Comparison

Shortcuts vs Widgets 27

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Shortcuts

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
Read full description

Now, with Describe a Shortcut, you can automate daily tasks with a simple description. Just describe what you need, and Shortcuts creates an automation that connects actions across apps. Choose from hundreds of built-in actions in your favorite apps — like Calendar, Camera, Reminders, and more — to help you accomplish everyday tasks with a simple tap from the Home Screen, by asking Siri, or even automatically. Use the Shortcuts app to: • Add a Home Screen icon that calls a loved one • Make animated GIFs • Make PDFs from Safari And so much more... Shortcuts opens up incredible possibilities to automate things you do regularly on your iPhone and iPad.

About

Widgets 27

Transform your lock screen into a dynamic hub with custom widgets. Add app shortcuts, contacts, photos, and health tracking directly to your lock screen. Personalize your device with a built-in wallpaper editor and a vast collection of exclusive wallpapers.

Highlights
  • App Shortcuts Widget
  • Contacts Widget
  • Photo Widget
  • Health Widget
  • Wallpaper Editor
  • Exclusive Wallpaper Collection
Features
Read full description

Turn your lock screen into a powerhouse media station with Widgets 27! Keep your most-used apps close by with the App Shortcuts Widget. Create a custom contact list on your lock screen with the Contacts Widget. Personalize your lock screen with images from your library via the Photo Widget. Keep track of your daily physical activities and sports achievements with the Health Widget. Create unique lock screen wallpapers using a handy, user-friendly Wallpaper Editor. Download tons of exclusive lock screen wallpapers from a vast Wallpaper Collection. Widgets 27 allows you to personalize your lock screen as easy as one-two-three. Give it a try - customize your lock screen as much as you like! PLEASE NOTE: Widgets 27 requires access to the Health app (HealthKit) to read and track your steps and exercise data and show them as widgets on your Lock Screen. Privacy Policy: https://sites.google.com/view/scelcunovairina/Privacy-Policy Terms of Use: https://sites.google.com/view/scelcunovairina/terms

Screenshots

Shortcuts3 screens
Widgets 274 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Shortcuts at none against Widgets 27's 2. Shortcuts also leads on ratings volume (47K vs 1.3K) and review sentiment (49% vs 41%). Widgets 27's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 9 months). On price, rating and ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Widgets 27 sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Shortcuts asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Shortcuts against 4.6 for Widgets 27. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shortcuts has 47K ratings behind it against 1.3K, 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 41% of Widgets 27's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shortcuts ships an update every 9 months, Widgets 27 every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Shortcuts versus Widgets 27: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShortcutsWidgets 27
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (47K ratings)4.6 (1.3K ratings)
Positive reviews49.2% of reviews — better40.6% of reviews
Number of ratings47K — better1.3K
Update frequencyEvery 9 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS12.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB59 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperApple Inc.Irina Scelcunova

Customer experience

Shortcuts

All ratings47,401 ratings
Positive88.7%
Neutral3.5%
Negative7.8%
Written reviews2,819 reviews
Positive49.2%
Neutral12.5%
Negative38.4%

Widgets 27

All ratings1,274 ratings
Positive89.2%
Neutral5.2%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews32 reviews
Positive40.6%
Neutral12.5%
Negative46.9%

User reviews

Shortcuts

From 47K App Store ratings

What we love

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

Room to improve

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

Widgets 27

From 1.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Convenient app
  • 💡 Excellent and very good
  • 💡 Wallpaper feature

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Doesn't save changes
  • 🐛 Background doesn't remove
  • 🐛 Dynamic island doesn't work
  • 🐛 Time widget goes past 24 hours
  • 🐛 Not all widgets work

Bugs and requests

Shortcuts

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • 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

4 requests
  • 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

Widgets 27

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes
  • Incompatible with newer iOS versions
  • Calendar widget keeps disappearing

Requested features

2 requests
  • Allow adding widgets
  • Ability to type own quote

In-app purchases

None

Shortcuts

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Widgets 27

Subscriptions2
  • Vip for week3 Days trial$2.997 Days
  • Vip for one year$19.991 Year

Questions

Is Shortcuts free?
Shortcuts is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Widgets 27 free?
Widgets 27 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Shortcuts or Widgets 27?
Shortcuts and Widgets 27 are both rated 4.6 out of 5 on the App Store, from 47K and 1.3K ratings respectively.
Do Shortcuts or Widgets 27 have ads?
Neither Shortcuts nor Widgets 27 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shortcuts or Widgets 27?
Shortcuts ships an update every 9 months, and Widgets 27 every 2 months. Most recently, Shortcuts was updated on October 15, 2026 and Widgets 27 on October 14, 2026.

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