Series scores
Every rated series gets an overall score out of 10. It reflects our editorial assessment of the story and how well it's executed — premise, pacing, characters and production — adjusted for two things viewers care about: heat (how explicit the locked episodes get) and value (how much is free and what the rest costs in tokens).
For series we review in depth, we also publish a full breakdown on five weighted criteria; in that case the overall score is their weighted average:
| Criterion | Weight | What we look at |
|---|---|---|
| Story | 25% | Plot, pacing, hooks and payoff across episodes. |
| Visuals | 25% | Image and animation quality, consistency between shots. |
| Characters | 20% | Personality, chemistry and how memorable the cast is. |
| Interactivity | 15% | How well the series connects to chat, choices and follow-up content. |
| Value | 15% | What you get for free versus behind a paywall or credits. |
Heat level
Separate from quality, we rate how explicit each series gets on a 1–5 scale, shown as flames: 1 Mild, 2 Suggestive, 3 Steamy, 4 Explicit, 5 Very explicit. On Candy Shorts the free episodes are usually suggestive; the heat level describes the locked episodes. It nudges the overall score slightly, but a great story at heat 3 still beats a thin one at heat 5.
Platform scores
A platform is only as good as what you can watch on it. 60% of the platform score is the average of its 5 best series; the remaining 40% comes from four platform criteria:
| Criterion | Weight | What we look at |
|---|---|---|
| Catalog | 25% | Number and variety of series and episodes. |
| Pricing | 25% | Free access, subscription cost and credit system fairness. |
| Experience | 30% | Player, navigation, speed and mobile usability. |
| Updates | 20% | How often new series and episodes are released. |
Brand rankings and the overall ranking
Because every series uses the same criteria, we can rank them two ways: within their own platform (e.g. best Candy Shorts series) and across all platforms (best AI shorts overall). Ties are broken alphabetically.
Score scale
- 9.0–10 — Outstanding: among the best AI shorts available.
- 8.0–8.9 — Excellent: easy recommendation.
- 7.0–7.9 — Very good: worth it if the genre is your thing.
- 6.0–6.9 — Good: enjoyable with clear flaws.
- Below 6 — Average or weak.
Updates
Ongoing series are re-scored when significant new episodes are released, and the whole ranking is reviewed monthly. Each page shows the date it was last updated.
Independence
We earn commissions from some platforms through affiliate links. Commissions never affect scores or rankings, and no platform can pay to be ranked higher. See our affiliate disclosure.