerful engine, HD streaming, silky-smooth experience】 【Multiple drama genres to choose from, from romance to riches, even protagonists' comeback, all at your fingertips】 Don't wait any longer. Let HiShort become your essential entertainment companion every day! 【HiShort VIP Auto-Subscription Service Description】 Subscription Service:HiShort VIP Monthly Subscription (30 days), HiShort VIP Quarterly Subscription (90 days), HiShort VIP Annual Subscription (365 days). Auto-Renewal Explanation: Within 24 hours before the end of each billing cycle, your iTunes account will be automatically charged, and the corresponding subscription service will be extended. Turning off the Service: You can go to "Settings" on your Apple phone, then enter "iTunes Store and App Store," click on "Apple ID," go to the "Account Settings" page, click on "Subscriptions" to manage the auto-subscription service. If you wish to cancel, you can turn it off within 24 hours before the end of each billing cycle to avoid further charges. No charges will be made if canceled within the last 24 hours. This service does not provide a free trial period. Upon successful subscription, payment will be immediately deducted, and the service will take effect. HiShort VIP Membership Service Agreement: https://oss.hishort.tv/Privacy_tos/shorts_vip_service.html Privacy Agreement: https://oss.hishort.tv/Privacy_tos/shorts_privacy.html
ShortBox
Immerse yourself in a world of captivating short stories and dramas. This platform offers a curated selection of narrative content, distinct from typical short video feeds. Experience diverse genres and engaging plots designed for focused entertainment.
- Short drama focus
- Story immersion
- Diverse genres
- Curated content
- Engaging plots
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Unlike normal short video platform, we focus on short stories and short dramas, instead of life sharing. We want our users to immerse in various types of stories and dramas Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: ShortBox at 4.8 against HiShort's 4.4. ShortBox also leads on review sentiment (20% vs 12%). HiShort's advantage is ratings volume (895 vs 124). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. HiShort sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $18.99 per 7 days and ShortBox sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
ShortBox holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HiShort has 895 ratings behind it against 124, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 12% of HiShort's written reviews are positive against 20% of ShortBox's.
HiShort ships an update every 2 weeks, ShortBox every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | HiShort | ShortBox |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (895 ratings) | 4.8 (124 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 11.9% of reviews | 20.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 895 — better | 124 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 9 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 138 MB | 99 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | HONG KONG ELEPHANT NETWORK TECHNOLOGY CO., LIMITED | PIVIX TECH LIMITED |
Customer experience
HiShort
ShortBox
Bugs and requests
HiShort
Reported bugs
3 issues- Subscription issues - charged but no access
- Videos not working even with paid subscription
- Constant log-outs during viewing
Requested features
4 requests- Bring back old subscription model
- Add option to earn bonus points/watch ads
- Improve content discovery and search
- Fix subtitle and translation issues
ShortBox
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
HiShort
- Weekly Auto-Renewal$18.997 Days
- Weekly Auto-Renewal- Benefits$18.997 Days
- Monthly Auto-Renewal- Benefits$29.991 Month
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Monthly Auto-Renewal$29.991 Month
- Annual Auto-Renewal$99.991 Year
- Coins Pack2 variants$6.99
- Coins Pack$9.99
- Coins Pack$14.99
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Coins Pack$29.99
- Coins Pack$49.99
- 5200 coins + bonus coins$79.99
- Coins Pack$99.99
ShortBox
- Weekly$2.997 Days
- Monthly$8.991 Month
- Annually$89.991 Year









