PlotNovel vs Shortcat
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PlotNovel
Immerse yourself in a vast library of premium novel content. Discover compelling fictional stories designed to bring joy and a sense of novelty. The platform regularly updates its collection with new, thought-provoking, and entertaining reads.
- Premium novel content library
- Compelling fictional stories
- Regular content updates
- Focus on user reading experience
- Sense of fulfillment and novelty
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PlotNovel is a simple yet captivating reading app dedicated to providing users with premium novel content resources. The app aims to present users with compelling fictional stories, allowing them to fully experience the joy of reading and gain a sense of fulfillment and novelty. With a steadfast commitment to user experience, the platform will continuously update its content library, introducing more captivating, thought-provoking, and entertaining novel resources. EULA:https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Shortcat
Experience anime in a new way with this app, featuring short, vertical episodes optimized for mobile. Discover exclusive romance stories and binge-watch addictive plots anytime, anywhere. Get notified about new releases and explore diverse genres.
- Full-screen vertical anime
- Short episodes
- Exclusive original series
- Romance-first stories
- New episode notifications
- Diverse genres
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WATCH ROMANTASY ANIME DIFFERENTLY. Shortcat is a new streaming app dedicated to short vertical romantasy anime, designed specifically for mobile viewing. Discover world-famous romance stories crafted to be binge-watched anytime, anywhere. ANIME, REIMAGINED FOR MOBILE Forget long episodes and horizontal screens. Shortcat brings you short-form vertical anime, with full-screen immersion, fast pacing, and stories that hook you from the very first seconds. STORIES MADE TO MAKE YOU FEEL Fall in love. Uncover mysteries. Get revenge. Explore new worlds. Repeat. From romance and fantasy to thrillers, enemies-to-lovers, vampires, and more… OVER 100 EXCLUSIVE ANIME COMING IN 2026 Discover a growing catalog of exclusive anime series, released regularly throughout the year. WHAT YOU’LL LOVE ON SHORTCAT - MADE FOR MOBILE — full-screen vertical anime - SHORT EPISODES — perfect for quick sessions or long binges - EXCLUSIVE SERIES — only on Shortcat, 100 originals to be released this year - ROMANCE-FIRST STORIES — strong emotions, addictive plots - STAY UPDATED — get notified when new episodes and seasons drop Terms of Use (EULA): https://getshortcat.com/legal/tos Privacy Policy: https://getshortcat.com/legal/privacy_policy Subscription details: - Shortcat Yearly: 12-month auto-renewing subscription - Shortcat Yearly LImited: 12-month auto-renewing subscription - Shortcat Yearly Discount: 12-month auto-renewing subscription - Shortcat Monthly: 1-month auto-renewing subscription Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription auto-renews unless turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in Account Settings on the App Store after purchase.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Shortcat at 48% against PlotNovel's 0%. Shortcat also leads on rating (4.7 vs 1.2) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 6 weeks). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. PlotNovel sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days and Shortcat sells 15 in-app purchases, starting at $16.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Shortcat holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 1.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shortcat has 578 ratings behind it against 33, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of PlotNovel's written reviews are positive against 48% of Shortcat's.
PlotNovel ships an update every 6 weeks, Shortcat every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PlotNovel | Shortcat |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.2 (33 ratings) | 4.7 (578 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 48.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 33 | 578 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 50 MB | 60 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Wuhan Yunyue Culture Media Co., Ltd | Flagcat |
Customer experience
PlotNovel
Shortcat
In-app purchases
PlotNovel
- vip_1$0.997 Days
- vip_7$14.997 Days
- month$29.991 Month
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- vip_90$59.993 Months
- vip_year$169.991 Year
- Gold coin commodities$9.99
- coin_02$14.99
- coin_10$14.99
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- Gold coin commodities$19.99
- coin_03$29.99
- coin_04$59.99
Shortcat
- Monthly Membership$16.991 Month
- Yearly Membership$24.991 Year
- Yearly Membership Limited Offer$29.991 Year
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Yearly Membership$39.991 Year
- One-time Purchase$2.99
- One-time Purchase$3.99
- One-time Purchase$4.99
Show 8 moreShow fewer
- 820 Coins$5.49
- One-time Purchase$5.49
- One-time Purchase$5.99
- 1900 Coins$9.99
- One-time Purchase$12.99
- 5240 Coins$19.99
- One-time Purchase$19.99
- One-time Purchase$29.99
