How Much Does K-Drama Streaming App Development Cost?

Dipti Singhal
Aug 15, 2025

Korean dramas, or K-dramas, are immensely popular at present, capturing the hearts of people throughout the world with engaging plots and stories, and relevant cultural context, not to mention good production quality. With demand soaring in different regions and countries and weekly new K-drama releases, it is an exciting time for businesses to tap into this market to introduce their own K-drama streaming platforms.
As every new K-drama is released every week, whether launching regionally or internationally, producing an outstanding, feature-rich, functional and user-friendly app can propel you ahead of the competition. But one of the first questions business owners and media organizations want to know is, how much does it cost for a K-drama streaming app?
As the total budget can vary with several factors including the design, tech stack, licensing, features, and marketing, it is difficult to estimate the full budget. In this blog we will discover the most important cost factors to support your planning process.
Market Growth of Korean Drama Streaming Apps
-
South Korea's video streaming market will earn USD 3.7 billion in 2023, and is projected to generate USD 14.9 billion by 2030, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.2% from 2024 – 2030 .
-
DramaBox is available in 200 countries, has 90 million registered users, and has at least 30 million monthly active users, and has led download activity in South Korea and Japan in 2025.
-
Viu's 2023 revenues rose 27% YOY, reaching USD261 million; they had 13.4 million paid subs (62.4 million monthly active users).
-
Netflix reported that 60% of its 221 million subscribers had watched at least one Korean title in 2022; and Korean TV content exports topped USD561 million in 2023, an increase of 30% YOY.
-
Netflix spent USD700 million between 2015-2020, USD500 million in 2021, and USD 2.5 billion in 2023 on Korean content.
-
Production budgets increased from USD360,000 per episode in 2015 to USD9.8 million for Squid Game 2 in 2024.
-
OTT penetration reached 34.8% paid users in 2021, and overall usage in South Korea (supported by 98% access to the internet and 96% smartphone ownership) was at 69.5%.
K-Drama OTT Apps Features
If you are about to build a K-Drama app like Viki, then having a list of features is important. So get to know the list.
User Registration & Profiles
Secure registration, log in, and profile/setting management features allow users to save preferences, view each user's watch history, and receive personalized content recommendations.
High-Quality Video Streaming
Provide HD, Full HD, and 4K video streaming with smooth playback across various devices for a superior viewing experience.
Personalized K-Drama Recommendations
With Apps like Netflix, AI-based algorithms recommend K-dramas with more engagement and app retention based on the user's watch history, ratings, and a variety of factors.
Multi-Language Subtitles
Offers multilingual subtitles, making it accessible for K-drama fans all over the world to reach international audiences on a global scale.
Offline Play & Downloads
Users can download episodes and watch them offline whenever they want. This is extremely helpful for users who travel frequently, don't always have access to the internet or prefer to watch on mobile devices.
Search & Filter Capability
Users have the ability to search and filter dramas through selected genres, year ranges, actors, viewer ratings or popularity so that they can become immersed quickly in their selected content.
Push Notifications & Alerts
Users can receive real-time notifications to inform them of new episodes, trending content, special website offers, or content updates tailored to their unique viewing preferences.
In-App Payment
Users can manage their payments, subscriptions, one-time payments, or premium purchases professionally integrated into the Movie streaming app like lifetime to offer a convenient secured payment gateway experience without leaving the user interface.
Watchlists & Favorites
Users can create watchlists, bookmark their favorite shows, and easily pick up where they left off after watching previous episodes for a customized entertainment experience.
Social Sharing & Community Features
Built-in social sharing integrations, comments and discussion forum capabilities are a great way to enhance community engagement and give K-drama fanatics an opportunity to communicate with other viewers.
Korean Drama App Development Cost Estimation
Live streaming app development cost can be unpredictable and vary dramatically based on the breadth and depth of the app, level of design quality, and overall size of the application. A simple Korean drama app development cost with common features such as user registration, video playback, and various search categories, can cost anywhere from $10,000 - $50,000+ on average.
A Korean drama app development cost between $10,000 to $50,000+ is a good starting point for a mid range app with all the bells and whistles including customized recommendations, support for multiple languages and offline viewing. K-Drama streaming app development costs over $50,000+ for high-end apps utilizing superior technology such as AI tech for recommendations, live-streaming, cross-platform delivery, etc. The platform you consider (iOS, Android or both) will influence the overall budget too.
Remember, that post-release, there will be a cost to develop a K-Drama app (i.e. maintenance, updates, licensing, etc). Korean drama app development for startups' cost ranges will at least get businesses started on a budget towards the end goals - providing the K-Drama streaming app development that meets user expectations while achieving business goals.
Factors Affecting The Korean Drama App Development Cost
Here is the list of factors that affect the entire K-Drama streaming app development cost:
App Platform (iOS, Android, Both)
Developing the app for one platform will cost less than to develop a cross- platform app. Cross-platform apps require more coding, testing and optimization so this will take more time, plus K-Drama streaming app development cost, Native apps are created using the native language and provide the most efficient performance but they are more expensive than hybrid apps.
App Design & UI/UX Complexity
Developing an attractive, functional, and simple app takes experienced designers and enough budget to cover custom animations, and other interactivity. The more designers want to design or build for features and animation, the more cKorean drama streaming app features and cost. A simple Ott app development could save on development through the use of prebuilt templates but could provide a less engaging, overall inferior user experience. Basic features exponentially increase K-Drama streaming app development cost.
Back-End and Server Infrastructure
