Menu Box vs Deck Buddy
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Menu Box
Create visually appealing menus for your device's shortcuts. Customize menu items with emojis, app icons, or custom images to build personalized automations. Dynamically generate menus on the fly for advanced shortcut customization.
- Create beautiful menus for Shortcuts
- Customize with emojis, SF Symbols, or custom images
- Attach custom data to menu items
- Fully controllable via Shortcuts
- Dynamically create menus on the fly
- Enhance Action Button functionality
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Menu Box allows you to create beautiful menus in Shortcuts, further customising your advanced Automations. Menus can be created using emojis, SF Symbols App Icons or your own custom images to create truly individual menus with near limitless options. Custom data attached to each menu items allows you to create even more advanced Shortcuts. Menu Box is fully controllable via Shortcuts, including creating Menus dynamically on the fly. Menu Box is perfect for creating advanced Shortcuts to allow you to further customise how your menus look, and becomes especially useful when combined with the Action Button. --- Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Deck Buddy
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Deck Buddy turns your iPhone or iPad into an intelligent control deck for your Mac. It’s more than a “shortcut remote” - it’s a full system for fast, context-aware control that adapts to whatever you’re doing. ≋≋ Always the right buttons ≋≋ DeckBuddy can switch layouts automatically based on the app currently active on your Mac. Use one deck for Xcode, another for Safari, another for your creative tools - and let DeckBuddy keep up as you switch. ≋≋ Two ways to work ≋≋ • Auto Mode: DeckBuddy follows the active Mac app and loads the matching deck. • Manual Mode: lock a specific deck whenever you want consistent controls. ≋≋ Built for real workflows ≋≋ • Trigger keyboard shortcuts remotely from your iPhone • Run advanced actions with AppleScript on macOS • Pair fast with a 6-digit code and remember trusted devices • Discover your Mac automatically via Bonjour (no IP typing) • Capture a shortcut from your Mac keyboard and assign it to a button • Create decks with multiple pages, custom rows/columns, and iPad layouts • Personalise button styles: colours, borders, system icons, and your own SVG/PNG • Start quickly with ready-made presets for popular use cases • Import/export backups of your profiles and actions ≋≋ Mac setup that’s actually clear ≋≋ Deck Buddy includes a guided macOS onboarding screen with setup steps, Accessibility permissions, and an option to launch at login. If you love speed, shortcuts, streaming, or creative work - DeckBuddy is a great one to try ≋≋ Version 1.0 ≋≋ • First release of DeckBuddy • Auto/Manual profiles, shortcut buttons, AppleScript actions • Presets, custom layouts, and backup import/export ≋≋ SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION ≋≋ • Enjoy your first 2 weeks free with an annual subscription • Enjoy your first 3 days free with a monthly subscription • Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase • Your subscription renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current billing period • You can manage or cancel your subscription anytime in your Account Settings • Pricing may vary by country or region and will be shown before purchase https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
Menu Box and Deck Buddy are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Menu Box sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per year and Deck Buddy sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
| Parameter | Menu Box | Deck Buddy |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (14 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 85.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 14 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.5 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 31 MB | 12 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Snailed It Development Ltd | Daniel Miara |
In-app purchases
Menu Box
- Premium$4.991 Year
- Tip Jar - Small$0.99
- Tip Jar - Medium$2.99
- Tip Jar - Large$4.99
Deck Buddy
- DeckBuddy Premium3 Days trial$2.991 Month
- DeckBuddy Premium14 Days trial$19.991 Year









