Universal Widget vs ShortFlow
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Universal Widget
Personalize your device's lock screen with a variety of informative and useful widgets. Choose from pre-made options or create your own custom widgets with unique information.
- Word Of The Day widget
- Daily Countdown widget
- Battery level widget
- Custom Text widget
- Build your own widget
- Lock screen customization
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Want to customize your lock screen with useful and informational widgets? This is definitely your chance to do so! Enjoy the amazing and completely free app called Universal Widget. The app introduces features like: - Word Of The Day - Daily Countdown - Battery - Custom Text - Construct Your Own Widget With Custom Information - And Way More - ALL FOR FREE for your lock screen! Install and see for yourself... Don't hesitate to try one of the app store's most versatile apps for lock screen widgets!
ShortFlow
Access your favorite apps, websites, and custom shortcuts directly from your iPhone's Lock Screen. Create personalized widget buttons with a vast icon library for quick launching. Supports Always-On display and offers advanced customization options.
- Launch apps from Lock Screen
- Open URLs from Lock Screen
- Access Shortcuts app actions
- Customizable widget buttons
- Over 4,000 icons available
- Supports Always-On display
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Open any apps, shortcuts, URLs from the Lock Screen. Place custom widget buttons on your Lock Screen, with your choice of over 4,000 icons. Each can be configured to launch your favorite app, website, or any shortcut from the Shortcuts app. Other Features: • Display custom title on a widget • Built-in presets for quick configuration • Supports iPhone 14 Pro's Always-On display • Easily change widgets through the app Pro Features: • Transparent widget backgrounds • Create up to 20 different widgets • Place an inline widget above time
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Universal Widget at 100% against ShortFlow's 68%. ShortFlow's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.4) and update cadence (every 8 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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. Universal Widget sells 7 one-off in-app purchases and ShortFlow sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
ShortFlow holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 158 and 196 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of Universal Widget's written reviews are positive against 68% of ShortFlow's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Universal Widget ships an update every 3 weeks, ShortFlow every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Universal Widget | ShortFlow |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (158 ratings) | 4.7 (196 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 67.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 158 | 196 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 113 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Zachary Furmanov | Kenneth Kao |
Customer experience
Universal Widget
ShortFlow
In-app purchases
Universal Widget
- Small Tip$1.99
- Small Donation$2.99
- Medium Tip$3.99
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- Large Tip$9.99
- Medium Donation$9.99
- Large Donation$19.99
- Massive Donation$49.99
ShortFlow
- ShortFlow Pro$2.99
Questions
Is Universal Widget free?
Is ShortFlow free?
Which has better reviews, Universal Widget or ShortFlow?
Do Universal Widget or ShortFlow have ads?
Which is updated more often, Universal Widget or ShortFlow?
Other comparisons
