Comparison

Any Text · Widgets vs Shwidget

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

Head to head
About

Any Text · Widgets

Display any text on your Lock or Home Screen to keep important notes, goals, or tasks visible. Customize text with Markdown and utilize 20 different widgets. Integrates with Shortcuts for powerful automations and syncs across devices via iCloud.

Highlights
  • Customizable text widgets
  • Lock Screen and Home Screen support
  • Markdown styling (bold, italic, strikethrough)
  • Live Activity and StandBy support
  • iCloud device syncing
  • Shortcuts app integration
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Put any kind of text on your Lock Screen or Home Screen so you won't miss it. It could be an important note, your goal, a list of tasks, etc. It also supports Live Activity and StandBy. The app includes 20 widgets that lets you put different text on different Lock Screen configurations or Home Screen. You can style parts of the text bold, italic, or strikethrough using Markdown. Syncs seamlessly across your devices with iCloud. Simply tap the widget to open the app to edit the text. ■ Shortcuts The app is scriptable through the Shortcuts app, enabling a lot of powerful use-cases. For example, you could use an automation to change the text at a certain point in the day or at certain places. The only limit is your creativity. ■ Support You can contact me through the feedback button in the app.

About

Shwidget

Display your Google Sheets data directly on your iOS device's Home or Lock Screen. Monitor key values and KPIs automatically without needing to open the Sheets app.

Highlights
  • Display Google Sheets data in widgets
  • Automatic widget updates
  • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets
  • No account required
  • Privacy-friendly data handling
  • Easy setup with Sheet and Cell IDs
Features
Read full description

Do you have a KPI or important value in Google Sheets that updates automatically, and you want to monitor it without constantly opening the Sheets app? Meet Shwidget, your solution! Shwidget is an iOS app that lets you display any Google Sheets cell value directly in a widget on your device. It automatically updates via iOS’s widget system, meaning you can keep tabs on your important data right from your Home or Lock Screen, without the need to check the Sheets app manually. Key Features: * Automatic updates using iOS’s widget update system. * Home Screen widgets in various sizes, as well as Lock Screen widgets. * Privacy-friendly: No account required, and your data never leaves your device. SETTING IT UP Getting started is easy! All you need is the Sheet ID and the Cell IDs of the data you want to display. Optionally, you can add titles for each value, which will appear in the widget for clarity. 1. Find the Sheet ID: This is the long string of characters in your Google Sheets URL (without the dashes). 2. Set Sharing Permissions: Make sure the sheet is set to “Anyone with the link” and read-only to allow Shwidget to fetch the data securely. Once you’ve set these up in the app, Shwidget takes care of the rest. The widget will automatically update at regular intervals thanks to iOS’s background system. PRO TIPS * How to Find the Sheet ID: Open your Google Sheet, and the ID is the long string of random characters in the URL between the slashes. For example:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CMvaCWBAsrAftZjT5nXlntTUsnmkkZDlxMkXhAd_sBs/
In this case, the Sheet ID is: 1CMvaCWBAsrAftZjT5nXlntTUsnmkkZDlxMkXhAd_sBs.
 Paste only this ID into the Shwidget app. (Tip: Double-check you’re not copying the entire URL!) * Sharing Permissions: Ensure your sheet’s general access is set to “Anyone with the link” and role set to “Viewer” to allow Shwidget access without making unnecessary changes to your security settings. * If your widget says "ERROR empty cell?" Then the cell is empty OR sharing is not properly done OR typo in the cell field. Trust me, its one of these. * Data Privacy: If you’re concerned about sharing sensitive data, consider creating a “proxy” spreadsheet and use Google Sheets’ IMPORTRANGE function to pull only the necessary data into a separate sheet that’s shared with Shwidget. EXAMPLE SETUP Test Shwidget with the example sheet below:
Sheet ID: 1CMvaCWBAsrAftZjT5nXlntTUsnmkkZDlxMkXhAd_sBs
 Try cell IDs like D1, D2, D3 or E1-E7, and open the sheet to see the expected values. FREE vs PRO The free version of Shwidget lets you add one row or data field per widget. To unlock more rows, upgrade to the KPI Lover subscription for expanded functionality. The free version also includes a logo on the home screen widget and a subject text on the lock screen widget, which you can remove by subscribing. No hidden fees, no gimmicks — just more features and a cleaner experience! Cheers, Mikko 
P.S. Your feedback is always welcome! Drop me a line at mikko_a_appsipaja.fi. Terms of use, standard Apple Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Any Text · Widgets3 screens
Shwidget3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Shwidget at Free against Any Text · Widgets's $4.00. Shwidget also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 weeks) and iOS requirement (16.1 vs 26.0). Any Text · Widgets's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 3.4) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). On ads 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

Shwidget is free to download; Any Text · Widgets costs $4.00 up front. Shwidget sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Any Text · Widgets asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Any Text · Widgets holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Any Text · Widgets has 450 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 82% of Any Text · Widgets's written reviews are positive against 50% of Shwidget's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Any Text · Widgets ships an update every 6 weeks, Shwidget fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Any Text · Widgets versus Shwidget: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAny Text · WidgetsShwidget
Price$4.00Free — better
Rating4.6 (450 ratings) — better3.4 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews81.9% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings450 — better5
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
Best chart rank#57 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.016.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSindre SorhusAppsipaja Oy

Customer experience

Any Text · Widgets

All ratings450 ratings
Positive88.4%
Neutral4.0%
Negative7.6%
Written reviews138 reviews
Positive81.9%
Neutral3.6%
Negative14.5%

Shwidget

All ratings5 ratings
Positive40.0%
Neutral40.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral16.7%
Negative33.3%

Bugs and requests

Any Text · Widgets

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Widget not showing on Lock Screen
  • Text not updating in a timely manner
  • Force show when locked doesn't work

Requested features

6 requests
  • Allow alternating/rotating text
  • Add custom font support
  • Provide full-width widget options
  • Add custom widget background colors
  • Enable editing widgets directly
Show 1 more
  • Add Apple Watch widget support

Shwidget

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Any Text · Widgets

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Shwidget

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly payment7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Yearly payment7 Days trial$19.991 Year

Questions

Is Any Text · Widgets free?
Any Text · Widgets costs $4.00, with no in-app purchases.
Is Shwidget free?
Shwidget is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Any Text · Widgets or Shwidget?
Any Text · Widgets is rated higher. Any Text · Widgets averages 4.6 out of 5 from 450 ratings, while Shwidget averages 3.4 from 5 ratings.
Do Any Text · Widgets or Shwidget have ads?
Neither Any Text · Widgets nor Shwidget shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Any Text · Widgets or Shwidget?
Any Text · Widgets ships an update every 6 weeks, and Shwidget fortnightly. Most recently, Any Text · Widgets was updated on October 13, 2026 and Shwidget on October 5, 2026.

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