Comparison

Shortly vs ASCII Text Art

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

Head to head
About

Shortly

This utility allows you to create and manage short URLs using the Bitly service directly from your iPhone or iPad. Easily copy shortened links for use in other apps and track their click statistics with helpful charts. It also includes a tool to look up existing Bitlinks and their performance.

Highlights
  • Create short URLs (Bitlinks)
  • Copy links to clipboard
  • Track click statistics
  • View charts and metadata
  • Bitlink lookup tool
  • Auto Shorten feature
Features
Read full description

Shortly is an easy-to-use utility that lets you create short URLs (Bitlinks) with your iPhone or iPad using the Bitly service. You can copy these links to the clipboard for use in other iPhone applications. Once you've created your Bitlink and pressed the button to put it on the clipboard, you can launch another application, click anywhere you can enter text and select Paste โ€” it's that simple! Additionally you can track the click statistics for Bitlinks you create in the app, or Bitlinks you've shortened on the Bitly website with helpful charts and metadata. There is also a Bitlink lookup tool, so you can enter in a Bitlink you've found and see who created it, including the number of global clicks it has received this week. The app requires a Bitly account to enable the URL shortening and tracking features. If you don't have an account, signing up is easy and free. Just click on the Account tab in the app and click the button to get a new account. Auto Shorten feature: If you go into the Settings screen and turn this on, the Shortly app will look on the clipboard when it launches, and if it finds a valid URL there, it will automatically shorten it and place the Bitlihnk on the clipboard at the same time.

About

ASCII Text Art

Read full description

A simple way to use ASCII face art! Just tap to copy, and paste it in a message or any piece of text! More than 100 different ASCII art faces to use! Please leave a rating to help us make the app better for our users! Thank you!

Screenshots

Shortly4 screens
ASCII Text Art4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: ASCII Text Art at Free against Shortly's $0.99. ASCII Text Art also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.6). Shortly's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On update cadence, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

ASCII Text Art is free to download; Shortly costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shortly ships an update every 5 months, ASCII Text Art every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 5 level
Shortly versus ASCII Text Art: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShortlyASCII Text Art
Price$0.99Free โ€” better
Positive reviews10.8% of reviewsโ€”
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 3 months โ€” better
AdsNo โ€” betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeโ€”
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.615.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size9 MB3 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperChris DresslerKoewen Hoffman

In-app purchases

None

Shortly

No in-app purchases

None

ASCII Text Art

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Shortly free?
Shortly costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is ASCII Text Art free?
ASCII Text Art is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Shortly or ASCII Text Art have ads?
ASCII Text Art shows ads; Shortly does not.
Which is updated more often, Shortly or ASCII Text Art?
Shortly ships an update every 5 months, and ASCII Text Art every 3 months. Most recently, Shortly was updated on October 16, 2026 and ASCII Text Art on September 27, 2026.

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