Comparison

Shortly vs Short Menu

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — 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 — 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

Short Menu

Easily shorten URLs, generate branded links, and create QR codes on your iPhone or iPad. Track link performance with advanced analytics and integrate with existing URL shorteners. Customize your links with your own domain for a professional touch.

Highlights
  • Shorten URLs on the go
  • Branded short links
  • Generate QR codes
  • Advanced link analytics
  • Integrate with existing shorteners
  • Custom domain support
  • Home screen widgets
Read full description

Short Menu is the most simple and effective way to shorten links on your iPhone and iPad. Create short links on the go, track what matters with ease and use them across your devices. Optimized for iOS: Create short links with just a few taps in the Short Menu app or any other app using the Short Menu extension in your share sheet. Advanced Analytics: Monitor click counts over time, compare results across different periods with ease using intuitive charts, and dive deeper into audience background with advanced geo tracking, referrer data, and device detection (1). Stunning QR Codes: Generate QR codes with one tap for every short link you create with shrtm.nu or your custom domain. Seamless Integrations: Log into your current URL shortener such as bit.ly, tinycc.com, tiny.cc, Rebrandly, t.cn, tinurl.com, is.gd, and v.gd directly (1). Custom Domains: Connect your custom domain and brand every short link you create. Affiliate Links: Automatically append your affiliate tokens to links, with support for major platforms like eBay, Amazon, and Apple (1). Home Screen Widgets: Monitor key link statistics right from your Home screen for maximum efficiency. Short Menu simplifies your link management while keeping you connected and productive, no matter where you are. -- (1) In-App Purchase Required Terms and Conditions: https://shortmenu.com/terms

Screenshots

Shortly4 screens
Short Menu4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Short Menu at 69% against Shortly's 11%. Short Menu also leads on price (Free vs $0.99) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 5 months). Shortly's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and ads (none vs shown). On device support and iOS requirement 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

Short Menu is free to download; Shortly costs $0.99 up front. Short Menu sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Shortly asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shortly ships an update every 5 months, Short Menu every 5 days. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Shortly versus Short Menu: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShortlyShort Menu
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating—4.6 (284 ratings) — better
Positive reviews10.8% of reviews68.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—284 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB61 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChris DresslerAppiculous UG (haftungsbeschraenkt)

Customer experience

Shortly

Written reviews37 reviews
Positive10.8%
Neutral13.5%
Negative75.7%

Short Menu

All ratings267 ratings
Positive89.9%
Neutral1.9%
Negative8.2%
Written reviews54 reviews
Positive68.5%
Neutral5.6%
Negative25.9%

Bugs and requests

Shortly

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Short Menu

Reported bugs

11 issues
  • App no longer actively tracks link clicks/views
  • Default shortening service not working
  • App not working on iPad
  • Quick short from share sheet stuck on 'shortening'
  • Nothing works when tapping
Show 6 more
  • Links don't permanently go offline after deletion
  • Invalid response from server
  • Shorten URL button grayed out and unresponsive
  • Stopped working within 24 hours
  • Special characters issue (fixed in older update)
  • Google login issue (fixed in older update)

Requested features

9 requests
  • Update the app
  • Implement new features
  • Add dark mode
  • Add translucent dark mode for widget
  • Generate QR codes
Show 4 more
  • Add stats
  • Restore previous purchases
  • Allow changing to a working shortening service
  • Add Chrome shortcut

In-app purchases

None

Shortly

No in-app purchases

8 purchases

Short Menu

Subscriptions8
  • Short Menu Lite (Monthly)$5.991 Month
  • Short Menu Lite (Monthly)$6.991 Month
  • Short Menu Pro (Monthly)2 variants$24.991 Month
Show 5 more
  • Short Menu Lite (Annual)$39.991 Year
  • Short Menu Growth (Monthly)2 variants$49.991 Month
  • Short Menu Lite (Annual)$49.991 Year
  • Short Menu Pro (Annual)$159.991 Year
  • Short Menu Growth (Annual)$399.991 Year

Questions

Is Shortly free?
Shortly costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Short Menu free?
Short Menu is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Shortly or Short Menu have ads?
Short Menu shows ads; Shortly does not.
Which is updated more often, Shortly or Short Menu?
Shortly ships an update every 5 months, and Short Menu every 5 days. Most recently, Shortly was updated on November 1, 2026 and Short Menu on November 1, 2026.

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