# Shortcuts vs Themes

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Shortcuts at none against Themes's 10. Shortcuts also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (49% vs 19%). Themes's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 months). On price and rating there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Themes sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Shortcuts asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Shortcuts against 4.5 for Themes. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shortcuts has 49K ratings behind it against 2.1K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 49% of Shortcuts's written reviews are positive against 19% of Themes's.

Shortcuts ships an update every 6 months, Themes every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Shortcuts | Themes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (49K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shortcuts/id1462947752/reviews)** | [4.5 (2.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/themes-icon-changer-plus-widget/id1569379140/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **49K** | 2.1K |
| Positive reviews | **49.3% of reviews** | 18.7% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | **Every 2 weeks** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 9 MB | 143 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 14.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Apple](https://appshunter.io/developer/284417353) | [42Taps](https://appshunter.io/developer/1569379142) |

## What reviewers say

### Shortcuts

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shortcuts/id1462947752)

Automate everyday tasks on your iPhone and iPad by creating custom workflows. Combine actions from your favorite apps to perform complex operations with a single tap, Siri command, or even automatically. Explore hundreds of built-in actions to streamline your digital life.

**Highlights:** Create custom automations, Hundreds of built-in actions, Integrates with favorite apps, Home Screen icons for quick access, Siri integration, Automatic task execution, Make animated GIFs, Create PDFs from Safari

**Features:** Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Powerful automation capabilities
- 👍 Customizable app icons and widgets
- 🎨 Aesthetic customization options
- 💡 Useful for home automation and productivity

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy, crashes, and exhibits unexpected behavior
- 🔍 Inaccessible and difficult to use
- 🔕 Annoying notification banners
- 🔌 Drains battery when running complex shortcuts

**Reported bugs**

- Shortcuts randomly stop working, requiring device restart
- Inconsistent behavior when adding/removing actions in shortcuts
- Shortcuts not syncing properly between devices
- Automations not running automatically as expected

**Requested features**

- Add 'and' statement for automations
- Allow toggling of silent mode on iPad and Apple Watch
- Provide option to disable notification banners
- Improve syncing and reliability between devices


### Themes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/themes-icon-changer-plus-widget/id1569379140)

Personalize your mobile device with custom app icons, aesthetic themes, and widgets. Easily change your Home Screen's look and feel with a variety of options and new content added daily. Create your unique style with icon packs and matching wallpapers.

**Highlights:** Custom app icons, Aesthetic themes, Home Screen widgets, Lock Screen widgets, Icon packs, Custom wallpapers

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Membership | $3.99 | per month |
| Full Access Membership | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| Full Access Membership | $7.99 | per 7 days |
| Yearly Membership | $14.99 | per year |
| Yearly Membership | $24.99 | per year |
| Yearly Access | $29.99 | per year |
| Unlock Widget/Icon Pack | $1.99 | one-time |
| Full Lifetime Access | $9.99 | one-time |
| Fancy Widgets Themes &  Icon | $11.99 | one-time |
| Full Access | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 User-friendly
- 🚀 Quick installation
- 💡 Customization options

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes
- 🔒 Security concerns
- 💰 Expensive subscription
- 🔋 Drains battery

**Reported bugs**

- Infinite loading issues
- Duplicate app icons
- Incompatibility with certain devices

**Requested features**

- More free themes and icons
- Batch icon installation
- Undo/revert functionality


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Shortcuts free?

Shortcuts is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Themes free?

Themes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Shortcuts or Themes?

Shortcuts is rated higher. Shortcuts averages 4.6 out of 5 from 49K ratings, while Themes averages 4.5 from 2.1K ratings.

### Do Shortcuts or Themes have ads?

Themes shows ads; Shortcuts does not.

### Which is updated more often, Shortcuts or Themes?

Shortcuts ships an update every 6 months, and Themes every 2 weeks. Most recently, Shortcuts was updated on October 27, 2026 and Themes on October 24, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*