Backend systems are vital for streaming capacity, managing users, and storing data. Cloud hosting, database management, and server scalability all have different price points. The apps that generate websites and require bandwidth when user traffic spikes will require more power than others, with larger apps incurring additional costs for better servers and advanced backend infrastructure.
Content licensing and rights
Once you legally acquire K-drama, the cost of content licensing is dependent on a budget and how many shows you are licensing. The cost to develop a K-Drama app also varies depending on the number of shows, territory (exclusivity), and licensing. You need to be truly, legally licensed, otherwise your costs for potential legal action will change. Make sure that proper licensing and rights are finalized depending on distribution of the app. Legal rights for content can add to your total K-Drama OTT app development cost.
Third party integrations
Integrating payment gateway systems, social media, analytics, and push notifications is useful for giving functions to your Best korean drama apps and providing an overall better experience, however these integrations add up. Each system will take time and testing to integrate into an app and make sure that it continues working correctly. Each integration may also be classified as operational costs.
Video Streaming Quality & Hosting
High-definition streaming requires considerable hosting, CDN provision, and effective use of compression technology. HD and 4K streaming, both require higher storage and bandwidth, which drives up costs compared to standard definition offerings.
Security & User privacy
Streaming apps tend to collect user data and payment information, and security of that information is key. Applications need to implement encryption of data transfer, secure authentication to access the streams, and need to fulfill compliance requirements such as GDPR or similar regional stipulations. The costs of advanced security may not be small, but it has a big impact on trust and credibility for streaming technology and application development.
App Testing & Quality Assurance
Testing will always take time during the development process, whether it is bug hunting, performance testing, device compatibility or all of them combined. To make an app easier to use and improve the user's experience, consider using automated testing before your manual or human testing. This will only make the final product more perfect and reduce the cost to develop K-Drama OTT apps.
Post-Launch Maintenance and Updates
The Live streaming app development will need to be updated with bug fixes, optimal server operations, and enhanced feature sets to compete. Your ongoing maintenance cost will be determined by the size of the app, the complexity of the app, and the frequency of updates. App maintenance can lead to years of ongoing investment in your K-drama App.
Future Trends K-Drama App Development
Here is the most important part of this blog, you heard it right: it's the future trends of drama app development in 2025.
AI-Powered Personalization
Future K-drama Apps will depend on large amounts of artificial intelligence and machine learning. They will analyze user behaviour, viewing history and preferences to be able to recommend content tailored to the individual user. By providing highly personalized recommendations users will be more engaged and retain their subscriptions for far longer, all while increasing their browsing satisfaction and based upon the personalized data you provide them, they will increase their audience engagement rates which is a huge win-win!
Short-Form Content & Interactive Storytelling
Short-form episodes and interactive plotlines are on the rise, especially among a younger audience with shorter attention spans. Platforms like DramaBox, are already experimenting with "pick your own ending" narratives which may keep the content fresh, improve engagement with the content and bring them back to the app more frequently.
Multi-Platform & Cross-Device Access
Users today generally expect the ability to stream no matter their device be it smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, browsers, etc. Future apps will put emphasis on cross-device access and smart TV capabilities so that viewers might experience content on the go wherever they are and when it's convenient for them.
AR/VR Features
Augmented and virtual reality features are slowly making their way into K-drama and already there are companies considering AR and VR experiences to provide a new type of storytelling and engagement from viewers as they can become part of the story, word or scene which provides deeply engaging, immersive and ultimately memorable entertainment experience.
Global & as Local as Possible
K-drama has become a global phenomenon and apps will need to accommodate that reality. Apps should make prioritizing multiple languages, subtitles and culturally relevant interfaces their top priority. Proper localization means greater appeal, increased audience engagement/interaction, and ultimately retention rates in various international markets.
Blockchain & NFT monetization opportunities
Blockchain technology and NFTs could introduce new ways for content creators and producers to generate revenue via exclusive content, fan and creator tokens and collectible items. All of these updates and value adds to the user's experience will lead to increased engagement with loyal audience members while creating new premium experiences as a monetization opportunity outside of subscriptions.
Enhanced Analytics & Social Integration
Going into the future, apps will integrate and analyze data relating to user engagement, content engagement, or even viewing trends. Social aspects like live chatting, community building, and sharing will continue to improve the interactivity of the platform to be more engaging to users.
Conclusion
In summary, developing a K-drama streaming app involves a number of costs; designer fees, core features, backend infrastructure, licensing costs, and ongoing costs. Cost of development elements will enable businesses to budget strategically and create the focused platform to ensure that users remain engaged, and enjoyment to find benefit in premium applications. IMG Global Infotech is a leading K-Drama app development service provider that builds high-quality, scalable video streaming apps that considers your audience's needs. There is delivery in continuous performance, value-added features and high-level security through technology which distinguish your K-drama streaming application from others in the market. This will ultimately lead to maximising reach and satisfaction to your users.

Dipti Singhal is a skilled Content Writing Specialist at IMG Global Infotech, with strong expertise in creating engaging, SEO-optimized content for various industries. She focuses on blending storytelling with effective keyword strategies to help businesses connect with their audience and improve their online visibility. Passionate about delivering high-quality content that drives real results, Dipti plays an essential role in strengthening the company’s digital presence.