Comparison

Short Circuit vs Simple Scan

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

Head to head
About

Short Circuit

This AI-powered chatbot offers intelligent and sophisticated responses to your questions, leveraging advanced OpenAI models like ChatGPT and GPT-4. It integrates seamlessly with Siri and Shortcuts for hands-free access and personalized workflows. The more you use it, the smarter it becomes, acting as a personal tutor, storyteller, or programming companion.

Highlights
  • AI-powered chatbot
  • OpenAI GPT-4 integration
  • Siri voice assistant integration
  • Apple Shortcuts support
  • Personalized learning
  • Fact-checking capabilities
Features
Read full description

Ask AI anything with Short Circuit. As an AI-powered chatbot, Shorty is here to revolutionize the way we communicate with our devices. Shorty can provide intelligent, sophisticated, and even funny responses to your every question, powered by the latest OpenAI models like ChatGPT and GPT-4, all with no ads. But that's not all – Short Circuit is also integrated with Siri and Shortcuts, allowing you to seamlessly launch the app and ask your questions hands-free, through your favorite voice assistant. Whether you want to brainstorm, have a question, or want to do some research, Shorty is here to make your life easier. And the more you use Short Circuit the more Shorty learns. Shorty uses your conversations to get smarter and provide better answers, so why not give it a try today and experience the power of AI chatbot technology integrated with Siri Shortcuts? Your productivity will thank you. POWERED BY GPT Short Circuit is powered by the latest OpenAI models, ChatGPT and GPT-4. Now you have the a personal tutor, a storyteller, or even a programming companion, no matter what you want to know. ASK ANYTHING WITH SIRI All you have to do is say, "Ask Shorty”, and our helpful bot Shorty will use the latest GPT models to find the best answer for your question. You can even configure what phrase Shorty responds to, there's a whole world of possibilities. SHORTCUTS SUPPORT TOO If you're a fan of Apple's Shortcuts app you're going to be a fan of Short Circuit. Short Circuit lets you build custom workflows to integrate the latest GPT has to offer into your life with the ultimate flexibility. FACT CHECKS You can't always trust what you read, so Short Circuit makes sure you can fact check anything Shorty says. But he's honest, we promise. And so much more coming. SUBSCRIPTION PRICING AND TERMS Short Circuit offers three auto-renewing subscription options: $2.99 per month $5.99 per month $14.99 per month These prices are for United States customers. Pricing in other countries may vary and actual charges may be converted to your local currency depending on the country of residence. The subscription will automatically renew unless turned off in your iTunes Account Settings at least 24 hours before the current period ends. You can go to your iTunes Account settings to manage your subscription and turn off auto-renew. Your iTunes Account will be charged when the purchase is confirmed. Terms Of Service are available here: https://api.shortcircuit.chat/terms-of-service Privacy policy is available here: https://api.shortcircuit.chat/privacy-policy DISCLAIMER - Do not enter personal information. - Generated responses may be offensive or dangerous, please use your best judgment when using Short Circuit. - Short Circuit is not liable for content generated. - This app is not affiliated with OpenAI, please use this according to the Open AI usage guidelines.

About

Simple Scan

Easily convert paper documents into searchable PDFs or images in seconds. This app offers a streamlined scanning experience without cluttering your existing notes, with options to share directly via email, messages, or other applications. Enjoy private, on-device processing with no ads.

Highlights
  • Scan documents to PDF or JPEG
  • Searchable PDFs with OCR
  • Share scans via email, messages, or system share sheet
  • Custom file destinations
  • File naming suggestions (Apple Intelligence required)
  • On-device processing
  • No ads
Features
Read full description

Simple Scan is the quick, easy way to scan paper documents to optimized, searchable PDF documents (or images) and send them almost anywhere. ## FEATURES ## * Same great scanning functionality as Notes, but no need to clutter your notes data with one-off scans * Create high-resolution multi-page PDFs from your paper documents * PDFs are searchable thanks to automatic Optical Character Recognition (OCR) * Built for simplicity. Just scan and send – no document library * Send scans via email or messages. Save to a file, or "Share" use to send to other apps via the system share sheet * Set up message destinations with pre-filled recipients for easy "Email to Myself" and other common uses * Custom file destinations save scans directly to a pre-selected folder without extra taps * File naming suggestions, such as names, dates, pulled from the scanned document (requires Apple Intelligence) * Save scans directly to Photos * Option to output as images (JPEG) instead of PDF * Quality option to control file size * Never any ads. Ever. * Private and on-device. All scan processing is done locally on your device. ## SIMPLE SCAN PRO ## Simple Scan is free to download and try! To continue using Simple Scan, unlock Simple Scan Pro--available as a low-cost, annual subscription or a one-time lifetime unlock purchase. ## SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS ## * Payment will be charged to your Apple account at confirmation of purchase * Your subscription will automatically renew unless auto-renew is disabled at least 24 hours before the end of the current subscription period * Automatic renewals will be charged at the same price you were initially charged for the subscription * Subscriptions can be managed or canceled by going to Account Settings on the App Store after purchase Have questions? Email support@agiletortoise.com. Terms: https://agiletortoise.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://agiletortoise.com/privacy-policy

Screenshots

Short Circuit4 screens
Simple Scan4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Simple Scan at freemium against Short Circuit's subscription. Simple Scan also leads on review sentiment (88% vs 62%) and rating (4.9 vs 4.7). Short Circuit's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Short Circuit sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Simple Scan sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Simple Scan holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Simple Scan has 665 ratings behind it against 128, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 62% of Short Circuit's written reviews are positive against 88% of Simple Scan's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Short Circuit ships an update every 2 days, Simple Scan every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on August 23, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Short Circuit versus Simple Scan: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShort CircuitSimple Scan
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (128 ratings)4.9 (665 ratings) — better
Positive reviews61.5% of reviews87.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings128665 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFreemium — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.1 — better17.4
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB21 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperRed Panda Club Inc.Agile Tortoise

Customer experience

Short Circuit

All ratings128 ratings
Positive93.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative6.3%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive61.5%
Neutral7.7%
Negative30.8%

Simple Scan

All ratings665 ratings
Positive97.0%
Neutral1.1%
Negative2.0%
Written reviews64 reviews
Positive87.5%
Neutral4.7%
Negative7.8%

Bugs and requests

Short Circuit

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Simple Scan

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Crashes on multi-page scans for some users
  • Issues with importing files from other apps

Requested features

3 requests
  • Ability to tag scans
  • Favorite file/app destination options
  • More image adjustment tools

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Short Circuit

Subscriptions3
  • Starter$2.991 Month
  • Pro$5.991 Month
  • Premium$14.991 Month
One-time1
  • Lifetime: Pay Once$29.99
2 purchases

Simple Scan

Subscriptions1
  • Pro - Annual$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pro - Lifetime$39.99

Questions

Is Short Circuit free?
Short Circuit is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Simple Scan free?
Simple Scan is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Short Circuit or Simple Scan?
Simple Scan is rated higher. Short Circuit averages 4.7 out of 5 from 128 ratings, while Simple Scan averages 4.9 from 665 ratings.
Do Short Circuit or Simple Scan have ads?
Neither Short Circuit nor Simple Scan shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Short Circuit or Simple Scan?
Short Circuit ships an update every 2 days, and Simple Scan every 3 weeks. Most recently, Short Circuit was updated on August 23, 2026 and Simple Scan on September 28, 2026.

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