# Shortly vs ASCII Text Art

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.

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.

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | Shortly | ASCII Text Art |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $0.99 | **Free** |
| Positive reviews | 10.8% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | **Every 3 months** |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Size | 9 MB | 3 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [Chris Dressler](https://appshunter.io/developer/327199357) | [Koewen Hoffman](https://appshunter.io/developer/1640324631) |

## What reviewers say

### Shortly

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shortly/id337764686)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Safari Extension, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### ASCII Text Art

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ascii-text-art/id1640559321)

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked 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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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*